This essay describes the potential for law school clinics to serve as sites of empirical research to answer pressing questions about delivery of legal services in low-income communities. With others, we have noted the research imperative in legal services, made the case for infrastructure to support such research, and advocated for renewed ties between law school clinics and legal services programs. For reasons set forth in the paper, now is an opportune time for clinics to contribute to a growing civil justice research agenda. We call this opportunity the "Clinic Lab Office."In Part I, we map the common origins and current landscapes of the legal services and clinical legal education movements. The movements have drifted from their early, common agendas in order to achieve a measure of stability and security. In Part II, we identify the need for civil justice research to inform a complex, decentralized legal services delivery system. We lack critical information about the demand, supply, and efficacy of existing models, but new national efforts bode well for the future of such research.In Part III, we argue that law school clinics are well positioned to undertake empirical research and provide examples of some early projects. Clinics have much to offer legal services in the research dimension and much to gain. Such engagement can improve clinic work, deepen student learning, and make a distinct scholarly contribution. We conclude by identifying challenges to realizing the full potential of the Clinic Lab Office.


The Kabye and Kpaza Massifs correspond to two main granulitic suites in the suture zone of the Pan-African Dahomeyide orogenic belt, in northern Togo. The Kabye Massif is composed of an important west verging nappe pile subdivided into two petrographic units. The nappes in its western petrographic unit are made up of leucocratic garnetbearing granulites defined as the "Lassa-Soumdina Granulites" (GLS). The eastern petrographic unit consists of mela-nocratic granulites, with metagabbroic structures, called the "Ketao-Sirka Granulites" (GKS). These two petrographic units are separated by the Panalo Mylonitic Zone (ZMP). This major west verging zone includes a syn-Dn + 2 dextral shear contact. The Kpaza Massif comprises nappes of melanocratic granulites (GKM), comparable to the GKS of the Kabye Massif. All these granulitic nappes include boudins of pyroxenites or meta-anorthosites, and ultramafic rocks represented by serpentinites, talcschists, actinolite- and chlorite-schists which generally mark thrust soles. The GLS nappes are thrust over the Kara-Niamtougou orthogneissic unit (UKN) which is considered as the easternmost structural unit of the Dahomeyide external zone. On the other hand, the GKS nappes underlie those of the Binah meta-volcano sedimentary Complex (CB) which belongs to the Dahomeyide internal zone. As regards the Kpaza Massif, it occurs as a geologic window tectonically enclosed in the Mono Complex nappes (CM) corresponding to the southern part of the CB. The organization of the Kabye and Kpaza Massifs, as west verging nappe piles, and their relationships with the surrounding structural units express the tangential and folding tectonics that structured the Pan-African belt in northern Togo. The microstructures and mineral parageneses of the granulites and associated rocks in these two massifs indicate a polyphase tectono-metamorphic evolution: a syn-Dn granulitization (collision phase); a syn-Dn + 1 amphibolitization (obduction or tangential phase); and a syn- to post-Dn + 2 greenschist facies retrogressive metamorphism (post-nappe folding phase).


Classifying an individual into a species is one of the first steps to better understand not only the individual in question, but also their evolutionary history and relationships. However, designating individuals into species can be a difficult process. It is particularly difficult in the field of paleoanthropology, where species designations must be made using only skeletal remains. A recent publication announced the reported discovery of a new hominin species, Homo luzonensis, from remains found at Callao Cave in the Philippines. However, this new species consists of only 13 skeletal specimens from three individuals. With such a small sample size, do the Callao Cave remains represent enough evidence to be called a separate species? In order to explore this question, I examine several species concepts and how they can and have been applied to fossil hominin species. I also utilise several comparable and recently discovered hominin taxa as case studies. The results of these analyses indicate that while the remains from Callao Cave can be designated as a new species, the low specimen count and lack of DNA evidence means that future criticism of this designation is likely. In addition, these cases studies highlight structural and human factors—such as pressure to publish and arguments over types of evidence—which influence the species designation process.


Europe is now considered as the epicenter of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, France being among the most impacted country. In France, there is an increasing concern regarding the capacity of the healthcare system to sustain the outbreak, especially regarding intensive care units (ICU). The aim of this study was to estimate the dynamics of the epidemic in France, and to assess its impact on healthcare resources for each French metropolitan Region. We developed a deterministic, age-structured, Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Removed (SEIR) model based on catchment areas of each COVID-19 referral hospitals. We performed one month ahead predictions (up to April 14, 2020) for three different scenarios (R0=1.5, R0=2.25, R0=3), where we estimated the daily number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths, the needs in ICU beds per Region and the reaching date of ICU capacity limits. At the national level, the total number of infected cases is expected to range from 22,872 in the best case (R0=1.5) to 161,832 in the worst case (R0=3), while the total number of deaths would vary from 1,021 to 11,032, respectively. At the regional level, all ICU capacities may be overrun in the worst scenario. Only seven Regions may lack ICU beds in the mild scenario (R0=2.25) and only one in the best case. In the three scenarios, Corse may be the first Region to see its ICU capacities overrun. The two other Regions, whose capacity will be overrun shortly after are Grand-Est and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Our analysis shows that, even in the best case scenario, the French healthcare system will very soon be overwhelmed. While drastic social distancing measures may temper our results, a massive reorganization leading to an expansion of French ICU capacities seems to be necessary to manage the coming wave of critically affected COVID-19 patients.


The gene encoding alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), one of the major acute-phase proteins, is positively controlled at the transcriptional level by cytokines (interleukin-1 [IL-1], IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor alpha) and glucocorticoids. Here, we show that growth hormone (GH) treatment of isolated rat hepatocytes in vitro reduces AGP messenger RNA (mRNA) expression. AGP gene expression remained inducible by IL-1, IL-6, and phenobarbital (PB) in GH-treated hepatocytes. Interestingly, the repressive effect of GH on AGP gene expression was also observed in vivo: liver AGP mRNA content was strongly increased in hypophysectomized rats, and GH treatment of these animals led to a decrease in mRNA to levels lower than those in untreated control animals. Moreover, the inhibitory effect of GH mainly occurs at the transcriptional level and can be observed as little as 0.5 hours after GH adding in vitro to isolated hepatocytes. These results show negative regulation of AGP gene expression and strongly suggest that GH is a major endogenous regulator of constitutive AGP gene expression. Moreover, transfection assays showed that the region of the AGP promoter located at position -147 to -123 is involved in AGP gene regulation by GH. Furthermore, GH deeply modifies the pattern of nuclear protein binding to this region. GH treatment of hypophysectomized rats led to the release of proteins of 42 to 45 and 80 kd and to the binding of proteins of 48 to 50 and 90 kd.


A recent comment on our work (Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 110, 016601 (2013)) by A.A.Aligia claims that we "made mistakes in the evaluation of the lesser quantities". It is further claimed that the distribution function of the single-particle selfenergy of the interacting region in the Fermi liquid regime, e.g. at small bias voltage, low temperature, and small frequency, is continuous. These claims are based on a comparison of the particle-hole symmetric case with results obtained from the approach of A.A.Aligia. We disagree with these claims and show that the discrepancies that the comment alludes to originate from a violation of Ward identities by the method employed in the comment. A comparison of our approach with the numerical renormalization group shows perfect agreement for the symmetric case.


We propose that institutional logics are resources organizations use to leverage their strategic choices. We argue that firms with an awareness of multiple available logics, expressed by a larger stock of competences and a broader industrial scope are more likely to add an institutional logic to their repertoire and to become purist in this new logic. We also hypothesize that a favorable opportunity set as expressed by status leads high and low status firms to add a logic but not to focus exclusively on this new logic. We examine our hypotheses in the French industrial design industry from 1989 to 2003 in which a managerialist logic emerged and prevailed along with the pre-existing institutional logics of modernism and formalism. Our findings contribute to theory on the relationship between organizations' strategy and institutional change and partially address the paradox of why high-status actors play a key role in triggering institutional change when such change is likely to undermine the very basis of their social position and advantage


Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused an overwhelming healthcare, economic, social, and psychological impact on the world during 2020 and first part of 2021. Certain populations, especially those with Substance Use Disorders (SUD), were particularly vulnerable to contract the virus and also likely to suffer from a greater psychosocial and psychological burden. COVID-19 and addiction are two conditions on the verge of a collision, potentially causing a major public health threat. There is surge of addictive behaviors (both new and relapse), including use of alcohol, nicotine, and recreational drugs. This book chapter analyzed the bi-directional relationship between COVID-19 and SUD by leveraging descriptive summaries, advanced analytics, and machine learning approaches. The data sources included healthcare claims dataset as well as state level alcohol consumption to help in investigating the bi-directional relationship between the two conditions. Results suggest that alcohol and nicotine use increased during the pandemic and that the profile of SUD patients included diagnoses and symptoms of COVID-19, depression and anxiety, as well as hypertensive conditions.


The objective of this research is to analyse current written practices within the global South. Specifically, we examine language mixing phenomena in written online texts publicly displayed on the official Facebook page of one of the two most important football players in the history of Cameroon, Samuel Eto'o. By means of a quantitative and languaging analysis proposed by Androutsopoulos (2014), we see that indigenous Cameroonian languages are now being written in public spaces. Instances of lexical items in these languages are sometimes inserted in Facebook comments to establish local/national identity, to emphasise the fact that the player is a Cameroonian. However, Cameroonian national identity still is usually constructed through the exclusive use of English and French. Interestingly, the study shows that code-switching (CS) to a particular language may function as a distancing technique, an impoliteness strategy towards the player.


This volume summarizes 15 years of research on methoaological issues in the measurement of criminal victimization by means of population surveys. The report reviews some features of crime which affect our ability to measure it accurately, including the relative infrequency of serious victimization, the skewed distribution of victimization in the population, and the furtive character of crime. The third chapter addresses issues related to the operationalization of victimization in survey questionnaires. It examines the events orientation of victimization surveys, the assumption that crimes always are discrete incidents rather than continuous social processes, and the utility of measures of criminal activity abstracted from their social context. The fourth chapter reviews specific measurement problems: limited distribution of knowledge of incidents, forgetting or inaccurate recall of events, and differential productivity of survey respondents. The next chapter reviews three procedural issues which affect estimates of victimization rates: problems of panel bias and attrition, differences between telephone and in-person interviews, and interviewer effects. The final chapter 5 summarizes the current state of the art in this area and discusses possible future developments in victimization survey methodology. ~ \. ii For sale by tbe Superintendent of DoC'uDlents, U.S. Goyernment Printing Otllce, Washington, D.C, 2040·2


This dissertation explores the contractions, expansions, and movements of bodies, ailments, and forms of moral personhood among Miskitu lobster divers in Caribbean Nicaragua. It tracks the ways in which illnesses come into being and persist for commercial lobster divers through their enskilled navigations of undersea sentient ecologies, and examines the interconnections between structural and symbolic violence and embodied perceptual processes. Suffering is demonstrated here as a phenomenon articulated through the fluctuating capabilities of the enskilled body and the collapse and expansion of social and material worlds. As the lobster industry has slowly collapsed, so have the bodies and lived worlds of thousands of men who suffer from chronic decompression sickness as they dive deeper to find the product using insufficient equipment. Despite the dangers of this labor, many of these men are able to continue this kind of work for several years. Drawing on my ethnographic research among these divers, and an array of phenomenological themes, I argue that if we are to gain a better understanding of how these men are able to endure this painful and dangerous commercial work under the sea, we must first track how they re-attune their sensoriums for the underwater world through the use of specific cultural tools (technologies) and an array of embodied practices that afford a certain control of the body, as well as a unique way of attending-to and monitoring its conditions. These divers generate perceptions of their labor and illnesses through culturally mediated forms of embodied interaction—the work practices themselves—and in so doing reconstitute a morally charged sense of self (re)oriented towards an array of vulnerabilities and broader ethical concerns, emerging from local manifestations of structural and symbolic violence. The growth of undersea sensorimotor skills initiates the situated possibility of perceptually grasping oceanic phenomena with "for me" qualities and instantiates a self infused with a sense of capability and control, even as they contend with illness on a regular basis. The undersea environment is thus opened-up in-the-doing as an inhabitable space into which one can extend sensorially to intentionally body-forth.


As Si single-junction technology is approaching its Shockley–Queisser theoretical limit, relevant efforts are being expended towards the development of multi-junction modules. In this work, we employ an optical model based on Monte Carlo ray tracing to compare four different multi-junction modules in a voltage-matched two-terminal (VM2T) configuration. In particular, we took into consideration the VM2T coupling of crystalline silicon cells with CuInxGa1-xSe2 (CIGS), CdTe, GaAs and perovskite (PVK) solar cells. We optimized the thicknesses of each layer in the top sub-module and determined the performance of VM2T modules in the Shockley–Queisser theoretical limit. We also considered the possibility of using modules in which the top Si surface is flat to determine the performance drop due to the absence of the texturization on the top Si surface. Moreover, we determined the optimal bandgap energy of PVK in a VM2T PVK/Si module as well as the highest efficiency achievable. Lastly, we show that when using state-of-the-art cells, the highest VM2T efficiency achievable for the considered materials is 34.2% under standard test conditions.


Background: The objective of the study was to determine whether Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination protects against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection as assessed by interferon gamma release assays (IGRA) in children. Methods: Systematic review of observational cohort studies conducted as part of investigation of children less than 16 years of age recently exposed to infectious tuberculosis. Risk estimates were combined using random effects meta-analytic models. Results: The primary analysis included 14 studies and 3855 participants and estimated an overall risk ratio (RR) of 0.81(95% CI = 0.71-0.92), indicating a protective efficacy of 19% against infection among vaccinated children after exposure compared to unvaccinated children. The observed protection was similar when estimated using the two types of IGRA test (ELISpot or QuantiFERON). Restricting the analysis to the 6 studies (n=1748) with information on progression to active tuberculosis at the time of screening showed protection against infection of 27% (RR 0.73 (0.61-0.87)) compared to 71% (RR 0.29 (0.15-0.58)) against active tuberculosis. Among those infected, protection against progression to disease was 58% (RR = 0.42 (95% CI = 0.23-0.77)) Conclusions: BCG protects against M. tuberculosis infection as well as against progression from infection to disease.


The recent CAP reform introduced new income support instruments much more related on agricultural agents land-use and land-ownership conditions than before. In this perspective the behavioural analysis of land-use and land-ownership decision process seems to be a basic condition to evaluate the efficiency, effectiveness and equity of those instruments, and to understand and to forecast the agents response to these stimuli. The land-use and land-ownership behaviour differs according to various land managers, not only on the base of "economic-productive" conditions, but also on the base of exogenous and endogenous "institutional" conditions, such as the presence of formal or informal contracts, cultural values, intergenerational linkages, family-farm organisation and land-market imperfections and regulations. In this study an analytic methodology is presented together with an explanatory model which both try to show the role and the relationships between the various land-use and landownership driving factors at an agricultural agent level. It is also showed the different behavioural response to the exogenous stimuli coming from the "economic-institutional" environment, in which the agents operate. The model was tested in a Southern Italian region case study. In the first part of the analysis the various "economic-institutional" environment typologies, in which the region is articulated, were detected, on the base of official census data at the communal administrative units level. The Factorial Analysis through the Principal Components Analysis and Groups Analysis, is the analytic methodology used for this aim. In the second part of the analysis two specific "environments" were chosen in which the empirical survey was led at the agricultural agent level. The data coming from the survey were used to test the behavioural explanatory model. The results showed not only some specific "behavioural" paths which may be detected in the two different environments, but also deep differences among the various typologies of agricultural agents inside the same environments, depending on the "economic-productive" size, the presence of strong familiar roles, informal contracts for hiring work and renting land, the specific history of the agricultural agent, the perception of land as a productive factor, an investment good or a "social status symbol". The results are presented in the last part of the article.


Companies are increasingly using data to predict behavior, automate and improve the relation with their customers. In this context, data exchange rises important concerns regarding competition, concentration and welfare. This paper presents a novel linear demand model that capture data and information effects in competitive markets, which are summarized in a precision parameter. Subsequently, this modelling approach is applied to study the firms incentives to exchange data and the implications in terms of market variables, welfare and concentration measures. We found that incentives to data exchange between competitor firms emerge providing that the information gains are relatively stronger than the competitor information gains, and the associated strategic correlation effect is not too strong. The results also suggest that market concentration tends to increase after data exchange, but both consumers and producers benefit from it. The reason is that better data allows firms to delivering varieties closer to consumers' needs.


This paper reviews recent work on device applications of optical antennas. Localized surface plasmon resonances of gold nanorod antennas resting on a silica glass substrate were modeled by finite difference time-domain simulations. A single gold nanorod of length 150 or 550 nm resonantly generates enhanced near fields when illuminated with light of 830 nm wavelength. A pair of these nanorods gives higher field enhancements due to capacitive coupling between them. Bowtie antennas that consist of a pair of triangular gold particles offer the best near-field confinement and enhancement. Plasmonic laser antennas based on the coupled nanorod antenna design were fabricated by focused ion beam lithography on the facet of a semiconductor laser diode operating at a wavelength of 830 nm. An optical spot size of few tens of nanometers was measured by apertureless near-field optical microscope. We have extended our work on plasmonic antenna into mid-infrared (mid-IR) wavelengths by implementing resonant nanorod and bowtie antennas on the facets of various quantum cascade lasers. Experiments show that this mid-IR device can provide an optical intensity confinement 70 times higher than that would be achieved with diffraction limited optics. Near-field intensities ~ 1 GW/cm2 were estimated for both near-infrared and mid-IR plasmonic antennas. A fiber device that takes advantage of plasmonic resonances of gold nanorod arrays providing a high density of optical ldquohot spotsrdquo is proposed. Results of a systematic theoretical and experimental study of the reflection spectra of these arrays fabricated on a silica glass substrate are also presented. The family of these proof-of-concept plasmonic devices that we present here can be potentially useful in many applications including near-field optical microscopes, high-density optical data storage, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy, heat-assisted magnetic recording, and spatially resolved absorption spectroscopy.


This paper develops and analyzes an age-structured model of HIV infection with various compartments, including target cells, infected cells, viral loads and immune effector cells, to provide a better understanding of the interaction between HIV and the immune system.
We show that the proposed model has one uninfected steady state and several infected steady states.
We conduct a local stability analysis of these steady states by using a generalized Jacobian matrix method in conjunction with the Laplace transform.
In addition, we consider various techniques and ideas from optimal control theory to derive optimal therapy protocols by using two types of dynamic treatment methods representing reverse transcriptase inhibitors and protease inhibitors.
We derive the necessary conditions (an optimality system) for optimal control functions by considering the first variations of the Lagrangian.
Further, we obtain optimal therapy protocols by solving a large optimality system of equations through the use of a difference scheme based on the Runge-Kutta method.
The results of numerical simulations indicate that the optimal therapy protocols can facilitate long-term control of HIV through a strong immune response after the discontinuation of the therapy.


Structural transformation in rural areas is a key issue in economic development. While much of the literature on structural transformation has so far focussed on householdor commune levels or even higher aggregate levels, little is known about the individual member level. The paper aims at examining factors that affect the individual-level employment rural transitions in Vietnam, namely: (1) non-transient farm; (2) positive transient farm; (3) out-of-wage transition; (4) transitory farm-household work; and (5) transitory wage-household work. By taking advantage of the Vietnam Access to Resources Household Survey (VARHS) with data on 2,699 individuals for two years, 2008 and 2016, we find that individual-level human capital and social capital are important factors affecting employment transition status in the rural area. In addition, changes in individual and household characteristics and socio-economic conditions at commune level are important to influence various types of employment transitions. These results have implications for the development policy on rural transition in developing countries, highlighting the importance of recognizing the positive aspects of changes in individual-, household-, and commune-levels for rural transformation. Promotion of education attainment is necessary at both individualand household-level to spur the transition out of farming. Broadened policy mechanisms which support and encourage non-farm employment at the household level are also needed. Likewise, development initiatives that focus on increasing the human and social assets of the individual farmers and farming households are more likely to be successful in supporting livelihood diversification and reducing vulnerability.


Recently, Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) has emerged as an alternative to Commercial-Off- The-Shelf (COTS) software. Now, FOSS is perceived as a viable long-term solution that deserves careful consideration because of its potential for significant cost savings, improved reliability, and numerous advantages over proprietary software. However, the secure integration of FOSS in IT infrastructures is very challenging and demanding. Methodologies and technical policies must be adapted to reliably compose large FOSS-based software systems. A DRDC Valcartier-Concordia University feasibility study completed in March 2004 concluded that the most promising approach for securing FOSS is to combine advanced design patterns and Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP). Following the recommendations of this study a three years project have been conducted as a collaboration between Concordia University, DRDC Valcartier, and Bell Canada. This paper aims at presenting the main contributions of this project. It consists of a practical framework with the underlying solid semantic foundations for the security evaluation and hardening of FOSS.


Dysregulated inflammation is a complication of type 2 diabetes (T2D). In this study, we show that augmented LPS-induced TNF-α production by resident peritoneal macrophages (PerMφ) in type 2 diabetic (db/db) mice is dependent on elevated glucose and requires p38 MAPK. Intraperitoneal LPS administered to db/db and nondiabetic (db/+) mice induced 3- and 4-fold more TNF-α in the peritoneum and serum, respectively, of db/db mice as compared with db/+ mice. Examination of the TLR-4/MD2 complex and CD14 expression showed no difference between db/db and db/+ PerMφ. Ex vivo stimulation of PerMφ with LPS produced a similar 3-fold increase in TNF-α production in db/db PerMφ when compared with db/+ PerMφ. PerMφ isolated from db/+ mice incubated in high glucose (4 g/L) medium for 12 h produced nearly 2-fold more TNF-α in response to LPS than PerMφ incubated in normal glucose medium (1 g/L). LPS-dependent stimulation of PI3K activity, ERK1/2 activation, and p38 kinase activity was greater in PerMφ from db/db mice as compared with db/+ mice. Only inhibition of p38 kinase blocked LPS-induced TNF-α production in PerMφ from db/db mice. Taken together, these data indicate that augmented TNF-α production induced by LPS in macrophages during diabetes is due to hyperglycemia and increased LPS-dependent activation of p38 kinase.


Abstract It was investigated the influence of breads with use of barley, buckwheat and oat flours and barley flakes on postprandial glycaemia in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. It was shown that consumption of breads with use of barley and buckwheat flours is accompanied less marked postprandial glycaemic reaction in compared with standard loading of carbohydrates (wheat bread). Also it was noted greater increase of postprandial glycaemia in consumption of bread with use of barley flakes in compared with consumption of wheat bread inclusive equivalent amount of carbohydrates.


The response of 28 shrub species to wildfire burn severity was assessed for 8 wildfires on 6 national forests in the northern Rocky Mountains, USA. Stratified random sampling was used to choose 224 stands based on burn severity, habitat type series, slope steepness, stand height, and stand density, which resulted in 896 plots measured at approximately 2-year intervals from 1 to 11 years after the fire. For each species, mathematical models were developed to predict the probability of occurrence on 1/300-acre plots, cover on the plot, and average height. The association between burn severity and the probability of occurrence was generally negative. For most species, occurrence increased with increasing time since the wildfire. Cover decreased with increasing burn severity, except for some species that are dependent on seed for establishment. The longer it took the species to become established on the plot, the less cover could be expected. The best variable to predict shrub height was the cover of that species on the plot. Height decreased with increasing basal area and burn severity. These results can help natural resource managers predict the effects of wildfire on vegetation succession as a function of burn severity, site factors, and time. Of particular importance is the finding that percent cover of shrubs is generally low (less than 10 percent for almost all species) when the time between the wildfire and when the species was first observed on the plot is more than about 2 years. This result could be verified in other studies, either by a designed prospective study or reanalysis of previous studies where succession was followed over time.


The importance of remanufacturing has been recognized in research and practice. The integrated system, combining the forward and reverse activities of supply chains, is called closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) system. By coordination in the CLSC system, players will get economic improvement. This paper studies different coordination performances of two types of contracts, two-part tariff (TTC) and reverse revenue sharing contract (RRSC), in a closed-loop system. Through mathematical analysis based on Stackelberg Game Theory, we find that it is easy for manufacturer to improve more profits and retailer's collection effects by adjusting the ratio of transfer collection price through RRSC, and we also give the function to calculate the best ratio of transfer collection price, which may be a valuable reference for the decision maker in practice. Besides, our results also suggest that although the profits of the coordinated CLSC system are always higher than the contradictory scenario, the RRSC is more favorable to the manufacturer than to the retailer, as results show that the manufacturer will share more profits from the system through RRSC. Therefore, RRSC has attracted the manufacturers more to closing the supply chain for economic consideration.


Technically, some ovaries will be accessible only by the vaginal route, but the converse also applies. Other factors may also be important: some patients experience extreme discomfort from a full bladder and prefer vaginal collection; others may have psychological or cultural objections to this method. We believe that flexibility in approach to oocyte recovery offers the best outcome. A F RIDDLE M C DAVIES J S PAMPIGLIONE B A MASON Hallam Medical Centre, London WIN SLR


This Innovative Practice Full Paper addresses modern cyber ranges which represent unified platforms that offer efficient organization of complex hands-on exercises where participants can train their cybersecurity skills. However, the functionality targets mostly learners who are the primary users. Support of organizers performing analytic and evaluation tasks is weak and ad-hoc. It makes harder to improve the quality of an exercise, particularly its impact on learners. In this paper, we present an application of a well-structured visual analytics process to the organization of cyber exercises. We illustrate that the classification derived from the adoption of the visual analytics process helps to clarify and formalize analytical tasks of educators and enables their systematic support in cyber ranges. We demonstrate an application of our approach on a particular series of eight exercises we have organized in last three years. We believe the presented approach is beneficial for anyone involved in preparation and execution of any complex exercise.


Motivated by a recent conjecture by Hernandez and Leclerc [arXiv:0903.1452], we embed a Fomin-Zelevinsky cluster algebra [arXiv:math/0104151] into the Grothendieck ring R of the category of representations of quantum loop algebras U_q(Lg) of a symmetric Kac-Moody Lie algebra g, studied earlier by the author via perverse sheaves on graded quiver varieties [arXiv:math/9912158]. Graded quiver varieties controlling the image can be identified with varieties which Lusztig used to define the canonical base. The cluster monomials form a subset of the base given by the classes of simple modules in R, or Lusztig's dual canonical base. The positivity and linearly independence (and probably many other) conjectures of cluster monomials [arXiv:math/0104151] follow as consequences, when there is a seed with a bipartite quiver. Simple modules corresponding to cluster monomials factorize into tensor products of `prime' simple ones according to the cluster expansion.


Study Design. Prospective cohort study. Objective. The aim of this study was to determine the validity and responsiveness of Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) health domains. Summary of Background Data. PROMIS health domains (anxiety, depression, fatigue, pain, physical function, satisfaction with participation in social roles, sleep disturbance) may measure quality of care and determine minimal important differences (MIDs) after spine surgery. We examined concurrent validity of PROMIS domains before and PROMIS domain MIDs after anterior cervical spine surgery. Methods. We included 148 adults undergoing cervical spine surgery from February 2015 through June 2016. We determined concurrent validity by correlations of preoperative PROMIS domains with legacy measures and responsiveness of PROMIS domains using distribution-based and anchor-based criteria (preoperative to postoperative change, within 6 months) anchored to treatment expectations (assessed using North American Spine Society Patient Satisfaction Index criteria). Statistical significance was accepted as P < 0.05. Results. All PROMIS domains showed moderate to strong correlations with Neck Disability Index, Short-Form Health Survey, version 2 (SF-12v2), and Brief Pain Inventory pain interference and weak correlations with intensity of arm/neck pain (except between PROMIS pain and neck pain [r = 0.45, P < 0.001] and PROMIS physical function and SF-12v2 physical [r = –0.14, P = 0.138] and mental [r = 0.39, P < 0.001] components). PROMIS domains were well correlated with Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 and Patient Health Questionnaire-8 except PROMIS physical function (r = –0.29, P = 0.002). Distribution-based PROMIS MID estimates ranged from 2.3 to 3.9 points. Incorporating cross-sectional and longitudinal anchor-based criteria, final PROMIS MID estimates were as follows: anxiety, –5.7; depression, –4.6, fatigue, –5.8; pain, –5.2; physical function, 4.5; satisfaction with participation in social roles, 4.4; and sleep disturbance, –7.4. Conclusion. PROMIS domains are a valid assessment of health in this population and were responsive to postoperative improvements in symptoms and quality of life. Level of Evidence: 2


This study describes columnaris disease from cultured rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fry in Turkey in July, 2004. The infection appeared in rainbow trout fry between 5 and 10 g weight in reared raceways where mortality level reached approximately 30% in a day. The appearance of sick fish, besides characteristic skin discolouration, yellow necrotic areas was seen at the tip of the gills. Gram negative long, thin rods were isolated from the anterior kidney, liver and gills of sick fish. Flavobacterium columnare was identified by morphology, physiology and biochemical testing using conventional methods and the API 20 E test system.


We investigate the peculiar motions of galaxies up to z = 0.5 using Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) from the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and predict the subsequent constraints on the growth rate of structure. We consider two cases. Our first is based on measurements of the volumetric SNe Ia rate and assumes we can obtain spectroscopic redshifts and light curves for varying fractions of objects that are detected pre-peak luminosity by LSST (some of which may be obtained by LSST itself, and others that would require additional follow-up observations). We find that these measurements could produce growth rate constraints at that significantly outperform those found using Redshift Space Distortions (RSD) with DESI or 4MOST, even though there are fewer objects. For our second case, we use semi-analytic simulations and a prescription for the SNe Ia rate as a function of stellar mass and star-formation rate to predict the number of LSST SNe IA whose host redshifts may already have been obtained with the Taipan+WALLABY surveys or with a future multi-object spectroscopic survey. We find ∼18,000 and ∼160,000 SNe Ia with host redshifts for these cases, respectively. While this is only a fraction of the total LSST-detected SNe Ia, they could be used to significantly augment and improve the growth rate constraints compared to only RSD. Ultimately, we find that combining LSST SNe Ia with large numbers of galaxy redshifts will provide the most powerful probe of large-scale gravity in the regime over the coming decades.


Customer relationship management (CRM) is a combination of people, processes, and technology that seeks to provide understanding of customer needs, to support a business strategy, and to build long-term relationships with customers. Successful utilization of the integrated technology requires appropriate business processes and organizational culture to adequately address human behavioral elements. Because it is not simply a technology solution, success in CRM business revolves largely around people. In order to build a clearer understanding of the content and role of the human processes of CRM, this study analyzes the literature on CRM processes and people dependencies and forms propositions about the need for human processes in CRM. It emphasizes the responsibility of executives and operational staff in making critical decisions and using intimate communications to conduct relationship management with their customers. Typical CRM human processes are those that are difficult to implement or that cannot be carried on using technology solutions alone, including such activities as planning customer strategy, designing CRM processes, coping with customer problems, understanding customer needs, handling intimate communications, and integrating customer responses. Factors that affect the dependency of human processes in CRM are related to customer factors, the content of information, employee capabilities, and the organizational environment. Propositions formed in this study are that the dependency on human processes in CRM is affected by (1) customer emotional needs; (2) the need for tacit customer information; (3) employees' experience; and (4) the organizational culture.


POET-Inspired Neuroevolutionary System for KreativitY (PINSKY) is a system for open-ended learning through neuroevolution in game-based domains. It builds on the Paired Open-Ended Trailblazer (POET) system, which originally explored learning and environment generation for bipedal walkers, and adapts it to games in the General Video Game AI (GVGAI) system. Previous work showed that by coevolving levels and neural network policies, levels could be found for which successful policies could not be created via optimization alone. Studied in the realm of artificial life as a potentially open-ended alternative to gradient-based fitness, minimal criteria (MC)-based selection helps foster diversity in evolutionary populations. The main question addressed by this article is how the open-ended learning actually works, focusing in particular on the role of transfer of policies from one evolutionary branch ("species") to another. We analyze the dynamics of the system through creating phylogenetic trees, analyzing evolutionary trajectories of policies, and temporally breaking down transfers according to species type. Furthermore, we analyze the impact of the minimal criterion on generated level diversity and interspecies transfer. The most insightful finding is that interspecies transfer, while rare, is crucial to the system's success.


OBJECTIVE
Disabled people have the same right as other people to receive the health care they need, but they sometimes have difficulties to achieve it. In Castilla y Leon it has come into effect a law to guarantee Primary and Secondary Care coordination to provide dental treatment under sedation or anaesthesia to mentally disabled people who need it. Our aim is to evaluate the results of the implementation of such a law through a specific protocol in our health setting.

STUDY DESIGN
Descriptive, made in a Health Area over a year, on mentally disabled people who were sent to hospital for treatment under anaesthesia after Primary Dental Care Units assessment. It has been studied the age, gender, mental disease, dental diagnosis and treatment undergone.

RESULTS
108 patients attended the program (51% male), with a mean age of 31 years. 67% presented profound learning disability, 19% mental illness with disability, 11% presented cerebral palsy and another 3% had autism. Most frequent dental pathologies were caries (86%) and dental plaque (71%). Most common dental procedures were tooth extraction (78%), professional tooth cleaning (75%) and fillings (67%).

CONCLUSIONS
We achieved to provide necessary dental treatment to a large number of disabled people, who would not have received it otherwise. It was a challenge to plan and implement the protocol coordinating Health Care Levels and workers. It still has to be done an economic and efficiency analysis of procedures and a patient satisfaction study.


Recently, the interaction between humans and mobile computers, as a part of the broader problem of technology use in Human-Computer studies, has received some research attent ion. Researchers have explained mobile technology use in terms rhythms, negotiation, contextual influences and boundary control. However, these explanations do not exude sufficient cognitive accounts of mobile technology use. To supplement existing explanations, the use of mobile computers is explained in terms of the historical epistemology of perception. In this epistemology, perception is deemed as a mode of human action that is endowed with goal-orientation and teleological consciousness. A cognitive-based explanation of mobile technology use will enhance our understanding of the mediating role of technology representations and of how human mobility and mobile work filter these representations in mobile computing. The explanations provide guidelines for research, design and integration of mobile technologies in mobile activities.


Developing models and estimating parameters for multi-criteria decision analysis requires judgments by experts and decision makers. These judgments are subject to biases, which can reduce the quality of the analysis. Some of these biases are due to faulty cognitive processes, some are due to motivations for preferred analysis outcomes. We describe these biases, how they affect multi-criteria decision analysis and discuss some debiasing techniques.


Bridge scour is the number one cause of bridge collapse in the USA yet the existing guidelines are felt to be excessively conservative. These apparently conflicting statements are due to the fact that most bridge foundations designed before 1987 did not consider scour as part of the design. The Observation Method for Scour (OMS) was developed to address the conservatism inherent in the current procedures by relying significantly on past observations at the bridge. The OMS works in four steps. Step 1 consists of collecting the maximum observed scour depth at the bridge, Zmo. Step 2 consists of finding out what is the biggest flood velocity Vmo that the bridge has been subjected to since its construction. Step 3 answers, by using an extrapolation function, the question: what will be the scour depth Zfut if the bridge is subjected to a major flood velocity Vfut. Step 4 is a comparison between Zfut and the allowable scour depth Zall for the foundation. Eleven bridge scour case histories in Texas and in Massachusetts are presented where the OMS was applied and the results are used to compare predicted and measured values of Zfut for both the OMS and the current FHWA guidelines. The advantages and drawbacks of the OMS are outlined in a final section.


Encounter-type devices have been introduced to solve one of the main drawbacks of common haptic interfaces i.e. their limited transparency in free space and their restricted ability to render realistic transitions between free space and contact. Advantageously, encounter-type interfaces collide with fingers and display interaction forces only if a contact occurs in the virtual environment. In free space, their end-effectors are mechanically detached from the operator and closely track his fingers, allowing for a perfect transparency. This paper introduces a control scheme that handles the transition between tracking and force display modes in a smooth way. Experimental results using a custom encounter-type interface are also given. The obtained results show the efficiency of the proposed control law when compared to the conventional switch-based control usually found in the literature.


This thesis offers a comparative critical study of Virginia Woolf and her lesser known contemporary, the Welsh author Kate Roberts. To the majority of readers in the `English-speaking world', the name of one of these writers is so familiar that it may be considered a literary touchstone, while that of the other is still almost entirely unknown. Written from the perspective of a minority culture, this thesis traces the faultlines-that is, previously unexplored sites of tension-within the respective cultural identities of the writers under discussion. Scrutinising such faultlines helps to illuminate the more paradoxical aspects of the work of both Roberts and Woolf. For example, a focus on Roberts's cultural positioning forces a significant reassessment of Woolf's relationship with English literary traditions and a more informed consideration of her attitude towards the British Empire. Conversely, the large body of criticism on the gendered aspects of Woolf's writing provides a highly relevant framework within which to explore the hitherto neglected sexual politics of Roberts's work, together with the ways in which her identity as a woman intersects with, and in fact conflicts with, her cultural identity. Drawing upon Frederic Jameson's notion of genre as a social institution, I explore the generic forms deployed by Woolf and Roberts in terms of their cultural specificity. The question of genre can in fact be seen as a crucial aspect of the issues discussed in this thesis-cultural positioning, gender and writing, aesthetics and politics. In this study I examine the output of Roberts and Woolf in five different genres autobiography, short stories, the war novel, drama and journalism. In each case such questions-of community and audience, literary tradition, gendered engagements with that tradition, and the forging of a self-conscious cultural aesthetics-are uppermost.


Both the longitudinal and transverse beam impedance measurements for the Tevatron C0 and F0 lambertsons are presented. The C0 lambertsons were designed for circulating beam to travel through the 1 inch high by 6 inch wide field region. In the F0 lambertsons, circulating beam passes through the 2.5 inch high by 4 in ch wide field free region. The more recently designed F0 lambertsons have significantly less impedance than the older C0 lambertsons. Transverse impedance scales as one over the diameter of the aperture cubed. The three C0 style lambertsons were recently removed from the Tevatron. Four of the F0 lambertsons remain. Nine of the F0 style lambertsons are in the Main Injector and three more are required for Numi.


Conventional auto-focusing camera modules adjust their optical focus by moving lenses. Although motors, such as stepping motors or voice coil motors, can change the lens position with great precision and thus vary the image sharpness, large volume and excess power consumption remain critical issues for mobile device applications. This paper discusses an auto-focusing camera module that adopts a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) deformable mirror (DM) with variable focusing capability to replace mechanical motors. The DM used in this paper can provide 20 diopters of focusing capability, which is one order of magnitude higher than silicon-based DMs, so the autofocus module can be compact enough for mobile devices. Because of the characteristics of MEMS DMs, we proposed a "percentage-drop" searching algorithm to find a sharp image based on a focus value calculation. The average auto-focusing time is 45% faster than the global searching method.


In this article, we empirically investigate the industry determinants of value creation through Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and the division of M&A gains for a sample of horizontal acquisitions in Europe during the period 1997–2008. We calculate the combined abnormal return around deal announcement to proxy for M&A value creation. Our results show that industry sales concentration and the ratio of the combined target and bidder size relative to the minimum efficient scale in the corresponding industry are significantly negatively associated with M&A value creation. The relation between industry sales growth and M&A gains is U-shaped. The extent of foreign competition within the industry, industry technological intensity and industry deregulation bear no significant association with M&A wealth effects, however. Finally, the data reveal that the division of M&A gains between target and bidder investors is determined by firm and deal characteristics rather than by industry conditions.


Abstract Temperature dependencies and thermal dynamical behavior of vibrational phonons related to different bonds/motions (e.g., K-O, Si-O, and Al-O) and O-H stretching, bending, and combinations bands, as well as those of NH4 ions, of muscovite have been investigated in detail at high temperatures using in situ infrared spectroscopy. Phonon modes of muscovite show a complex response to heating and dehydroxylation. The mode Grüneisen parameters of muscovite are largest for low-frequency bands and some bands have negative values. Approaching dehydroxylation, bands associated with K-O stretching, Al-OH bending, and Al-O vibrations exhibit significant variations, indicating modifications of local configurations related to these ions. The O-H stretching feature near 3627 cm-1 shows a change in temperature dependence of the peak position near or during dehydroxylation, and this is attributed to a dramatic loss of OH and changes in local environments. The infrared spectroscopic analyses carried out in situ or on quenched samples do not record the characteristic bands of dehydroxylation-induced H2O and these findings suggest that H2O is unlikely to be the principal diffusing species. The results suggest that de-ammoniation or loss of NH4 in muscovite takes place at temperatures near dehydroxylation.


Depictions of Asian American men as effeminate or asexual pervade popular movies. Hollywood has made clear that Asian American men lack the qualities inherent to the heroic heterosexual male. This restricting, circumscribed vision of masculinity-a straitjacketing, according to author Celine Parrenas Shimizu-aggravates Asian American male sexual problems both on and off screen. Straitjacket Sexualities: Unbinding Asian American Manhoods in the Movies looks to cinematic history to reveal the dynamic ways Asian American men, from Bruce Lee to Long Duk Dong, create and claim a variety of masculinities. Representations of love, romance, desire, and lovemaking show how Asian American men fashion manhoods that negotiate the dynamics of self and other, expanding our ideas of sexuality. The unique ways in which Asian American men express intimacy is powerfully represented onscreen, offering distinct portraits of individuals struggling with group identities. Rejecting "macho" men, these movies stake Asian American manhood on the notion of caring for, rather than dominating, others. Straitjacket Sexualities identifies a number of moments in the movies wherein masculinity is figured anew. By looking at intimate relations on screen, power as sexual prowess and brute masculinity is redefined, giving primacy to the diverse ways Asian American men experience complex, ambiguous, and ambivalent genders and sexualities.


The static power consumption of modern CMOS devices has become a substantial concern in the context of the side-channel security of cryptographic hardware. Its continuous growth in nanometer-scaled technologies is not only inconvenient for effective low-power designs but does also create a new target for power analysis adversaries. Additionally, it has to be noted that several of the numerous sources of static power dissipation in CMOS circuits exhibit an exponential dependence on environmental factors which a classical power analysis adversary is in control of. These factors include the operating conditions' temperature and supply voltage. Furthermore, in the case of clock control, the measurement interval can be adjusted arbitrarily. Our experiments on a 150-nm CMOS ASIC reveal that with respect to the signal-to-noise ratio in static power side-channel analyses, stretching the measurement interval decreases the noise exponentially and even more importantly that raising the working temperature increases the signal exponentially. Control over the supply voltage has a far smaller, but still noticeable, positive impact as well. In summary, a static power analysis adversary can physically force a device to leak more information by controlling its operating environment and furthermore measure these leakages with arbitrary precision by modifying the interval length.


A series of experiments were conducted with the purposes of
describing a functional pathway in the rat hippocampus, characterizing some conditions necessary for activating it, and identifying critical steps in this pathway. In all experiments a classical conditioning paradigm was used and the responses of units in the hippocampus and related forebrain structures to the conditioned stimulus were measured. In the first experiment a few differences between dentate, CA-3, and CA-1, the main fields of the hippocampus, were found. Units in the dentate were first to acquire a conditioned response, CA-3 followed and CA-1 was last. This order fits with the anatomical pathway. However, dentate responses were phasic, that is, did not outlast the CS-US interval, and were not specific to the conditioned stimulus. The responses of CA-3 and CA-1 units, on the other hand, were sustained and specific. The second experiment was devoted to the analysis of conditioned response latencies, in the hippocampus
as well as in septum, subiculum, cingulate, entorhinal, and related structures, all known to be input stages to the hippocampus. In this experiment unconditioned short response latencies were found in the medial septum, one of the afferents of the hippocampus. These were not changed in the process of learning. The shortest conditioned response latencies were found in area CA-3 of the hippocampus. Units in area CA-1 followed, but units in dentate did not precede those of CA-3. Units in entorhinal cortex, the other main afferent to the hippocampus did not seem to precede hippocampal units either. The special relations between the hippocampus and the dentate were demonstrated in another part of this experiment, where dentate units lost their conditioned responses, in the process of extinction, before those of CA-3 and CA-1. It was postulated that septal input triggers CA-3 responses and these
would be maintained in the presence of reinforcing dentate and
entorhinal inputs. The relations between the dentate and the hippocampus were
further studied in two experiments in which aversive electric shock served as an unconditioned stimulus. In experiment 3 food and shock served as unconditioned stimuli on alternate days. In
experiment 4 food and shock were presented in the same sessions as unconditioned stimuli to two different CS's. Dentate units had an excitatory conditioned response to a food signal and an inhibitory conditioned response to a shock signal in both experiments. Hippocampal units had excitatory responses to both signals. Acquisition of a conditioned response was not demonstrated within the hippocampus when the conditioned stimulus preceded shock and was slow when food or shock were applied following two different signals in the same session. However, when first trained that a signal precedes food, the conditioned response would be maintained in the hippocampus even if shock is now the US. The dentate is probably involved in the initiation of a conditioned response in the hippocampus but not in the maintenance of it. A sensory-sensory paradigm (experiment 5) has demonstrated
the presence of unconditioned unhabituated sensory responses in two of the afferents to the hippocampus, that is, the medial septum and the cingulate cortex. It failed to show signs of conditioning in the hippocampus proper. It was proposed that in the absence of an appetitive reward and the activity of the entorhinal-dentate pathway, conditioned responses in hippocampus cannot be established. Conditioned entorhinal responses (experiment 6) had long
latency but also long time constant. Their evoked activity was
maintained for periods as long as one minute. It was found that
hippocampal responses were larger, if the conditioned stimulus was applied within one minute from the previous trial. Hence, a
correlation between hippocampal responses and entorhinal firing
rate was demonstrated. On the basis of these experiments it was
proposed that septal input enters the hippocampus at the CA-3
area, is able to selectively activate these cells only in the
presence of facilitation produced by entorhinal and dentate activity. The facilitatory entorhinal activity is triggered mainly by positive reward.


Now that the use of garbage collection in languages like Java is becoming widely accepted due to the safety and software engineering benefits it provides, there is significant interest in applying garbage collection to hard real-time systems. Past approaches have generally suffered from one of two major flaws: either they were not provably real-time, or they imposed large space overheads to meet the real-time bounds. We present a mostly non-moving, dynamically defragmenting collector that overcomes both of these limitations: by avoiding copying in most cases, space requirements are kept low; and by fully incrementalizing the collector we are able to meet real-time bounds. We implemented our algorithm in the Jikes RVM and show that at real-time resolution we are able to obtain mutator utilization rates of 45% with only 1.6--2.5 times the actual space required by the application, a factor of 4 improvement in utilization over the best previously published results. Defragmentation causes no more than 4% of the traced data to be copied.


Aims: The present investigation concerns the preparation and characterization of Rufinamide HP-β-cyclodextrin complexes prepared by the kneading method. Material & methods: Rufinamide was procured as a gift sample from Torrent Pharmaceuticals limited. HP-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) was purchased from Himedia, India. Methanol and Hydrochloric Acid were purchased from S. D. Fine Chem. Pvt. Ltd., India. kneading method was selected to prepare inclusion complexation of Rufinamide. Phase solubility study was performed to check formation of inclusion complex. Prepared complex were characterize by different methods like DSC study, FTIR study, X-RPD study & in-vitro dissolution study. Results: It was found that there is a formation of 1:1 inclusion complex between HP-β-CD as stability constant was found to be 221.27 M-1. DSC study, FTIR study had given supporting data for formation of inclusion complex. Amorphous nature of the complex was confirmed from the X-RPD study. Conclusions: From in-vitro dissolution study it was found that 1:1.5 complex showed around 50% drug released in 30 min & more than 70% of Drug release in 60 mins.


RD. Alexander (1987) has proposed that the ultimate grounds of ethics are evolutionary. Humans have the capacity for moral reasoning and negotiation, together with a system of appropriate emotions, such as shame and guilt when we do wrong, and a sense ofmoral wellbeing when we do right, because these abilities tended to increase our ancestors' inclusive fitness in the past. Fairly simple mathematical models can illustrate how this could work-one example is the Prisoner's Dilemma problem in which two individuals must act cooperatively if they are to maximise their 'survival points' over a series of interactions (Axelrod, 1984). In the Prisoner's Dilemma, mutual cooperation leads to an intermediate score for both parties; mutual defection gives both a low score, but if one cooperates and the other defects, then the cooperator scores no points, while the defector scores maximum points. Over a series of games the program that achieved the best scores was one called TIT FOR TAT, which cooperated unless its partner defected, but after a defection subsequently did whatever the partner did on the previous round, thus 'punishing' defection and 'rewarding' cooperation. It might appear tllat an evolutionary tlleory of the origin of ethics can never be compatible with the inclusion of nonhumans in our moral systems, because any tendency to give weight to their interests would always be disadvantageous; would tend to reduce inclusive fitness, and hence would involve a basic conflict with the ultimate grounds of human ethics. I hope to show that this strong view of the impossibility of animal rights is untrue, although there are grounds for holding a weaker view that proposes that, when interests conflict, humans will always have some tendency to favour relatives over non-relatives, friends over strangers, and other humans over nonhumans. Alexander himself believes (pp. 156ff.) that tlle selective value of indirect reciprocity may be enough to account for a human tendency to give sentient animals some status in their moral systems. He suggests that a person who (for example) was observed by other humans to be kind and reliable when handling pet animals would appear to them to be more trustworthy than someone who behaved cruelly. Trustworthy people would tend to be given preferential treatment, and, if it is true that behaviour towards animals tends to be a good predictor of future behaviour towards other humans, then tllere would be selection both for kindness towards animals and for a tendency to approve of such kindness in other people. The approvers benefit by being able to make successful predictions about the behaviour of other people because they are enabled to 'invest' help in partners who are likely to reciprocate.


With a history dating back to 6000 BC, Istanbul has always been a significant city, standing on two continents separated by a strait called Bosphorus. Istanbul is a dynamic and ever-changing city which brings about rapid changes on historical green network. As one of the most important components of this green network, historical groves are open to overwhelming changes. The rapid urbanization and differentiation of land-use have yielded adverse impacts on the identity of the Bosphorus and historical landscape features. Due to the deficiencies in the management of heritage landscapes, alterations within the green network emerge which are not only spatial but also conceptional. Within that context, the questions that guide this paper are: What is the meaning of 'grove' for Istanbul? What are the spatiotemporal changes related with these groves within the Bosphorus area? What should be the sustainable landscape planning strategies for these green heritages? Seeking answers to these questions, this paper examines spatiotemporal changes throughout the Ottoman times to today, benefitting from various Ottoman maps dating back to 1764. In order to gain a multi-layered understanding, this paper supports these map-based studies with credible literatures and field study. Reading the interplay between green heritage, historical coastal areas, urban development, and sustainable landscape planning reveals the prospected landscape planning strategies for the green heritages of Istanbul. This paper is an attempt to notice landscape planning strategies for urban green heritages and encourage further studies not only for the benefit of Istanbul, but also for the other dynamic mega cities.


Purpose
The 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes were one of the most devastating events in New Zealand's history. Due to the large scale of disruption and losses, the central government created a separate body, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA), to manage and oversee recovery activities. Working with local authorities and stakeholders, CERA plays a major role in driving the recovery in Christchurch. This paper aims to analyse CERA's decision-making process and the effects of some of its critical decisions on the recovery outcomes. The paper takes a "build back better" (BBB) perspective to understand the decisions taken and processes used.

Design/methodology/approach
The case study adopted a mixed-methods research design (Creswell, 2013) and was conducted by reviewing official CERA documents and publications related to its recovery assessments and by conducting interviews with key officials from CERA. Collecting data from both qualitative and quantitative data sources enabled the process of triangulation.

Findings
Lessons learned from the Canterbury experience in terms of recovery best practices are reported. CERA's recovery policy aimed to give confidence to the community and renew and revitalise the damaged city. Compared with the BBB theory, the community-driven recovery strategy and the multi-stakeholder approach worked well. Other critical decisions aligned with the BBB theory include land zoning, empowering community and integration with existing developmental plans.

Originality/value
BBB can be used as a tool for the implementation of recovery and restoration measures following a large disaster. However, a set of practical indicators to measure the level of BBB is needed.


Many researchers have reported that food proteins and their peptides expressed a variety of functions in the body, including a reduction of blood pressure, modulation of immune cell functions, and regulation of nerve functions. However, food-derived proteins and peptides also play important roles in the intestinal tract before being absorbed. For example, some of the proteins and peptides can regulate the activity of digestive enzymes in the intestinal tract, thereby modulating the nutrient absorption in the intestines. These proteins and peptides have been used for functional foods with blood glucose- and blood cholesterol-lowering effects. Enhancement of the intestinal calcium absorption by casein-derived peptides is another example, such peptides being used as functional food ingredients. We have recently observed that certain milk peptides might stimulate the calcium transporter in intestinal epithelial cells. Carnosine, a dipeptide contained in skeletal muscles, was observed to suppress the secretion of inflammatory cytokines by intestinal epithelial cells that had been exposed to oxidative stress. Understanding the behavior of dietary proteins and peptides in the intestines is important for designing functional foods with physiological functions.


This paper presents a new control strategy for the rotor-side converter (RSC) of wind turbines (WTs) based on doubly fed induction generators (DFIG) that intends to improve its low-voltage ride through capability. The main objective of this work is to design an algorithm that would enable the system to control the initial overcurrents that appear in the generator during voltage sags, which can damage the RSC, without tripping it. As a difference with classical solutions, based on the installation of crowbar circuits, this operation mode permits to keep the inverter connected to the generator, something that would permit the injection of power to the grid during the fault, as the new grid codes demand. A theoretical study of the dynamical behavior of the rotor voltage is also developed, in order to show that the voltage at the rotor terminals required for the control strategy implementation remains under controllable limits. In order to validate the proposed control system simulation, results have been collected using PSCAD/EMTDC and experimental tests have been carried out in a scaled prototype.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the association between self-reported oral health (SROH) and general health, this study examined the cross-sectional associations between SROH and nine chronic health conditions, namely cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, thyroid disease, nervous system disease, eye/nose/throat disease, stomach/intestinal disease, and musculoskeletal disease in Hong Kong.

METHODS
This study included 41,641 participants recruited in the FAMILY Project cohort study during March 2009-March 2011. SROH was measured on a 5-point Likert scale. Multiple logistic regression model was used to analyze the effect of dichotomized SROH (0: very good/good/average, 1: bad/very bad) on nine chronic health conditions, adjusted for age, sex, education, personal income, smoking and drinking habits, Body mass index (BMI), and blood pressures.

RESULTS
All the nine chronic health conditions investigated were associated with SROH. SROH showed the strongest cross-sectional association with nervous system disease (odds ratio = 3.30, P < 0.001), while the odds ratio with other significant chronic health conditions ranged from 1.13 (high cholesterol, P = 0.033)-1.73 (stomach/intestinal disease, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
Poor SROH is associated with cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, thyroid disease, nervous system disease, eye/nose/throat disease, stomach/intestinal disease, and musculoskeletal disease.


Raw starch and raw cassava tuber powder were directly and efficiently fermented at elevated temperatures to produce ethanol using the thermotolerant yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus that expresses α‐amylase from Aspergillus oryzae as well as α‐amylase and glucoamylase from Debaryomyces occidentalis. Among the constructed K. marxianus strains, YRL 009 had the highest efficiency in direct starch fermentation. Raw starch from corn, potato, cassava, or wheat can be fermented at temperatures higher than 40°C. At the optimal fermentation temperature 42°C, YRL 009 produced 66.52 g/L ethanol from 200 g/L cassava starch, which was the highest production among the selected raw starches. This production increased to 79.75 g/L ethanol with a 78.3% theoretical yield (with all cassava starch were consumed) from raw cassava starch at higher initial cell densities. Fermentation was also carried out at 45 and 48°C. By using 200 g/L raw cassava starch, 137.11 and 87.71 g/L sugar were consumed with 55.36 and 32.16 g/L ethanol produced, respectively. Furthermore, this strain could directly ferment 200 g/L nonsterile raw cassava tuber powder (containing 178.52 g/L cassava starch) without additional nutritional supplements to produce 69.73 g/L ethanol by consuming 166.07 g/L sugar at 42°C. YRL 009, which has consolidated bioprocessing ability, is the best strain for fermenting starches at elevated temperatures that has been reported to date. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 30:338–347, 2014


ABSTRACT Economists' solution to the tragedy of the commons relies on well-defined property rights and competitive market mechanism for limiting individuals' self-serving, short-sighted actions that result in a dramatic depletion of the common resources. However, this solution implicates a serious threat in terms of sustainability. Recently, deterioration of genetic diversity reached alarming levels, mainly attributed to escalating economic pressure that obliges farmers to shift from local breeds towards more profitable and more productive industrial breeds. This study empirically examines the efficiency of the free market mechanism as a solution to the tragedy of the commons through a unique natural experiment in which a huge demand shock arises regarding sheep. Results robustly show that the free market mechanism can cope with even a very challenging demand shock through the adjustment of prices without any shortage of the commodity. However, this finding does not guarantee that such an outcome is sustainable over the very long term. Analysis of the growth rate of the local sheep breeds population and cross-breed sheep population shows that the trend is overwhelmingly in favour of cross-breeds, thus supporting concerns for a free market mechanism, intrinsically driving the extinction of local sheep breeds, an invaluable genetic resource.


The effect of lattice mismatch between the substrate and the heteroepitaxial film on the initial process of ultra-thin film growth, such as the nuclear density, the average size of cluster, the scale behavior and the growth mode, is studied by the kinetic Monte-Carlo method. It is found that the negative (positive) mismatch, corresponding to the compressive (tensile) strain, can induce the growth process transferring from the nucleation stage to the intermediate one earlier (later). The larger the mismatch, the more apparent the above behavior. Under the same deposition condition, the negative mismatch can bring about lower nuclear density and larger average cluster size than the positive mismatch does. Furthermore, the nuclear density is found to follow the power law of Ns≈(F/D)χ, andχdecreases from 0.37 to 0.33 while the mismatch changes from –0.04 to 0.02. This behavior indicates that the growth mode of the ultra-thin film changes from including dimer diffusion into excluding dimer diffusion. Additionally, the scale theory of the cluster size is found to be valid even for the heteroepitaxial growth.


Every innovation is targeted towards adoption; a process which involves several levels of risks. Bio-fortified Vitamin A cassava variety is an innovation targeted not only to solve the yield of farmers but to increase the nutritional intake of Nigerian household. The research specifically seeks to investigate; the risks involved in the adoption of vitamin A cassava variety; the risk attitude of cassava farmers; and the factors that affect farmers risk attitude to the production of vitamin A cassava. 4-stage random sampling procedure was used to primarily select 240 farmers; descriptive statistics, Likert scale, Safety first utility approach and ordinary least square regression model were the tool of analysis. The study revealed that risks involved in adoption of the cassava variety include animal invasion, price fluctuation, and poor storage facilities. Majority of the farmers 88.3% are risk neutral, only 16% are risk takers; it also revealed that age, income from other activities and estimated annual income are the determinants of risk attitude. It is therefore recommended that; effort should be geared toward making adequate vitamin A bio-fortified cassava varieties available to young farmers; grazing reserved should be provided to reduce the risk and effort should be intensified to reduce price volatility for improved products


Recently, especially within the last two decades, the demand for DSMs (Digital Surface Models) and 3D city models has increased dramatically. This has arisen due to the emergence of new applications beyond construction or analysis and consequently to a focus on accuracy and the cost.

This thesis addresses two linked subjects: first improving the quality of the DSM by merging different source DSMs using a Bayesian approach; and second, extracting building footprints using approaches, including Bayesian approaches, and producing 3D models.

Regarding the first topic, a probabilistic model has been generated based on the Bayesian approach in order to merge different source DSMs from different sensors. The Bayesian approach is specified to be ideal in the case when the data is limited and this can consequently be compensated by introducing the a priori. The implemented prior is based on the hypothesis that the building roof outlines are specified to be smooth, for that reason local entropy has been implemented in order to infer the a priori data. In addition to the a priori estimation, the quality of the DSMs is obtained by using field checkpoints from differential GNSS. The validation results have shown that the model was successfully able to improve the quality of the DSMs and improving some characteristics such as the roof surfaces, which consequently led to better representations. In addition to that, the developed model has been compared with the Maximum Likelihood model which showed similar quantitative statistical results and better qualitative results. Perhaps it is worth mentioning that, although the DSMs used in the merging have been produced using satellite images, the model can be applied on any type of DSM.

The second topic is building footprint extraction based on using satellite imagery. An efficient flow-line for automatic building footprint extraction and 3D model construction, from both stereo panchromatic and multispectral satellite imagery was developed. This flow-line has been applied in an area of different building types, with both hipped and sloped roofs. The flow line consisted of multi stages. First, data preparation, digital orthoimagery and DSMs are created from WorldView-1. Pleiades imagery is used to create a vegetation mask. The orthoimagery then undergoes binary classification into 'foreground' (including buildings, shadows, open-water, roads and trees) and 'background' (including grass, bare soil, and clay). From the foreground class, shadows and open water are removed after creating a shadow mask by thresholding the same orthoimagery. Likewise roads have been removed, for the time being, after interactively creating a mask using the orthoimagery. NDVI processing of the Pleiades imagery has been used to create a mask for removing the trees. An 'edge map' is produced using Canny edge detection to define the exact building boundary outlines, from enhanced orthoimagery. A normalised digital surface model (nDSM) is produced from the original DSM using smoothing and subtracting techniques. Second, start Building Detection and Extraction. Buildings can be detected, in part, in the nDSM as isolated relatively elevated 'blobs'. These nDSM 'blobs' are uniquely labelled to identify rudimentary buildings. Each 'blob' is paired with its corresponding 'foreground' area from the orthoimagery. Each 'foreground' area is used as an initial building boundary, which is then vectorised and simplified. Some unnecessary details in the 'edge map', particularly on the roofs of the buildings can be removed using mathematical morphology. Some building edges are not detected in the 'edge map' due to low contrast in some parts of the orthoimagery. The 'edge map' is subsequently further improved also using mathematical morphology, leading to the 'modified edge map'. Finally, A Bayesian approach is used to find the most probable coordinates of the building footprints, based on the 'modified edge map'. The proposal that is made for the footprint a priori data is based on the creating a PDF which assumes that the probable footprint angle at the corner is 90o and along the edge is 180o, with a less probable value given to the other angles such as 45o and 135o. The 3D model is constructed by extracting the elevation of the buildings from the DSM and combining it with the regularized building boundary. Validation, both quantitatively and qualitatively has shown that the developed process and associated algorithms have successfully been able to extract building footprints and create 3D models.


Treatment of substituted carbazole thiosemicarbazone derivatives, with an equimolar amount of [RuH(CO)(Cl)(AsPh3)3] in refluxing methanol in the presence of a base (NEt3), has afforded ruthenium complexes in two different types, viz. [RuH(CO)(AsPh3)2(L1)] (1) and [Ru(CO)(AsPh3)2(L2)] (2). The new complexes were separated and characterised by elemental analysis, spectral techniques (FT-IR, UV-vis, NMR and ESI-MS) and X-ray crystallography. The absorption and emission properties of the complexes were studied by both experimental and theoretical methods. The formation of the complexes was further supported by mass spectral analysis. In complex 1, the thiosemicarbazone ligand is coordinated to ruthenium in a monoanionic bidentate fashion by forming an unexpected NS four-membered chelate ring with a bite angle of 64.58(9)°. The coordinated thiosemicarbazone ligands, carbonyl and a hydride constitute one equatorial plane with the metal at the center. However, in 2 the ligand behaves in a tridentate dianionic fashion by forming CNS five- and six-membered rings via C–H activation. The tricoordinated thiosemicarbazone ligand is sharing the same equatorial plane with ruthenium and the carbonyl, and the AsPh3 ligands are mutually trans. The difference in the coordination mode of thiosemicarbazone ligands is a result of the difference in the steric nature of the substituent present in the thiosemicarbazone moiety. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been used to examine the composition of the frontier molecular orbitals. Further, electrostatic potential surface analysis confirms the steric nature of the phenyl group in complex 2 which dictates the diverse coordination mode of the ligand. The density of states (DOS) and overlap population density of states (OPDOS) in terms of Mulliken population analysis were calculated using the GaussSum program. The nature of the electronic transitions associated with the complexes has been determined by time-dependent DFT and the UV-vis spectra of the complexes have been discussed on this basis. The bonding interactions between the ligands and ruthenium complex fragments have been analyzed by energy decomposition analysis.


ABSTRACT Using multi‐unit auctions, we examined the effect of different distributions of price discount across multiple units of a relatively new product on consumers' Willingness to Pay (WTP), sales value and retailers' revenue. We found that allowing the price discount to be increasing in the number of units increases willingness to pay, sales value and retailers' revenue and that a price discount that is uniformly distributed across units also has the potential to motivate consumers to buy more units of the product. However, multi‐unit price promotions that concentrate all the amount of price discount on the last unit only generate a weak positive effect on sales value. [EconLit Citations: C910, D120, M310].


: In order to evaluate the efficacy and tolerance to Haloperidol Decanoate, 26 patients with different psychotic disorders were included in a six month's clinical study. The dose administered monthly was equivalent to twenty times the oral daily doses of neuroleptics generally used by these patients. In 92% of the cases an improvement higher than a 70% of the clinical symptoms was achieved, if comparing the baseline with final data. In no patient results inferior to those observed with oral neuroleptics were detected. Adverse reactions like parkinsonism or dyskinesia were present in some patients. However their intensity was mild to moderate, over a short period of time only.


Abstract. A physically-based technique for interpolating external magnetic field disturbances across large spatial areas can be achieved with the Spherical Elementary Current System (SECS) method using data from ground-based magnetic observatories. The SECS method represents complex electrical current systems as a simple set of equivalent currents placed at a specific height in the ionosphere. The magnetic field recorded at observatories can be used to invert for the electrical currents, which can subsequently be employed to interpolate or extrapolate the magnetic field across a large area. We show that, in addition to the ionospheric currents, inverting for induced subsurface current systems can result in strong improvements to the estimate of the interpolated magnetic field. We investigate the application of the SECS method at mid- to high geomagnetic latitudes using a series of observatory networks to test the performance of the external field interpolation over large distances. We demonstrate that relatively few observatories are required to produce an estimate that is better than either assuming no external field change or interpolation using latitudinal weighting of data from two other observatories.


The paper is dedicated to the analysis of the evolution of training, re-training and internship educational programs (later called also as professional education) for civil and municipal servants in Russia. The system of education for students in area of public administration, that concentrated on their preparation for future job in governmental and municipal bodies, which is developed in Russia simultaneously with the educational programs for civil and municipal servants, is out of the scope at this article. Authors extracted three periods in the evolution of professional education for civil and municipal servants in Russia: from year 1991/92 when the first attempts to start the system of education for civil servants was produced by the newly established Government Agency ROSKADRY; from 1995 to 2004 when the system of education for civil and municipal servants was growed on the base of the Federal Law "About the Foundations of the State Service of Russian Federation" (1995), and from 2004 up to the present when new Federal legislation appears, including the Federal Law "On the Civil Service of Russian Federation" (2004), the Federal Law "On the Municipal Service in Russian Federation" (2007), the Presidential Decree "On the System of Professional Re-training, Training and Internships for the Federal Civil Servants of Russian Federation" (2006). Authors mostly are concentrated on the 3rd (contemporary) period in the evolution of professional education for civil and municipal servants. The trends and main features of the content of professional education, types of its duration and kinds of the programs, the distribution of the educational programs among different educational centers and regions of Russia is discussed. The statistical data up to the moment is presented. Also, authors describe the key problems and prospects for future development of education for civil servants in Russia, including establishing of relevant MPA programs. The methodology of research combined from the elements of statistical analysis of collected by the authors data, of the description of already introduced and being in preparation the legislation about civil service of Russian Federation and the evaluation of its implementation, of the content analysis of the educational programs (disciplinary orientations and groups of disciplines, elaborated professional competencies for different categories of civil servants, educational methodic and innovative programs, capacity of educational community, trends etc).


The effects of one year combined vanadium and insulin treatment (VIT) on blood glucose levels of insulin dependent diabetic (IDD) rats were studied. Rats made diabetic by an i.v. injection of 55-60 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ), divided into two groups and treated with a low dose of NPH insulin (2-4 U/rat) for two months to survive from hyperglycaemic shock. In group A, hyperglycaemia ameliorated during one year by increasing the daily dose of insulin to 8.2 +/- 0.4 U/100 g (IT) and in group B by switching over to hydrated vanadium solution (1 mg/ml vanadyl oxide sulphate pentahydrate in drinking water; VIT). The results of the study indicated that one year VIT regenerated new beta-cells, and relieved diabetes both during treatment and after withdrawal. However, one year IT showed no trophic effects on the destroyed beta-cells, hence no improvement in the glycaemic status of the animal was seen after withdrawal. The action of VIT was such that in group B normoglycaemeia persisted in 90 per cent of diabetic rats two weeks after insulin withdrawal. But in the same group, 45 days after combined vanadium and insulin withdrawal blood glucose was normal in 60 per cent of the rats, it was between 250-300 mg/dl in 18 per cent and between 350-400 mg/dl in 24 per cent of the rats. In conclusion it appears that long term VIT regenerates pancreatic beta-cells of IDD rats and possibly by improving their secretory functions it relieves diabetes mellitus.


This qualitative interpretive study aimed to describe the experiences of 13 American Indians living in urban settings and their use of traditional healing and biomedical health services for type 2 diabetes. Urban American Indian adults living in the United States who used traditional healing and biomedical health services for type 2 diabetes were recruited for the study through purposive sampling, including snowball sampling. Thirteen participants completed semi-structured interviews. Participants reported positive experiences and barriers to traditional healing and Western biomedical services. They also discussed feelings of disorientation when diagnosed at a young age with type 2 diabetes but self-empowerment as an adult. Participants felt disconnected from their tribal community and identified inaccessibility and lack of communication as barriers to using traditional healing practices. Participants noted access and convenience to biomedicine as a reason to use it and the services provided within the system. They also identified barriers to biomedicine, such as short consultation time, costs, and lack of rapport or communication. Implications for positive social change include improving awareness and understanding of healthcare providers and educators regarding urban American Indian populations' health needs and being able to implement better-informed health programs for them.


Abstract. Kuria EK, Machuka J, Runo S. 2019. Maize bioengineering with c-repeat binding factor 1 (CBF1) as a technique for desiccation toleration. Trop Drylands 3: 1-10. Africa is a desiccation inclined continent leading to riskful cultivation particularly to small-scale cultivators who rely on rain-fed agriculture. Maize is the most widely cultivated main crop in Africa with more than 300 million people relying on it as their principal dietdiet fount. Desiccation causes crop fiasco, famine and poverty and this is being aggravated by climate change. There is therefore an obligation to flourish desiccation tolerablish maize. Traditional propagation techniques have been implementedcarried out in the establishment of desiccation tolerablish plants but are restricted by their requirement for labour, time and space, suggesting a limited genetic diversity within genotypes and transition of undesired traits along with the wanted ones. These restrictions are handled by utilizing these techniques along with bioengineering. Desiccation triggers a range of physiological and biochemical reactions in plants at cellular and molecular levels. These reactions include initiation of genes with several usefulness. Plant alteration for expanded desiccation toleration is generally based on the administration of either transcription and/or signaling factors or genes that directly secure plant cells contra water shortage. C-repeat binding factor (CBF) is a transcriptional factor that interacts with the desiccation responsive element (DRE), a cis-acting promoter element that governs gene expression in reaction to desiccation, brine and freezing stress. Over expression of these transcription factors, escalates stress toleration to freezing, desiccation and high brininess. In this study, three maize inbred lines and one hybrid were altered with CBF1 gene and appointed with mannose utilizing the Phosphomannose isomerase (PMI) gene. Genetic alteration was conducted through Agrobacterium tumefaciens and PCR was utilized to ascertain altered plants. Alteration frequency, alteration effectiveness and regeneration effectiveness were equated among the distinct genotypes altered. There were no remarkable dissimilarities in alteration frequency among the four maize genotypes. CML216 had the highest alteration effectiveness and regeneration effectiveness followed by A188. No alleged transgenic plants were regenerated from TL27 and A188×TL18 under the circumstances implemented on acount of their low regenerability. Further molecular analysis and desiccation stress tentatives on the expanded transgenic maize are significant prior to commercial release. Availability of desiccation tolerablish maize would bear a considerable positive collision contra famine particularly in Africa.


A year following the initial COVID-19 outbreak in China, many countries have approved emergency vaccines. Public-health practitioners and policymakers must understand the predicted populational willingness for vaccines and implement relevant stimulation measures. This study developed a framework for predicting vaccination uptake rate based on traditional clinical data-involving an autoregressive model with autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA)- and innovative web search queries-involving a linear regression with ordinary least squares/least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, and machine-learning with boost and random forest. For accuracy, we implemented a stacking regression for the clinical data and web search queries. The stacked regression of ARIMA (1,0,8) for clinical data and boost with support vector machine for web data formed the best model for forecasting vaccination speed in the US. The stacked regression provided a more accurate forecast. These results can help governments and policymakers predict vaccine demand and finance relevant programs.


Selective catalytic carbonylation of the trisubstituted double bond of citronellic acid is enabled via an isomerization–functionalization approach. Alkoxycarbonylation with [{1,2-(tBu2PCH2)2C6H4}Pd(OTf)2] as a catalyst precursor occurs with >97% selectivity for the terminal diester dimethyl-3,7-dimethylnonane-dioate. This prevails much over the typical cationic methoxyaddition. The reactive primary carboxy group formed allows for e.g. the preparation of the high molecular weight novel polyester poly[3,7-dimethylnonanediyl-3,7-dimethylnonanedioate].


Using stopping time arguments on holomorphic martingales we present a soft way of constructing J. Bourgain's analytic partitions of unity. Ap-plications to Marcinkiewicz interploation in weighted Hardy spaces are discussed.