In the petroleum industry, the oil fractions are usually complex mixtures containing several hundreds up to several millions of different chemical species. For this reason, even the most powerful analytical tools do not allow to separate and to identify all the species that are present. Hence, petroleum fractions are currently characterized either by using average macroscopic descriptors (density, elemental analyses, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, etc.) or by using separative techniques (distillation, gas or liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, etc.), which quantify only a limited number of families of molecules however. Reconstruction methods for the petroleum cuts are numerical tools, which allow to evolve towards a molecular detail and which are all based on the following principle: defining simplified but consistent mixtures of chemical compounds from partial analytical data and from expert knowledge of the process under study. Thus, the reconstruction method by entropy maximization, which is proposed in this article, is a recent and powerful technique which allows to determine the molar fractions of a predefined set of chemical compounds by maximizing an entropic criterion and by satisfying the analytical constraints given by the modeler. This approach allows to reduce the number of degrees of freedom from several thousands (corresponding to the molar fractions of the compounds) to several tens (corresponding to the Lagrange parameters associated with the analytical constraints) and to greatly decrease the CPU time required to perform the calculations. This approach has been successfully applied to reconstruct FCC gasolines by precisely predicting the molecular composition of this type of feedstocks from a distillation and an overall PIONA analysis (Paraffins, Isoparaffins, Olefins, Naphthenes and Aromatics). The extension to other naphthas (Straight Run naphthas, Coker naphthas, hydrotreated naphthas, etc.) is straightforward.


Objective:To investigate factors that influence the antenatal screening practice of obstetricians and identify barriers to the implementation of universal antenatal HIV screening. Design:A survey of all obstetricians registered with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Methods:A questionnaire was mailed to all obstetricians in Australia, followed by two reminders. Results:The overall response rate was 70% (817/1172) and of these 70% always offered an HIV test during pregnancy. Obstetricians offering the test were more likely to female or younger in age. Of respondents who always offered testing, 90% disagreed with only testing women with risk factors compared with only 34% of those who undertook a selective screening approach (adjusted odds ratio, 87.7; 95% confidence interval, 40–192; P = 0.001). Obstetricians who practiced selective screening were influenced by whether the woman had antenatal blood tests prior to her obstetric appointment or a previous negative HIV test. Obstetricians who practiced universal screening were more likely to be concerned about false-positive results. Many obstetricians, irrespective of their screening practice, agreed that many of the components of pretest counseling were inappropriate for the majority of women. Conclusions:A majority of obstetricians in Australia are offering all pregnant women an HIV test. Consideration should be given to tailoring pretest counseling requirements to the antenatal setting. Ongoing education regarding the limitations of selective screening and management of women with false-positive results is also highlighted by this study.


The anticonvulsant, (+/-)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d] cyclohepten-5,10-imine (MK-801), blocked single postsynaptic responses of mouse spinal cord neurons in cell culture to N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA). The block was concentration dependent with IC50 = 10(-7) M against 10(-5) M NMDA and 2 x 10(-7) M against 10(-3) M NMDA. Serial responses were blocked in use-dependent manner by 10 times lower doses of MK-801, depending on rate of NMDA application. MK-801 (approximate IC50, 8 x 10(-8) M) also limited sustained high-frequency repetitive firing of sodium-dependent action potentials (AP) elicited by long (400 msec) depolarizing pulses. Without changing resting membrane potential, single AP elicited by short (0.5-1 msec) depolarizing current pulses were blocked in voltage-, use- and frequency-dependent manner. Maximal rate of rise of individual AP elicited by short or long pulses decreased progressively until failure to fire. The time constant of recovery of AP from inactivation in a paired pulse protocol was prolonged from about 1 msec in control solution to 12 msec in solution containing 3 x 10(-7) M MK-801. These characteristics suggest that MK-801 blocks voltage-sensitive sodium current, which generates the upstroke of the AP. Overlap of concentrations blocking NMDA responses and sustained repetitive firing suggests that both actions may contribute to anticonvulsant efficacy of MK-801.


Hot tear formation has been observed during the solidification of a succinonitrile–acetone (SCN-acetone) alloy by pulling the columnar dendrites in the transverse direction with a stick. It is observed that the cracking of the mushy zone (hot tears) always occurs at grain boundaries. At low volume fraction of solid, the opening can be compensated for by leanersolute interdendritic liquid (i.e., "healed" hot tears). At higher volume fraction of solid, hot tears directly nucleate in the interdendritic liquid or develop from pre-existing micropores or air bubbles induced by solidification shrinkage. Moreover, coalescence/bridging of dendrite arms has been carefully observed and the temperature at which this occurs has been measured. This allowed us to determine the corresponding solid fraction. It is observed that coalescence between columnar dendrites inside a grain (intragranular coalescence) occurs at a higher temperature/lower solid fraction than coalescence of dendrites. Located across a grain boundary (intergranular coalescence), these results bring a new light on the formation of hot tears in metallic alloys.


More than half of the Philippines' jobless sector is comprised of the youth. This warrants the need to identify the constructs and create policy frameworks that would facilitate employability and entrepreneurship among the Filipino youth. Using the Community Based Monitor System (CBMS) survey on Accelerated Poverty Profiling among member schools of De La Salle Philippines, we estimate a multinomial logistic regression that highlights how demographic characteristics and level of education influence a youth's likelihood to be employed or to be entrepreneurial. Our results provide a framework for policymakers in improving program design and policy implementation targeted towards youth employment and support for youth entrepreneurial undertakings.


Modern macroeconomic models with a Keynesian flavour usually involve nominal rigidities in wages and commodity prices. A widely used conceptual framework is specifying a wage-setting and a price setting equation, while a more explicit microfoundation recurs to wage bargaining in the labour markets and monopolistic competition in the commodity markets; (Blanchard and Giavazzi, 2001). Characteristic for those approaches is that deregulating the labour markets (i.e. reducing the bargaining power of workers and/or reducing the unemployment benefits) and/or deregulating the commodity markets (i.e. reducing the market power of commodity suppliers) increases equilibrium employment. However, those models are typically static models which do not specify explicitly the economic process in time. In the following paper, we develop a dynamic macroeconomic model in which commodity markets are characterised by monopolistic competition and labour markets by wage bargaining. The number of firms is fixed; the incorporation of firm entry and exit is left for further research. In our analysis the equilibrium solution is a fixed point of the dynamic model which exhibits the usual comparative static properties (deregulating the labour and/or the commodity market increases employment). However, depending upon the parameters the fixed point may loose stability through a Flip-bifurcation giving rise to cyclical solutions. We show analytically that commodity and labour market deregulation may lead to instability; in numerical simulation we even found cases in which deregulation leads to lower average employment. Both results, valid in a dynamic framework, contrast with the usual comparative static properties.


To evaluate development and growth of modern civilization, quantifying approaches such as mathematical and statistical methods have been adopted to not only describe academic development but also explore natures of Bibliometrics. One of the challenges of Bibliometrics is the integrity of literature search that also of relevance to the result of quantitative analysis. The case study adopted in this research was the journal list covered by Cancer Research of the SCImago Journal Rank (SJR). The database of PubMed was the sources of literature collection, in which we collected 608,790 articles from 172 journals published from 1945 to October 2015. By carrying out the three principles of Bibliometrics for verification, the result suggested the following: (1) In terms of literature growth, cancer researchrelated publications have exceeded one thousand publications annually since 1992, and showed a rising tendency. (2) The types of publications were dominated by journal articles (574,924 articles) followed by reviews (61,463 articles including systematic reviews). By considering the content and the type of research report, the major types were comparative study and non-U.S. government-supported research with 46,698 and 251,024 publications, respectively. (3) Most cancer research literature was written in collaboration with coauthors rather than by a single author. (4) According to Bradford's Law, the results can be divided into 4 groups, in which the 1: n: n: n rations derived from Bradford's formula were applied and concluded that n equaled to 2.5. Finally, (5) by performing author productivity analysis based on Lotka's Law, we considered the numbers of first authors and all authors of an article, in which we substituted into Lotka's formula independently. The result was in line with Bradford's Law given that the parameters were modified as follows: f(x)=0.6387/x.


Concern over global climate change has led policy makers to accept the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This in turn has led to a large growth in clean renewable generation for electricity production. Much emphasis has been on wind generation as it is among the most advanced forms of renewable generation, however, its variable and relatively unpredictable nature result in increased challenges for electricity system operators. Tidal generation on the other hand is almost perfectly forecastable and as such may be a viable alternative to wind generation. This panel paper summaries the costs and benefits of tidal generation and illustrates the break-even capital cost for tidal generation on a real electricity system. The low break-even capital costs and limited resource availability suggest that tidal generation is not a viable option for the case system at the present time.


Objective. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of aerators on water microbiological contamination in at-risk hospital departments, with a view to quantifying the possible risk of patient exposure to waterborne microorganisms. Design. We analyzed the microbiological and chemical-physical characteristics of hot and cold water in some critical hospital departments. Setting. Two hospitals in northern Italy. Methods. We took 304 water samples over a 1-year period, at 3-month intervals, from taps used by healthcare personnel for handwashing, surgical washing, and the washing of medical equipment. We analyzed heterotrophic plate counts (HPCs) at 36°C and 22°C, nonfastidious gram-negative bacteria (GNB-NE), and Legionella pneumophila. Results. The percentages of positivity and mean values of HPCs at 22°C, HPCs at 36°C, and GNB-NE loads were significantly higher at outlet points than in the plumbing system. In particular, GNB-NE positivity was higher at outlet points than in the plumbing system in both the cold water (31.58% vs 6.58% of samples were positive) and hot water (21.05% vs 3.95%) supplies. Our results also revealed contamination by L. pneumophila both in the plumbing system and at outlet points, with percentages of positive samples varying according to the serogroup examined (serogroups 1 and 2-14). The mean concentrations displayed statistically significant (P < .001) differences between the outlet points (27,382.89 ± 42,245.33 colony-forming units [cfu]/L) and the plumbing system (19,461.84 ± 29,982.11 cfu/L). Conclusions. These results reveal a high level of contamination of aerators by various species of gram-negative opportunists that are potentially very dangerous for immunocompromised patients and, therefore, the need to improve the management of these devices.


There is currently limited research exploring the impact of undertaking sensitive or challenging research on the researcher, although some textbooks explore researcher preparedness. This article presents a discussion of the findings from a research project which engaged with the seldom heard voices of researchers themselves. The aim was to explore researchers' experiences of undertaking research on sensitive topics, or with marginalized groups, as this can expose researchers to emotionally disturbing situations throughout data collection and analysis, which can be psychologically challenging. Although ethical codes of practice include discussion around protection of both the researcher and the participant, in practice, the ethics approval process rarely considers the impact of the proposed research on the researcher. Their experiences are therefore seldom acknowledged or heard, resulting in potential distress for the researcher. Semistructured interviews were undertaken with social science researchers from a range of discipline backgrounds and at different points in their research careers (n = 10). This article explores two themes emerging from the data: preparedness and positionality. It considers what these themes mean in terms of supporting researchers who encounter challenging research data, and issues related to supporting researcher reflexivity and the requirements for institutional support offered to researchers will also be considered.


The ongoing quest for memory enhancement is one that grows necessary as the global population increasingly ages. The extraordinary progress that has been made in the past few decades elucidating the underlying mechanisms of how long‐term memories are formed has provided insight into how memories might also be enhanced. Capitalizing on this knowledge, it has been postulated that targeting many of the same mechanisms, including CREB activation, AMPA/NMDA receptor trafficking, neuromodulation (e.g., via dopamine, adrenaline, cortisol, or acetylcholine) and metabolic processes (e.g., via glucose and insulin) may all lead to the enhancement of memory. These and other mechanisms and/or approaches have been tested via genetic or pharmacological methods in animal models, and several have been investigated in humans as well. In addition, a number of behavioral methods, including exercise and reconsolidation, may also serve to strengthen and enhance memories. By utilizing this information and continuing to investigate these promising avenues, memory enhancement may indeed be achieved in the future. WIREs Syst Biol Med 2013, 5:37–53. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.1196


Single cell transcriptome analysis elucidates facets of cell biology that have been previously out of reach. However, the high-throughput analysis of thousands of single cell transcriptomes has been limited by sample preparation and sequencing technology. High-throughput single cell analysis today is facilitated by protocols like the 10X Genomics platform or Drop-Seq which generate cDNA pools in which the origin of a transcript is encoded at its 5' or 3' end. These cDNA pools are most often analyzed by short read Illumina sequencing which can identify the cellular origin of a transcript and what gene it was transcribed from. However, these methods fail to retrieve isoform information. In principle, cDNA pools prepared using these approaches can be analyzed with Pacific Biosciences and Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencers to retrieve isoform information but current implementations rely heavily on Illumina short-reads for analysis in addition to long reads. Here, we used R2C2 to sequence and demultiplex 12 million full-length cDNA molecules generated by the 10X Chromium platform from ∼3000 peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). We used these reads to – independent from Illumina data – cluster cells into B cells, T cells, and Monocytes and generate isoform-level transcriptomes for these cell types. We also generated isoform-level transcriptomes for all single cells and used this information to identify a wide range of isoform diversity between genes. Finally, we also designed a computational workflow to extract paired adaptive immune receptors – T cell receptor and B cell receptor (TCR and BCR) – sequences unique to each T and B cell. This work represents a new, simple, and powerful approach that – using a single sequencing method – can extract an unprecedented amount of information from thousands of single cells.


This paper presents a decision support system (DSS) for making the waste collection process more sustainable. Currently, waste collection schedules and routes are created manually in most waste management organizations. This is both very time consuming and likely to result in poor solutions, as the task is extremely difficult due to the large number of bins combined with the many parameters to be considered simultaneously. With a sophisticated DSS, it becomes possible to address the complexities of optimal waste collection and improve sustainability—not least from the environmental perspective. The DSS proposed here is designed to be used on the operational level in the waste management organization and supports daily operations and activities. System evaluation indicates that it can reduce truck operating time by approximately 25%, corresponding to a saving of approximately 21,300 kg of carbon dioxide and 187 kg of nitrogen oxides per year and truck.


The current thesis sought to extend the work of Stewart, Barnes-Holmes,
Roche, and Smeets (2002) who reported that competing non-arbitrary stimulus
relations disrupted equivalence-consistent responding in adult humans. Chapter 1
provides a review of research into stimulus equivalence, derived relational
responding, and notes that the Colour-Test condition presented in the Stewart et al.
(2002) study shared many features of tests traditionally used to measure executive
function (EF). An introduction is also provided to cognitive theories of EF.
The study presented in Chapter 2 provides support for Stewart et al. (2002)
and reports that participants who were trained with black stimuli but tested with
coloured stimuli showed lower levels of equivalence-consistent responding relative to
other groups. Results also showed that while training with coloured stimuli is
effective in undermining colour as a source of non-arbitrary stimulus control,
exemplar training with black stimuli is shown not to be effective in undermining nonarbitrary
stimulus control across stimulus sets. However, when exemplar training is
combined with colour training participants produced the highest levels of
equivalence-consistent responding
Chapter 3 reports a study in which normally developing young children were
presented with a table top match-to-sample training and testing procedure modified to
make it appropriate to the abilities of this younger population. The modifications
required participants to demonstrate criterion levels of equivalence with familiar
stimuli and with novel stimuli coloured black prior to the introduction of a competing
colour relation. All participants readily demonstrated equivalence-consistent
responding with black stimuli and, critically, maintained equivalence when a
competing colour relation was introduced.
Chapter 4 presents two studies using a participant population of young
children diagnosed with autism. Study 1 employed a reduced training and testing
procedure but the participant failed to demonstrate equivalence class formation in any
test condition. However, when six participants diagnosed with autism were
subsequently exposed to the full training and testing procedures in Study 2, all six
participants demonstrate equivalence-class formation with black stimuli. Critically,
five of the six participants failed to maintain equivalence when a competing colour
relation was introduced during testing, showing clear disruption from the competing
colour relation.
Chapter 5 presents a number of studies that sought to determine if training
with coloured stimuli would remediate the disruption of equivalence observed for the
five participants who completed Study 2 reported in Chapter 4. Study 1 demonstrated
that colour training was effective in undermining non-arbitrary stimulus control
within the same stimulus set for all participants. Subsequent studies showed that all
participants maintained equivalence-consistent responding in the presence of
competing colour relations across new sets of novel stimuli.
Chapter 6 then describes two studies that sought to determine if undermining
colour as a source of non-arbitrary stimulus control would also facilitate participants
in maintaining equivalence in the presence of other sources of competing nonarbitrary
stimulus control. Study 1 showed that participants successfully maintained
equivalence-consistent responding when a competing shape relation was introduced
and Study 2 showed that two participants also maintained equivalence when both
shape and colour relations were simultaneously introduced during testing.
The studies presented in Chapter 7 employed two experimentally naive
participants and demonstrated that competing shape relations disrupted equivalence
class formation when introduced during testing. Subsequent studies showed that shape
training was effective in undermining shape as a source of non-arbitrary stimulus
control and participants maintained equivalence when a competing colour relation
was subsequently introduced.
Chapter 8 provides a summary of the findings in the current research
programme and considers a number of methodological and conceptual issues arising
from the studies, identifying possible weaknesses and questions that could be targeted
in future research. The relationship between the current research and the cognitive
concept of EF is also considered and clarified. Finally, it is concluded that further
research into competing non-arbitrary stimulus control over derived relational
responding may be important in understanding and treating deficits associated with
autism.


Background Obtaining collateral information from a patient is an essential component of providing effective psychiatric and psychotherapeutic care. Research indicates that patients' social and electronic media contains information relevant to their psychotherapy and clinical care. However, it remains unclear to what degree this content is being actively utilized by clinicians as a part of diagnosis or therapy. Moreover, clinicians' attitudes around this practice have not been well characterized. Objective This survey aimed to establish the current attitudes and behaviors of outpatient clinicians regarding the incorporation of patients' social and electronic media into psychotherapy. Methods A Web-based survey was sent to outpatient psychotherapists associated with McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. The survey asked clinicians to indicate to what extent and with which patients they reviewed patients' social and electronic media content as part of their clinical practice, as well as their reasons for or against doing so. Results Of the total 115 respondents, 71 (61.7%) indicated that they had viewed at least one patient's social or electronic media as part of psychotherapy, and 65 of those 71 (92%) endorsed being able to provide more effective treatment as a result of this information. The use of either short message service text messages or email was significantly greater than the use of other electronic media platforms (χ21=24.1, n=115, P<.001). Moreover, the analysis of survey responses found patterns of use associated with clinicians' years of experience and patient demographics, including age and primary diagnosis. Conclusions The incorporation of patients' social and electronic media into therapy is currently common practice among clinicians at a large psychiatric teaching hospital. The results of this survey have informed further questions about whether reviewing patient's media impacts the quality and efficacy of clinical care.


The article analyzes the concept of a document as juridical category. It is necessary to clarify the essence of the document as juridical category for the proper qualification of acts connected with falsification of the documents. In the Criminal Code (further – CC) that entered into force on May 1st 2003, the features describing the document were refused, which, on essence, would have to alter qualification of criminal acts connected with falsification of the documents. The difficulties may arise due to the fact that the object of document falsification action's composition – the order of control – was not altered. The article analyzes the object and subject of the above mentioned activity's composition, their impact on the proper qualification of the activity. The author present the new outlook of discussed object of criminal activity composition, which she connects with the content of the document. Such conception of the object has helped to find more suitable definition of the object; thus, the article provides the proposal regarding the clarification of the title of XLIII part of CC. Apart from that, the article discusses the role of the document in qualification of the criminal acts connected with falsification of the document.


This exegesis is an
attempt to explore how the quantum theory of the observer effect and quantum
mechanical models of reality (for example wave/particle duality) can be used as
inspiration for the construction of sculpture. After briefly summarizing the
observer effect and quantum physics, I discuss how artists have been influenced
by science, in particular quantum physics to create work which challenge our
view of the world. I look at how the act of perception is a subjective
experience and go on to discuss my own experiments in sculpture, using the
concept of the observer effect as a conceptual paradigm.


With the increasing population and aging society in several countries, healthcare providers aim to enhance the quality of the healthcare services while balancing the risk mitigation and service cost. Therefore, several new information technologies and innovative communication methodologies have evolved to improve the healthcare sector. ICT-based technologies help in decreasing the healthcare system overhead and increasing the quality of healthcare services. These technologies may include biosensors, computer aided diagnosis, Wireless Body Sensor Network (WBSN), mobile health, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), cloud computing, communication protocols, electronic medical records, big data, and internet of things (IoT). Therefore, the complexity of healthcare systems has increased dramatically during the last two decades. Despite having several approaches developed for testing and verification of healthcare systems, ICT related medical incidents that led into losses of money, time, reputation, and in certain cases, lives, still happen frequently. It is believed that healthcare systems do not get enough testing and verification before being put into use, even though they are considered safety critical systems. This is due to the high cost of testing, short time to marker, and the lack of proper testing and verification techniques in the literature. Design errors, system usage problems, design reliability issues, compliance Issues, system failure and vulnerabilities in eHealth care system can lead to critical conditions or even death.

The special issue publishes three papers that extended from papers presented at IEEE Healthcom 2015, in addition to two new submitted papers. The first paper in this issue by Pervez et al. titled Improvement Strategies for Device Interoperability Middleware (DIM) using Formal Reliability analysis, where the authors used probabilistic model checker PRISM for analyzing Device Interoperability Middleware (DIM).The second paper by Bhardwaj and Prasad is titled PRAVAH: Parameterised Information Flow Control in e-Health.The authors addressed the problem of enforcing information flow control (IFC) in hospital domains in eHealth systems using a parameterised lattice-based IFC framework called PRAVAH. The third paper by Ayache et al. is titled Analysis and verification of XACML policies in a medical cloud environment. The authors presented a Cloud Policy Verification Service (CPVS) for the analysis and the verification of access control policies specified using XACML. The fourth paper by Sadki and Bakkali is titled Resolving conflicting privacy policies in m-health based on prioritization. The authors presented resent an approach to resolve the problem of conflicting privacy policies in mobile health environments using AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) prioritization technique and reputation mechanism. The fifth paper by Gawanmeh et al. is titled Formal Analysis of a Microfluidic Device for Blood Cell Separation. The authors used formal analysis in order to formalize and validate the movement of blood cells in a microdevice under different forces for the purpose of cell separation.

We would like to thank the editorial board of SCPE for the efforts they made to make this special issue, and all the reviewers for their efforts and feedback.


In the last 2 decades, Belgium has experienced more monthly extremes than in any other decade since observations began in 1833. During the past 60 yr, yields have increased, on average, by 0.1 t ha -1 yr -1 for winter cereals, 0.4 t ha -1 yr -1 for potato and 0.6 t ha -1 yr -1 for sugar beet. A total of 60 to 74% of the variability in yields between 1960 and 2008 was explained by meteorological vari- ables. Multivariate analysis showed significant statistical relationships between yield and vapour- pressure deficit, temperature and growing season length, and water logging and drought. These vari- ables were therefore included in a new regional dynamic crop model (REGCROP) developed to assess climate impacts on regional arable crop production. Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiencies were between 0.68 and 0.84 between simulated and observed national yields for the period 1960-2008. REGCROP was subsequently run for 3 climate change scenarios and 3 typical Belgian soils (clay, loam and loamy sand) and climate impacts were compared with historical weather impacts (1960-1989). Higher temperatures increase crop development and shorten the growing season. Strong projected changes in seasonality affect cumulative drainage for both winter and summer crops and result in a drier water balance regime with climate change. Average yield losses of 12 to 27% were simulated for sugar beet and 23 to 44% for potatoes owing to drought and heat stress. Projected losses for win- ter cereals are 5 to 12%, mainly owing to waterlogging, whereas yield increases up to 6 or 7% are projected as a result of temperature increases and favourable vapour-pressure deficits.


China's rapid growth over almost 30 years and its consistent forest data across 28 provinces provide an unusual opportunity to examine frequently discussed questions about macroeconomic and population impacts on the forest. The data support a theoretical argument for separating forests into four components, managed and natural forests administered by either state or private agents. Our regressions suggest 1) cautious optimism for a restrictive dual to Malthusian arguments about population—that is, declining rural populations may go hand-in-hand with forest recovery; and 2) more confident support for a variation of the environmental Kuznets curve for forests; that is, as incomes rise, the natural forest is first drawn down, then, when incomes rise above some level, the natural forest begins to recover. As incomes continue to rise, the managed forest eventually grows even more rapidly and offsets any continuing draw on the natural forest, with an aggregate impact of net expansion for all forests, managed and natural combined. The question that must arise is whether these environmentally satisfying results for China would be prove to be global—if comparable forest data were available elsewhere.


Wrongful conviction ought to be an aberration for any system of criminal punishment tied to legal adjudication; certainly in a system such as we have in the United States, premised on the constitutional bedrock of requiring a jury to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt (Sandstrom v. Montana). We suggest, however, that during the so-called wars on crime and drugs, wrongful convictions are no longer mere aberrations, any more than is holding to the end of hostilities captured members of an enemy army. Specifically, we hypothesize that these two "fronts" in two parallel national "wars" have transformed police practices in such a way that both homicide and drug crimes have become likely centers of concentration of some form of wrongful conviction.In this chapter, we begin by discussing the war on crime and the war on drugs. We then discuss the ways in which these wars have transformed American policing and have served to promote wrongful conviction. We conclude the chapter by suggesting that we need political signals and institutional reforms, not just better methods and ad hoc individual correction. Only by clearly ending these wars — and their "state of emergency" like signal to both frontline enforcers and citizens — can we restore the state of affairs in which wrongful conviction returns to being an aberration in our criminal justice system and a problem subject to effective technical and tactical solutions. Given that personal exoneration is neither practical nor likely for most individuals, we suggest broader policies are required.


Detention as part of migration control is sometimes portrayed as a 'necessary adjunct' of the state's power to control immigration. This characterization is a masking device, obscuring the grounds of detention (or the lack thereof) from proper scrutiny. It has convincingly been argued that human rights law fails to scrutinize the necessity of immigration detention. Many scholars have pointed out the anomalous approach to assessing the legal justifications for immigration detention, compared with other forms of deprivation of liberty, which are more powerfully constrained by human rights law. Yet, cogent as this critique is, it sometimes fails to interrogate the related questions concerning the legal grounds of detention. A ground is a particular form of legal reason, which both explains and justifies the official action in question. By examining the question of grounds, this article aims to elucidate the manner in which immigration law itself produces reasons to detain, and by doing so creates detainable subjects, migrants. Basic liberty-protective principles and practices developed in other areas of law are notably absent. This state of affairs is not inevitable, and legal alternatives are within reach.


The pemphigoid group is a category of autoimmune subepidermal blistering diseases in which autoantibodies deposit linearly at the epidermal basement membrane zone (BMZ). The main subtypes of pemphigoid mediated by immunoglobulin G autoantibodies are bullous pemphigoid (BP), mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) and epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA). To establish the first guidelines approved by the Japanese Dermatological Association for the management of pemphigoid diseases, the Committee for Guidelines for the Management of Pemphigoid Diseases (Including EBA) was founded as part of the Study Group for Rare Intractable Skin Diseases under the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare Research Project on Overcoming Intractable Diseases. These guidelines aim to provide current information for the management of BP, MMP and EBA in Japan. Based on evidence, the guidelines summarize the clinical and immunological manifestations, pathophysiologies, diagnostic criteria, disease severity determination criteria, treatment algorithms and treatment recommendations. Because of the rarity of these diseases, there are few clinical studies with a high degree of evidence, so several parts of these guidelines were established based on the opinions of the Committee. To further optimize these guidelines, periodic revision in line with the new evidence is necessary.


In a wide variety of international macro models monetary policy cooperation is optimal, non-cooperative policies are inefficient, but optimal policies can be attained noncooperatively by optimal design of domestic institutions. We show that given endogenous instititional design, inefficiencies of noncooperation cannot and will not be eliminated. Credible contracts are introduced as the contracts that would be chosen by the governments based on their individual rationality. These will be inefficient when compared to the optimal ones. Implementation of the latter implicity embeds an assumption about cooperation at the delegation stage, which is inconsistent with the advocated non-cooperative nature of the solution. A general solution method for credible contracts and an example from international monetary policy cooperation are considered. Our results could explain some inefficiencies of existing delegation schemes and hint to a stronger coordinating role for supranational authorities in international policy coordination.


Introduction There is great variation in the knowledge base of Emergency Medicine (EM) interns in July. The first objective knowledge assessment during residency does not occur until eight months later, in February, when the American Board of EM (ABEM) administers the in-training examination (ITE). In 2013, the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) released the EM Advanced Clinical Examination (EM-ACE), an assessment intended for fourth-year medical students. Administration of the EM-ACE to interns at the start of residency may provide an earlier opportunity to assess the new EM residents' knowledge base. The primary objective of this study was to determine the correlation of the NBME EM-ACE, given early in residency, with the EM ITE. Secondary objectives included determination of the correlation of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 or 2 scores with early intern EM-ACE and ITE scores and the effect, if any, of clinical EM experience on examination correlation. Methods This was a multi-institutional, observational study. Entering EM interns at six residencies took the EM-ACE in July 2013 and the ABEM ITE in February 2014. We collected scores for the EM-ACE and ITE, age, gender, weeks of clinical EM experience in residency prior to the ITE, and USMLE Step 1 and 2 scores. Pearson's correlation and linear regression were performed. Results Sixty-two interns took the EM-ACE and the ITE. The Pearson's correlation coefficient between the ITE and the EM-ACE was 0.62. R-squared was 0.5 (adjusted 0.4). The coefficient of determination was 0.41 (95% CI [0.3–0.8]). For every increase of one in the scaled EM-ACE score, we observed a 0.4% increase in the EM in-training score. In a linear regression model using all available variables (EM-ACE, gender, age, clinical exposure to EM, and USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 scores), only the EM-ACE score was significantly associated with the ITE (p<0.05). We observed significant colinearity among the EM-ACE, ITE and USMLE scores. Gender, age and number of weeks of EM prior to the ITE had no effect on the relationship between EM-ACE and the ITE. Conclusion Given early during intern year, the EM-ACE score showed positive correlation with ITE. Clinical EM experience prior to the in-training exam did not affect the correlation.


The majority of literature concerning carers of people with acquired brain injury (ABI) concentrates on the negative consequences. Knowledge of post-traumatic growth (PTG) and positive gain from caring is expanding in the literature. The aim of this study was to explore the experience and report of PTG in carers of people with ABI.

Chapter 2 looked at the self-report of PTG, positive and negative changes in relation to coping and mental health symptoms. The results of thirty-six carers suggest that carers will report at least one positive change as a result of being a carer. However, a stronger relationship between negative than positive changes for mental health symptoms and maladaptive coping.

The experiences of being a wife of someone with ABI were further explored in Chapter 3. Thematic analysis using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyse interviews of wives' experiences and report of PTG. The themes identified relate to adjustment, coping and the life domains associated with PTG, in particular to interpersonal relationships and philosophy of life.

Consideration of informal carers led to speculation of the motivations of professional carers, including psychological therapists. A literature review (Chapter 1) was conducted of the empirical evidence describing the influence of personality and family of origin on choice of career as a psychological therapist. The results are discussed in relation to methodological limitations, clinical implications and future directions for research.

Chapter 4 offers reflections on the process of carrying out research and the impact, particularly of qualitative research, on the researcher. Some clinical implications from Chapters 2 and 3 are expanded to that contained within the chapters.


Wheat amylase trypsin inhibitors (ATIs) represent a common dietary protein component of gluten-containing cereals (wheat, rye, and barley). They act as toll-like receptor 4 ligands, and are largely resistant to intestinal proteases, eliciting a mild inflammatory response within the intestine after oral ingestion. Importantly, nutritional ATIs exacerbated inflammatory bowel disease and features of fatty liver disease and the metabolic syndrome in mice. For Alzheimer's disease (AD), both inflammation and altered insulin resistance are major contributing factors, impacting onset as well as progression of this devastating brain disorder in patients. In this study, we evaluated the impact of dietary ATIs on a well-known rodent model of AD (5xFAD). We assessed metabolic, behavioral, inflammatory, and microbial changes in mice consuming different dietary regimes with and without ATIs, consumed ad libitum for eight weeks. We demonstrate that ATIs, with or without a gluten matrix, had an impact on the metabolism and gut microbiota of 5xFAD mice, aggravating pathological hallmarks of AD. If these findings can be translated to patients, an ATI-depleted diet might offer an alternative therapeutic option for AD and warrants clinical intervention studies.


To investigate the effects of disease and intensive chemotherapy on bone turnover and growth in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a longitudinal prospective study was carried out in 22 children, aged 1.2-13.5 yr, enrolled in the Medical Research Council-funded randomized trial of childhood ALL treatment in the UK. We measured lower leg length and markers of bone formation [bone alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and procollagen type I C-terminal propeptide (PICP)], bone resorption [pyridinoline, deoxypyridinoline, and carboxyl-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP)], soft tissue turnover [procollagen type III N-terminal propeptide (P3NP)], and the GH axis [IGF-I, IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), IGFBP-2, and urinary GH] at 1- to 4-week intervals from diagnosis to week 27 of treatment. In addition, GH-binding protein was measured at diagnosis. At diagnosis, mean SD scores were: bone ALP, -1.84; PICP -1.77; pyridinoline, -1.42; deoxypyridinoline, -1.66; ICTP, -0.42; P3NP, +1.45; GH, +24.4; IGF-I, -1.70; IGFBP-3, -0.88; IGFBP-2, +2.42; and GH-binding protein, -0.69. Bone ALP, PICP, and IGFBP-3 were all correlated (P < or = 0.03). During induction and intensification, there was shrinkage of the lower leg, with decreases in PICP, pyridinoline, ICTP, and P3NP (P < 0.05), whereas IGF-I and IGFBP-3 increased (P < 0.05). After prednisolone was discontinued, bone ALP and collagen markers increased markedly (P < 0.01), but there was no significant change in IGF-I and IGFBP-3. In 12 children who received high dose i.v. methotrexate, postglucocorticoid increases in bone ALP and PICP were less, whereas those in ICTP and P3NP were greater, compared to levels in children who did not receive methotrexate (P < 0.05). We conclude that ALL itself caused GH resistance and low bone turnover. During early intensive chemotherapy, further suppression of osteoblast proliferation and osteoclast activity occurred, not mediated through the systemic GH axis, probably by the direct action of prednisolone on bone. The postglucocorticoid increase in bone turnover was also independent of the GH axis and was modulated by high dose i.v. methotrexate, which depressed osteoblast recovery and enhanced osteoclast activity.


As software projects become more complex, there is an increased focus on their analysis and testing. Detecting software faults is a problem of major importance for improving the quality of the software development related processes and the efficiency of the software testing process. In order to detect faults in existing software systems, we introduce in this paper a novel approach, based on fuzzy self-organizing feature maps. A fuzzy map will be trained, using unsupervised learning, to provide a two-dimensional representation of the faulty and non-faulty entities from a software system and it will be able to identify if a software module is or not a defective one. Five open-source case studies are used for the experimental evaluation of our approach. The obtained results are better than most of the results already reported in the literature for the considered datasets and emphasize that a fuzzy self-organizing map is more efficient than a crisp one for the case studies used for evaluation.


Unpaved resource roads have the potential to produce large amounts of sediment and can negatively impact water quality and aquatic ecology. In order to better understand the dominant controls on sediment generation from unpaved resource roads, we did 23 large‐scale rainfall simulation experiments on a road section in the Honna Watershed, Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada. The experiments were performed with different rainfall intensities (4–52 mm/h), with and without traffic. Precipitation intensity was the dominant control on the amount of sediment generated from the road surface; the total mass of sediment increased linearly with precipitation intensity. The number of passages of loaded logging trucks during an experiment was the second most dominant control on the total amount of sediment generated from the road surface. Elevated sediment concentrations in road surface runoff persisted for 30 min following the passage of loaded logging trucks during low intensity (<8 mm/h) rainfall events and for much shorter periods at higher rainfall intensities. The mass of sediment generated by the passage of a loaded truck increased with precipitation intensity. Passages of empty logging truck did not result in sediment pulses, except during very high rainfall intensities. Seven small‐scale rainfall simulation experiments on other parts of the road, however, highlight the large spatial variability in sediment production from the road surface, suggesting additional experiments are required to better describe and predict sediment production from different road sections.


This qualitative study explored the perceptions and experiences of students with college support services. The researcher identified and presented training for students who had been involved with student support services for more than one academic year, to act as focus group facilitators. Another group of students who had received support services for less than one academic year, was involved in the study as focus group participants. Two general themes and five subthemes emerged from the data analysis. These include the general theme Supportive Campus Environment (three subthemes: feeling isolated and alone; open academic and personal support; and visibility/availability of support services), and the general theme Student-Faculty/Staff Interaction (two subthemes: concerns with stigma; awareness and empathy). Data derived from the focus group sessions clearly demonstrates that interaction with faculty and staff and the visibility and availability of services are vital toward enhancing the use of support services. Additionally, obstacles such as time constraints, awareness of services, and concerns with stigmatization present barriers to seeking service. The findings of this research are compared to similar, important studies previously conducted in Alberta, Toronto, and Surrey, United Kingdom in order to draw significant conclusions about potential opportunities to create student centered support services.


This paper describes the wide temperature range operation of an electroabsorption modulator (EAM) integrated with DFB laser diodes (LDs) (EML) designed to reduce the power consumption and size of optical transmitters. We optimized the multiquantum wells (MQWs) for LD and EAM separately to realize uncooled operation. We employed a conduction band offset (¿Ec) of around 250 meV for the LD and 150 meV for the EAM. The number of well layers was set at 6 for the LD and 12 for the EAM, respectively. We fabricated the EML using a butt-joint (BJ) process to allow us to design the LD and the EAM independently. We introduced a ridge waveguide structure for the LD and EAM waveguides, and designed the width of the LD and EAM mesa to achieve a high optical coupling efficiency between the LD and the EAM. We then used the 200-¿ m-long EAM for 10-Gb/s operation and the 150- ¿m-long EAM for 40-Gb/s operation, and thus obtained a dynamic extinction ratio of over 9 dB at 10 Gb/s from -25 °C to 100 °C and of 8.2 dB at 40 Gb/s from -15 to 80°C. We achieved a power penalty of less than 2 dB after an 80-km single-mode fiber (SMF) transmission at 10 Gb/s and a 2-km SMF transmission at 40 Gb/s over a wide temperature range. These results confirm the suitability of this EML with a BJ structure for use as a 10-Gb/s or 40-Gb/s uncooled light source.


The influence of non-native pollen, both long-distance transported and from introduced taxa, on reconstruction of past vegetation is not often well quantified in palynological investigations. We examined both fossil and modern samples from the Galápagos Islands, a remote archipelago lying 1000 km from the nearest continent. These islands are particularly well-suited for such an assessment, as (1) the native flora is limited and well-known, enabling increased taxonomic resolution within the palynological record, and (2) human impact in the Galápagos started after discovery by Europeans in 1535, allowing clear distinctions to be made between native and introduced taxa. Pollen samples were collected from five profiles in the Galápagos and grouped in (a) a pre-human-impact period, (b) an early human-impact period after c. 1535, and (c) a late human-impact period after c. 1973 when the introduced Cinchona pubescens tree started to expand. Introduced taxa accounted for approximately 10% of total pollen (excluding Cyperaceae) throughout the human-impact periods and long-distance transported pollen for approximately 5%. Twenty pollen taxa of introduced plants were found. Cinchona, which grows abundantly near the study sites, accounted for most of the introduced pollen, but an appreciable part also came from introduced plants growing in low numbers and at more distant locations within the archipelago. Total long-distance transported pollen (35 taxa) increased from 3% of total pollen in the pre-human-impact period to 5% in the human-impact periods, probably due to destruction of native vegetation through fire and thus reduction of local pollen production. These phenomena might lead to erroneous interpretation of local plant occurrence when the native/non-native or local/extra-local status of plants is not known.


The Jobs Model of presidential election forecasting predicted well in 2004. The model, based on data available in August 2004, generated an error of only 1.3 percentage points when forecasting the incumbent share of the two-party popular vote (Lewis-Beck and Tien 2004). In contrast, the median forecast from seven teams of statistical modelers was off 2.6 percentage points (Campbell 2004, 734). We believe that the Jobs Model was more accurate because it broadened measurement of economic performance, a conceptual variable lying at the core of most of these efforts. Take, as a representative example, the Growth Model in Table 1, Column 1. Its forecast for George W. Bush was 54.0% (almost exactly at the median for the above-mentioned group of forecasters). This model was earlier reported by us, but rejected on grounds of specification error (Lewis-Beck and Tien 2004, 754). We argued that the changing nature of the American economy required attention to a hitherto neglected variable—job creation. When this variable, new jobs over the presidential term, is added to the Growth Model, the fit statistics improve dramatically (see Table 1, Column 2,).


Background: Recent reports from quality improvement registries revealed high antiplatelet and anticoagulant use within 24 h of hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction (AMI).
Objective: To produce an unbiased national estimate of the use of antiplatelets and anticoagulants during visits to the emergency department (ED) for AMI.
Methods: Data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey for AMI visits from 2002 to 2010 were analyzed. The complex survey design was taken into consideration to ensure that reliable national estimates were produced.
Results: During the study period, there were 3,825,905±308,534 estimated eligible ED visits for AMI. Acetylsalicylic acid was not used in 55.5±2.9%, 55.7±4.0% and 55.2±4.8% of visits in 2002 to 2004, 2005 to 2007 and 2008 to 2010, respectively (Ptrend=0.96). The nonuse of thienopyridine or glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors (GPI) decreased during this period (92.9±1.4%, 88.1±2.6% and 83.4±3.4%, respectively; Ptrend=0.001). Anticoagulant nonuse did not change (72.1±2.6%, 68.0±3.7% and 65.5±4.4%, respectively; Ptrend=0.14). Even in definitive AMI visits, nonuse was high (acetylsalicylic acid, 48.7±4.5%, 44.7±6.2% and 55.6±5.6%, respectively, Ptrend=0.31; thienopyridine/GPI, 81.9%±3.4%, 77.0±5.0% and 71.1±5.5%, respectively, Ptrend=0.001; and anticoagulants, 49.3±9.6%, 47.1±7.1% and 45.3±6.20%, respectively, Ptrend=0.24). ED visits in a metropolitan statistical area were more likely to receive acetylsalicylic acid (OR 2.27 [95% CI 1.02 to 5.09]) and anticoagulants (OR 3.34 [95% CI 1.54 to 7.24]). Similarly, visits evaluated by a consulting physician were more likely to receive thienopyridine/GPI (OR 2.24 [95% CI 1.22 to 4.13]) and anticoagulants (OR 1.73 [95% CI 1.14 to 2.63]).
Conclusion: In a significant proportion of AMI visits, including definitive AMI, antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapies were not administered in the ED.


Objective: To compare sedation efficacy and parent/consultant satisfaction between standard sedation, sedation with music listening, and sedation with Certified Child life Specialists (CCLS) in children undergoing procedural sedation in the Pediatric Emergency Department (PED). Methods: Eligible children, aged 3 - 18 years, were randomly allocated to one of 3 groups: 1) standard sedation; 2) sedation with music listening; 3) sedation with CCLS intervention. All 3 groups received intravenous ketamine. The child life group received age appropriate comforting measures, while the music group listened to music of their choice during the procedure. The primary outcome was sedation efficacy, measured by Ramsay Sedation scale, FACES-P scale and need for re-dosing. The secondary outcome was parent/consultant satisfaction. Results: Fifty nine patients were analyzed (standard sedation: 20; sedation with music listening: 20; and sedation with CCLS: 19). There was no significant difference in mean initial ketamine dosing (1.58 ± 0.44 vs. 1.68 ± 0.36 vs. 1.42 ± 0.47, p = 0.26). There was no significant difference in median Ramsay Sedation scores [6(IQR:4,6) vs. 6 (IQR:4,6) vs. 6 (IQR:5,6)], FACES-R pain score [0 (IQR:0.0) vs. 0 (IQR:0.0) vs. 0 (IQR:0.0)] and need for re-dosing [9/20 (45%) vs. 4/20 (20%) vs. 8/19 (42.1%)] amongst the 3 groups. Parent and consultant satisfaction was high in all 3 groups. Conclusion: Our pilot study did not demonstrate a difference in sedation efficacy or parent/consultant satisfaction when adjunct therapies were used during PSA. Further studies with a large sample size are needed to define the role for such adjunct therapies during procedural sedation in PED.


We compare machine learning methods applied to a difficult real-world problem: predicting computer hard-drive failure using attributes monitored internally by individual drives. The problem is one of detecting rare events in a time series of noisy and nonparametrically-distributed data. We develop a new algorithm based on the multiple-instance learning framework and the naive Bayesian classifier (mi-NB) which is specifically designed for the low false-alarm case, and is shown to have promising performance. Other methods compared are support vector machines (SVMs), unsupervised clustering, and non-parametric statistical tests (rank-sum and reverse arrangements). The failure-prediction performance of the SVM, rank-sum and mi-NB algorithm is considerably better than the threshold method currently implemented in drives, while maintaining low false alarm rates. Our results suggest that nonparametric statistical tests should be considered for learning problems involving detecting rare events in time series data. An appendix details the calculation of rank-sum significance probabilities in the case of discrete, tied observations, and we give new recommendations about when the exact calculation should be used instead of the commonly-used normal approximation. These normal approximations may be particularly inaccurate for rare event problems like hard drive failures.


The University of California, Santa Cruz, Genome Browser Database (GBD) provides integrated sequence and annotation data for a large collection of vertebrate and model organism genomes. Seventeen new assemblies have been added to the database in the past year, for a total coverage of 19 vertebrate and 21 invertebrate species as of September 2007. For each assembly, the GBD contains a collection of annotation data aligned to the genomic sequence. Highlights of this year's additions include a 28-species human-based vertebrate conservation annotation, an enhanced UCSC Genes set, and more human variation, MGC, and ENCODE data. The database is optimized for fast interactive performance with a set of web-based tools that may be used to view, manipulate, filter and download the annotation data. New toolset features include the Genome Graphs tool for displaying genome-wide data sets, session saving and sharing, better custom track management, expanded Genome Browser configuration options and a Genome Browser wiki site. The downloadable GBD data, the companion Genome Browser toolset and links to documentation and related information can be found at: http://genome.ucsc.edu/.


Hydrocephalus is usually the result of obstruction to cerebrospinal fluid flow. The aetiology may be congenital as in Arnold-Chiari malformation, or acquired as in brain tumours or intraventricular haemorrhage. The incidence of hydrocephalus is between 0.3-1.5 per 100 live births in the United States. Ventriculomegaly alone occurs in approximately 0.5-2 per 100 live births. Surgical correction involves draining fluid from the ventricular system to one of three places: peritoneum, atrium, or the pleural cavity. The most common choice is a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. As the child grows, the shunts often require replacement or revision making ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement or revision, one of the most common pediatric neurosurgical procedures.


Privacy-preserving record linkage aims at integrating personrelated data from different sources while protecting the privacy of individuals by securely encoding and matching quasi-identifying attributes, like names. For this purpose Bloom-filter-based encodings have been frequently used in both research and practical applications. Simultaneously, however, weaknesses and attack scenarios were identified emphasizing that Bloom filters are in principal susceptible to cryptanalysis. To counteract such attacks, various encoding variants and tweaks, also known as hardening techniques, have been proposed. Usually, these techniques bear a trade-off between privacy (security) and the linkage quality outcome. Currently, a comprehensive evaluation of the suggested hardening methods is not available. In this work, we will therefore review and categorize available Bloom-filter-based encoding schemes and hardening techniques. We also comprehensively evaluate the approaches in terms of privacy (security) and linkage quality to assess their practicability and their effectiveness in counteracting attacks.


Background & Aims of the Study: Due to one-way flow of water in rivers Guilan, pollution trade theory and the system of Ratio-Trade (TRS) and Streeter - Phelps equation has been used. This system, with a view of the river self- purification and how the distribution and transport of pollutants, determined Ratio-Trade system (TRS) between the units and using this method offers optimal pattern of pollution trade between emissions units. Materials & Methods: Generally implementation of pollution trading plan was performed using transmission coefficient in the study area in 5 stages: zonation of the study area, qualitative changes in the dissolved oxygen (DO) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD 5 ) along the Langeroud river, defining the standard total output load for each region and the initial allocation between the emission sources, defining the transmission coefficients between the emission sources and different regions, trading ratio model (TRS) Results: Proving the implementation of pollution trading implementation in the urban and industrail units wastewaters in Langeroud and offering the buy and selling plan among these units, traditional livestock laughter unit will produce 30 m 3 /day, Langeroud urban sewage produces 15705 m 3 /day and the tanning unit produces 18 m 3 /day waste water daily. Conclusions: The cost of Emissions trading differs between countries because the Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MAC) — the cost of eliminating an additional unit of pollution — differs by country. It is expected that trade can only function and contribute to the improvement of water quality when it is considered a cheaper option, i.e. cheaper than the violation of a permit limit.


This study examines the effects of English Learner (EL) status on subsequent Special Education (SPED) placement. Through a research-practice partnership, we link student demographic data and initial English proficiency assessment data across seven cohorts of test takers and observe EL and SPED programmatic participation for these students over seven years. Our regression discontinuity estimates consistently differ substantively from results generated through regression analyses. We find evidence that the effect of EL status on SPED placement was either null or tied to slight under-identification. Our results suggest that under-identification occurred two years after EL classification. We also find that EL status led to under-identification for Spanish speakers and proportionate representation for Mandarin/Cantonese speakers and speakers of all other languages. ABSTRACT AUTHORS


The increasing number and complexity of research platforms and respective devices and sensors along with heterogeneous project-driven requirements towards satellite communication, sensor monitoring, quality assessment and control, processing, analysis and visualization has recently lead us to build a generic and cost-effective framework (O2A) to enable the flow of sensor observations to archives. O2A is comprised of several extensible and exchangeable components as well as various interoperability services and is meant to offer practical solutions towards supporting the typical scientific workflow ranging from data acquisition activities until the very last data publication activities. The web-based sensor monitoring component built within O2A offers a dashboard-oriented approach for displaying near real-time and delayed-mode sensor output parameters including simultaneous map and diagram viewing. This module allows project administrators and data specialists to monitor individual sensors in near real-time as well as to view the data values within a wished temporal range and/or geographical coverage. Additional examples of O2A components are the AWI-specific SensorML profile and raw data ingest solutions, the various data workspace areas and dispatcher middleware, the GIS infrastructure, and the ticket and data curation system as central hub supporting the final data publication activity. Finally, in the context of the large-scale multi-disciplinary project "Frontiers of Arctic Monitoring" Project (FRAM), we illustrate how the proposed O2A framework will assist scientists in developing enhanced data products and facilitate data re-use in the future.


Climate scientists and policy analysts alike have repeatedly called for urgent mitigating action to avoid the most adverse effects of climate change. However, within the political arena this action is largely lacking. To understand this discrepancy, we consider the institutions in climate change policy to be of central importance. Renewed interest in institutions has been generated to a great extent by 'new institutionalism', a field of research combining economics, political science, and sociology, and which has become increasingly popular since the 1980s. The tendency of institutions to resist change and thereby stabilize policy can be understood by using the concept of institutional inertia. Our review of the new institutionalist literature on climate change identifies five main mechanisms that generate institutional inertia: costs, uncertainty, path dependence, power, and legitimacy. Means of addressing these mechanisms are proposed by referring to the literature on institutional entrepreneurship and institutional work. A focus on the mechanisms that generate and regenerate institutional inertia is beneficial for future research on institutions and climate change, as it can be used to study bottlenecks for action and address more clearly the urgency of necessary policy interventions. WIREs Clim Change 2014, 5:639–648. doi: 10.1002/wcc.292


Several studies have identified the factors that cause public deficits in industrial democracies. They consider that economic, political and institutional factors play an important role in the understanding of those deficits. However, the study of the determinants of excessive deficits remains practically unexplored. Since excessive deficits can have large negative spillover effects when countries are forming a monetary union without a centralised budget – as it is the case for a group of European countries – this paper tries to explore that gap in the literature by identifying the main causes of excessive deficits and the ways of avoiding them. Binary choice models are estimated over a panel of 15 European Union countries for the period 1970-2006, where an excessive deficit is defined as a deficit higher than 3% of GDP. Results show that a weak fiscal stance, low economic growth, the timing of parliamentary elections and majority left-wing governments are the main causes of excessive deficits in the EU countries. Moreover, the institutional constraints imposed after Maastricht over the EU countries' fiscal policy have succeeded in reducing the probability of excessive deficits in Europe, especially in small countries. Therefore, this study concludes that supranational fiscal constraints, national efforts to reduce public debts, growth promoting policies and mechanisms to avoid political opportunism and partisan effects are essential factors for an EU country to avoid excessive deficits. Finally, the results presented in this paper raise the idea that a good strategy for the EU countries to avoid excessive deficits caused by the opportunistic behaviour of their policymakers would be to schedule elections for the beginning or the end of the year.


Maize farming, though successful in some parts of Africa is greatly hampered by the post harvest handling procedures. Resource farmers in developing countries like Kenya use different plant materials to protect stored grains against pest infestation by mixing grains with protectants made up of plant products. Dry ground plant material, were tested for their activity against the maize weevil; Sitophilus zeamais; (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). All showed no reasonable protectant ability. Essential oils extracted were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GeMS) and evaluated for repellent and insecticidal activities against Sitophilus zeamais using the area preference and contact methods. Most oil components identified by analyzing their mass spectra to the NBS library of mass spectra using computer routing were oxygenated monoterpenoids or phenolic compounds and the oils were active in repelling at doses between 0.005 and 0.125 ppm. The mean mortality values for Lippia kituiensis and Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium (pyrethrum) was not significantly different after 24 hrs of exposure with an average activity of 79 %. Chenopodium chenopoides, Ajuga remota and Ricinus communis were not significantly different after 24 and 48 hrs of exposure with a mean of 18 and 20% activity, respectively. The mortality rate of S. zeamais by contact increased with the exposure time and the concentrations of the essential oils. The most active oil extracts of plants were those of Eucalyptus globulus, Rosemarinus officinallis. Lantana camara, Lippia kituiensis, Azadirachta melia and Azadirachta indica with LOso values as 0.609, 0.199, 0.171, 0.220, 0.399 and 0.333, respectively. These oil extracts were reasonably comparable to the already known adulticidal and repellent pesticides such as pyrethrum with its LDso being 0.245. The constituents which may be more responsible for the maize grain protectant ability includes 1,8-cineole, limonene, u-pinene, ~-pinene, a-terpineol, terpinen-4-ol, and globulol. Blends of plants whose activity is known were made and tested against the maize weevil.' A blend of Eucalyptus globulus and Rosemarinus officinallis at 1.0% concentration gave a PD and WPI of 3.5 and 7.2, respectively. These values are far much lower than their individual PO and WPI values of 15.3 and 12.3, 25.2 and 21.3, respectively. This therefore gives the impression that blend effects in the bioactivity of plant products may well be the norm to follow. Mortality tests by inert dusts were also carried out. Woodash, Kaolin and Bentonite showed high activities of upto 70 % at 5 % concentration after /68 hours. Gypsum Whiting dusts was not comparatively active since they only exhibited activities below 40 % even at 10 % concentrations after 168 hours. This implies that a conclusive research carried out using standard conditions could reveal all the responsible components for such high activities in all the tests carried out.


Understanding the guiding principles of sensory coding strategies is a main goal in computational neuroscience. Among others, the principles of predictive coding and slowness appear to capture aspects of sensory processing. Predictive coding postulates that sensory systems are adapted to the structure of their input signals such that information about future inputs is encoded. Slow feature analysis (SFA) is a method for extracting slowly varying components from quickly varying input signals, thereby learning temporally invariant features. Here, we use the information bottleneck method to state an information-theoretic objective function for temporally local predictive coding. We then show that the linear case of SFA can be interpreted as a variant of predictive coding that maximizes the mutual information between the current output of the system and the input signal in the next time step. This demonstrates that the slowness principle and predictive coding are intimately related.


[The Swedish Method: Social Cohesion Faces the Challenge of Adaptation] The "Swedish method" refers to the Swedes' collective capacity to adapt to the successive economic and social challenges they face in today's world. The present study attempts to raise and shed light on two issues: the inner workings of the "Swedish method"; its sustainability in the current phase of globalization. More specifically, we try to determine whether confidence and social cohesion, at the heart of Sweden's success, may be affected by the changes in public policy induced by a strategy of openness and adaptation that Sweden has considerably encouraged in recent years. We begin by surveying the literature on the relationship between confidence, social cohesion and economic performance to measure the respective importance of the factors of social cohesion. We then show how these components have been crystallized into institutions according to three socioeconomic rationales, the social democratic rationale at the heart of the Swedish system differing from the rationale of social segmentation. The study then takes a fresh look at Sweden's economic and social performance today and describes in detail the contemporary Swedish growth strategy, typical of a "small" country. We then describe the evolution of macroeconomic, fiscal, immigration and education policies and point out a weakening of collective protection schemes and the alteration of certain crucial public policies, an evolution that in the long run could call into question the Swedish governance strategy by eroding social cohesion.


In many fire investigation cases, it is hard to find evidence that will lead to the cause or person that started the fire, especially within arson scenes. Because of this, the identification of ignitable liquids is critical to an arson investigation. Obtaining enough evidential information from the scene is key if arson is suspected. Many scenes involve ignitable liquids that have been poured onto furniture or carpets, allowing the ignitable liquid to easily be collected. However, in some investigations ignitable liquids are poured onto semi-porous surfaces such as concrete. Collection of these materials is difficult. Oil dries are absorbents commonly used to clean up spills, at scenes, involving hazardous materials. Since many hazardous material spills involve petroleum products, it is suspected that the oil dries might also absorb ignitable liquids. Studies done in the past on creating a solid absorbent have not been successful, while some household absorbent have been somewhat beneficial. This research will concentrate on the potential use of different solid oil dry absorbents to be used at a fire scene to assist in the collection of questioned arson samples. All analysis of samples will be conducted using a technique commonly used in forensic laboratories, gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. Keyword and phrases: Arson Analysis, Forensics Science, Arson Investigation, Hazardous Material Clean Up, Oil Dry, Gas Chromatography with Flame Ionization Detector.


How does the city make us feel, and how can we use our feelings to make cities? The text explores what emotion can 'do' when its measurement and articulation are organised using different methods. The text explores the difference between two ways of mapping emotion that both use physiological sensor technologies in relation to the city. One is an art project that uses body sensors to allow people to articulate their relationship with the environment, while the technocratic approach uses sensors and crowdsourced data to build an emotion layer for urban planning. While using similar technologies, the projects build radically different social and political relations with the environment. The study suggests that research only matters when it arouses 'interest' in others and create unexpected connections.


Solid-state structures of para-sulfonatocalix[6]arene with dimethylammonium and bis-6-aminohexylammonium cations are mainly based on hydrogen bond interactions. In the two complexes the calixarene molecule adopts a chair conformation with small varieties in geometry influenced by the number and types of intra- and intermolecular interactions developed by polar substituents. A stepped layer topology is induced by this chair conformation in the two complexes. Structural motifs present in the two systems generate channels, which in the first complex include dimethylformamide solvent molecules, while in the second case they include water molecules.


uting in mobile ad hoc network is an important research topic where various mechanisms have been already proposed concerning this issue. In this paper, we focus on one critical issue that is multicast routing.We propose in this paper implementation of an optimized, polymorphic, hybrid multicast routing protocol for MANET. This new polymorphic protocol attempts to benefit from the high efficiency of proactive behavior (in terms of quicker response to transmission requests) and the limited network traffic overhead of the reactive behavior, while being power, mobility, and vicinity-density (in terms of number of neighbor nodes per specified area around a mobile node) aware. The proposed protocol is based on the principle of adaptability and multibehavioral modes of operations. It is able to change behavior in different situations in order to improve certain metrics like maximizing battery life, reducing communication delays, improving deliverability, etc. The protocol is augmented by an optimization scheme, adapted from the one proposed for the Optimized Link State Routing protocol (OLSR) in which only selected neighbor nodes propagate control packets to reduce the amount of control overhead Extensive simulations and comparison to peer protocols demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed protocol in improving performance and in extending battery power longevity.


OBJECTIVES
To (1) compare breastfeeding with control (placebo, no treatment, sucrose, glucose, pacifiers, or positioning) and (2) compare breastmilk with control for procedural pain in neonates.

METHODS
Systematic review and meta-analyses of randomized and quasi-randomized trials of breastfeeding or supplemental breastmilk for procedural pain in neonates was carried out on studies identified from electronic databases and hand searches without language restrictions. The methodological quality of the trials was assessed according to the Neonatal Review Group of Cochrane Collaboration.

RESULTS
Eleven eligible studies were identified. Marked heterogeneity in control intervention and pain assessment measures was noted. The breastfeeding group had significantly less increase in the heart rate, reduced proportion of crying time and reduced duration of crying compared to the swaddled or pacifier group. Premature Infant Pain Profile scores were lower in the breastfeeding group when compared to the placebo and the group positioned in mother's arms, but were not different compared to the no-treatment and the glucose groups. Neonates in the supplemental breastmilk group had a significantly less increase in the heart rate and Neonatal Facial Coding Score but no significant difference in the duration of crying time and oxygen saturation change compared to the placebo.

CONCLUSIONS
If available, breastfeeding or breastmilk should be used to alleviate pain in neonates undergoing painful procedure compared to placebo, positioning, or no intervention. Administration of glucose/sucrose had a similar effectiveness as breastfeeding for reducing pain. The effectiveness of breastmilk for repeated painful procedures is not established, and further research is needed.


Background Despite the prevalence and negative consequences of mental health issues among elite athletes, studies suggest many do not seek professional help. Understanding barriers and facilitators to help-seeking is imperative to reduce the burden of mental health symptoms and disorders. Aims This study aimed to elucidate factors associated with actual help-seeking behavior in professional rugby football league (RFL) players in England and one club in France. Design A mixed-methods cross-sectional online survey design was used, and completed by 167 professional RFL players. Methods The survey consisted of measures of mental health, perceived psychological stress, athletic identity, knowledge of player welfare, and actual help-seeking. Additionally, one open-ended question allowed free-text comments about barriers to help-seeking. Results Those who had sought help reported significantly higher psychological stress compared to those who had not sought help. Help-seeking was associated with better mental health literacy and higher perceived psychological stress in a multivariate analysis. The qualitative analysis revealed a number of perceived barriers to help-seeking, of which lower mental health literacy and stigma were the most prominent. Conclusion In one of the first studies to examine actual help-seeking behavior, professional rugby players who had sought help for mental health and personal issues were characterized by having greater mental health literacy and experiencing greater psychological stress. Players also identified feelings of embarrassment, pride, fear and shame act as barriers to seeking help for mental health issues. These results suggest focusing on increasing mental health literacy and reducing stigma may increase help-seeking behavior for mental health symptoms.


As Charles Camosy observes, he and I agree more than we disagree. He believes with no less conviction than I do that deliberately killing infant children is profoundly morally wrong and a grave violation of human rights.1 So where do we disagree?

I think that killing infant children, or promoting the moral permissibility of doing so, is moral madness, and that we should say so, rather than treating infanticide as just one more legitimate, albeit in the end morally mistaken view. We owe this to potential victims of the potential mainstreaming of support for infanticide.

Professor Camosy suggests that my view, or its public expression, is uncharitable towards advocates of infanticide and 'at variance with a Christian …


This paper discusses the theory and implementation of curricular changes at the SUNY State College of Optometry regarding the courses of the Integrative Track. In response to the changing requirements of optometric clinical education, timely integration of basic science and clinical practice are essential in order to achieve the necessary attributes of a graduating Doctor of Optometry. By beginning this process early in the student's education where expanding clinic experiences are discussed in small group settings, the interns are able to connect to the curriculum in meaningful ways. Improved critical thinking and development of independent learning styles are goals of the courses in the Integrative Track.


Fundamental to democratic societies, citizen participation is an important tool for promoting active, informed, and empowered citizenry as well as responsive and accountable administration. Past literature on citizen participation has focused on its determinants, forms, and prevalence. This study examines the relationship between a specific form of citizen participation—client participation—and organizational performance. We use hybrid data on U.S. nursing homes that combine a survey of nursing home administrators' managerial practices with federal performance appraisal data. Our empirical findings suggest that more intense levels of client participation, such as the use of clients' feedback in decision-making, are positively associated with performance: They increase the overall five-star ratings and lower health deficiencies. In contrast, less intense client participation efforts, such as merely communicating with client/family groups, are not significantly related to performance. This study highlights the role of participation intensity, suggesting that public administrators should not only go beyond informing and listening to their stakeholders, but also take steps to use the obtained feedback in organizational decision-making.


Abstract Montmorillonite-water-cation systems were characterized using high-frequency impedance spectroscopy by studying the influence of the solid concentration and the nature of the exchangeable cation (Na+,K+ ,Ca,2+) on the dielectric characteristics of the dispersions. A new method is proposed to calculate the relaxation frequency (fr) and the dispersion factor (α) from a limited number of impedance measurements. By comparison with rheology, microscopy, X-ray diffraction and immersion calorimetry results, it is shown that impedance spectroscopy is a very powerful technique which yields structural information on a complex system. For Na-montmorillonite, two transitions are observed at 2.5% and 3.6% in solids. The cation mobility and the number of connections between particles are described by fr and α respectively. The two transitions can then be attributed to the formation of the gel and to the reduction of the macroporosity within the gel, respectively. For Ca-montmorillonite, thick layer-stacks form at the lowest concentrations, and connections between these stacks are observed at 9% in solids, in good aggrement with rheological measurements. The K-montmorillonite displays progressive thickening of the tactoids, and no formation of a unique connected network, as revealed by the smooth evolution of fr and α.


The Civil Rights Movement warrants continuing and extensive examination. The six papers in this collection, each supplemented by a follow-up assessment, contribute to a clearer perception of what caused and motivated the movement, of how it functioned, of the changes that occurred within it, and of its accomplishments and shortcomings. Its profound effect upon modern America has so greatly changed relations between the races that C. Vann Woodward has called it the "second revolution."In a limited space the eleven scholars range with a definitive view over a large subject. Their papers analyze and emphasize the Civil Rights Movement's important aspects: its origins and causes, its strategies and tactics for accomplishing black freedom, the creative tensions in its leadership, the politics of the movement in the key state of Mississippi, and the role of federal law and federal courts. In this collection a scholarly balance is achieved for each paper by a follow-up commentary from a significant authority. By deepening the understanding of the Civil Rights Movement, these essays underscore what has been gained through struggle, as well as acknowledging the goals that are yet to be attained.


Some of the most significant impacts of climate change are likely to be felt in water resources management, but climate change is not the only uncertainty facing water managers and policymakers. The concept of water security has emerged to address social, economic, political, and environmental factors, as well as the physical determinants of water availability. There are significant challenges for communicating about water security under a changing climate. Water security shares many of the characteristics of climate change with regards to communication. It is a complex concept involving interactions between dynamic human and natural systems, requiring public deliberation and engagement to inform political debate and to facilitate behavioral and cultural change. Knowledge and values about water and climate change are communicated through material experiences as well as through language. Communication about water security and climate change takes many forms, which can be characterized as five key modes—policy, communication campaigns, media, cultures, and environments. More effective communication about climate change and water is needed across these different modes to support meaningful participation and deliberation in policy decisions by a wide range of stakeholders. Integrating climate change into communication campaigns about water security provides opportunities to challenge and reframe traditional formulations of the role of water in society and culture and how to manage water in human settlements, the economy, and the environment. The central challenge for communicating the impacts of climate change on water scarcity lies in the complex interactions between society, policy, technology, infrastructure, the economy, and the environment in modern water systems. Different modes of communication are useful to enable public and stakeholder engagement in understanding the issues and making decisions about how to ensure water security in a changing society and environment.


This study looks at the lives of the most famous "wild children" of eighteenth-century Europe, showing how they open a window onto European ideas about the potential and perfectibility of mankind. Julia V. Douthwaite recounts reports of feral children, such as the wild girl of Champagne (captured in 1731 and baptized as Marie-Angelique Leblanc), and offers a fascinating glimpse into beliefs about the difference between man and beast, and the means once used to civilize the uncivilized. A variety of educational experiments failed to tame these feral children by the standards of the day. After telling their stories, Douthwaite turns to literature that reflects upon similar experiments to perfect human subjects. Her examples range from utopian schemes for progressive childrearing to philosophical tales of animated statues, from revolutionary theories of regenerated men to Gothic tales of scientists run amok. Encompassing thinkers such as Rousseau, Sade, Defoe, and Mary Shelley as well as many lesser-known diarists, journalists, scientists, and novelists, Douthwaite shows how the Enlightenment conceived of mankind as an infinitely malleable entity, first with optimism, then with growing apprehension. Exposing the darker side of eighteenth-century thought, she demonstrates how advances in science gave rise to troubling new ethical concerns, as parents joined scientists and politicians in trying to perfect mankind - with disastrous results.


Two contrasting areas of pelagic primary productivity (PPP) were noted in western Scotland, the Clyde (high PPP) and the west coast (low PPP). It was hypothesised that increased PPP would have a direct bottom-up influence on intertidal community structure with the Clyde expected to be dominated by filter feeders with potentially greater larval recruitment, increased density, faster growth and larger maximum sizes. The study was divided into five sections examining community structure, growth rates, predation and grazing pressures, effects of wave exposure, and stable isotope analysis. Individual species tended to vary between sites within lochs rather than between the two regions. Growth rates of the predator Nucella were found to follow peaks in Semibalanus size, rather than Mytilus, with increased growth on the west coast. An increased density of the grazer, Littorina, at a site had an increased effect on their growth rate although dense localised patches within sites were observed where growth rates were lowest. Mussel size classes were found to have different growth rates, most probably due to differing factors such as predation, food availability, and reproduction. Predation and grazing effects differed between regions. Barnacle cover was shown to be affected by both Nucella and Littorina although the latter may have been an indirect affect due to the biofilm cover which was greater in the Clyde. Predation rates of mussels were found to be greater on the west coast which was most probably due to a change in diet from barnacles to mussels. Mussel shell length and biomass declined with increasing wave exposure throughout western Scotland with the potential for factors varying on small scales to be more important in structuring mussel populations. This was evident when testing for differences in stable isotopes of mussels which suggested site specific variation due to increased freshwater input. The results of this study showed that small scale, local factors are as important, if not more, as regional differences in structuring communities. PPP is important, but only for a subset of the community.


Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) have medical as well as economic consequences, leading to increased patient morbidity and mortality. Under reporting of ADRs is a huge health problem globally. Malaysia like many other countries worldwide uses spontaneous reporting systems as a means of collecting data on suspected adverse drug reactions. However, compared to other countries, which use the system, the reporting rate in Malaysia is very low. The aim of this study is to evaluate the knowledge and perception of pharmacy students at Management and Science University, Selangor, Malaysia in pharmacovigilance system and ADR reporting. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Pharmacy students have high understanding and are knowledgeable about the ADR reporting process and the current pharmacovigilance system. However, skill on reporting ADR is poor among pharmacy students and promoting on ADR reporting is also poor in Malaysia. Pharmacy curriculum should include skill related topics related to the methods of detecting, preventing, and reporting ADRs. Competency in the skill of ADRs reporting may be assessed by using of an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Policy makers and responsible government bodies should take initiatives to promote ADR reporting among health professionals, including pharmacists, in order to improve the reporting system. Interactive interventional programs could be conducted among pharmacists to improve and promote spontaneous reporting of ADRs both in the hospital and community pharmacy practice settings.


Optical image reconstruction in heterogeneous turbid media is sensitive to noise, especially when the signal-to-noise ratio of a measurement system is low. A total-variation-minimization-based iterative algorithm is described in this paper that enhances the quality of reconstructed images with frequency-domain data over that obtained previously with a regularized least-squares approach. Simulation experiments in an 8.6-cm-diameter circular heterogeneous region with low- and high-contrast levels between the target and the background show that the quality of the reconstructed images can be improved considerably when total-variation minimization is included. These simulated results are further verified and confirmed by images reconstructed from experimental data by the use of the same geometry and optically tissue-equivalent phantoms. Measures of imaging performance, including the location, size, and shape of the reconstructed heterogeneity, along with absolute errors in the predicted optical-property values are used to quantify the enhancements afforded by this new approach to optical image reconstruction with diffuse light. The results show improvements of up to 5 mm in terms of geometric information and an order of magnitude or more decrease in the absolute errors in the reconstructed optical-property values for the test cases examined.