As distributed, communication-based protection systems become more prevalent in the emerging smart grid, the task of critically assessing their reliability has become increasingly challenging due to the complexity of their underlying software designs. This paper demonstrates that the discipline of software model checking can be applied to smart grid protection software designs to rigorously assess their fault tolerance. In this paper, the SPIN model checker is applied to a published wide-area backup protection system (WABPS). The WABPS was specifically architected to be highly reliable under various kinds of common failure scenarios, including mechanical malfunctions, erroneous sensor readings, and communication failures. However, because of its built-in redundancy and decentralized peer-to-peer design, calculating its precise fault tolerance is nontrivial. This paper shows how SPIN can be applied to the WABPS's design to brute-force prove the limits of the number and types of failures that can occur while the system remains able to successfully perform its function. This same technique is applicable to a wide variety of smart grid protection software designs, and the information it provides is invaluable to protection engineers during the development of new systems, for assessing the quality of competing designs, and for risk management purposes.


We used published information about foraging behaviour, terrestrial resting sites, bathymetry and seasonal ocean climate to develop hypotheses relating life-history traits and physical variables to the at-sea habitat of a wide-ranging marine predator, the Steller sea lion Eumetopias jubatus. We used these hypotheses to develop a series of habitat models predicting the probability of sea lions occurring within a 3 × 3 km 2 grid in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea. We compared these deductive model predictions with opportunistic at-sea observations of sea lions (presence-only data) using (1) a likelihood approach in a small area where effort was assumed to be uniformly distributed and (2) an adjusted skewness (Skadj) test that evaluated the distribution of the predicted values associated with true presence observations. We found that the Skadj statistic was comparable to the likelihood test when using pseudo-absence data, but it was more powerful for assessing the relative performance of the different predictive spatial models across the entire study area. The habi- tat maps we produced for adult female sea lions using the deductive modelling approach captured a higher proportion of presence observations than the current habitat model (critical habitat) used by fisheries managers since 1993 to manage Steller sea lions. Such improved predictions of habitat are necessary to effectively design, implement and evaluate fishery mitigation measures. The deductive approach we propose is suitable for modelling the habitat use of other age and sex classes, and for integrating these age/sex-class-specific models into a revised definition of critical habitat for Steller sea lions. The skewness test provides a means of comparing the relative performance of such models, using presence-only data. The approach can be readily applied to other central-place foragers.


We compare economic efficiencies in Brazil, India, and China, where economic efficiency measures the gap between potential and actual output for a given input combination and technological factor. We use stochastic production frontier models to measure the contributions of factors of production and technology to growth and estimate non-positive error terms that capture production inefficiencies in each country. The results suggest that China and India had relatively inefficient production in the early 1980s but have since improved production efficiency substantially. In the same period, production efficiency in Brazil has declined somewhat from relatively high initial levels and the gap between production efficiency between these countries has narrowed substantially, supporting more rapid growth in China and India relative to Brazil.


Topological superconductors are particularly interesting in light of the active ongoing experimental efforts for realizing exotic physics such as Majorana zero modes. These systems have excitations with non-Abelian exchange statistics, which provides a path towards topological quantum information processing. Intrinsic topological superconductors are quite rare in nature. However, one can engineer topological superconductivity by inducing effective p-wave pairing in materials which can be grown in the laboratory. One possibility is to induce the proximity effect in topological insulators; another is to use hybrid structures of superconductors and semiconductors. The proposal of interfacing s-wave superconductors with quantum spin Hall systems provides a promising route to engineered topological superconductivity. Given the exciting recent progress on the fabrication side, identifying experiments that definitively expose the topological superconducting phase (and clearly distinguish it from a trivial state) raises an increasingly important problem. With this goal in mind, we proposed a detection scheme to get an unambiguous signature of topological superconductivity, even in the presence of ordinarily detrimental effects such as thermal fluctuations and quasiparticle poisoning. We considered a Josephson junction built on top of a quantum spin Hall material. This system allows the proximity effect to turn edge states in effective topological superconductors. Such a setup is promising because experimentalists have demonstrated that supercurrents indeed flow through quantum spin Hall edges. To demonstrate the topological nature of the superconducting quantum spin Hall edges, theorists have proposed examining the periodicity of Josephson currents respect to the phase across a Josephson junction. The periodicity of tunneling currents of ground states in a topological superconductor Josephson junction is double that of a conventional Josephson junction. In practice, this modification of periodicity is extremely difficult to observe because noise sources, such as quasiparticle poisoning, wash out the signature of topological superconductors. For this reason, We propose a new, relatively simple DC measurement that can compellingly reveal topological superconductivity in such quantum spin Hall/superconductor heterostructures. More specifically, We develop a general framework for capturing the junction's current-voltage characteristics as a function of applied magnetic flux. Our analysis reveals sharp signatures of topological superconductivity in the field-dependent critical current. These signatures include the presence of multiple critical currents and a non-vanishing critical current for all magnetic field strengths as a reliable identification scheme for topological superconductivity. This system becomes more interesting as interactions between electrons are involved. By modeling edge states as a Luttinger liquid, we find conductance provides universal signatures to distinguish between normal and topological superconductors. More specifically, we use renormalization group methods to extract universal transport characteristics of superconductor/quantum spin Hall heterostructures where the native edge states serve as a lead. Interestingly, arbitrarily weak interactions induce qualitative changes in the behavior relative to the free-fermion limit, leading to a sharp dichotomy in conductance for the trivial (narrow superconductor) and topological (wide superconductor) cases. Furthermore, we find that strong interactions can in principle induce parafermion excitations at a superconductor/quantum spin Hall junction. As we identify the existence of topological superconductor, we can take a step further. One can use topological superconductor for realizing Majorana modes by breaking time reversal symmetry. An advantage of 2D topological insulator is that networks required for braiding Majoranas along the edge channels can be obtained by adjoining 2D topological insulator to form corner junctions. Physically cutting quantum wells for this purpose, however, presents technical challenges. For this reason, I propose a more accessible means of forming networks that rely on dynamically manipulating the location of edge states inside of a single 2D topological insulator sheet. In particular, I show that edge states can effectively be dragged into the system's interior by gating a region near the edge into a metallic regime and then removing the resulting gapless carriers via proximity-induced superconductivity. This method allows one to construct rather general quasi-1D networks along which Majorana modes can be exchanged by electrostatic means. Apart from 2D topological insulators, Majorana fermions can also be generated in other more accessible materials such as semiconductors. Following up on a suggestion by experimentalist Charlie Marcus, I proposed a novel geometry to create Majorana fermions by placing a 2D electron gas in proximity to an interdigitated superconductor-ferromagnet structure. This architecture evades several manufacturing challenges by allowing single-side fabrication and widening the class of 2D electron gas that may be used, such as the surface states of bulk semiconductors. Furthermore, it naturally allows one to trap and manipulate Majorana fermions through the application of currents. Thus, this structure may lead to the development of a circuit that enables fully electrical manipulation of topologically-protected quantum memory. To reveal these exotic Majorana zero modes, I also proposed an interference scheme to detect Majorana fermions that is broadly applicable to any 2D topological superconductor platform.


This report presents the results of an analysis of the characteristics and representativeness of the protected area network in the Barents Region based on a large amount of GIS data. The report evaluates the current state of the protected area network in comparison with the global Aichi Biodiversity Targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity that aim to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2020 (2010, Nagoya, Japan). Target 11 states that by 2020 at least 17% of terrestrial and inland water areas are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well-connected systems of protected areas. This work was done as a part of the Barents Protected Area Network (BPAN) project by national and regional authorities, scientific institutes and nature conservation non-governmental organizations from Norway, Sweden, Finland and northwest Russia. The aim of the BPAN project is to promote the establishment of a representative protected area network in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region to conserve biodiversity of boreal and Arctic nature, particularly forests and wetlands. This report provides for the first time unified and harmonized information on protected areas across national and regional borders covering 13 administrative regions in the four countries, providing a common language to discuss different kinds of protected areas. The information is presented in comprehensive forms as thematic maps, tables and figures. This information is now available to be utilized in nature conservation planning in each participating country, taking into account the trans-boundary connectivity of protected areas. A network of existing and planned protected areas is under constant development in the Barents Region. In March 2013, protected areas covered 13,2% (231 600 km) of the Barents Region, and national and regional nature conservation plans included establishing a further 59 400 km2 as protected areas, increasing the future level of protection to cover 16,6% of the terrestrial area. In developing protected area networks, the representativeness of forests and wetlands and the connectivity of the protected areas need special emphasis.


This dissertation investigates IUCN's role in global biodiversity conservation policy as well as in national program development in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. It explores how nature protection priorities and approaches are promoted or addressed by IUCN, an international organization, and how environment conservation policies are created and maintained in states with different capacities of South Asia. This study is the first detailed scholarly study on the IUCN as an organization as well as on its efforts in biodiversity conservation. This research adds to our knowledge firstly by contributing to a small but growing body of work on the sociology of international organizations. IOs, especially International Governmental Organizations (IGOs), have long been the subject of mostly political science. Secondly, it applies a fuller sociological imagination to the study of IOs by critically exploring one of the largest and most active nature conservation organizations in the world. Thirdly, it also explores how IUCN actually goes about building protectoral programs with individual member nations. Through the use of networks; institutional, stakeholder and governance theory and qualitative research methods, this research explores IUCN's procedures to prepare both international and national biodiversity conservation related programs with specific examination of four South Asian countries [India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh]. The research outlines how the conservation objectives have been created and enhanced through state-IO engagements. It examines national conservational actions and policies that have been co-constructed as well as the skills and approaches that have been used. This research also defines where in IUCN network conservation innovation comes from and how they produce and adapt that innovation to global and national situations. Finally, the research also shows the historical development of global institutions and IUCN's activities with member nations in helping to define or redefine the concept of global governance. This dissertation makes use of and hopefully adds to our understanding of organizations as well as organizational theory. Additionally, the dissertation also explores the recent development of the green economy (GE) concepts into IUCN's program planning today. The green economy initiative applies a people-first approach. Although the concept is relatively new, this research explores the theoretical development of a green economy and illustrates how this theory is applied in IUCN's program planning to program implementation. Additionally, the research results may be helpful in illuminating some of the advantages and drawbacks of international membership organizations themselves, which may be helpful in future organizational policy formation and implementation efforts. Findings from this research will be useful hopefully to IUCN itself. The outcomes of this research will also be beneficial for global collaboration, networking, and for the identification of common concerns among the many environmental and conservational organizations at the international and national levels. In this broader sense the research outcomes might be beneficial to constituencies of the global North as well as global South because of the nature and coverage of IUCN and its role in conservation policy formation. This effort may serve as a model for additional research on international organizations. Exploring the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN's) National Program Development in Biodiversity Conservation: A Comparative Study of India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh by Medani P. Bhandari M.A. Syracuse University, USA 2010 M.A. Brandeis University, USA 2004 M.Sc. ITC-University of Twente, the Netherlands 1998 M.A. Tribhuvan University, Nepal 1991 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology in the Graduate School of Syracuse University


Over the past decade Enterprise Architecture (EA) management matured to a discipline commonly perceived as a strategic advantage. Among others, EA management helps to identify and realize cost saving potentials in organizations. EA initiatives commonly start by documenting the status-quo of the EA, whereby the respective management discipline analyzes this so-called current state and derives intermediate planned states heading towards a desired target state of the architecture. Several EA frameworks describe this process in theory. However, during practical application, organizations struggle with documenting the EA and lack concrete guidance during the process. To underline our observations and confirm our hypotheses, we conducted a survey among 140 EA practitioners to analyze issues organizations face while documenting the EA and keeping the documentation up to date. In this paper we present results on current practices, challenges, and automation techniques for EA documentation in a descriptive manner.


The citrus canker, caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri, is one of the main citrus diseases and has threatened the world's citriculture. In this study, the damage caused by citrus canker was quantified in a sweet orange culture, cv. Valencia [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osb.], grafted over 15 year-old Rangpur lime (C. limonia Osb.), in the municipality of Guatambu, SC, Brazil, in the crop of 2004/05. Evaluations of the number of fruits per plant (NF), fruit yield per plant (P), citrus canker incidence on the fruit (IFR), and incidence (IL) and severity (SV) of citrus canker on 80 leaves per orange tree were performed in the harvest period, applying diagrammatical scales. Plants had large variation in SV (0.16%-1.09%), IL (12.50%-56.25 %) and IFR (12.30%-56.09%). Linear regressions were significant between IL x SV, NF x SV, P x IFR, and NF x IFR. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) between the mean estimated values of IL in different quadrants of the crowns of the orange trees (N, S, L and O). Each 1% increase in IFR reduced 2.16 kg and 21.3 fruits per tree


Objective To establish a procedure evaluation system to monitor residents' improvement in obstetrics (OB) procedures performance and skills during the training period. Methods A web-based procedure logging and evaluation system was developed using Microsoft.net technology with a SQL server as a backend database. Residents' logged OB procedures were captured by the system. The OB procedures logged within 7 days were evaluated by supervising faculty using three observable outcomes (procedure competency, procedure-related medical knowledge level, and patient care). Results Between 1 July 2005 and 30 June 2008, a total of 8543 procedures were reported, of which 1263 OB procedures were evaluated by supervising faculty. There were significant variations in the number of logged procedures by gender, residency track, and US versus non-US medical graduates. Approximately 84% of the procedures were performed (independently or with assistance) by residents. Residents' procedure skills, procedure-related medical knowledge, and patient care skills improved over time, with significant variations by gender among the three outcomes. Conclusion The benefits of specific evaluation of procedural competence in postgraduate medical education are well established. Innovative and reliable tools to assess and monitor residents' procedural skills are warranted.


We present a learning-based method for synthesizing novel views of complex scenes using only unstructured collections of in-the-wild photographs. We build on Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF), which uses the weights of a multi-layer perceptron to model the density and color of a scene as a function of 3D coordinates. While NeRF works well on images of static subjects captured under controlled settings, it is incapable of modeling many ubiquitous, real-world phenomena in uncontrolled images, such as variable illumination or transient occluders. We introduce a series of extensions to NeRF to address these issues, thereby enabling accurate reconstructions from unstructured image collections taken from the internet. We apply our system, dubbed NeRF-W, to internet photo collections of famous landmarks, and demonstrate temporally consistent novel view renderings that are significantly closer to photorealism than the prior state of the art.


Background Stroke is a difficult condition to manage because of the complex nature of its effects. Caregivers are therefore, crucial in providing ongoing care for the stroke patient at home. Caregivers experience considerable strain during caregiving, as their needs are often overlooked because therapeutic management tends to focus mainly on the stroke patient. In third world countries like South Africa, there are currently no research studies found describing an optimum support intervention which addresses the caregivers' needs and reduces their strain levels. Objective To determine the effectiveness of a caregiver support intervention programme (CSIP) that was developed to address the expressed needs identified by the primary caregiver of the stroke patient in the Bishop Lavis community. Method A prospective and descriptive qualitative study design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the CSIP. A total of 29 caregivers participated in three CSIPs, which were implemented over five sessions each. The Barthel Index was used to measure the functional level of each stroke patient. The needs of stroke caregivers were determined by 15 semi-structured interviews, until data saturation was reached. The Caregiver Strain Index was completed before and after implementation of the CSIP, in order to measure whether the intervention programme had been effective in reducing the caregivers' level of strain. Written or verbal feedback forms was also completed by the caregivers after each of the five intervention sessions. Results were analysed using repeated measures ANOVA and descriptive qualitative analysis. Results The qualitative results of this study suggest that the CSIP was effective in addressing mainly the physical needs, as well as the emotional, educational and socio-economic needs of the primary caregivers. The CSIP was also effective in reducing caregiver strain in 61.5% of the sample (N=13). However, an additional finding of this study was the personal and logistical barriers identified which limited the caregivers' attendance of the sessions. Conclusion The CSIP was effective in addressing the physical, emotional, socio-economic and educational needs of the primary caregiver. In addition, the results also verified that the CSIP was effective in reducing caregiver strain in the majority of the caregivers, despite a small sample size. The barriers identified which affected the caregivers' attendance, need to be taken into consideration when planning future intervention programmes for caregivers in poor socioeconomic communities. Due to the low attendance rate by the caregivers, a larger sample size is recommended to accommodate for the high drop-out rates in such a population.


A key aspect of The Cultural and Political Economy of Recovery is the comparison of disaster relief providers at different levels—federal government, local governments, private individuals, and private organizations. This multi-level analysis provides the opportunity for a discussion of polycentricity in disaster relief. Polycentric orders are those in which decision-making power is dispersed across multiple organizations, each of which is able to exercise autonomy within a shared rule of law. This paper explores some of the implications of polycentricity in disaster relief. JEL Codes: B50, D70, H42


Plasmodium falciparum apical membrane antigen 1 (PfAMA1) is a leading blood stage vaccine candidate. Plasmodium knowlesi AMA1 (PkAMA1) was produced and purified using similar methodology as for clinical grade PfAMA1 yielding a pure, conformational intact protein. Combined with the adjuvant CoVaccine HT™, PkAMA1 was found to be highly immunogenic in rabbits and the efficacy of the PkAMA1 was subsequently tested in a rhesus macaque blood-stage challenge model. Six rhesus monkeys were vaccinated with PkAMA1 and a control group of 6 were vaccinated with PfAMA1. A total of 50 µg AMA1 was administered intramuscularly three times at 4 week intervals. One of six rhesus monkeys vaccinated with PkAMA1 was able to control parasitaemia, upon blood stage challenge with P. knowlesi H-strain. Four out of the remaining five showed a delay in parasite onset that correlated with functional antibody titres. In the PfAMA1 vaccinated control group, five out of six animals had to be treated with antimalarials 8 days after challenge; one animal did not become patent during the challenge period. Following a rest period, animals were boosted and challenged again. Four of the six rhesus monkeys vaccinated with PkAMA1 were able to control the parasitaemia, one had a delayed onset of parasitaemia and one animal was not protected, while all control animals required treatment. To confirm that the control of parasitaemia was AMA1-related, animals were allowed to recover, boosted and re-challenged with P. knowlesi Nuri strain. All control animals had to be treated with antimalarials by day 8, while five out of six PkAMA1 vaccinated animals were able to control parasitaemia. This study shows that: i) Yeast-expressed PkAMA1 can protect against blood stage challenge; ii) Functional antibody levels as measured by GIA correlated inversely with the day of onset and iii) GIA IC50 values correlated with estimated in vivo growth rates.


Invasive exotic legumes need to be controlled by amongst others, mechanical control methods. Residues such as twigs and leaves of felled trees can possibly be utilized as a low cost, organic fertilizer. The quality of the organic materials influences their behaviour as mulches. In this study eight exotic legume trees were compared in terms of quality parameters such as C:N ratio, lignin, polyphenol, cellulose and hemicellulose contents. Additionally, a decomposition trial in pots was executed and three selected species were compared in terms of in vitro mineralization of C and N. Clear distinctions in terms of mulch quality could be drawn. Paraserianthes lophantha and Chamaecytisus palmensis produced mulch of a high quality, whilst Acacia pycnantha, A. saligna and A. melanoxylon produced mulch of a low quality. The mulch quality correlated well with the decomposition rates of the species in the pot experiment. The in vitro mineralization experiment supported the results of the other experiments and showed that mulch of a poor quality has an extended initial immobilization period. However, it can be used to protect soil against erosion, soil moisture depletion and weed establishment. The application of a mixture of low and high quality mulches will probably result in the most positive response by crop plants.


Abstract. A positive matrix factorization model (US EPA PMF version 5.0) was applied for the source apportionment of the dataset of 37 non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) measured from 19 December 2012 to 30 January 2013 during the SusKat-ABC international air pollution measurement campaign using a proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer in the Kathmandu Valley. In all, eight source categories were identified with the PMF model using the new constrained model operation mode. Unresolved industrial emissions and traffic source factors were the major contributors to the total measured NMVOC mass loading (17.9 and 16.8 %, respectively) followed by mixed industrial emissions (14.0 %), while the remainder of the source was split approximately evenly between residential biofuel use and waste disposal (10.9 %), solvent evaporation (10.8 %), biomass co-fired brick kilns (10.4 %), biogenic emissions (10.0 %) and mixed daytime factor (9.2 %). Conditional probability function (CPF) analyses were performed to identify the physical locations associated with different sources. Source contributions to individual NMVOCs showed that biomass co-fired brick kilns significantly contribute to the elevated concentrations of several health relevant NMVOCs such as benzene. Despite the highly polluted conditions, biogenic emissions had the largest contribution (24.2 %) to the total daytime ozone production potential, even in winter, followed by solvent evaporation (20.2 %), traffic (15.0 %) and unresolved industrial emissions (14.3 %). Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) production had approximately equal contributions from biomass co-fired brick kilns (28.9 %) and traffic (28.2 %). Comparison of PMF results based on the in situ data versus REAS v2.1 and EDGAR v4.2 emission inventories showed that both the inventories underestimate the contribution of traffic and do not take the contribution of brick kilns into account. In addition, the REAS inventory overestimates the contribution of residential biofuel use and underestimates the contribution of solvent use and industrial sources in the Kathmandu Valley. The quantitative source apportionment of major NMVOC sources in the Kathmandu Valley based on this study will aid in improving hitherto largely un-validated bottom-up NMVOC emission inventories, enabling more focused mitigation measures and improved parameterizations in chemical transport models.


We demonstrate a method to retrieve the phase spectrum of a long-period fiber grating (LPFG) from its transmission spectrum. The method is based on the Hilbert transform that relates the minimum phase and the amplitude spectrum of a linear system, and is applicable to under-coupled LPFGs with arbitrary grating profiles. We verify the method with numerical examples and experiments. The method provides a simple and effective way to obtain the phase characteristics of LPFGs and thus complement the measured transmission spectra of the gratings.


The increasing incidence and the dismal prognosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma calls for the identification of biomarkers that will allow a timely diagnosis; display prognostic value; and, predict the response to pharmacological agents employed for the treatment of the disease. Biomarkers associated with early diagnosis currently include mesothelin in combination with miRNA miR-103a-3p. As for prognostic biomarkers, the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) scores take into account different hematological and clinical parameters that distinguish patients with good prognosis from those with inferior outcomes. Fluorodeoxyglucose-PET, microarray expression data, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios, c-MET expression, Ki-67 ratios and fibulin-3 levels have also been associated with disease outcome. Finally, thymidylate synthase protein cutoffs may predict mesothelioma response to the association of pemetrexed with a platinum derivative.


The strength of glass is known to be very variable and also to be affected by the condition of the surface. By improving a technique of decoration with sodium, due originally to Andrade, elaborate crack systems have been revealed on the surface of drawn glasses. These crack systems are correlated with, and may control, the mechanical strength of glass. They also appear to indicate the existence of a tension layer on the surface of glass. The cracks seem to be 100 to 200 A wide and are probably at least 1000 A deep. Cracks can be initiated by local abrasion, but this is probably not the only cause. A technique for the examination of thin glass films by transmission electron microscopy has also been developed and has been used to observe the mechanism of devitrification in various glasses. The initiation of cracks in fine crystallites has been watched and such cracks have been seen to propagate from the crystalline to the glassy regions in silica. It is, therefore, possible that fine-scale devitrification on the surface of glass during drawing might provide an alternative mechanism to abrasion for the origin of the surface cracks.


Living Under Liberalism - The Politics of Depression in Western Democracies. by Pam Stavropoulos, Boca Raton, Florida: Universal Publishers. 2008. ISBN 9781581189649. In Living Under Liberalism - The Politics of Depression in Western Democracies, Pam Stavropoulos seeks to shed light on the political dimensions of depression in liberal democratic countries. The central premise of the book is that liberalism promotes a view of the healthy subject as one who is autonomous, independent and self-reliant, and in so doing, contributes to the depression crisis by denying the importance of social connectedness and interrelatedness to our mental health and wellbeing. Part one explores what it means to 'live under liberalism' and how living under these conditions contributes to depression. Liberalism is described as an ideology or political philosophy that is characterised by universalism, equality, individualism, rationalism and progressivism. Using clinical vignettes drawn from her experience as a counsellor of people with depression, Stavropoulos argues that these core liberal values 'necessarily influence the psyches of we who live under liberalism' (p. 87). Moreover, she suggests that the dichotomies and contradictions inherent to liberalism foster internal splits within individuals 'which shape both the incidence and experience of depression' (p. 90). For instance, the discrepancy between the liberal ideal of equality and the contemporary reality of third world poverty is given as an example of one such contradiction that can contribute to depression amongst individuals living under liberalism. Stavropoulos writes, 'What some commentators refer to as "First World Guilt" can itself be generative of depression, either separately or in combination with other sources. To live in a world in which inequality flourishes - in stark contrast to the progressive ethos of the dominant ideology of western societies - can itself give rise to depression' (p. 88-90 - emphasis in original). In the second half of the book, the discussion shifts focus to exploring how depression might best be 'healed'. Stavropoulos favours the idea of 'healing' as opposed to 'treatment', as she sees the latter as reinforcing a liberal-individualist reading of mental health focused on individual pathology. Chapter 5 considers the mainstream treatments of choice for depression - antidepressant medications and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - and argues that neither is adequate for addressing the underlying political conditions contributing to depression. Instead, meditation and memory exercises are advocated as essential components of the healing process. …


The extinction coefficient, albedo of single scattering, and differential scattering and polarization properties of water clouds and hazes in the visible and infrared have been computed using the complete Mie series. The results with three types of size distributions are presented and compared with observations. These show a strong dependence of angular intensity and polarization patterns on the size distribution, the size range, and the dielectric and absorbing properties of water droplets at each wavelength. A peculiarity of scattering at angles near 45°, observed experimentally and independently by two authors, is corroborated by the numerical results. Prominent observational features characteristic of natural fog, such as an extremely bright and narrow aureole, cloudbows, and glories, are reproduced in a model cloud of spherical water droplets, with a wide distribution in droplet radius and a maximum concentration at a 4-μ radius.


In the last several years, dramatic failures of the nation's food safety system have sickened or killed tens of thousands of Americans, and caused billions of dollars of damages for producers and distributors of everything from fresh vegetables to granola bars and hamburger meat. In each case, the outbreak of food-borne illness triggered what can only be described as a frantic scramble by health officials to discover its source. Inevitably, the wrong lead is followed or a recall is too late or too narrow to prevent further illnesses, and the government has to defend itself against withering criticism. Americans expect more from the experts at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and their counterparts at the Department of Agriculture, but the simple truth is that they are ill-equipped to deliver. The food safety system typifies the debilitated state of the entire regulatory system that Americans rely upon to protect their health, safety, and environment. The five "protector agencies" - FDA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - all grapple with hefty responsibilities to protect the American public from constantly evolving hazards.The agencies have done an adequate job of eliminating or managing the basic hazards of modern industrial society. Every new car has seatbelts and passive restraints, the use of lead in gasoline and residential paint has been eliminated, and air quality has improved in many areas. Unfortunately, this progress has been marred by a series of high-profile failures. OSHA has failed to prevent musculoskeletal injuries, the leading cause of workplace illness; billions of consumer products enter the country from foreign manufacturing sites that are never inspected by product safety specialists; and the EPA is just beginning to map out a strategy for combating climate change, a threat that could eliminate 40 percent of species and lead to the relocation of hundreds of millions of people by the turn of the century. The agencies' inability to act swiftly and decisively in the last several decades is largely the result of four problems: Severe shortfalls in funding, outdated authorizing statutes, political interference, and an aging, demoralized civil service. Regulatory dysfunction begins with funding gaps that defeat agency efforts to fulfill the statutory mandates assigned by Congress. These shortfalls, which push the agencies into a state of constant default on their most important missions, are compounded by congressional neglect of its oversight and reauthorization responsibilities. With two exceptions - the Consumer Product Safety Commission Improvement Act and the FDA Amendments Act of 2007 - Congress has made no effort to renew and update the statutes in at least two decades. Compounding these problems, the protector agencies operate under the watchful eye of White House political staff who frequently and freely substitute their own judgments for those of agency staff, offering a back door for special interests disappointed in decisionmaking by agency experts to exert inappropriate influence, most often behind closed doors. The solutions to these problems - statutory amendments, an improved budget process, decentralized decisionmaking, and civil service reforms - are not simple fixes. But the alternative is a regulatory system that reverts to a purely reactionary mode, leaving public health, safety, and environmental protection to the whims of the marketplace.


Abstract. The occurrence of rogue waves is closely related to the non-Gaussianity of sea states, and the non-Gaussianity is sensitive to the combination of three spectral geometries: wave steepness, bandwidth, and directional spreading. This paper presents a set of non-Gaussianity references that allow quantitative comparison of the non-Gaussianity of sea states with various combinations of the three geometries. In addition, an approach to introduce arbitrary 2D wave spectra into the references is presented, which allows quantitative investigation of the non-Gaussianity and the corresponding geometries in given sea states. Application in relation to certain rogue waves that occurred in wind-sea dominated sea states showed that the non-Gaussianity of skewness presented high values when those events occurred. However, abnormal values of kurtosis could not be found within the same period, indicating that third-order modulational instabilities were inactive in those events. Quantitative analyses based on the newly presented references revealed that the rogue waves that occurred in wind-sea dominated sea states, and presented extreme height and extreme destructive power, could hardly be formed from the modulational instabilities. This was because of not only the broad energy distribution in terms of direction, but also the broad bandwidth attributable to the developed wind-sea state.


This paper examines whether the "soft" information contained in the text of management's quarterly earnings press releases is incrementally informative over the company's reported "hard" earnings news. We use Diction, a textual-analysis program, to extract various dimensions of managerial net optimism from more than 20,000 corporate earnings announcements over the period 1998 to 2006 and document that unanticipated net optimism in managers' language affects announcement period abnormal returns and predicts post-earnings announcement drift. We find that it takes longer for the market to understand the implications of soft information than those of hard information. We also find that the market response varies by firm size, turnover, media and analyst coverage, and the extent to which the standard accounting model captures the underlying economics of the firm. We also show that the second moment of soft information, the level of certainty in the text, is an important determinant of contemporaneous idiosyncratic volatility, and it predicts future idiosyncratic volatility.


Bio-Start ™ soil conditioners and nitrogen were assessed for their effectiveness at enhancing microbial decay of soil-borne sclerotia of Ciborinia camelliae. In a laboratory assay, Mycorrcin.nz and Digester.nz were applied alone or combined at 8 and 2.5 l/ha and 10 x these rates, with and without 50 kg/ha nitrogen as urea. These treatments had no significant effect on the viability of sclerotia embedded in soil after 3 months, although nitrogen increased the proportion of parasitised sclerotia from 4% to 8%. In a field trial, an application of 10.5 litres/ha Mycorrcin.nz:Digester.nz (8:2.5) in 1000 litres water/ha plus 50 kg nitrogen/ha as urea in February and June, had no significant effect on apothecia production during the following spring or on the number of viable sclerotia.


This paper presents a methodology to design the optimum proprotor for tilt-body micro-air-vehicles (TB-MAV) with efficient global propulsion system and long flight endurance in both cruise and hover modes. The TB-MAV developed at ISAE, which is called MAVion, was used as a baseline in the design process. To acquire maximum performance of TB-MAV's global propulsion system, an efficient optimization process of the proprotor propulsion system was carried out. The optimization process consists of two-step inverse design methods. The first step determines the optimal operating conditions in terms of power and rotational speed of proprotor and the second step designs the optimal blade geometry in terms of twist angle distribution. The optimal blade twist distribution along the blade was computed using the Glauert's strip theory for minimum energy loss condition. Meanwhile, the optimal operating conditions were determined by the motor outputs corresponding to high motor efficiency. A comparison of performance in terms of total efficiency and flight endurance between the optimized flexible proprotor, the optimized rigid proprotor, optimized propeller and optimized rotor is presented.


Underlying the anthropological study of man is the principle that there is a reality to which man must adapt if he is to survive. Reproduce, and to perpetuate himself. Populations must adapt to the realities of the physical world and maintain a proper "fit" between their biological makeup and the pressures of the various niches of the world in which they seek to live. Social groups--where culture is found--must develop adaptive mechanisms in the organization of their social relations if there is to be order, regularity, and predictability in patterns of cooperation and competition and if they are to survive as viable units. This three-volume set of readings presents an introduction to anthropology that is unified and made systematic by focus on adaptations that have accompanied the evolution of man, from non-human primate to inhabitant of vast urban areas in modern industrial societies. Man in Adaptation: The Cultural Present introduces Cultural Anthropoloty also from the point of view of adaptation and provides coherence for the study of human societies from man's social beginnings to the present. The book deals sequentially with the more and more complex technologies and political and social structures that have enabled different societies to make effective use of the energy potentials in their habitats. This and the two companion volumes are the first attempt to unify the disparate subject matter of anthropology within a single and powerful explanatory framework. They incorporate the work of the most renowned anthropological experts on man, and they illuminate clearly one of the most important concepts around which one can build an investigation of the nature and scope of anthropology itself. For these reasons, they are recognized as indispensable reading for every professional anthropologist and as perhaps the best available means of introducing new students to the field.


In an ideal world mediation is almost invariably the preferable method for the settlement of disputes, even compared to arbitration. However, there are many situations where a settlement, whether as a result of mediation, of negotiations or by whatever other means, is simply not possible for a variety of objective or subjective reasons, and recourse to a traditional dispute settlement mechanism becomes unavoidable. Whatever the problems of arbitration in the vast majority of cases it is still the only viable dispute settlement mechanism for international transactions. The differences in State attitudes toward arbitration may lead States and their courts to engage in behaviors that other States, as well as practitioners and commentators who follow the more prevalent views on the law and practice of arbitration, may view as unjustified interferences with the arbitral process. Despite the crucial role of the New York Convention, arbitration is still not subject to a far reaching mandatory harmonization and remains unregulated at the international level. States accordingly retain a broad freedom to favor it but, conversely, also to treat it with distrust. This could leave arbitration in a state of anarchy. Nonetheless, over the past decades there has been a spontaneous evolution towards shared values and approaches in a large number of States. This has led to the emergence of a sort of common law of arbitration.


China's reemergence as a great power over the next few decades represents the primary strategic challenge for the U.S.-Japan security alliance and for the East Asian security landscape writ large. A clearer understanding of the fundamental underpinnings and trajectory of China's foreign policy and security strategies toward the region is necessary to navigate these challenges and assure stability and prosperity in Asia. As such, this report seeks to illuminate the new Chinese leadership's preoccupations, priorities, and policy predilections so that key stakeholders in East and Southeast Asia can determine how they can contribute both individually and collectively to keeping Asia safe and prosperous in a period of great uncertainty and diminishing resources.


An open issue in the economics literature is whether health care expenditure (HCE) is so concentrated in the last years before death that the age profiles in spending will change when longevity increases. The seminal article "Ageing of Population and Health Care Expenditure: A Red Herring?" by Zweifel and colleagues argued that that age is a distraction in explaining growth in HCE. The argument was based on the observation that age did not predict HCE after controlling for time to death (TTD). The authors were soon criticized for the use of a Heckman selection model in this context. Most of the recent literature makes use of variants of a two-part model and seems to give some role to age as well in the explanation. Age seems to matter more for long-term care expenditures (LTCE) than for acute hospital care. When disability is accounted for, the effects of age and TTD diminish. Not many articles validate their approach by comparing properties of different estimation models. In order to evaluate popular models used in the literature and to gain an understanding of the divergent results of previous studies, an empirical analysis based on a claims data set from Germany is conducted. This analysis generates a number of useful insights. There is a significant age gradient in HCE, most for LTCE, and costs of dying are substantial. These "costs of dying" have, however, a limited impact on the age gradient in HCE. These findings are interpreted as evidence against the "red herring" hypothesis as initially stated. The results indicate that the choice of estimation method makes little difference and if they differ, ordinary least squares regression tends to perform better than the alternatives. When validating the methods out of sample and out of period, there is no evidence that including TTD leads to better predictions of aggregate future HCE. It appears that the literature might benefit from focusing on the predictive power of the estimators instead of their actual fit to the data within the sample.


The experiences of Canadian-born students in university programs aimed at intercultural relationships as well as language exchange is lacking in the literature. This study asked, "How does the experience of communicating with international students in a university sponsored Conversation Partners Program shape the identities of the Canadian conversation partners?" Narrative inquiry was used to determine the most common and relevant themes through out the interviews with the participants. These common themes were identified as: "reflecting on cultural norms and values", "emerging openness to diverse perspectives", and "expanding social and cultural network identities." Implications for these intercultural exchanges are that both parties (Canadian and International students) gain in perspective taking, in learning about other cultures while being encouraged to question their own cultural values, and in learning to navigate the world by gaining personal and cultural assets due to becoming more open to the values and beliefs of diverse cultures.


Secretariats -- the administrative arms of international treaties -- -would seem simply to do the bidding of member states. And yet, Sikina Jinnah argues in Post-Treaty Politics, secretariats can play an important role in world politics. On paper, secretariats collect information, communicate with state actors, and coordinate diplomatic activity. In practice, they do much more. As Jinnah shows, they can influence the allocation of resources, structures of interstate cooperation, and the power relationships between states. Jinnah examines secretariat influence through the lens of overlap management in environmental governance -- how secretariats help to manage the dense interplay of issues, rules, and norms between international treaty regimes. Through four case studies, she shows that secretariats can draw on their unique networks and expertise to handle the challenges of overlap management, emerging as political actors in their own right. After presenting a theory and analytical framework for analyzing secretariat influence, Jinnah examines secretariat influence on overlap management within the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), two cases of overlap management in the World Trade Organization, as well as a case in which the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) secretariat failed to influence political outcomes despite its efforts to manage overlap. Jinnah argues that, even when modest, secretariat influence matters because it can establish a path-dependent dynamic that continues to guide state behavior even after secretariat influence has waned.


Abstract Objective Specific comorbidities and old age create a greater vulnerability to severe Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19). While obesity seems to aggravate the course of disease, the actual impact of the BMI and the cutoff which increases illness severity are still under investigation. The aim of the study was to analyze whether the BMI represented a risk factor for respiratory failure, admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) and death. Research design and methods A retrospective cohort study of 482 consecutive COVID-19 patients hospitalised between March 1 and April 20, 2020. Logistic regression analysis and Cox proportion Hazard models including demographic characteristics and comorbidities were carried out to predict the endpoints within 30 days from the onset of symptoms. Results Of 482 patients, 104 (21.6%) had a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2. At logistic regression analysis, a BMI between 30 and 34.9 kg/m2 significantly increased the risk of respiratory failure (OR: 2.32; 95% CI: 1.31–4.09, P = 0.004) and admission to the ICU (OR: 4.96; 95% CI: 2.53–9.74, P < 0.001). A significantly higher risk of death was observed in patients with a BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2 (OR: 12.1; 95% CI: 3.25–45.1, P < 0.001). Conclusions Obesity is a strong, independent risk factor for respiratory failure, admission to the ICU and death among COVID-19 patients. A BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 identifies a population of patients at high risk for severe illness, whereas a BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2 dramatically increases the risk of death.


Cannabinoids, the active components of Cannabis sativa (maijuana), and their derivatives produce a wide spectrum of central and peripheral effects, some of which may have clinical applications. The discovery of specific cannabinoid receptors and a family of endogenous ligands of those receptors has attracted much attention to the general cannabinoid pharmacology. In recent years, studies on the functional role of cannabinoid receptors in bladder have been motivated by the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids on voiding dysfunction in multiple sclerosis patients. In this review, we shall summarize the literature on the expression of cannabinoid receptors in urinary bladder and the peripheral influence of locally and systemically administered cannabinoids in the bladder. The ongoing search for cannabinoid-based therapeutic strategies devoid of psychotropic effects can be complemented with local delivery into bladder by the intravesical route. A greater understanding of the role of the peripheral CB1 and CB2 receptor system in lower urinary tract is necessary to allow the development of new treatment for pelvic disorders.


The Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibit discrimination against applicants and employees with disabilities. Following the elements of a prima facie claim of discrimination, this legal brief explores the conditions under which obesity has been deemed a disability. Although obesity is not generally considered a disabling impairment, plaintiffs have successfully brought obesity-related claims based on a rarely implicated definition of disability. The so-called regarded as definition protects those who are not substantially limited by any condition but are subjected to discrimination based on the perception that they are limited by a physical or mental impairment. Although employers have faired well in such obesity-related discrimination claims, a review of federal case law suggests that public human-resource managers are advised to adopt a strategy that reduces the likelihood of obesity-related discrimination, as it is more desirable to avoid potentially litigious behavior than to emerge victorious in court.


Object tracking is one of the fundamental tasks in various applications such as surveillance, sports, video conferencing and activity recognition. Factors such as occlusions, illumination changes and limited field of observance of the sensor make tracking a challenging task. To overcome these challenges the focus of this thesis is on using multiple modalities such as audio and video for multi-target, multi-modal tracking. Particularly, this thesis presents contributions to four related research topics, namely, pre-processing of input signals to reduce noise, multi-modal tracking, simultaneous detection and tracking, and interaction recognition. To improve the performance of detection algorithms, especially in the presence of noise, this thesis investigate filtering of the input data through spatio-temporal feature analysis as well as through frequency band analysis. The pre-processed data from multiple modalities is then fused within Particle filtering (PF). To further minimise the discrepancy between the real and the estimated positions, we propose a strategy that associates the hypotheses and the measurements with a real target, using a Weighted Probabilistic Data Association (WPDA). Since the filtering involved in the detection process reduces the available information and is inapplicable on low signal-to-noise ratio data, we investigate simultaneous detection and tracking approaches and propose a multi-target track-beforedetect Particle filtering (MT-TBD-PF). The proposed MT-TBD-PF algorithm bypasses the detection step and performs tracking in the raw signal. Finally, we apply the proposed multi-modal tracking to recognise interactions between targets in regions within, as well as outside the cameras' fields of view. The efficiency of the proposed approaches are demonstrated on large uni-modal, multi-modal and multi-sensor scenarios from real world detections, tracking and event recognition datasets and through participation in evaluation campaigns.


This study examined the safety of an isocaloric highcomplex carbohydrate low-saturated fat diet (HICARB) in obese patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Although hypocaloric diets should be recommended to these patients, many find compliance with this diet difficult; therefore, the safety of an isocaloric increase in dietary carbohydrate needs assessment. Lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride (TG, mg/dl) concentrations in isocaloric high-fat and HICARB diets were compared in 7 NIDDM subjects (fat 32 ± 3%, fasting glucose 190 ± 38 mg/dl) and 6 nondiabetic subjects (fat 33 ± 5%). They ate a high-fat diet (43% carbohydrate; 42% fat, polyunsaturated to saturated 0.3; fiber 9 g/1000 kcal; cholesterol 550 mg/day) for 7–10 days. Control subjects (3 NIDDM, 3 nondiabetic) continued this diet for 5 wk. The 13 subjects changed to a HICARB diet (65% carbohydrate; 21% fat, polyunsaturated to saturated 1.2; fiber 18 g/1000 kcal; cholesterol 550 mg/day) for 5 wk. NIDDM subjects on the HICARB diet had decreased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-chol) concentrations (107 vs. 82, P < .001), but their high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-chol) concentrations, glucose, and body weight were unchanged. Changes in total plasma TG concentrations in NIDDM subjects were heterogeneous. Concentrations were either unchanged or had decreased in 5 and increased in 2 NIDDM subjects. Nondiabetic subjects on the HICARB diet had decreased LDL-chol (111 vs. 81, P < .01) and unchanged HDL-chol and plasma TG concentrations). In summary, replacing dietary saturated fat with complexcarbohydrate, independent of cholesterol intake, lowered LDL-chol without an adverse effect on HDLchol, TG, and glucose in most obese Pima Indian NIDDM subjects. Before concluding that these diets are safe in obese NIDDM subjects who are unable to restrict their calorie intake, more data are needed on lipoprotein particle flux.


We use a Fabry-Perot cavity to optically filter the output of a Ti:sapphire frequency comb to integer multiples of the original 1 GHz mode spacing. This effectively increases the pulse repetition rate, which is useful for several applications. In the case of low-noise microwave signal generation, such filtering leads to improved linearity of the high-speed photodiodes that detect the mode-locked laser pulse train. The result is significantly improved signal-to-noise ratio at the 10 GHz harmonic with the potential for a shot-noise limited single sideband phase noise floor near -168 dBc/Hz.


Abstract Ukraine faces a number of challenges including rapid deterioration of the environment. Shift to the sustainable development requires a radical change in governance and legislation. It is obvious the lack of strategic documents, which would define the approaches to integration of certain objectives into sectoral policies. It is strongly related to the system of spatial planning, which should be improved according to European standards, including those concerning environmental protection. This publication reveals approaches to "greening" of the planning process on the basis of German methodology of landscape planning. This methodology was adapted in Ukraine in the framework of joint projects. Particular attention has been given to rural development under decentralisation process. Efficient ways towards the improvement of spatial planning and development have been considered on the case of Ukrainian local community.


This article asks whether radio can ever successful evoke an accurate sense of the sound of the past. It does so through a reflective critical analysis of the 2013 BBC Radio 4 documentary series, Noise: a Human History, by its own writer and presenter. It explores how the 'sound design' of the series met the challenge of providing a longue duree history of sound without having recourse to authentic sound archive recordings for most of the period being covered. Through an analysis of key sequences, and by highlighting the significance of the broader context of production, it argues that it is possible for epistemologically valuable history to emerge, even via a medium that treats sound more as a device for evoking the imagination than as something possessing evidential status in itself. The article does this by invoking the series as a practical example of 'historical acoustemology', and by suggesting that in radio notions of subjectivity and perceptual mimesis are key to understanding the medium's success. In doing so, the article calls for a redefinition of the notion of the radiogenic – arguing for a move away from seeing 'raw' sound as the key ingredient of sound-design, and towards greater attention to the influence of radio's other characteristics as a time-based, institutionally-produced mass medium.