This article develops a new theoretical framework, penal consciousness, that examines the ways in which prisoners orient to and make meaning of their punishment. Penal consciousness identifies the processes from which penality emerges by simultaneously privileging the subjective consciousness of individual prisoners and locating this consciousness within the structure of the larger carceral system. In doing so, the penal consciousness framework moves beyond the limited, objective view of punishment as legal sanction to a more expansive view of penality that privileges subjectivity and meaning. From the inductive analysis of 80 qualitative interviews with prisoners, two dimensions of punishment emerged as key to understanding penality: salience and severity. Findings reveal that severity of punishment is predicated on the level of abstraction at which punishment is experienced, while salience of punishment is determined by the "punishment gap" between an individual's expectations and experiences of punishment. By examining punishment as the nexus between the objective and the subjective, the penal consciousness framework enables punishment as it is understood by prisoners to differ markedly from what is conceived of as punishment by lawmakers, but at the same time to be contingent upon it. This allows punishment to be examined in situ rather than in its ideal, articulated, or abstract form—an important advancement from conventional understandings of punishment.


In this article I note that one important result of the last several decades of social upheaval in Nicaragua has been the emergence of active feminist and antifeminist movements. Since there has been significant analysis of feminist organizing, and very little on antifeminist organizing, the focus of this paper is antifeminism. I argue that the emergence of this backlash movement can be explained in terms of both domestic and global politics. From a domestic perspective, the movement can be seen as a reaction against the Sandinista revolution and its aftermath. From a global perspective, it is a response to what antifeminists see as the challenges of globalization such as feminist successes in international development agencies and the loss of sovereignty due to neoliberalism. It is also a response to the opportunities provided by globalization such as the emergence of a global antifeminist movement with strong links to like-minded organizations in other countries. This article analyzes the historical roots of the movement and then considers the worldviews of the participants in the movement.


We have generated a high-resolution (<20 yr) 2 3 0 Th-dated stalagmite oxygen isotope record from Timta Cave in the western Himalaya in India that documents Southwest Indian summer monsoon (ISM) precipitation variations during the Bolling-Allerod interstadial from 15.2 to 11.7 ka. Compared with the glacial and Younger Dryas, ISM precipitation was enhanced during the Bolling-Allerod. ISM precipitation was apparently coupled to variations in the East Asian monsoon and North Atlantic climate on millennial and multicentennial time scales during the deglaciation. Analyses of a high growth rate interval (<2.5 yr resolution) encompassing the late Bolling-early Alterod suggest that multidecadal monsoon variability was an important aspect of ISM behavior at that time. The frequency spectrum of ISM precipitation during this time interval is similar to that of the Δ 1 4 C record and other ISM precipitation records during'the latest Holocene. This raises the hypothesis that multidecadal climate dynamics during the late Boiling-early Allerod may have been similar to those that operated during the last several millennia, even though the boundary conditions of these two time intervals were very different.


Abstract In July 2010, the Medical Advisory Secretariat (MAS) began work on a Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) evidentiary framework, an evidence-based review of the literature surrounding treatment strategies for patients with COPD. This project emerged from a request by the Health System Strategy Division of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care that MAS provide them with an evidentiary platform on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of COPD interventions.AFTER AN INITIAL REVIEW OF HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENTS AND SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS OF COPD LITERATURE, AND CONSULTATION WITH EXPERTS, MAS IDENTIFIED THE FOLLOWING TOPICS FOR ANALYSIS: vaccinations (influenza and pneumococcal), smoking cessation, multidisciplinary care, pulmonary rehabilitation, long-term oxygen therapy, noninvasive positive pressure ventilation for acute and chronic respiratory failure, hospital-at-home for acute exacerbations of COPD, and telehealth (including telemonitoring and telephone support). Evidence-based analyses were prepared for each of these topics. For each technology, an economic analysis was also completed where appropriate. In addition, a review of the qualitative literature on patient, caregiver, and provider perspectives on living and dying with COPD was conducted, as were reviews of the qualitative literature on each of the technologies included in these analyses.The Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Mega-Analysis series is made up of the following reports, which can be publicly accessed at the MAS website at: http://www.hqontario.ca/en/mas/mas_ohtas_mn.html.Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Evidentiary FrameworkInfluenza and Pneumococcal Vaccinations for Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): An Evidence-Based AnalysisSmoking Cessation for Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): An Evidence-Based AnalysisCommunity-Based Multidisciplinary Care for Patients With Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): An Evidence-Based AnalysisPulmonary Rehabilitation for Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): An Evidence-Based AnalysisLong-Term Oxygen Therapy for Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): An Evidence-Based AnalysisNoninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation for Acute Respiratory Failure Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): An Evidence-Based AnalysisNoninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation for Chronic Respiratory Failure Patients With Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): An Evidence-Based AnalysisHospital-at-Home Programs for Patients With Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): An Evidence-Based AnalysisHome Telehealth for Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): An Evidence-Based AnalysisCost-Effectiveness of Interventions for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Using an Ontario Policy ModelEXPERIENCES OF LIVING AND DYING WITH COPD: A Systematic Review and Synthesis of the Qualitative Empirical LiteratureFOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE QUALITATIVE REVIEW, PLEASE CONTACT MITA GIACOMINI AT: http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/ceb/faculty_member_giacomini.htm.FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE ECONOMIC ANALYSIS, PLEASE VISIT THE PATH WEBSITE: http://www.path-hta.ca/About-Us/Contact-Us.aspx.The Toronto Health Economics and Technology Assessment (THETA) collaborative has produced an associated report on patient preference for mechanical ventilation. For more information, please visit the THETA website: http://theta.utoronto.ca/static/contact. OBJECTIVE OF ANALYSIS: The objective of this analysis was to review empirical qualitative research on the experiences of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), informal caregivers ("carers"), and health care providers-from the point of diagnosis, through daily living and exacerbation episodes, to the end of life. CLINICAL NEED AND TARGET POPULATION: Qualitative empirical studies (from social sciences, clinical, and related fields) can offer important information about how patients experience their condition. This exploration of the qualitative literature offers insights into patients' perspectives on COPD, their needs, and how interventions might affect their experiences. The experiences of caregivers are also explored. RESEARCH QUESTION: What do patients with COPD, their informal caregivers ("carers"), and health care providers experience over the course of COPD? RESEARCH METHODS: LITERATURE SEARCH: SEARCH STRATEGY: Literature searches for studies published from January 1, 2000, to November 2010 were performed on November 29, 2010, using OVID MEDLINE; on November 26, 2010, using ISI Web of Science; and on November 28, 2010, using EBSCO Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL). Titles and abstracts were reviewed by a single reviewer and, for those studies meeting the eligibility criteria, full-text articles were obtained. One additional report, highly relevant to the synthesis, appeared in early 2011 during the drafting of this analysis and was included post hoc. INCLUSION CRITERIA: English-language full reports studies published between January 1, 2000, and November 2010primary qualitative empirical research (using any descriptive or interpretive qualitative methodology, including the qualitative component of mixed-methods studies) and secondary syntheses of primary qualitative empirical researchstudies addressing any aspect of the experiences of living or dying with COPD from the perspective of persons at risk, patients, health care providers, or informal carers; studies addressing multiple conditions were included if COPD was addressed explicitly EXCLUSION CRITERIA: studies addressing topics other than the experiences of living or dying with COPD from the perspective of persons at risk, patients, health care providers, or informal carersstudies labelled "qualitative" but not using a qualitative descriptive or interpretive methodology (e.g., case studies, experiments, or observational analysis using qualitative categorical variables)quantitative research (i.e., using statistical hypothesis testing, using primarily quantitative data or analyses, or expressing results in quantitative or statistical terms)studies that did not pose an empirical research objective or question, or involve the primary or secondary analysis of empirical data OUTCOMES OF INTEREST: qualitative descriptions and interpretations (narrative or theoretical) of personal and social experiences of COPD SUMMARY OF FINDINGS: EXPERIENCES AT DIAGNOSIS: Patients typically seek initial treatment for an acute episode rather than for chronic early symptoms of COPD.Many patients initially misunderstand terms such as COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or exacerbation.Patients may not realize that COPD is incurable and fatal; some physicians themselves do not consider early COPD to be a fatal disease.Smokers may not readily understand or agree with the idea that smoking caused or worsens their COPD. Those who believe there is a causal link may feel regret or shame. EXPERIENCES OF LIVING DAY TO DAY: COPD patients experience alternating good days and bad days. A roller-coaster pattern of ups and downs becomes apparent, and COPD becomes a way of life.Patients use many means (social, psychological, medical, organizational) to control what they can, and to cope with what they cannot. Economic hardship, comorbidities, language barriers, and low health literacy can make coping more difficult.Increasing vulnerability and unpredictable setbacks make patients dependent on others for practical assistance, but functional limitations, institutional living or self-consciousness can isolate patients from the people they need.For smokers, medical advice to quit can conflict with increased desire to smoke as a coping strategy.Many of the factors that isolate COPD patients from social contact also isolate them from health care. EXPERIENCES OF EXACERBATIONS: Patients may not always attribute repeated exacerbations to advancing disease, instead seeing them as temporary setbacks caused by activities, environmental factors, faltering self-management, or infection.Lack of confidence in community-based services leads some patients to seek hospital admission, but patients also feel vulnerable when hospitalized. They may feel dependent on others for care or traumatized by hospital care routines.Upon hospital discharge following an exacerbation, patients may face new levels of uncertainty about their illness, prognosis, care providers, and supports. EXPERIENCES OF THE END OF LIFE: Patients tend to be poorly informed about the long-term prognosis of COPD and what to expect toward the end of life; this lack of understanding impairs quality of life as the disease progresses.As the end of life approaches, COPD patients face the usual challenges of daily living, but in a context of increasing exacerbations and deepening dependency. Activities and mobility decrease, and life may become confined.Some clinicians have difficulty identifying the beginning of "the end of life," given the unpredictable course of COPD. Long-term physician-patient relationships, familiarity and understanding, trust, good communication skills, sensitivity, and secure discussion settings can help facilitate end-of-life discussions.Divergent meanings and goals of palliative care in COPD lead to confusion about whether such services are the responsibility of home care, primary care, specialty care, or even critical care. Palliative end-of-life care may not be anticipated prior to referral for such care. A palliative care referral can convey the demoralizing message that providers have "given up. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)


The paper concerns the development of sustainability profiles for districts in Copenhagen. This work is currently being carried out by the Danish Building Research Institute, the Technical University of Copenhagen, and the municipality of Copenhagen. The aim of the project is to develop a first model for sustainability profiles for districts in Copenhagen that includes environmental, social and environmental indicators. The work is strongly inspired by the Dutch model 'DPL' (Dutch acronym for Duurzaamheid Prestatie voor een Locatie, 'Sustainability-Profile for Districts'), which has been quite successful in the Netherlands. The developer of DPL, IVAM Environmental Research, is consultant for the project. The concept of DPL is that the tool ".. assesses in a clear and transparent way the spatial plan for a district on sustainability, based on the information from the urban plan. It so helps urban designers to creatively improve the sustainable performance of a district" (Kortman et al, 2001). Compared to other tools for assessing urban sustainability, DPL represents a simple and flexible approach. The idea is to use a limited number of indicators based on already collected data. Once the data-collection has been completed, it is easy to repeat it, hence enabling a continuous monitoring of the district. The flexibility of DPL is that it accepts the use of alternative data if the requested data are not available, and also allows new indicators to be included, if they are of special interest of the municipality. This allows a DPL-assessment to be carried out rather smoothly, and thus increase the use amongst municipalities. The DPL-assessment does not provide any 'scientific' correctness, but must be seen as a model open for interpretations and discussions of the local sustainability. Applying the model on urban districts in Copenhagen has implied some changes of indicators. This has, however, also enabled an elaboration of profiles for all 10 districts in Copenhagen, an instant benchmarking between the districts, and comparative analysis of the indicators. The paper will discuss and argue for the choice of model in relation to general experiences on using tools for assessment of urban sustainability, and describe the chosen indicators. The experiences and results derived from the profiles so far will be discussed, as well as strengths, weaknesses and possible improvements of the model. Finally, potential uses of the tool will be considered in relation to ongoing projects and planning initiatives in Copenhagen.


The reuse of experiences gained in maintenance activities is important issue in maintenance management. Efficient experience reuse would improve next interventions, reduce the mistakes and potentially contribute to time and cost savings. However, few studies focus on how maintenance workforce reuses past experiences in the problem- solving phases of the maintenance work. The purpose of this study is therefore to examine the experience reuse process in production maintenance in order to identify reuse practices and its challenges. Based on a case study, this paper presents the observed work practices and its challenges for collecting and reusing experiences in production maintenance. Further, potential improvement suggestions are proposed to overcome these challenges.


Background/Objective: During early cerebral cortex development, neurons form from proliferative glial cells near the ventricular (apical) surface, then migrate along radial glial scaffolds to the cortical surface. In species with wrinkled brains, the presence of basal radial glial cells (bRGCs), radial glial cells which have detached from the ventricular surface, is correlated to the process of gyrification. While mechanical forces are also involved in gyrus creation, the link between the mechanical and biological aspects of this process remains unelucidated. In this study, we hypothesized that radial tension may lead to the production of gyri via the intermediary creation of bRGCs.
Methods: To test this hypothesis, the cell-level modeling software CX3D was used to simulate a system in which radial tension acts on radial glial cells (RGCs), facilitating the semi-stochastic production of bRGCs during the process of neocortex development. The outcome of this model was contrasted with a control case in which bRGCs were not allowed to form, and the two models were compared based upon the presence of neurons on the basal surface.
Results: The production of bRGCs via tension corresponded to a significant increase in the presence of neurons on the pial surface, even if the total number of glial cells—and thus total number of neurons generated—remained constant. Additionally, the likelihood of neurons moving more basally was found to be significantly greater in the presence of bRGCs.
Conclusion and Potential Impact: These results were interpreted to be indications of early gyrus formation. Thus, this study showed that bRGCs—and, ultimately, gyri—may arise from mechanical tension, indicating a possible link between the biological and mechanical explanations of gyrus formation. By providing an alternative lens through which to understand cortical folding, this may have implications for future lines of inquiry, which may expand our understanding of neuro-pathologies associated with misfolding, such as autism and epilepsy.


It is essential to seek the underlying molecular mechanisms of glioma development, and critical to discover interventions that reduce the incidence and attenuate the growth of gliomas using a well-established in vivo experimental model because glioma is clinically one of the most difficult malignant tumors to treat. Ethylnitrosourea (ENU)-induced glioma in the rat has been extensively utilized as an experimental brain tumor model since the mid-1960s, however, the scientific value of ENU-induced glioma has been underappreciated mainly due to the recent development of transgenic mouse glioma models. Because of the pathophysiological characteristics, which are similar to the high grade human malignant gliomas, ENU-induced glioma is an excellent in vivo model to: a) examine the cell origin, development, and pathophysiology of gliomas; b) investigate anti-tumor effects of calorie restriction (CR) and its underlying mechanisms; and c) discover new preventive and/or therapeutic interventions of glioma. Further exploration of genetic changes during initiation, malignant transformation of glial cells, and progression of glioma as well as CR's anti-tumor effects on cellular processes using cutting edge technology, e.g., spatial transcriptomics, could provide more insight and a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of gliomas.


A Mixed Line Rate (MLR) optical network is a good candidate for a core backbone network because of its ability to provide diverse line rates to effectively accommodate traffic demands with heterogeneous bandwidth requirements. Because of the deleterious effects of physical impairments, there is a maximum transmission reach for optical signals before they have to be regenerated. Being expensive devices, regenerators are expected to be sparsely located and used in such a network, called a translucent optical network. In this paper, we consider the Grooming, Routing, and Wavelength Assignment (GRWA) problem so that the Quality of Transmission (QoT) for connections is satisfied, and the network-level performance metric of blocking probability is minimized. Cross-layer heuristics to effectively allocate the sparse regenerators in MLR networks are developed, and extensive simulation results are presented to demonstrate their effectiveness.


With the quick penetration of Internet applications, online media have become an important carrier of public opinions. The opinions and comments expressed by young college students—one of the most active netizen groups—on the Internet have turned out to be an essential part of the online public opinions in colleges and universities. However, the existing systems generally employ simple statistical methods to analyze the effect of online public opinions on the image and reputation development of colleges and universities without taking account of other factors, such as the hotness characteristics of online public opinions and semantic information. Therefore, on the basis of Public Opinion Hotness Index and time series-based trend analysis, as well as the topics extracted using the latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic model, this study aims to improve the analysis performance on the online public opinions in colleges and universities using short-term trend prediction results. The experience and lessons learned from a real case may provide strong data support and feasible suggestions for colleges and universities in analyzing and guiding the online public opinions.


Introduction: Microbiological infection plays vital role in determining the outcome as well as cost and duration of the hospital stay for patients admitted in ICU setup. Therefore regular surveillance of important pathogens and its resistance pattern is mandatory.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to find out the organisms causes infection in patients admitted in ICUs and to know resistance pattern of isolates.
Material & Method: During the period from January 2012 to June 2012, total of 583 samples (blood, respiratory tract, urine etc.) from patients admitted in medical and Neuro-ICUs were collected and processed for culture, identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing according to CLSI recommendations. The medical and microbiological information were recorded from all patients whose samples were collected.
Results: Out of 583, 228 (39.10%) samples were culture positive. The number of Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms isolated were 182 (79.82%) and 46 (20.18%) respectively. The most frequent Gram-negative organisms isolated were Pseudomonas spp. 53/182 (29.12%) followed by Acinetobacter spp. 45 (24.72%), Klebsiella spp. 42 (28.08%), Escherichia coli 35 (19.23%) and others 7 (3.85%). Out of 98, 8 (8.16%) of isolates of pseudomonas spp. and Acinetobacter spp. were carbapenem resistance. Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) production was detected in 33/84 (39.28%) of Enterobacteriaceae.
Conclusion: This report reveals the Microbiology profile in patients in ICUs. Regular microbiological surveillance help in implementing better therapeutic strategies to reduce the high morbidity and mortality associated among the patients in critical care setting


This paper addresses the discourse for a proactive thinking of futurity, intimately concerned with technology, which comes to an influential fruition in the discussion and representation of 'ubiquitous computing'. The imagination, proposal, or playing out of ubiquitous computing environments are bound up with particular ways of constructing futurity. This paper charts the techniques used in ubiquitous computing development to negotiate that futurity. In so doing, it engages with recent geographical debates around anticipation and futurity. The discussion accordingly proceeds in four parts. First, the spatial imagination engendered by the development of ubiquitous computing is explored. Second, particular techniques in ubiquitous computing research and development for anticipating future technology use, and their limits, are discussed through empirical findings. Third, anticipatory knowledge is explored as the basis for stable means of future orientation, which both generates and derives from the techniques for anticipating futures. Fourth, the importance of studying future orientation is situated in relation to the somewhat contradictory nature of anticipatory knowledges of ubicomp and related forms of spatial imagination.


Scholars from various disciplines have studied humor since antiquity. Yet, over the centuries, these researchers have also struggled to conceptualize a viable, well-accepted notion of humor. Beyond pleasure and amusement, people use humor for a variety of social functions. On the one hand, humor can cause others to like the humorous source more, attract regard, ease conversations, promote expression and the exchange of ideas, introduce new topics of discussion, or smooth interactions. On the other hand, in aggressive forms, humor can halt verbal interactions, modify the usual rules of conversation, communicate critiques, or contribute to the creation of subversive environments. Not All Claps and Cheers: Humor in Business and Society Relationships is an original research anthology that considers different angles from which to address the use of humor by individuals, groups and business actors in their interactions within, around, and across organizations—that is, at the interfaces of business and society. Accordingly, the research anthology is organized in four sections—"Humor, Business and Society," "From Society to Business: Humor's Use and Roles in Activist Movements," "From Business to Society: Humor's Use and Roles in Marketing, Corporate Communications, and Public Relations," and "Society within Business: Humor's Use and Roles in the Workplace and in Organizations." This ground-breaking research anthology draws on material from marketing, communications, human resources and stakeholder theory to throw light on this poorly understood facet of human business behavior.


The availability of light, both solar and lunar, is likely to influence the behavior of vertically migrating aquatic animals and their predators. However, the influence of light level on the diving behavior and habitat use of deep-diving cetaceans is not well understood. We used data from 28 depth-transmitting satellite tags deployed on short-finned pilot whales Globicephala macrorhynchus around the main Hawaiian Islands to examine movements and diving behavior in relation to lunar cycles and oceanographic season. During a full moon, dives were deeper (48.1%) and longer (16.7%) than during a new moon. This change appeared to be driven primarily by an increase (25.2%) in the depth of deep dives (>200 m) completed at night and an increase in the proportion of deeper daytime and twilight dives during a full moon. Dives occurred a mean of 18.3 km farther offshore (more than twice as far from shore) during a full moon compared to a new moon. During the oceanographic season with the shortest day length (fall), dives were shallower (25.4%) and shorter (14.2%) than seasons with longer days (summer). This suggests that changes in light level, both solar and lunar, affect the depth of prey targeted by pilot whales, which in turn influences pilot whale diving behavior and distribution. Future research should determine how these changes influence the feeding success and energetics of pilot whales.


Background Relatively little is known about how clustering of energy-balance related behaviours (EBRBs) in young children influences weight status in later childhood. We assessed clustering of six ERBs in 5-year-old British children (on primary school entry), and explored whether this predicted weight status at 11 years (upon transition to high school). Methods We used complete-case data from 9,726 children who participated in the Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative prospective cohort of children born in the UK. Mothers reported their 5-year-old child's EBRBs (fruit consumption; sweetened drink consumption; active transport to school; frequency of sport/exercise; TV viewing; computer use). Body Mass Index (BMI) was objectively measured at 5 and 11 years. Latent Class Analysis was used to derive clusters of EBRBs (using the Latent Gold package), accounting for child's sex, ethnicity, BMI at age 5, and maternal educational attainment. Multivariable linear regression was used to estimate whether EBRB clusters at age 5 predicted BMI z-score in 11-year-olds (using STATA13/SE). Results Four EBRBs clusters were identified (in order of prevalence): 'low screen-time, sweetened drinks' (32%); 'healthy' (28%); 'unhealthy' (26%); and 'high screen-time' (14%). Children in the 'healthy' cluster had low screen-time, frequent sport participation, and a good diet (high fruit, low sweetened drinks consumption); the opposite EBRBs were observed in 5-year-olds assigned to the 'unhealthy' cluster. Those in the 'low screen-time, sweetened drinks' and 'high screen-time' clusters exhibited a mixture of EBRBs, with moderate sports participation and fruit intake. Children in the 'healthy' cluster were more likely to be girls, have mothers with higher educational attainment, and were less likely to be obese at age 5; those in the 'unhealthy' cluster were more likely to have lower educated mothers. 'High screen-time' children were more likely to be boys and from middle-income homes. In regression analyses, compared to children in the 'healthy' cluster, being in any other cluster was associated with higher BMI z-scores at age 11 ['low screen-time, sweetened drinks': z BMI 0.16 [0.10, 0.23] higher; 'unhealthy': 0.19 (0.12, 0.26); and 'high screen-time': 0.24 (0.16, 0.33)]. Conclusion Four clusters of energy-balance related behaviours were identified in 5-year-old UK children, and clusters appeared to be socially graded. Even after accounting for socio-demographic factors, as early as age 5, clusters of less healthy EBRBs predicted higher BMI z-scores in middle childhood, and how these EBRBs cluster may also be important. Potential pathways and mediating factors will be described.


In this paper, we have studied a decomposition method for solving a class of nonconvex two-stage stochastic programs, where both the objective and constraints of the second-stage problem are nonlinearly parameterized by the first-stage variable. Due to the failure of the Clarke regularity of the resulting nonconvex recourse function, classical decomposition approaches such as Benders decomposition and (augmented) Lagrangian-based algorithms cannot be directly generalized to solve such models. By exploring an implicitly convex-concave structure of the recourse function, we introduce a novel decomposition framework based on the so-called partial Moreau envelope. The algorithm successively generates strongly convex quadratic approximations of the recourse function based on the solutions of the second-stage convex subproblems and adds them to the first-stage master problem. Convergence under both fixed scenarios and interior samplings is established. Numerical experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.


Background: Global acetabular retroversion is classically treated with open reverse periacetabular osteotomy. Given the low morbidity and recent success associated with the arthroscopic treatment of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), there may also be a role for arthroscopic treatment of acetabular retroversion. However, the safety and outcomes after hip arthroscopic surgery for retroversion need further study, and the effect of impingement from the anterior inferior iliac spine (subspine) in patients with retroversion is currently unknown. Hypothesis: Arthroscopic treatment for global acetabular retroversion will be safe, and patients will have similar outcomes compared with a matched group undergoing arthroscopic treatment for focal pincer-type FAI. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. Methods: Patients undergoing hip arthroscopic surgery for symptomatic global acetabular retroversion were prospectively enrolled and compared with a matched group of patients undergoing arthroscopic surgery for focal pincer-type FAI. Both groups underwent the same arthroscopic treatment protocol. All patients were administered patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures, including the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) Physical Component Summary (PCS) and a Mental Component Summary (MCS), modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), Hip disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS), and visual analog scale (VAS) for pain preoperatively and at 1 year postoperatively. Results: There were no differences in age, sex, or body mass index between 39 hips treated for global acetabular retroversion and 39 hips treated for focal pincer-type FAI. There were no major or minor complications in either group. Patients who underwent arthroscopic treatment for global acetabular retroversion demonstrated similar significant improvements in postoperative PRO scores (scores increased by 17 to 43 points) as patients who underwent arthroscopic treatment for focal pincer-type FAI. Patients treated for retroversion who also underwent subspine decompression had greater improvement than patients who did not undergo subspine decompression for the HOOS-Pain (33.7 ± 15.3 vs 22.5 ± 17.6, respectively; P = .046) and HOOS–Quality of Life (49.7 ± 18.8 vs 34.6 ± 22.0, respectively; P = .030) scores. Conclusion: Arthroscopic treatment for acetabular retroversion is safe and provides significant clinical improvement similar to arthroscopic treatment for pincer-type FAI. Patients with acetabular retroversion who also underwent arthroscopic subspine decompression demonstrated greater improvements in pain and quality of life outcomes than those who underwent arthroscopic treatment without subspine decompression.


Research Summary Using detailed ownership and financial information from a large sample of owner‐managed private firms in three Western European countries, this paper examines the relationship between CEO's age and firm's performance. Tracking firms over time, we find that as a CEO ages, the firm experiences lower investment, lower sales growth, and lower profitability, but also higher probability of survival, suggesting a trade‐off between the managerial approaches of younger and older CEOs. These results are stronger in industries more reliant on human capital, such as service and creative industries. Our evidence also suggests that regional financial development moderates the relationship between a CEO's age and a firm's performance by facilitating the reallocation of assets from firms owned by older CEOs to firms owned by younger CEOs. Managerial Summary How do management styles change as CEOs grow older? Using a large firm‐level dataset, we examine the behavior and performance of firms with CEOs of different ages. We find that as a CEO grows older, firm investment, growth, and profitability decline, but probability of survival increases. The results are stronger in industries where human capital and creativity are more important. Regional financial development moderates the age–performance relationship by facilitating reallocation of assets from firms with old CEOs to firms with younger CEOs. Our findings suggest that management styles change with age, as older CEOs tend to emphasize survival at the expense of higher profits and faster growth.


: This is a description of a ureteric replacement operation employing a modified Culp-de-Weerd method for the ileopelvic segment of the ureter combined with a Cohen ureteric reimplantation. This operation was carried out in a 2-month-old infant with a stenosis of the left ureter. 7 months postoperatively the left kidney is normal as far as its anatomy and function is concerned.


Springback is one of main reason for inaccuracy of sheet metal formed product. Therefore prediction of springback is very important for production of precise products. Springback is an elastic material recovery after unloading of the forming tools, and causes variations and inconsistencies of final part dimensions. This is affected by various parameters involved in the process of sheet metal forming. The main aim of this paper is to investigate the springback of finished part by analysing and controlling the effects of the control parameters on the springback of advanced high strength steels (AHSS). This is done by modelling a deep-drawing process and analysing the results as determined on ANSYS finite element analysis software.


Fluoxetine is an antidepressant commonly prescribed not only to adults but also to children for the treatment of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and neurodevelopmental disorders. The adverse effects of the long-term treatment reported in some patients, especially in younger individuals, call for a detailed investigation of molecular alterations induced by fluoxetine treatment. Two-year fluoxetine administration to juvenile macaques revealed effects on impulsivity, sleep, social interaction, and peripheral metabolites. Here, we built upon this work by assessing residual effects of fluoxetine administration on the expression of genes and abundance of lipids and polar metabolites in the prelimbic cortex of 10 treated and 11 control macaques representing two monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) genotypes. Analysis of 8871 mRNA transcripts, 3608 lipids, and 1829 polar metabolites revealed substantial alterations of the brain lipid content, including significant abundance changes of 106 lipid features, accompanied by subtle changes in gene expression. Lipid alterations in the drug-treated animals were most evident for polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). A decrease in PUFAs levels was observed in all quantified lipid classes excluding sphingolipids, which do not usually contain PUFAs, suggesting systemic changes in fatty acid metabolism. Furthermore, the residual effect of the drug on lipid abundances was more pronounced in macaques carrying the MAOA-L genotype, mirroring reported behavioral effects of the treatment. We speculate that a decrease in PUFAs may be associated with adverse effects in depressive patients and could potentially account for the variation in individual response to fluoxetine in young people.


Augmented Reality (AR) combines real and virtual objects, provides opportunities for real-time interaction and provides accurate registration of 3D virtual and real objects. Mobile AR creates unique opportunities for gameplay unrestricted by the screen size of mobile devices with interactions possible between players, game objects and the real world. Since the launch of Pokémon Go in 2016, AR gaming has gone mainstream, several commercial mobile AR games have been launched, and researchers have conducted several studies on the motivations, intentions, and experiences associated with playing AR games. However, most studies in this area have focused on Pokémon Go, and have not included issues reported by players. This paper presents a study conducted with the aim of understanding issues, specifically those associated with the use of AR in games, that mobile AR game players face. User reviews for 10 popular commercial mobile AR games that utilise AR in all significant gameplay activities were gathered and analysed using Thematic Analysis to identify 11 themes of issues. This study adds to the body of knowledge and understanding of issues facing mobile AR game players and includes commercial mobile AR games other than Pokémon Go in the research on AR games.


Colonialism did not transform African peasants into waged labor. A majority of peasants worked as forced laborers, often unpaid, and they returned to their agricultural household labor as soon as they completed work assignments mandated by the colonizers. Colonial Africans resided in mixed livelihood households in which nonwaged labor forms (both free and unfree) predominated, and very few became dependent on wages. For a majority of colonial Africans, informal sector activities, tenancy, sharecropping, and subsistence production on communal plots were not temporary nonwaged forms on an inevitable path toward proletarianization. Wage earning was not the primary mechanism through which these households were integrated into the modern world-system. Instead, these households primarily provided nonwaged labors to capitalist commodity chains that, in turn, extracted surpluses from them and externalized costs of production to them.


In this paper, we apply a series of empirical microstructure tests to the NZD/USD and AUD/USD. In contrast to a more traditional macro approach to explaining exchange rate changes, microstructure studies focus on the role that transactions play in helping the market aggregate information on individual market participants expectations of economic fundamentals and risk preferences. Our data comes from the Reuters Spot Matching service, the main interbank trading platform in both currency pairs, and covers almost five and a half years of transactions from January 2001 to March 2006, a much longer and more representative time series than many empirical microstructure applications to date. We find that there is a strong contemporaneous relationship between net order flow (the net of buyerinitiated and seller-initiated transactions) and changes in the NZD/USD and AUD/USD at frequencies from one minute to one week, similar to studies on other currencies. We also find that cross-currency order flow has a positive association with changes in the other exchange rate (ie AUD/USD order flow has a positive contemporaneous relationship with changes in the NZD/USD). Finally, we examine a wide range of New Zealand, Australian and US data releases and central bank interest rate decisions and find that order flow plays an important role in communicating different interpretations of macroeconomic news.


Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) offers several advantages in imaging and determination of soft tissue alterations when compared to qualitative imaging techniques. Although applications in brain and muscle tissues are well studied, its suitability to quantify relaxation times of intact and injured bone tissue, especially in children, is widely unknown. The objective observation of a fracture including its age determination can become of legal interest in cases of child abuse or maltreatment. Therefore, the aim of this study is the determination of time dependent changes in intact and corresponding injured bones in immature rats via qMRI, to provide the basis for an objective and radiation-free approach for fracture dating. Thirty-five MR scans of 7 Sprague-Dawley rats (male, 4 weeks old, 100 ± 5 g) were acquired on a 3T MRI scanner (TimTrio, Siemens AG, Erlangen, Germany) after the surgical infliction of an epiphyseal fracture in the tibia. The images were taken at days 1, 3, 7, 14, 28, 42 and 82 post-surgery. A proton density-weighted and a T1-weighted 3D FLASH sequence were acquired to calculate the longitudinal relaxation time T1 of the fractured region and the surrounding tissues. The calculation of T1 in intact and injured bone resulted in a quantitative observation of bone development in intact juvenile tibiae as well as the bone healing process in the injured tibiae. In both areas, T1 decreased over time. To evaluate the differences in T1 behaviour between the intact and injured bone, the relative T1 values (bone-fracture) were calculated, showing clear detectable alterations of T1 after fracture occurrence. These results indicate that qMRI has a high potential not only for clinically relevant applications to detect growth defects or developmental alterations in juvenile bones, but also for forensically relevant applications such as the dating of fractures in cases of child abuse or maltreatment.


The leukocyte migration agarose technique was used to show the leukocyte migration-inhibition responses of nonvaccinated and vaccinated heifers to experimental infection with Brucella abortus. All heifers had increased leukocyte migration inhibition after exposure to B abortus. Nonvaccinated heifers which aborted had the highest responses. The responses of the vaccinated heifers were significantly (P less than 0.01) lower than those of nonvaccinated heifers. None of the vaccinated heifers aborted.


There are currently a billion cars in use worldwide, and car design trends point at increasing variety in material utilisation. Cars today contain several types of steel and aluminium, an assortment of textiles and padding materials, and an increasing amount of polymers and scarce metals. Since recycling may have environmental, economic, and in the case of scarce metals, resource security benefits, the scale of car usage strongly motivates efficient and effective recycling of discarded cars, also referred to as end-of-life vehicles (ELVs).

However, current ELV recycling systems are typically aimed at isolating hazardous content, selling spare parts, recovering and recycling some regulated parts and recycling metals existing in sizable quantities. Small material constituents, e.g. scarce metals, and materials of currently low market value, e.g. plastics, risk being lost, used as construction materials, incinerated or landfilled. Thus, system capabilities currently exist for recycling some materials at high recycling rates, while such capabilities are lacking or are non-existent for other materials. Consequently, there is need for developing recycling systems that are more in tune to the material complexity of present and future ELVs.

The aim of this thesis is to increase the knowledge base related to the state of ELV recycling and to means of improvement. Particular attention is given to what extent ELV recycling is a source of scarce metals, to what extent these metals are recycled so that their metal properties are utilised (i.e. are functionally recycled), and what insights can be obtained from examining the historic development of ELV iron recycling, which is well-established today. The thesis is concerned with the following questions: (1) What is the magnitude of scarce metals in discarded cars? (2) What are the fates of these metals in current ELV recycling? (3) Which fates constitute functional recycling and which risk leading to irreversible losses? (4) Which were the key system-building processes that led to current capabilities for ELV iron recycling?

Using material flow analysis, it is indicated that only 8 out of 25 studied ELV scarce metals have potential to be functionally recycled. Consequently, it is stressed that metal specific strategies are needed. Additionally, using the technological innovation systems framework, it is indicated that current capabilities for ELV iron recycling resulted from evolution of the ELV recycling system with the system demand side, supply side and policy. Consequently, it is argued that strengthening capabilities for recycling ELV materials such as scarce metals and plastics, may depend on initiatives that promote similar evolution. Furthermore, given that material configurations of ELVs may change continuously over time, uncertain recycling market conditions may be the normal case rather than an exception. Thus, long-term policy is argued for that promotes the orchestration of continuous and adapting evolution.


Consumers occasionally find difficulty in finding the location of a store or business place they want because there is little information to be found and the information is usually subjective. Web-based GIS technology can be used to search for business place so the consumer can easily find the store or business place they want, along with the address. On the other hand, businesspeople also receive benefit because this system gives the opportunity to promote their businesses. This system was built using concept of web-based geographic information system where there was a map from Google Map API inside the web to make finding the location easier. General Terms Spatial Decission Support Concept (SDSS) on Web-based GIS; DBMS with spatial component


This report contains a review of the technical literature concerning the detection, location, and characterization of structural damage via techniques that examine changes in measured structural vibration response. The report first categorizes the methods according to required measured data and analysis technique. The analysis categories include changes in modal frequencies, changes in measured mode shapes (and their derivatives), and changes in measured flexibility coefficients. Methods that use property (stiffness, mass, damping) matrix updating, detection of nonlinear response, and damage detection via neural networks are also summarized. The applications of the various methods to different types of engineering problems are categorized by type of structure and are summarized. The types of structures include beams, trusses, plates, shells, bridges, offshore platforms, other large civil structures, aerospace structures, and composite structures. The report describes the development of the damage-identification methods and applications and summarizes the current state-of-the-art of the technology. The critical issues for future research in the area of damage identification are also discussed.


Algal assemblages are critical components of marine ecosystems from the intertidal to mesophotic depths; they act as primary producers, nutrient cyclers, and substrate providers. Coral reef ecosystems can be disrupted by stressors such as storm events, effluent inundation, sudden temperature shifts, and non-native invaders. Avrainvillea amadelpha is an invasive green alga that was first recorded in the main Hawaiian Islands on the west shore of Oahu and has continued to be of concern due to its extreme competitiveness with native algae and seagrasses. It has spread rapidly across the island of Oahu, decreasing the biodiversity of the benthos from shorelines to ~90 m depth. We employed a boosted regression tree modeling framework to identify highly vulnerable regions prone to invasion. Our model indicated that regions exposed to minimal bottom currents and at least five degree heating weeks are particularly susceptible to A. amadelpha colonization. Additionally, we extrapolated our model to the main Hawaiian Islands and forecasted how a 25% increase in statewide annual maximum degree heating weeks may change habitat suitability for A. amadelpha. Across all islands, we identified particularly vulnerable "hotspot" regions of concern for resource managers and conservationists. This manuscript demonstrates the utility of this approach for identifying priority regions for invasive species management in the face of a changing climate.


Abstract We describe the parameters of a low-frequency all-sky survey of compact radio sources using Interplanetary Scintillation, undertaken with the Murchison Widefield Array. While this survey gives important complementary information to low-resolution survey, providing information on the sub-arsecond structure of every source, a survey of this kind has not been attempted in the era of low-frequency imaging arrays such as the Murchison Widefield Array and LOw Frequency Array. Here we set out the capabilities of such a survey, describing the limitations imposed by the heliocentric observing geometry and by the instrument itself. We demonstrate the potential for Interplanetary Scintillation measurements at any point on the celestial sphere and we show that at 160 MHz, reasonable results can be obtained within 30° of the ecliptic (2π str: half the sky). We also suggest some observational strategies and describe the first such survey, the Murchison Widefield Array Phase I Interplanetary Scintillation survey. Finally we analyse the potential of the recently upgraded Murchison Widefield Array and discuss the potential of the Square Kilometre Array-low to use Interplanetary Scintillation to probe sub-mJy flux density levels at sub-arcsecond angular resolution.


Background. The number of AL, regulated by their local proliferation and apoptosis, contributes to the activity of immune process in ILD. Ligation of death receptors (DRs) by specific ligands on AL seems to be a potent mechanism of apoptosis induction. Aim. Evaluation of DRs expression on AL. The assessment of DR role in AL apoptosis in ILD. Methods. Bronchoalvolar lavage (BAL) carried out in sarcoidosis (PS), extrinsic allergic alveolitis (EAA), idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIP) and controls (n=46,7,23,13 resp.). AL staining for Fas, Fas Ligand (FasL), DR3, DR4 and TNFα receptors (CD120A and B). BAL supernatant soluble Fas (sFas), sFasL, TRAIL and TNFα levels measured by ELISA. Results. In general, common Fas and CD120B apearance on AL coexists with low expression of DR3, DR4 and CD120A. AL apoptosis rate was sign. positively correlated with TNFα level as well as with DR4, FasL, CD120A expression and (p Conclusions. DRs participate in AL number regulation, however different mechanisms may drive the process in specific ILD. TNFα proapoptotic effect on AL is probably dependent on the imbalance of its receptors (CD120A and B). Fas/FasL system seems to be active by FasL membrane-bound form, but not soluble one.


About the book:
Social Policy Review provides students, academics and all those interested in welfare issues with detailed analyses of progress and change in areas of major interest during the past year.

Bringing together a selection of commissioned papers, the Review is organised in three parts. First, it concentrates on the main policy developments during 2005 in relation to five key areas of welfare provision, both in the UK and internationally. The second part, this year concentrating on the theme of health and well-being, draws on current research to explore key policy issues and challenges. The final section explores employment and later life - an often neglected area of social policy, yet one that will increasingly dominate the contemporary news agenda and that has long term implications for social policy.


Carcinoma of the prostate is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. The natural history and the biological aggressiveness are primarily determined by tumor volume. At the time of diagnosis, only one third of all tumors are pathologically confined to the prostate and eligible for curative therapy. Early detection by the general practitioner with prostate-specific antigen and digital rectal examination should be the primary goal. Currently, diagnosis is best established by transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsies. For the treatment of localized prostate cancer, men who undergo radical retropubic prostatectomy have been shown to have superior long-term results when compared to those who have received radiation therapy. With an improved understanding of the prostatic anatomy and nerve-sparing surgical techniques, morbidity from impotence and incontinence are minimal. In advanced carcinoma, 70 to 80% of men initially respond well to androgen withdrawal. Unfortunately, androgen-independent cells will continue to multiply, leading to tumor progression and death. Until effective chemotherapeutic agents are developed, we can only achieve palliation in advanced disease.


Ultra-high-performance concrete is typically defined as an advanced cementitious material that has a compressive strength of over 150 MPa and superior durability. This article presents the development of a new type of ultra-high-performance concrete, namely, ultra-high-performance seawater sea-sand concrete. The development of ultra-high-performance seawater sea-sand concrete addresses the challenges associated with the shortage of freshwater, river-sand and coarse aggregate in producing concrete for a marine construction project. When used together with corrosion-resistant fibre-reinforced polymer composites, the durability of the resulting structures (i.e. hybrid fibre-reinforced polymer–ultra-high-performance seawater sea-sand concrete structures) in a harsh environment can be expected to be outstanding. The ultra-high strength of ultra-high-performance seawater sea-sand concrete and the unique characteristics of fibre-reinforced polymer composites also offer tremendous opportunities for optimization towards new forms of high-performance structures. An experimental study is presented in this article to demonstrate the concept and feasibility of ultra-high-performance seawater sea-sand concrete: ultra-high-performance seawater sea-sand concrete samples with a 28-day cube compressive strength of over 180 MPa were successfully produced; the samples were made of seawater and sea-sand, but without steel fibres, and were cured at room temperature. The experimental programme also examined the effects of a number of relevant variables, including the types of sand, mixing water and curing water, among other parameters. The mini-slump spread, compressive strength and stress–strain curve of the specimens were measured to clarify the effects of experimental variables. The test results show that the use of seawater and sea-sand leads to a slight decrease in workability, density and modulus of elasticity; it is also likely to slightly increase the early strength but to slightly decrease the strengths at 7 days and above. Compared with freshwater curing, the seawater curing method results in a slight decrease in elastic modulus and compressive strength.


Abstract A new species of Redudasys (Macrodasyida: Redudasyidae) is described from Texas and Oregon, U.S.A. A single Texas specimen was reported (but not formally described and named) in 2014 from an artesian outflow in Spring Lake, San Marcos, Texas. The Texas specimen provided the first record of Redudasys from outside Brazil. Fifteen specimens were found and studied in 2015 and 2016 from sand pockets among boulders in the Little Nestucca River, near Pacific City, Oregon. Redudasys neotemperatus n. sp. is morphologically and genetically distinguishable from Redudasys fornerise Kisielewski, 1987a, the only formally described species in the genus up until now, and morphologically distinguishable from "Redudasys sp.", an unnamed form reported by Garraffoni et al. in 2010 without genetic information. The Texas and Oregon specimens agree well morphologically and genetically.


OBJECTIVE
Free fatty acids (FFAs) exert a stimulatory effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in animals and inhibit spontaneous ACTH and cortisol secretion in humans. Patients with anorexia nervosa display concomitant HPA axis hyperactivity and increased lipolysis. We studied the effects of a lipid load on ACTH and cortisol secretion in patients with anorexia nervosa in comparison with normal subjects.

DESIGN
Eight women with anorexia nervosa (ANW; means +/- s.e.m.: 23.9 +/- 2.3 years of age; body mass index (BMI): 14.9 +/- 0.6 kg/m2) and seven normal women (NW; 25.6 +/- 2.3 years of age; BMI: 22.8 +/- 1.9 kg/m2) had FFA, ACTH, cortisol, glucose and insulin levels measured in the morning every 30 min for 180 min during i.v. saline or lipid-heparin emulsion (LHE) infusion.

RESULTS
During saline infusion, ACTH and cortisol levels decreased spontaneously in both groups, ACTH and cortisol levels in ANW being higher than in NW. LHE infusion led to increased FFA levels in both groups (P < 0.005). The ACTH and cortisol decrease in NW was more marked than during saline infusion (P < 0.05). LHE infusion in ANW was associated with a more pronounced decrease in ACTH levels than during saline infusion (P < 0.05), while cortisol levels were unchanged. At the end of the LHE infusion, a progressive decrease in FFA levels was associated with an increase in ACTH and cortisol concentrations in NW (P < 0.05) but not in ANW in whom FFA levels decreased to a lesser extent (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that corticotroph sensitivity to the inhibitory effect of an FFA load is preserved in patients with anorexia nervosa, in spite of persistent adrenal hyperactivity.


The influence of the irradiation of different kinds on the induction of the structural mutations in the bacteria Escherichia coli is considered. The regularities of the Tn10 precise excision after accelerated 4He and 12C ions irradiations with different linear energy transfer (LET) were investigated. Dose dependences of the survival and relative frequency of the Tn10 precise excision were obtained. It was shown, that the relative frequency of the Tn10 precise excision is the exponential function from the irradiation dose. Relative biological efficiency (RBE), and relative genetic efficiency (RGE) were calculated, and were treated as the function of the LET.


Although hypointellectuals have long been a part of our cultural landscape, it is in post-conflict societies, such as those in Bosnia and Kosovo, that there has arisen a strong need for a different breed of intellectual, one who is more than simply a social critic, an educator, a person of action, and a compassionate individual. Enter the non-partisan intellectual—the hyperintellectual. It is the hyperintellectual, whose non-partisanship is manifested through a reciprocating critique and defense of both the nationalist enterprise and strong interventionism of the International Community, who strives to create a climate of understanding and to enlarge the moral space so as to reduce the divisiveness between opposing parties. It is in this way that the hyperintellectual acts as a catalyst for the creation of a democratic culture within the civil societies of Bosnia and Kosovo. © 2016 Global Outlook


The objective of this work is to investigate the effect of water vapor content in a mixed gas consisting of nitrogen and hydrogen for firing atmosphere on the micro structure and crystal phase of fired silicon powder compact. In consequence of the firing test, crystal of α-silicon nitride, α-cristobalite and α-quartz were formed in order as water vapor content grows higher and fibrous or network shaped micro structures were formed in all range. From XRD and SEM observations of the fired specimens and from phase diagram of Si-SiO2 system, the following mechanism of silicon oxide formation was suggested. At the time of the firing, first melted layer consisting of silicon and oxigen was formed on the surface of the specimen. Secondly an oxigen content of the melted layer increased further. Lastly an amorphous silicon oxide precipitated from there. By keeping on the specimen at the firing temperature, precipitation of amorphous silicon oxide and dissolution of silicon and oxigen proceeded concurrently in the melted layer. Finally silicon was completly transformed into silicon oxide.


In the process of decision tree construction, property division standards directly affect the classification results. Aimed at weakness of ID3 in nicety of grading, we provide the concept of degree of rough classification as select criteria of separation of property. The method took into account nicety of grading and dependency between condition attributes and decision attributes. Compared with traditional decision tree based entropy, the experiment proved that the decision tree constructed in our method effectively improves the classification results.


2017 was the costliest year for flood damage in American history. Somewhat fortuitously, the beleaguered National Flood Insurance Program came up for reauthorization just as the country was bearing the brunt of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. With the program at its borrowing limit and facing the prospect of being unable to pay claims, Congress punted on the question of long-term reform by forgiving its past debt and extending its reauthorization deadline. That deadline has since been extended seven more times, with little substantive discussion of the widely-felt need for reform.

Scientists expect a warmer climate to cause more intense rainfall, more powerful hurricanes, and higher sea levels, all of which will significantly worsen the flood risk we face. Meanwhile, many see federal policy as failing to encourage sustainable development. Indeed, the dominant view of experts is that programs like the NFIP have made the problem worse, by insulating property owners from the effects of storms and thus artificially inflating the value of flood-prone real estate. This viewpoint, however, assumes that the purpose of federal policy in this area should be to incentivize some objectively optimal level of exposure to the risk of floods. The behavior of policymakers, on the other hand, strongly suggests that this utilitarian approach to the problem is not the only — or even the default — way of thinking about our exposure to risk.

Drawing on tort doctrine, and particularly the defense of assumption of risk, I argue that there is instead a set of deeply moral instincts underlying our response to flood risk. The doctrine of assumption of risk assigns responsibility for the realization of risks not when our decisions to confront them are objectively rational, but rather when they are made freely, with meaningful knowledge of the risk and a choice of whether to accept it. These ideas, I argue, can already be detected in the rate structure of the NFIP, and yet they are largely ignored in the broader policy debate about how best to share the burden of flood risk. If tort law represents a distillation and application of our common moral intuitions about risk and responsibility, it can shed light on how this complex problem should be resolved.


The proposition that voters reward incumbent governments that perform well economically is considered received wisdom in many democracies. We examine this hypothesis in India, a developing democracy where scholars have found limited evidence of economic voting. Using a unique state-level panel dataset covering the years 1980–2012, we find that there is no relationship between growth and electoral performance in the aggregate. However, since 2000, there do appear to be increasing electoral returns to governments that deliver higher rates of economic growth. The positive returns to growth are much larger than those to improved law and order, while inflation has no clear impact. The results suggest a significant shift in Indian voter behavior.


Scholars systematically mismeasure power resources and military burdens by using gross domestic product (GDP) as a proxy for the income states can devote to arming. The core problem is that GDP confounds two conceptually distinct forms of income into one additive indicator. Subsistence income represents resources needed to provide the "bread" necessary to cover the basic subsistence needs of the population. Surplus income represents the remaining resources that could be allocated to "guns" or "butter." Our new measure of surplus domestic product (SDP) corrects for this measurement error by decomposing subsistence income and surplus income from total GDP. Validation exercises demonstrate that SDP outperforms GDP at measuring the distribution of power resources. Though theoretically we expect states' decisions to arm are influenced by the distribution of power; empirical models using GDP find mixed support for this expectation. Strikingly, using SDP reveals strong support for this proposition.


Oral treprostinil may be an option for low- and intermediate-risk patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare lung vascular disease. This open-label extension study collected data on participants who completed previously reported, placebo-controlled oral treprostinil studies. Eligible participants had completed the prospective parent studies and took increasing doses of oral treprostinil twice daily; some later transitioned to three times daily dosing. Investigators measured 6-minute walk distance at Month 12 as the sole efficacy measure but collected adverse events throughout the study. A single center measured pharmacokinetics in 13 subjects who changed dosing from twice daily to three times daily. Eight hundred and ninety-four participants enrolled and 71% completed one year of therapy, with a median total daily dose of 7 mg and a median 6-minute walk distance increase of 22 m (interquartile range, −14 to 67 m). Subjects achieving higher doses had larger increases in 6-minute walk distance; 42% of participants completed three years of therapy. Adverse events were typical for prostacyclin class therapy, but prostacyclin-type adverse events may have been better tolerated with three times daily dosing in 105 participants. In 13 participants transitioned to three times daily dosing with pharmacokinetic measurements before and after, trough drug levels were higher with three times daily dosing. Oral treprostinil is associated with modest but durable, dose-responsive effects on exercise tolerance for those who remained on therapy at one year in this prospective, uncontrolled study. Three times daily dosing was associated with higher trough levels and better tolerability. The recently completed Freedom-EV study will provide further insights into the utility of oral treprostinil (https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01560624).


Objective: The aim of this study was to review the literature about the relationship between gingivitis and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Material and methods: Relevant databases were searched for articles in English, which had been published from October 1990 to February 2014. Two independent examiners selected relevant papers, by initially assessing the abstracts and subsequently the full-text articles. Selected studies were grouped based on clinical and OHRQoL instruments and submitted to qualitative analyses. Results: Out of 184 references, twelve were eligible for synthesis. All studies were cross-sectional and reported data from the following five different countries: Chile (n=2), India (n=1), Brazil (n=3), Thailand (n=5) and Sudan (n=1). The number and age of subjects included ranged from 53 to 9133 and from eight to 106 years, respectively. The following six OHRQoL instruments were used: Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP), OHIP-14, Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ), Oral Impacts on Daily Performance (OIDP), Child-OIDP and Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). The different methods to evaluate the presence of gingivitis were: necrotizing ulcerative gingival lesions (n=2), Gingival Index (n=2), Community Periodontal Index (n=7) and gingival bleeding after tooth brushing (n=1). Conclusion: This literature review suggests that gingivitis is associated with impairment of OHRQoL.


In order to determine the effect of increased magnesium addition on the strengthening behaviour during deformation, four types of aluminium alloys were cast and rolled. The cast aluminium alloys contain; 0.451%Mg, 0.551%Mg, 0.651%Mg, and 0.751%Mg in addition to the other elements which are constant. Deformation was carried out at 20% and 40%. The hot worked profiles were machined into tensile test specimen and were subjected to tensile test. The result was used to determine the ultimate tensile strength and the percentage elongation. From the results, it was observed that the tensile properties of the aluminium alloys improved with increase in percentage deformation and magnesium content up to 0.651%Mg. This shows the effect of deformation on grain refinement. At high percentage of deformation and increased magnesium content, the grains are more refined and this improves the strength and the mechanical properties. However, at 0.751%Mg, a decrease in the tensile properties was observed as deformation is no more effective. The result shows that there is a limit to the amount of magnesium content that will give the optimum mechanical properties.


Mechanical alloys (MАs) were synthesized by the method of reactive mechanical alloying. At a hydrogen pressure of 0.1 MPa, with the use of thermal desorption spectroscopy, the thermal stability, the kinetics of hydrogen desorption from the hydride phase MgH2 of the obtained MAs were studied. It has been established that the complex doping by of Fe, Si, Ti, leads to a significant improvement in the of hydrogen desorption from the hydride phase MgH2 of MA synthesized by the RMA. Hydrogen capacity CH of MА after reactive grinding for 20 h. was found to be equal to 5.7 % wt. Due to this alloying, the decrease in the thermodynamic stability of MgH2 is not established. The tested materials showed a high potential as hydrogen storage alloys especially for stationary application.


We have analyzed donor and target sites of the mobile element Activator (Ac) that are altered as a result of somatic transposition from the P locus in maize. Previous genetic analysis has indicated that the two mitotic daughter lineages which result from Ac transposition from P differ in their Ac constitution at the P locus. Both lineages, however, usually contain transposed Ac elements which map to the same genetic position. Using methylation-sensitive restriction enzymes and genomic blot analysis, we identified Ac elements at both the donor P locus and Ac target sites and used this assay to clone the P locus and to identify transposed Ac elements. Daughter lineages were shown to be mitotic descendants from a single transposition event. When both lineages contained Ac genetic activity, they both contained a transposed Ac element on identical genomic fragments independent of the genetic position of the target site. This indicates that in the majority of cases, Ac transposition takes place after replication of the donor locus but before completion of replication at the target site.


In this master thesis project quantitative testing in a truck simulator with 22 participants were conducted during which ten in-vehicle variables were measured. Examples of measured variables are steering wheel torque, lateral position and yaw angle. These measured variables were then used to calculate 17 independent variables that all to some extent explain the sleepiness level of the driver. The drivers' sleepiness level was measured using the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) in order to judge the performance of the independent variables. The combination of the 17 independent variables that best explain the sleepiness level of the driver is then extracted using multiple regression analysis with forward selection.Sometimes some of the independent variables are not defined; therefore different models were created to handle all possible combinations of valid and invalid independent variables. The final system uses six different models to predict the sleepiness level of the driver.The performance of the final system showed promising results. The system can correctly classify the drivers in approximately 87% of the cases. The number of occasions when the system classify the driver as sleepy when he/she is still alert is very low, approximately 0.7%.


Urban open space which maintaining the diversity of the urban ecosystem, is an important structural element of the city. Urban development led to the isolation of open space between one another, and the ecological function and environmental function of open space greatly reduced. This article pointing out that we should protect and restore urban ecological structure, improve the open space network, strengthen the links between open space, take low impact development approach to reduce the impact of urban development on the natural environment and restore the ecological functions of open space.


LH-receptors are widely distributed in the human body. The talk focussed on ovarian and endometrial receptors. Ovarian LH receptors Uterine LH receptors In conclusion, LH and hCG should no longer be viewed as only gonadal regulating hormones. They have multiple targets in the body. Better understanding of nonclassical actions could lead to novel therapeutic applications of hCG such as prevention of threatened and habitual abortions, preterm labor, etc.


He Physiology and Endocrinology and training as an immunologist in Dr Moses's lab, at the Weisman Institute, Israel, where he explored therapeutic agents affecting T-cell–mediated autoimmune diseases in models of Lupus. Dr Luger received postdoctoral training at the National Eye Institute, under the direction of Dr Caspi, and Dr Wakefield's lab, at the National Cancer Institute. His main research focus is on the role on inflammation in the deterioration of cardiac function following cardiac disorders and the therapeutic effect of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).


p16INK4A expression is an important, independent prognostic marker in HNSCC patients. We observed a strong correlation between tumour HPV status, particularly HPV-16, and p16INK4A expression. Accordingly, our data clearly revealed that p16INK4A expression may be a more powerful marker for predicting prognosis than HPV DNA detection from archived FFPE tumour tissues. The improved OS seen in HNSCC patients with positive p16INK4A expression are thought to be independent of the treatment approach. However, in this study we found that the combination of HPV/p16INK4A positivity and HGAOT as treatment-related toxicities may have an additional effect on improved treatment outcomes and OS of HNSCC patients. Morover, p16INK4A expression is more important for patients without HGAOT. For clinicians, the combined IHC report of p16INK4A expression from the pathology laboratory and the analysis of acute organ toxicity of patients during therapy or even seen after therapy at follow-up appointments could provide important prognostic information for the individual patient and also become the basis of treatment decisions in the future.
In this study, we presented clinical and experimental data, underscoring the prognostic value of CXCL12 and CXCR4 in HNSCC patients treated with R(C)T. immunohistochemical analysis of HNSCC biopsies showed that the expression of CXCR4 alone in tumour tissue was a negative predictor for patients, while the expression of CXCL12 was associated with improved OS. We evaluated CXCR4 as a predictive indicator for HNSCC patients with poor prognosis with regard to reduced DMFS and also investigated its biological relevance in the migratory capacity of HNSCC tumour cell lines in a CXCL12 gradient. CXCL12 had a specific effect on migration of HNSCC cells that does not stem to enhanced proliferation. Additionally, we were able to show that CXCL12 also induces irradiated HNSCC cells to migrate, whereas this tendency was significantly reduced in a dose-dependent manner by irradiation. As shown by an experiment in the in vitro study, CXCR4 significantly induces the migration of CXCR4-positive tumour cells and promotes the progression of distant metastases in our in vivo analysis. Accordingly, these results indicate that the CXCL12/CXCR4-pathway is functionally relevant in head and neck cancer cell lines, which in turn supports the clinical data.
we have also demonstrated that different indicators and biomarkers are of independent prognostic value in HNSCC. These results can also lead us to a new efficient treatment strategy, in which the intensity of CT or extent of the irradiated area can be altered while maintaining good tumour control with the ability to rationally personalise therapy to advance therapeutic outcomes.


We discuss the O(4) invariant perturbation modes of cosmological instantons. These modes are spatially homogeneous in Lorentzian spacetime and thus not relevant to density perturbations. But their properties are important in establishing the meaning of the Euclidean path integral. If negative modes are present, the Euclidean path integral is not well defined, but may nevertheless be useful in an approximate description of the decay of an unstable state. When gravitational dynamics is included, counting negative modes requires a careful treatment of the conformal factor problem. We demonstrate that for an appropriate choice of coordinate on phase space, the second order Euclidean action is bounded below for normalized perturbations and has a finite number of negative modes. We prove that there is a negative mode for many gravitational instantons of the Hawking-Moss or Coleman-De Luccia type, and discuss the associated spectral flow. We also investigate HawkingTurok constrained instantons, which occur in a generic inflationary model. Implementing the regularization and constraint proposed by Kirklin, Turok and Wiseman, we find that those instantons leading to substantial inflation do not possess negative modes. Using an alternate regularization and constraint motivated by reduction from five dimensions, we find a negative mode is present. These investigations shed new light on the suitability of Euclidean quantum gravity as a potential description of our universe.


This an attempt to indicate some of the problems connected with the administration of a Children's Home through the study of the origin, growth and contemporary problems of the Jewish Orphanage.
An historical survey w1ll describe the social forces which influenced the changes in policy and affected the internal administration of the Home, the procedure in selecting children for admission, the choice of children eligible for admission and the nature of child care within the Institution.
A detailed study is made of the administration of the Orphanage in the decade following the close of the last war when the children had returned to residence after evacuation. A classification is made of the reasons why children were admitted, of the ages on admission, of the period they remained in residence, and of their destination when they left.
An examination is made of some of the problems which confronted the administrators both with regard to the behaviour of the children and the attitude and character of the staff.
Specific reference is made to the education and religious training of the children and to the problems arising from parent-child and staff-child relationships.
Although the material for this study of the institutional care of children has been gathered mainly from a Home which catered for a selective group of the population, it is
believed that many of the problems discussed have implications of some significance in the general study of child care.


This bachelor's degree project aimed to improve the wheel profile of a rail mounted trolley and determine the cause of wheel failure. The proceedings of this project where modelled after an approach for solving wear problems with an emphasis on designing for sustainability. A case study and root cause analysis (RCA) was performed and the flanged wheels were deemed insufficient for the given heavy-haul system. Possible areas of wheel profile improvement were identified and further researched with multiple literature reviews. Throughout the projects duration several limitations were introduced that reduced the concept testing to exclusively theoretical prediction models. Archard's model was implemented to predict wear and operating time for the proposed material and wheel tread profile concepts. The wheel flange dimensions were chosen based on recommendations from wheel and rail interference handbooks among other sources. The final wheel and rail profile suggestion improved operating time by approximately 300% and wear resistance by 50% compared to its predecessor. This result was achieved by applying the same theoretical prediction model to both current and suggested profiles. The findings of this project are meant to aid SCA among others in similar cases and additionally highlight the value of product improvement from a technological, sociological, and environmental perspective. ___________________________________


The method of vital microscopy was used to obtain new data on the features of blood microcirculation in different links of the vascular bed in the pericardium. The work of dynamic structures of microcirculation pathways controlling processes of redistribution of blood streams is shown such as arteriolar anastomoses, zones of branching of resistance microvessels, the pathways of magistralization of the capillary blood stream, venular anastomoses and microvalves. By means of calorimetric study of the serous fluid obtained from the pericardium cavity, after a preliminary intravenous injection of the vital dye a quantitative evaluation of the transcapillary transport of the dye was made under conditions of a normal and altered permiability.


The effect of entrance geometry on the heat transfer in rotating, narrow rectangular cooling channels is investigated in this study. Both smooth channels and channels with angled ribs are considered with three different entrance conditions: fully developed, sudden contraction, partial sudden contraction. The rectangular channel has as aspect ratio of 4:1, and it is oriented at 135° with respect to the plane of rotation. In the test section with angled ribs, the ribs are angled at 45° to the mainstream flow. The rib height-to-hydraulic diameter ratio (e/Dh ) is 0.078, and the rib pitch-to-height ratio (P/e) is 10. The range of flow parameters includes Reynolds number (Re = 5000–40000), rotation number (Ro = 0.0–0.302), and inlet coolant-to-wall density ratio (Δρ/ρ = 0.12). The heat transfer at the entrance of the heated portion of the smooth channel is significantly enhanced with the sudden contraction and partial sudden contraction entrances. In the smooth rotating channels, the effect of the entrance geometry is also present; however, as the rotation number increases, the effect of the entrance geometry decreases. It was also found in this study that the sudden and partial sudden contraction entrances provide higher heat transfer enhancement than the fully developed entrance through the first 3 to 4 hydraulic diameters of the channels with angled ribs. Again, the effect of the entrance geometry is greater in the stationary channels with angled ribs than the rotating channels with ribs. In both stationary and rotating channels, the influence of the entrance geometry on the heat transfer is more apparent in the smooth channels than in the ribbed channels.Copyright © 2003 by ASME


The article presents the situation of the dairy sector in Poland and Ireland in 2007-2013. The sectors were compared in the context of the extended model SCP. At the beginning presented the basic conditioning of sector, then the structure, conduct, performance and government policy. The Irish dairy sector in comparison to the Polish characterized by a higher concentration of industry and production and labor productivity.


Abstract : The origin of symmetric alternating magnetic polarity stripes on the seafloor is investigated along East Pacific Rise (EPR) (9 degrees 25' -9 degrees 55'N) and Kane Megamullion (KMM) (23 degrees 40'N) in the Atlantic. At the EPR, along-axis variations in the axial magnetic anomaly result from changing source layer thickness, consistent with observed changes in seismic Layer 2a. The extrusive basalts therefore constitute the magnetic source layer along the ridge axis and long term crustal accretion patterns are reflected in the axial anomaly appearance. At KMM the C2r.2r/C2An.1n (approx. 2.581 Ma) polarity reversal boundary is recorded by lower crust (gabbro) and upper mantle (serpentinized peridotites) rocks exposed on the seafloor by detachment faulting. Both lithologies have stable remanent magnetization, capable of contributing to the magnetic source layer. The geometry of the polarity boundary in the northern KMM region, interpreted to be a gabbro pluton, dips away from the ridge axis and is consistent with a rotated conductively cooled isotherm. In the central region the boundary in the serpentinized peridotites dips towards the ridge axis and is thought to represent an alteration front. The linear appearance of the polarity boundary across the two regions suggests that both lithologies acquired their remanence at approximately the same time.


We investigate how intangible capital in form of intellectual property, such as patents, might mitigate financing constraints. While scholars have already argued that patents might have a signalling value reducing information asymmetries between borrowers and lenders, we quantify the value of using patents as collateral with regard to capital access. Although this mechanism of patents in financing further R&D is not new, we are the first to provide a treatment effects study of patent collateral and access to capital. We make use of mandatory collateral registry data in Sweden and the Netherlands to construct panels combining firm-level financial data and patent measures. Estimating conditional difference-in-difference regressions on firms' debt allows deducting treatment effects of using patents as collateral. We find that patent pledging enables Swedish (Dutch) firms to borrow about 21% (26%) more than in the counterfactual situation in which no patents would have been used as collateral. We also find that the collateral value of patents is higher than their signalling value, and a back-of-the-envelope scenario calculation shows that Dutch (Swedish) firms could raise more than € 7 (€ 10) billion additional debt capital if the complete patent portfolios would be pledged, all else constant.


Europe's rural areas are expected to witness rapid changes due to developments in demography, (agricultural) policies, global trade, climate change, technology and enlargement of the European Union. These changes will affect farmers' production and income level and make the final outcome of this process uncertain. This paper tries to assess this uncertainty by analyzing the results of 34 scenarios of the EURURALIS project. The scenario outcomes were used to investigate agricultural income development and to analyze the impact of different combinations of macroeconomic and policy factors on agricultural income. The results of these scenarios were achieved in a modeling framework consisting of a modified version of the Global Trade Analysis Project model (GTAP) and the more ecological-environmental oriented Integrated Model to Assess the Global Environment (IMAGE).


Several key results in distributed source coding offer the intuition that little improvement in compression can be gained from intersensor communication when the information is coded in long blocks. However, when sensors are restricted to code their observations in small blocks (e.g., one) or desire fidelity of a computation applied to source realizations, intelligent collabora- tion between sensors can greatly reduce distortion. For networks where sensors are allowed to "chat" using a side channel that is unobservable at the fusion center, we provide asymptotically- exact characterization of distortion performance and optimal quantizer design in the high-resolution (low-distortion) regime using a framework called distributed functional scalar quanti- zation (DFSQ). The key result is that chatting can dramatically improve performance even when intersensor communication is at very low rate. We also solve the rate allocation problem when communication links have heterogeneous costs and provide a detailed example to demonstrate the theoretical and practical gains from chatting. This example for maximum computation gives insight on the gap between chatting and distributed networks, and how to optimize the intersensor communication.


Abstract Bactrospora dryina is an epiphytic lichen-forming fungus specifically related to old-growth floodplain forests, which have dramatically declined in Europe over the past centuries. In order to promote conservation management of such forest remnants, we aimed to study population genetics of this rare and threatened lichen. The newly developed 16 microsatellite markers are specific for the mycobiont of B. dryina and reliably amplify either single fruiting bodies or a sterile thallus. This allows the use of these markers for the identification of sterile crusts and for quantification of recent dispersal of the species into restored habitats. We tested the markers in 264 samples collected from 10 pedunculate oak trees growing in three localities in north-eastern Switzerland. All markers were polymorphic and showed two to five alleles per locus, and unbiased gene diversity varied from 0·06 to 0·71 over three populations. The relatively low number of alleles in B. dryina is possibly the consequence of colonization of secondary habitats created by forest management. Although oaks were largely covered with a single, continuous B. dryina colony, the microsatellite markers identified single or complex multi-genotype colonizations per tree. For future population genetic studies, we recommend collection of 5–15 specimens from one tree which would enable detection of 60–80% of the multilocus genotypes present. Hierarchical AMOVA revealed high variation (70%) on host trees, and a relatively high differentiation (12%) among the three locations in NE Switzerland indicated limited gene flow between those regions. Thus, the newly developed markers showed their applicability in population genetics at different spatial scales. They will play an important role in monitoring habitat restoration for the conservation of B. dryina and associated forests and riverscapes.


Despite evidence that first-birth timing influences women's health, the role of marital status in shaping this association has received scant attention. Using multivariate propensity score matching, we analyze data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 to estimate the effect of having a first birth in adolescence (prior to age 20), young adulthood (ages 20–24), or later ages (ages 25–35) on women's midlife self-assessed health. Findings suggest that adolescent childbearing is associated with worse midlife health compared to later births for black women but not for white women. Yet, we find no evidence of health advantages of delaying first births from adolescence to young adulthood for either group. Births in young adulthood are linked to worse health than later births among both black and white women. Our results also indicate that marriage following a nonmarital adolescent or young adult first birth is associated with modestly worse self-assessed health compared to remaining unmarried.


Peer-to-Peer (P2P) based Video-on-Demand (VoD) streaming services are gaining popularity. Meanwhile, the technical barriers of P2P-VoD systems still exist because of asynchronous and dynamic user interactivity where any user can jump to random locations in the video stream along with the support for Fast-Forward/Fast-Backward operations. An important component to address these issues lies in efficient neighbor discovery mechanism for searching and receiving desired data in a peer-to-peer fashion with less burden of the server. We advocate a Distributed Hash Table (DHT) based overlay for efficient lookup with its desirable features of provable scalability, robustness and decentralization for supporting Internet-scale P2P applications. However, one big challenge associated with a DHT-based overlay is how to accommodate a large number of update operations with the continuous change of peers' playing position. To solve this inadequacy, we propose a novel concept of temporal-DHT which exploits the temporal dynamics of the content to estimate the playing position of peers, thereby greatly reducing the update overhead. We also propose a new content management and discovery scheme by the skillful integration of: (1) random/out-of-order/static caching to support interactive operations and (2) playing/in-order/dynamic caching to maintain streaming efficiency and playback continuity. Extensive simulation results demonstrate that our mechanism achieves low messaging overhead with high streaming quality for P2P-VoD systems in a dynamic environment where peers asynchronously join/leave the network.


Disequilibrium analysis, particularly in the context of explicit dynamic economic models, is an area of considerable interest. Disequilibrium is important when markets fail to clear and dynamic adjustments are required. Three essential strands of the literature seem the most important: non market-clearing temporary equilibria; long term growth theory which allows for the possibility of unemployment of labour and underutilisation of capital stock; medium term dynamics where aggregate demand fails to match up to potential output. This thesis presents a number of theoretical and analytical models which analyse various aspects of the last two issues. Even though we use some concepts from short-run rationing models of temporary equilibria, the central focus is exclusively on long run growth and more shorter-term dynamic systems, where capital stock is exogenous. The work is also emphatically macroeconomic in nature, emphasising aggregative structures which conform to stylised facts and have interesting policy conclusions.

The first part of the thesis discusses growth models. Given the lack of a unified theoretical structure in the area itself, we concentrate on specific issues: income-expenditure models with independent investment functions leading on to capital formation and (possible) movement towards steady states; unemployment of labour, and capital; monetary growth and asset structure; open economy considerations when markets may fail to clear. The second part analyses macrodynamics, assuming fixed capital, and is concerned with medium term adjustments of variables such as output, price and exchange rate under disequilibrium and rigidities.

The purpose of the research is to present a diversity of concepts and conclusions. The objective is not to present a comprehensive 'general' or 'meta' theory; it is not clear whether encompassing concepts will necessarily be more insightful; in any case the current state of the arts preclude such a schema. The chapters that follow deal with a wide range of possible topics; model specifications are adapted to tackle the specific problem at hand.

The conclusions clearly demonstrate that specification of regime, Keynesian or Classical, is vital to the understanding of how the economy will behave under disequilibrium. Even if the steady state depends on exogenous parameters (such as the natural rate or potential output) the paths that approach it are essentially different in characteristics, depending on what sort of disequilibrium regime the economy is in. This, of course, has important policy relevance. Discretionary policies, as well as policy rules, must carefully study the underlying structural features of the economy if they are to have significance.