Background and objectives: In the recent century, one of the most important problems and difficulties among families is anger, that can be the origin of numbers mental disorders. Emotional and cyclothymic disorders are the most common representation of premenstrual syndrome. Therefore, the researcher has tried to achieve a study with the aim of determining relationship between variables of anger and severe (density) premenstrual syndrome. Materials & Methods: This research (survey) is a descreptive-analytic study. The case study includes 152 high school students, who through sampling method-multi- stages. By the To classification, cluster and random method, were selected. In order to collect the data, we use a evaluation form of signs, before premenstrual for surveying the rate of outbreak and severe (density) signs. Also, we used a standard Staxi questionnaire, in order to survey experience and presentation of anger. Findings: The results of this research indicated that 54.7 units of those researched suffer from premenstrual syndrome. From the point of relationship of variables of anger with severe of signs premenstrually the results showed that among anger-in, trend to anger and severe (destiny/violent) of anger, on the time of testing with severe signs premenstrually is a meaningful relationship, (but) between variable of control of anger and anger-out with severe of signs premenstrual syndrome has no meaningful relationship. These results also showed that units (attacked) by premenstrual syndrome, in comparison to units without syndrome, meaningfully, in sub set of severe of anger during the test, trend to anger, anger-in and anger-out have acquired high (degrees). Conclusion: Regarding the high spread a of anger among adolescents, and its relation to disorder of premenstrual synrome, the necessity of attention to health and mental health of a addescents, nationally has been revealed. In respect to findings of recent research, (responsibles), of education system and families, have an important task, that to choose plans, training in field of premenstrual syndrom, and the effective factors on premenstrual syndrom and methods of therapeutics. This disorder will help with hygiene and health of adolescents.


This paper presents a novel framework of symbolic time series analysis (STSA) for anomaly detection in dynamical systems. The core concept is built upon a property of measure-preserving transformation (MPT) sequence, acting on a probability space with ergodic measure, that the eigenfunctions of these transformations would be time-invariant. As a result, unlike a standard STSA that is required to generate time-homogeneous Markov chains, the proposed MPT-based STSA is allowed to have time-inhomogeneous Markov chains, where the (possibly time-varying) state transition probability matrices have time-invariant eigenvectors. Such a time-invariance facilitates analysis of the dynamical system by using short-length time series of measurements. This is particularly important in applications, where the underlying dynamics and process anomalies need fast monitoring and control actions in order to mitigate any potential structural damage and/or to avoid catastrophic failures. The MPT-based STSA has been applied for low-delay detection of fatigue damage, which is a common source of failures in mechanical structures and which is known to have uncertain dynamical characteristics. The underlying algorithm has been validated with experimental data generated from a laboratory apparatus that uses ultrasonic sensors to detect fatigue damage in polycrystalline–alloy specimens. The performance of the proposed MPT-based STSA is evaluated by comparison with those of a standard STSA and a hidden Markov model (HMM) on the same experimental data. The results consistently show superior performance of the MPT-based STSA. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4046156]


Current Scene Graph Generation (SGG) methods explore contextual information to predict relationships among entity pairs. However, due to the diverse visual appearance of numerous possible subject-object combinations, there is a large intra-class variation within each predicate category, e.g., "man-eating-pizza, giraffe-eating-leaf", and the severe inter-class similarity between different classes, e.g., "man-holding-plate, man-eating-pizza", in model's latent space. The above challenges prevent current SGG methods from acquiring robust features for reliable relation prediction. In this paper, we claim that the predicate's category-inherent semantics can serve as class-wise prototypes in the semantic space for relieving the challenges. To the end, we propose the Prototype-based Embedding Network (PE-Net), which models entities/predicates with prototype-aligned compact and distinctive representations and thereby establishes matching between entity pairs and predicates in a common embedding space for relation recognition. Moreover, Prototype-guided Learning (PL) is introduced to help PE-Net efficiently learn such entity-predicate matching, and Prototype Regularization (PR) is devised to relieve the ambiguous entity-predicate matching caused by the predicate's semantic overlap. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our method gains superior relation recognition capability on SGG, achieving new state-of-the-art performances on both Visual Genome and Open Images datasets. The codes are available at https://github.com/VL-Group/PENET.


This paper presents a proposal of a music image generator for users to grasp music easily and instantaneously on consumer electronics devices such as music players and smartphones. It provides users faster and more efficient music browsing functionality using a technique that automatically generates a music image that matches lyric contents. More specifically, a scene theme such as an event or place is extracted from lyrics using text mining techniques. A suitable music image is then created dynamically to match this extracted scene theme. This image generation is achieved by synthesizing multiple image materials to express the extracted scene theme flexibly. For choosing image materials, scene knowledge that has representative scene object compositions is proposed. Using this knowledge, the image synthesizer can select appropriate materials. Finally, the performance of the proposed automatic knowledge creation method is evaluated by comparison with manually created knowledge. Based on optimal parameters calculated in the evaluation, some examples of music images for well-known music lyrics are presented. In addition, the implemented system applying the proposed generator onto a server-side and a consumer-side consumer electronics device is also described.


Following its first session in Strasbourg, the European Parliament (EP) is now set up for its new term. With a Polish President at its helm and a bigger share of parties to the right of centre, much could be expected to change. There are indeed some new developments in a more fragmented and conservative parliament in which the 'new member states' are no longer so new. Nevertheless, much will also continue along familiar lines. This is particularly true for the dominance of a grand coalition of the two biggest political groups in the EP, the European People's Party (EPP) and the European Socialists and Democrats (S&D), which will continue to shape politics in the new parliament. However, important changes could still come from another direction: if the Lisbon Treaty is ratified during the present term, this would enlarge the EP's powers considerably. At the same time, the treaty would extend the powers of national parliaments over EU legislation. The importance of national parliamentary control over further EU integration has been underlined in the recent ruling of the German Constitutional Court. This means that the EP might face increasing competition as the guardian of EU democracy.


To produce Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) orbits and clocks with high accuracy and for all constellations, the ESA’s Navigation Support Office (NSO) continually strives to keep abreast and improve its precise orbit determination (POD) strategies. In this presentation, we report on NSO’s recent developments and progress in Galileo and BeiDou POD. We first discuss the approach of improving Galileo POD solutions through a prudent combination of radiometric and satellite laser ranging (SLR) measurements at the observation level. For this technique to be effective, SLR normal point (NP) data from the Galileo SUCCESS campaign are used. Launched by the European Laser Network (EUROLAS) in the middle of May 2019, this three-week tracking campaign provided over 1000 NPs for two selected Galileo spacecraft: GSAT0102 and GSAT0220. We show that the precision of the GSAT0102 and GSAT0220 orbits is more than 10 percent better than that produced by solutions without SLR data. In this performance evaluation, we also discuss the presence of station-specific SLR biases, taking advantage of near-simultaneous SLR tracking by two or three separate laser sites. Additionally, we demonstrate that the SLR full-rate data from a single kHz laser system can be used to determine the Galileo satellites’ yaw state during eclipse maneuvers. This approach takes advantage of the 1.0 m distance between a Galileo spacecraft’s laser retroreflector array (LRA) and rotation axis to estimate the yaw angle in a recursive least-squares algorithm epoch by epoch. The method may serve as an interesting alternative to reverse kinematic point positioning (RPP), particularly for LRA-equipped satellites without significant transmit antenna phase center offsets. Finally, we present the first centimeter-quality orbit solutions for BeiDou’s third-generation series of medium Earth orbit (MEO) spacecraft. We discuss the POD strategy underlying these orbits and evaluate its performance by way of several metrics including laser range residuals, day-to-day orbit overlaps, satellite clock residuals, as well as RPP estimates as measure for the attitude model accuracy. Challenges pertaining to the satellite antenna phase center and radiation force modeling are addressed. The results on the overlap and SLR residuals suggest that our BeiDou-3 MEO orbits are accurate to better than 5 cm in all three components. Therefore, the new BeiDou constellation is fully integrated into our operational multi-GNSS routine, bringing the total number of daily processed GNSS satellites to more than 110 (http://navigation-office.esa.int/products/gnss-products).


Objective: To determine how intraoperative microelectrode recordings (MER) and intraoperative lead placement acutely influence tremor, rigidity, and bradykinesia. Secondarily, to evaluate whether the longevity of the MER and lead placement effects were influenced by target location (subthalamic nucleus (STN) or globus pallidus interna (GPi)). Background: Currently most groups who perform deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson disease (PD) use MER, as well as macrostimulation (test stimulation), to refine DBS lead position. Following MER and/or test stimulation, however, there may be a resultant "collision/implantation" or "microlesion" effect, thought to result from disruption of cells and/or fibres within the penetrated region. These effects have not been carefully quantified. Methods: 47 consecutive patients with PD undergoing unilateral DBS for PD (STN or GPi DBS) were evaluated. Motor function was measured at six time points with a modified motor Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS): (1) preoperatively, (2) immediately after MER, (3) immediately after lead implantation/collision, (4) 4 months following surgery—off medications, on DBS (12 h medication washout), (5) 6 months postoperatively—off medication and off DBS (12 h washout) and (6) 6 months—on medication and off DBS (12 h washout). Results: Significant improvements in motor scores (p<0.05) (tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia) were observed as a result of MER and lead placement. The improvements were similar in magnitude to what was observed at 4 and 6 months post-DBS following programming and medication optimisation. When washed out (medications and DBS) for 12 h, UPDRS motor scores were still improved compared with preoperative testing. There was a larger improvement in STN compared with GPi following MER (p<0.05) and a trend for significance following lead placement (p<0.08) but long term outcome was similar. Conclusion: This study demonstrated significant acute intraoperative penetration effects resulting from MER and lead placement/collision in PD. Clinicians rating patients in the operating suite should be aware of these effects, and should consider pre- and post-lead placement rating scales prior to activating DBS. The collision/implantation effects were greater intraoperatively with STN compared with GPi, and with greater disease duration there was a larger effect.


ABSTRACT

The acquisition of accurate emission factors (EFs) of pollutants is an inevitable step to the establishment of emission inventories for development of pollution control policies. The current studies were focused on large-scale industries (LSIs) although tremendous pollutants emitted from the small-scale industries (SSIs) with small coal-fired boilers (SCFBs) ascribe to the deficiency of pollutant removal facilities (RFs). A systematic field sampling and measurements conducted in 51 enterprises involving production of pharmaceuticals, brick and food to obtain the EFs of SO2, NOx, PM, and VOCs (SNPV) associated with coal consumption (EFI), industrial output (EFII), and product yield (EFIII). Among them, PM-RFs were all equipped except for 3 brick factories, no NOx- and VOCs-RFs were installed, and SO2-RFs were installed in part. Obvious fluctuations existed in EFI and EFII values among 51 companies owning to the differences of pollutant removal efficiencies, coal compositions, annual outputs, production processes, and products. Co-burning of coal and coal gangue (raw material) in brick production weakened the correlation between sulfur contents in coal and SO2 EFI values. The using of organic solvents in drug making process promoted the emission of VOCs. SO2 EFs in factories with RFs were much lower than those factories without RFs. SO2 EFs dominated over those of PM and NOx among three kinds of enterprises, especially in brick companies. For EFI (in kg t–1), food industry possessed highest value for SO2, PM, and NOx, while the maximum value for VOCs occurred at pharmaceuticals industry. Due to the low output values of brick companies, their SNPV possessed the highest EFII compared to the other two kinds of factories. NOx EFs experienced lessen fluctuations than other pollutants among all the factories due to the different formation mechanism and no installation of NOx RFs. EFIII showed various fluctuations due to the different product types.


This study analyses management and costs of dialysis in the Italian National Health Service (NHS). Information on efficacy and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) based on the existing literature also is presented. The clinical differences between the dialysis modalities seem to be related to their appropriateness to specific patient groups. Efficacy rates are similar and the only differences are in complications and HRQOL. Traditional haemodialysis (THD) can be done by Italian patients in dialysis centres or in hospital. High-flux haemodialysis (HFHD) is generally only done in hospital. Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is usually done at home. The cost analysis was performed on a sample of Italian dialysis centres and hospitals, according to the full cost method. As expected, HFHD was more expensive than THD and PD, but no marked differences emerged among the different HFHD modalities. THD modalities in dialysis centres were less costly than in hospitals. Automated PD (APD) was much more expensive (almost twice) than continuous ambulatory PD (CAPD), the cheapest method in absolute terms. This study confirms that dialysis is costly and that it is very difficult to assess the cost-effectiveness of the different approaches. Although this study has limits, it should provide sufficient analytical information to local healthcare managers for more rational allocation of financial resources to dialysis services.


The article presents an analysis of memory in its relation to time and history, from the perspective of contemporary narrative. Taking as a starting point literary works of key authors for the work, such as Cortazar, Borges, Fournier, among others, from the concept of memory it is stated that, from the creation of literature, this idea along with that of time, both are articulated to the idea of the historical fact as past, but taking the latter as a future that flows into the concrete present that is projected into the future as an existential unit, not only of literary characters, but of the memory lived as a present experience. That is why this concept and its praxis play a transcendental role for the formation of human life, this time seen as a project, through literary creation, since it starts from the Bergsonian idea that, if the literary work wishes to be authentic, the author must expose himself as a unit in his feeling as a human being and in the creation itself. According to the analysis made to the authors brought to the study, the researchers manage to link the concepts memory, time and history; these ones, in their experiential amalgamation as an experience, give meaning to the materiality of life not only of the characters involved in the argument, but to their generalization as part of the human social experience. The narrative presents these concepts, according to the researchers, as part of the unit that is the human, an issue that is present in the arguments of philosophers, narrators and historians that were used as pertinent for the study, such as Borges, Heidegger, Nietzsche, Bergson, among others. Through a hermeneutical analysis of the fundamental work for the article, it is understood with Heidegger, for example, that, if one wants to live life, if the "being" wants to "be-together-with" (Mitsein from Dasein), one should stop looking at the past as history, and feel it as part of a flow of experiences that are born, in the past, but that are accentuated in the present, and are projected into the future as becoming without end. It is a continuous time in memory as a way of being of Dasein. Likewise, it is argued with Nietzsche that memory as history is useless for life, because if one wants to feel this, it is unnecessary to look at the past unless one wishes to disassemble oneself from the real human experience; that is, we are facing a continuity of the experience. It is thus possible to see the relationship between the times lived, those that are lived and those to be lived, finally considering that memory is certainly a human dimension, but that, in its relationship with time, it is lived as a continuum; that is, as a temporary unit formed by past, present and future. However, at the end of the argument, the past counts as the livelihood of the present life but also as a projection of future life (Pena, 2019), so it is concluded that the works analysed allow us to establish the course of temporality present inseparably from life itself. Without past there is no present, just as without it, there is no future. This allows researchers to rethink the issue of temporality in everyday life because individual life is combined with social life thus constituting a constant flow of living. Finally, the article establishes that memory is a fundamental dimension of formation in life, since, being Bergson at the right side, every work is part of the author's own temporality that creates it, and therefore, memory, as part from this temporality, permeates human life from the sense of its existence.


Generation of extremely/very low frequency (ELF/VLF) chorus waves in Earth's inner magnetosphere has received increased attention recently because of their sig- nificance for radiation belt dynamics. Though past theoret- ical and numerical models have demonstrated how rising- tone chorus elements are produced, falling-tone chorus el- ement generation has yet to be explained. Our new model proposes that weak-amplitude falling-tone chorus elements can be generated by magnetospheric reflection of rising-tone elements. Using ray tracing in a realistic plasma model of the inner magnetosphere, we demonstrate that rising-tone ele- ments originating at the magnetic equator propagate to higher latitudes. Upon reflection there, they propagate to lower L- shells and turn into oblique falling tones of reduced power, frequency, and bandwidth relative to their progenitor rising tones. Our results are in good agreement with comprehen- sive statistical studies of such waves, notably using magnetic field measurements from THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) spacecraft. Thus, we conclude that the proposed mechanism can be re- sponsible for the generation of weak-amplitude falling-tone chorus emissions.


This guide highlights SMC Library resources that students and faculty in the MFA in Creative Writing program will want to use


Laboratory studies were conducted to compare duration of feeding and superficial and in-depth damage to soybean (Glycine max) seeds by the Southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.), the Neotropical brown stink bug, Euschistus heros (F.), the red-banded stink bug, Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood), and the green-belly stink bug, Dichelops melacanthus (Dallas). Results indicated that feeding time was significantly longer for N. viridula (≈ 133 min) compared to E. heros and D. melacanthus (≈ 70 min), but not different from P. guildinii (≈ 103 min). There was a positive correlation between feeding time and the resulting damage for E. heros, N. viridula and P. guildinii (R² > 0.80, P < 0.0001), but not for D. melacanthus (R² = 0.1011, P = 0.1493). The deepest seed damage (2.0 mm) was made by P. guildinii and the shallowest (0.5 mm) by D. melacanthus. The depth of the seed damage by E. heros and N. viridula (0.8, 1.2 mm, respectively) was intermediate in comparison to the other species studied. Feeding damage to the seed endosperm caused variable cell disruption and protein body dissolution, particularly when P. guildinii fed on seeds, suggesting that the deleterious action of salivary enzymes was greater for this bug compared to the others.


Planktic foraminiferal size-normalized weight (SNW) has been used as a proxy for both past changes in deepwater dissolution and surface ocean [CO32−], the latter potentially providing a way to evaluate paleoatmospheric p CO2 variations beyond the ice core records. Here we examine the relationship between SNW in modern planktic foraminifera and surface water [CO32−] in the Arabian Sea using a suite of samples obtained from plankton net casts in surface waters having a large range in their carbon chemistry. Our results reveal substantial interspecies- and intraspecies-specific variations in the strength, gradient, and even sign of this relationship, indicating that [CO32−] does not exert a dominant control on foraminiferal test weight. Similarly, foraminiferal abundance data do not lend support to the hypothesis that SNW responds to optimal growth conditions. Further work is needed, perhaps in laboratory cultures, to determine those environmental factors that are simply correlated with SNW and those that exert control.


Many educators have tried to leverage computing or programming to help improve students' achievement in mathematics. However, several hopes of performance gains---particularly in algebra---have come up short. In part, these efforts fail to align the computing and mathematical concepts at the level of detail typically required to achieve transfer of learning. This paper describes Bootstrap, an early-programming curriculum that is designed to teach key algebra topics as students build their own videogames. We discuss the curriculum, explain how it aligns with algebra, and present initial data showing student performance gains on standard algebra problems after completing Bootstrap.


Mesoscopic systems and large molecules are often modeled by graphs of one-dimensional wires connected at vertices. In this paper, we discuss the solutions of the Schrödinger equation on such graphs, which have been named "quantum networks". Such solutions are needed for finding the energy spectrum of single electrons on such finite systems or for finding the transmission of electrons between leads which connect such systems to reservoirs. Specifically, we compare two common approaches. In the "continuum" approach, one solves the one-dimensional Schrödinger equation on each continuous wire and then uses the Neumann-Kirchoff-de Gennes matching conditions at the vertices. Alternatively, one replaces each wire by a finite number of "atoms" and then uses the tight binding model for the solution. Here, we show that these approaches cannot generally give the same results, except for special energies, unless the lattice constant of the tight binding model tends to zero. Even in the limit of the vanishing lattice constant, the two approaches coincide only if the tight binding parameters obey very special relations. The different consequences of the two approaches are then demonstrated via the example of a T-shaped scatterer.


Over the last two decades, various urban geospatial information systems were built in China. Most of them were designed to serve specific communities. Many systems just followed the wave of the so called digital city or e-government without a clear vision, leading to not being fully utilized. Nowadays the focus on geospatial information systems is increasingly shifting to the challenges associated with integrating these systems, building what has come to be called city-wide land information management system (LIMS). The existing problems China is facing are the lack of a LIMS vision and institutional framework to support the vision, resulting in the duplication of data collection, information out of date, inaccessible and limited sharing of data. Based on the current developments in the area of geospatial information systems in great China and the world good practices, we propose that the vision to build the LIMS for a city is to develop an infrastructure that allows spatial data to be available and accessible to authorized public, government department and individuals and promote proper use of integrated spatial data for effective decision-making process, and development of information economy and spatially enabled society. With this vision there are several key elements: core spatial data, availability and accessibility, infrastructure, spatially enabled society and information economy. This paper discusses the soft infrastructure for building an efficient LIMS, i.e., institutional framework and management arrangement.


In this paper we present our multi-modal information access system for mobile phones. The proposed solution adopts the distributed information access combined with distributed speech recognition (DSR). The paper provides an overview of related standards and gives recommendation for their practical implementation. Discussed are issues related to the efficient implementation of a DSR front-end on mobile phones and the organization of the data transmission. The presented prototype system operates on today's mobile phones in existing GPRS infrastructures. The results of a subjective test demonstrate the usability on the proposed prototype system.


This paper describes a system on a chip (SoC) that makes use of nanoscale cellular adhesion mechanisms in an integrated electronic microsystem to filter infected cells from blood or lymph. An example of a human immunodeficiency virus-specific SoC is explored in depth. Such systems work in vivo, and blood and lymph are filtered on a continuous basis. With the intelligence on the chip, captured cells can be identified and lyzed, expelled, or otherwise acted upon. These types of systems transfer the burden of research from traditional chemotherapy to bioengineering and system design.


Pfiinosilova P., A. Vinkler, Z. VuInik: Morphological Image of Fresh and Cryopreserved Dog Semen Evaluated by the Strict Analysis of Sperm Morphology Method, Using Sperm Quality Analyzer (SQA IIc) Evaluation. Acta Vet Brno 75, 2006: 393-401. Thirty fresh ejaculates from 15 dogs were cryopreserved in Tris-fructose-citric acid-egg-yolk extender with a glycerol content of 6%. Semen samples were examined by the methods of routine sperm analysis and by the SQA IIc device. The routine semen examination focused on the evaluation of parameters determining the quality of sperm membranes. The significance of monitoring semen quality in the course of the short-term survival test for predicting dog semen quality after thawing was assessed. Relevance of the assessment of sperm morphology, and above all the percentage of sperm with membrane changes in the acrosomal region was documented. The fact that the SQA device analyses semen quality by evaluating the mass of moving cells was confirmed. The results provided by the SQA IIc device appear insufficient for the needs of deeper dog semen analysis, especially morphology assessment. Dog, sperm analysis, morphological assessment, Sperm Quality Analyser (SQA)


The term vulnerability has been more frequently used in several studies, striving to better understand the specificities and needs of different population groups. The scope of this study was to identify, characterize and analyze populations in situations of socio-environmental vulnerability in Rio de Janeiro city, consolidating social, economic, environmental, health and public security indicators in a synthesis index - the Socio-Environmental Vulnerability Index. The data sources used were the IBGE-2010 Demographic Census, the Geo-Rio Foundation and the Public Security Institute of the state of Rio de Janeiro. The methodology integrated Multicriteria Decision Analysis into a Geographic Information System. According to our results, the socio-environmental vulnerability in Rio de Janeiro city is aggravated by risk situations and environmental degradation. Those aspects are accentuated by the population density in shantytown areas, where the most disadvantaged strata exist in a process of environmental and urban exclusion. The study makes it possible to locate spatially vulnerable areas, emphasizing the importance of these tools to guide resource allocation, formulation and implementation of more effective public policies.


Abstract We present results of a study on the self-broadening and broadening by nitrogen and oxygen of H 2 16 O and H 2 18 O lines in the 1.39-μm wavelength region using a distributed feedback semiconductor diode laser. To estimate the broadening coefficients, the absorption lineshapes were analyzed using the ordinary Voigt profile which provided good fits for most of the investigated lines. The broadening coefficients were found to be larger for nitrogen used as a perturber than for oxygen. This agrees with the fact that the quadrupole moment of N 2 is larger than that of O 2 . Nevertheless, for lines involving high-rotational quantum number J , relatively smaller broadening coefficients were found and deviations of the measured profiles from the standard Voigt profile were observed. These deviations were ascribed as caused by Dicke-narrowing effect. Corresponding to this effect, collisional-broadening and narrowing coefficients were determined using the Nelkin–Ghatak profile which is suitable for the "hard"-collision model. The optical diffusion coefficients of the water in both nitrogen and oxygen gases were determined from the measurements of the collisional-narrowing coefficients.


In 1975 Margaret Mahler published her major work The Psychological Birth ofihe infant; it delineated the progress from the stage of a symbiosis with the mother at the age of nine months to that of psychological individuation by the middle of the third year. Now one of her co-authors, Fred Pine, has continued the story in his own book which combines psychological observation, theory and analytic practice. His description ofhimselfas a quiet radical and a flexible conservative is apt. Four foci may be seen in the development of analytic thought since Freud began his pioneering work. Initially Freud's dynamic theory was based upon the satisfaction of drive instincts which were later subsumed in his theory of ego functioning. The next generations of analysts explored in turn the nature of object-relations and the development of the self. Pine does not accord pride of place to any one of these foci but argues that for each, the individual develops his own, necessary psychology. In an interesting corrective to the over-emphasis on trauma in much analytic literature, he stresses and gives examples of the importance of quiet pleasure and moments of intense experience in child development. In the second half of the book, Pine relates developmental process to clinical intervention. Winnicottian holding and Kohutian mirroring both con tribute to the development of a stable self-experience; low keyed pleasure serves as a foundation for a joyous mother child relationship. In one therapy conducted by the author, being unconditionally available at a set hour for a patient whose approach always turned into flight was of equal importance to the exploration of her conflicts. In this, Pine follows RedI and suggests that the developmental perspec tiveallowsthe therapisto make specific interventions when faced with deficient functioning. While the text is wordy and technical, the content is of considerable interest. The volume provides a broad, con temporary view of psychological development and therapy for psychoanalytic practitioners.


Finnish-based forest corporation, Stora Enso, is developing and purchasing eucalypt plantations, and establishing a large pulp mill with an approximate production capacity of 1 million tonnes of pulp per year in southern China. The project has been evaluated by recognised international assessment, which concluded that it would be profitable and environmentally and socially sustainable. Wood supply from existing and new plantations was assessed to be sufficient to meet the need of the pulp mill. The conclusions on wood supply were based on very simple estimates and risky assumptions on mean annual increment (MAI) and areas of plantation estate available without fully taking into account many high-risk factors, or at least data are not available in the public domain. This paper discusses several elements that have an effect on sustainability of wood supply, including factors and risks affecting wood production and land availability. The results demonstrate a close relationship between wood production of the plantation itself, and the total area needed to produce a certain amount of wood. At the scale of the case study involved, every 10% change in MAI is equivalent to about 5000 to 40 000 ha of land, depending on growth rates. We show that many new fast-growing eucalypt plantations, in addition to existing ones, are needed for long-term sustainability of wood supply. Moreover, substantial investments in strategic and applied research would be required to achieve high and sustainable production per unit area in the given environment. This means that more actions will be required in the establishment and management of new plantations. The results from the wood supply scenario also reveal the growing importance of corporate responsibility (CR) in the corporate governance agenda of the forest sector. In order to achieve the desired economic, environmental, and social outcomes, national macro-economic planning, a consistent policy and management framework, and a systematic, focused and institutionalised approach to CR are therefore expected from the government and the private sector, respectively


A primary component of studying fish locomotion is identifying characteristics of locomotor kinematics for a wide variety of undulatory swimming behaviors among various fish species. Identifying such characteristics requires obtaining a quantitative description of the harmonic structure of these kinematics. In this study, we seek to obtain this description by improving on an existing model to better capture the periodic components of various forms of locomotion. Both the old and new models were based on video data reduced to midline position for various species: hagfish, lamprey, and shark, in various locomotive states, including constant-velocity swimming and turning. To improve tailbeat frequency estimation, a statistical technique involving the Hilbert transform was devised to extract a fundamental frequency associated with data for a given video clip. Applying this technique yielded a more general and consistent estimate of the period of midline motion, addressing a central challenge of modeling unsteady swimming. The frequency estimates were notably consistent along the body in all trials, and surprisingly showed the least variation for a turning shark. Thus the Hilbert transform adapted our model to handle maneuvers. In addition to this advancement, the model of midline kinematics was greatly simplified: by using attitude data, essentially data on the angle of body segments, the number of fitting parameters was reduced by nearly a factor of one half, and the data was more appropriately fitted using least absolute residual regression rather than least-squares. Thus, with the reconstruction techniques we have developed, the analytical process presented here yields an accurate, quantitative description enabling a better understanding of locomotor kinematics.


In this thesis, the author evaluates the impact of the Listen – Inspire – Nurture (LIN) Center's model of participatory urban community development in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). It evidences how LIN has supported urban not-for-profit organisations (NPOs) to alter their self-perception from 'charity organisations' to being part of community development processes. Using a participatory communication approach, LIN has encouraged dialogue with and among stakeholders and provided robust information to the community. Consequently, NPOs have become more confident in their own capacities and have more stable financial support. In addition, the corporate sector has a better understanding of the not-for-profit sector and is making a stronger contribution to the development of NPOs in HCMC. These outcomes contribute to effective and sustainable community development in HCMC.


This article presents a novel algorithm for blending human inputs and automatic controller commands, guaranteeing safety in mixed-initiative interactions between humans and quadrotors. The algorithm is based on nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) and involves using the state solution to assess whether safety- and/or task-related rules are met to mix control authority. The mixing is attained through the convex combination of human and actual robot costs and is driven by a continuous function that measures the rules' violation. To achieve real-time feasibility, we rely on an efficient real-time iteration (RTI) variant of a sequential quadratic programming (SQP) scheme to cast the mixed-initiative controller. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm through numerical simulations, where a second autonomous algorithm is used to emulate the behavior of pilots with different skill levels. Simulations show that our scheme provides suitable assistance to pilots, especially novices, in a workspace with obstacles while bolstering computational efficiency.


The affordability of next generation sequencing (NGS) is transforming the field of mutation analysis in bacteria. The genetic basis for phenotype alteration can be identified directly by sequencing the entire genome of the mutant and comparing it to the wild-type (WT) genome, thus identifying acquired mutations. A major limitation for this approach is the need for an a-priori sequenced reference genome for the WT organism, as the short reads of most current NGS approaches usually prohibit de-novo genome assembly. To overcome this limitation we propose a general framework that utilizes the genome of relative organisms as mediators for comparing WT and mutant bacteria. Under this framework, both mutant and WT genomes are sequenced with NGS, and the short sequencing reads are mapped to the mediator genome. Variations between the mutant and the mediator that recur in the WT are ignored, thus pinpointing the differences between the mutant and the WT. To validate this approach we sequenced the genome of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus 109J, an obligatory bacterial predator, and its prey-independent mutant, and compared both to the mediator species Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus HD100. Although the mutant and the mediator sequences differed in more than 28,000 nucleotide positions, our approach enabled pinpointing the single causative mutation. Experimental validation in 53 additional mutants further established the implicated gene. Our approach extends the applicability of NGS-based mutant analyses beyond the domain of available reference genomes.


A novel convenient method for hand-eye robot system calibration that includes camera calibration and hand-eye calibration is presented. In the classical robot vision system calibration, the camera calibration and the hand-eye calibration are completed separately. In this paper, we propose a joint camera calibration that integrate the camera calibration and the hand-eye calibration simultaneously. Our joint calibration algorithm based on one camera calibration and one hand-eye calibration that were proposed to solve the camera parameters and hand-eye parameters separately. The experimental results based on the monocular vision showed that our joint calibration is feasible.


Forty-one accessions of 12 Vitis L. and Muscadinia Small species were evaluated for resistance to grape phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae Fitch) using an in vitro dual culture system. The performance of the species tested in this study was consistent with previously published studies with whole plants and helps confirm the utility of in vitro dual culture for the study of grape/phylloxera interactions. This in vitro system provides rapid results (8 wk) and the ability to observe the phylloxera/grape interaction without interference from other factors. This system also provides an evaluation that overemphasizes susceptibility, thus providing more confidence in the resistance responses of a given species or accession. Among the unusual responses were the susceptibility of V. riparia Michx. DVIT 1411; susceptibility within V. berlandieri Planch.; relatively wide ranging responses in V. rupestris Scheele; and the lack of feeding on the roots of V. califomica Benth., in contrast to the severe foliar feeding damage that occurred on this species. Vitis califomica #11 and V. girdiana Munson DVIT 1379 were unusual because phylloxera on them had the shortest generation times. Such accessions might be used to examine how grape hosts influence phylloxera behavior. Very strong resistance was found within V. aestivalisMichx. DVIT 7109 and 7110; I/. berlandieric9031; V. cinereaEngelm; I/. riparia (excluding DVIT 1411 ); V. rupestris DVIT 1418 and 1419; and M. rotundifolia Small. These species and accessions seem to possess enough resistance to enable their use in breeding with minimal concern about phylloxera susceptibility.


The development of root systems may be strongly affected by the symbiotic interactions that plants establish with soil organisms. Legumes are able to develop symbiotic relationships with both rhizobial bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi leading to the formation of nitrogen-fixing nodules and mycorrhizal arbuscules, respectively. Both of these symbiotic interactions involve complex cellular reprogramming and profound morphological and physiological changes in specific root cells. In addition, the repression of pathogenic defence responses seems to be required for successful symbiotic interactions. Apart from typical regulatory genes, such as transcription factors, microRNAs (miRNAs) are emerging as riboregulators that control gene networks in eukaryotic cells through interactions with specific target mRNAs. In recent years, the availability of deep-sequencing technologies and the development of in silico approaches have allowed for the identification of large sets of miRNAs and their targets in legumes. A number of conserved and legume-specific miRNAs were found to be associated with symbiotic interactions as shown by their expression patterns or actions on symbiosis-related targets. In this review, we combine data from recent literature and genomic and deep-sequencing data on miRNAs controlling nodule development or restricting defence reactions to address the diversity and specificity of miRNA-dependent regulation in legume root symbiosis. Phylogenetic analysis of miRNA isoforms and their potential targets suggests a role for miRNAs in the repression of plant defence during symbiosis and revealed the evolution of miRNA-dependent regulation in legumes to allow for the modification of root cell specification, such as the formation of mycorrhized roots and nitrogen-fixing nodules.


This project report was composed based on my internship experience done in Lymarais Tour and Travel for a month.
I observed and learned about the management of Lymarais Tour and Travel. Lymarais Tour and Travel provides many kinds of products and services. It has two kinds of product and service including tourism product and non-tourism product. Tourism product provides ticketing services, tour packages and hotel voucher services. Non-tourism product consist of travel document services and other services including tourism consultancy and payment of electricity bill, telephone, internet and hand phone balances.
I also attempted to do other observation about of the performance of Lymarais Tour and Travel by identifying its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats or also known as SWOT analysis. Based on the analysis, the agency has (1) five strengths: strategic location, many kinds of services, excellent services for the customers, having many official partners and cozy room, (2) the weaknesses: limited number of staff, small space, no parking lot and the unvailability of the marketing division, (3) the opportunities: able to be a reseller agency and being very popular in Gladag area, and (4) and three threats: competition, seasonal customers, possibility of losing customers and the location of this agency. The overall performance of Lymarais Tour and Travel is quite good but there is some aspect that the agency should pay more attention too.
Hopefully, this final project report can be a reference for Lymarais Tour and Travel to improve their management.


Tax planning is increasingly being regarded not as a legal issue but a moral one, with campaigners treating tax as part of the wider debate on "corporate social responsibility."This article looks at the modern tax debate in the light of Christian theology and biblical teaching, first as to how to vote on tax issues and second how to react to existing tax law. It suggests two basic principles for a theology of taxation:1. Our charitable duty to our neighbor is personal and cannot be satisfied through the taxation system. There is therefore no general Christian duty to vote for tax-funded welfare.2. Our Christian obligation toward taxes is to obey the law, as interpreted by those who have been put in authority to do so; there can therefore be no category of legal but immoral tax evasion.


There is a simple way to stop Iran from its nuclear ambitions, a way less costly than war and more effective than sanctions. It is by the creation of Kurdistan. Even a mere non-binding declaration by the US Congress to consider an option to create Kurdistan should stop the Iranian regime in its nuclear tracks, forcing it to refocus its attention on its internal survival. As an added benefit, the Kurdistan option would have a similar disabling effect on Syria. Iran and Syria might then cease to be political entities. The possible downside of this development is that it might destabilize and potentially break up Iraq and Turkey. This is a serious risk, but it could also open up new opportunities. Iraq and Turkey would face an added urgency in reaching mutually beneficial accords with their Kurdish enclaves. Their equitable resolution of the Kurdish problem would actually strengthen rather than weaken their national integrity. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This proposal represents the most equitable scenario that benefits all sides except the Iranian and Syrian regimes. If Iranian and Syrian Kurdish areas separate from their current states, they could join Iraqi Kurdistan in what would then become, in effect, an Arab-Kurdish confederation in Iraq. Iraq could become more stable, as Kurdistan has demonstrated its unifying influence on both the Shi'a and Sunni factions in the last several years and especially in the recent months during a governmental crisis. In general, since the new resulting borders in the region would better align the existing ethnic areas with their national statehood, the probability of inter-ethnic and internal civil conflicts in this volatile region should diminish. As for Turkey, under domestic pressures for a comprehensive and mutually beneficial Kurdish accord, the government would have to re-evaluate and reverse its drift away from its hard-won secular democracy allied with the West. Altogether, these developments would constitute a win-win situation both locally and globally, averting a military conflict with the West and improving human conditions in the region. Background Facts on Iran Contrary to the incessant pronouncements of its leaders, Iran is not a firm and stable nation-state, but rather a hodgepodge of disharmonious ethnic groups and religious denominations. Moreover, it is a hierarchical country with one dominant ethnicity and several subordinate ones. The politically dominant group, the Persians, barely holds its demographic majority status. According to recent data, of the 64.5 million people in Iran, the Persians make up 51 percent; the second largest ethnic group, the Azeris, constitute 24 percent; the Kurdish people make up 7 percent; about 5 percent are the Mazandarani people; Arabs take 3 percent; and the remaining 10 percent represent other minorities. These ethnic groups are largely concentrated in their own homogeneous regions of the country. The Azeris seem to be better integrated than other ethnicities in Iran and even supply top leaders. This situation is not necessarily stable. The second largest ethnic groups in the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, the Ukrainians and the Croats respectively, may offer precedents. They were the first to share power in their multi-ethnic states and also among the first to split when the time was ripe. Along religious lines, the Sunni Muslims in Iran have been subjected to systematic legal and political discrimination from the dominant Shi'a Muslim denomination since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979. For example, the Sunnis are banned from having their mosques in Tehran. Recent documents by the United Nations and Amnesty International point to increasing legal, cultural, and economic suppression of the non-Persian minorities, including the Azeris, in addition to the long-brutalized Kurds. Reports enumerate land and property confiscations, employment and education discrimination, movement restrictions, and other civil rights violations. …


Market power gives certain market participants the ability to manipulate the market to their advantage when their product is not substitutable by competitors. Identification of generators which have the potential for market power either individually or within a small group is performed using sensitivity information from the linear programming optimal power flow (LP OPF). The impact of network constraints on admissible price perturbations are used to group generators that have the potential to exhibit local market power. Specific price perturbation vectors are found that highlight a constraint-induced locational advantage for these suppliers. In practice, this is most commonly observed in "load pockets," for which ISO policies mitigate market power.


This paper describes a system that incrementally constructs an increasingly accurate road map from GPS traces from a single vehicle. The resulting road map contains information about the road such as road gradient which can be used by functions in a heavy vehicle to drive more effectively. The system is supposed to run on an embedded system in a heavy vehicle and is therefore design to require as little working memory and processing time as possible.Pre- and post processing techniques that counters GPS noise, random movements and improve the quality of the road map are also described, for example tunnel estimation where GPS signals are missing. An aging method, designed for data from a single vehicle, that eventually removes closed and rarely used roads is proposed.A comparison between the constructed road map and a commercial one shows that the algorithms described creates a very accurate roadmap. The performance of the system is evaluated and it is concluded that it would be possible to run it on an embedded system in a heavyvehicle.


Purpose : Studies have shown that the 70-gene signature (MammaPrint®) (MP) may outperform clinicopathological risk assessment and may predict the benefit from chemotherapy (CT) in patients (pts) with early-stage breast cancer. However, the need of fresh tissue and the high cost of the assay limit its use in daily clinical practice. We investigated whether 1) tumor clinicopathologic features can predict MP risk (high vs. low); 2) MP results could help to make decisions for the use of CT in pts with ER positive (ER+ve) breast cancer beyond recommendations of known international guidelines (NCCN, St. Gallen). Patients and methods : Women with operable invasive breast cancer without evidence of distant disease undergoing surgery at the Breast Surgery Department were enrolled into the study. A 3 mm punch biopsy of the tumor was obtained from the specimen within the first hour after surgery. Samples were shipped to the laboratory in an RNA-stabilizing solution and were studied to ensure the presence of at least 30% of tumor cells and a customized microarray containing 70 genes was analyzed as described by the manufacturer. Results : 124 consecutive pts were enrolled into the study; 106 tumor samples were adequate for the microarray. Median age was 53 yrs (range 28–83), mean tumor size was 2.3 cm (SD ±1.34), 52.4% pts had pN0, 55% of tumors had Ki-67 ≥20% and 36% were poorly differentiated. ER were detected in ≥50% of cells in 82% and As expected, poorly differentiated, ER and PgR negative, HER2 positive and highly proliferating tumors were more likely to be classified as high-MP. We then focused our analysis on ER and PgR +ve, HER2 negative tumors and assessed features correlated with MP results in this subgroup. Unexpectedly, 31/80 (39%) of these tumors were classified as high-MP vs. 49 (61%) low-MP. We found that tumor size (T1 vs. T2-T4), poor differentiation (G3 vs G1-2) and high proliferation (Ki-67 ≥20%) were significantly associated with a high-MP result. In an exploratory multivariate analysis tumor size and Ki-67 remained as independent predictors of high-MP result. At last, when we compared MP risk with recommendations for AT from international guidelines we found that in the subgroup of candidates for endocrine therapy (ET) in whom the benefit from the addition of CT is undetermined, 25/68 pts (37%) were high-MP and 43 pts (63%) low-MP. When we considered recommendations for AT proposed by our multidisciplinary team according to international guidelines, 11/25 pts (44%) with high-MP received ET only and 14 pts (56%) CT + ET, while among 43 pts with low-MP only 9 received both CT and ET. Conclusions : Our study shows that the 70-gene signature was feasible in the clinical setting, as 85% of tumor samples were adequate. A substantial proportion of ER/PgR+ve, HER2 negative tumors was classified as high-MP; within this subgroup, proliferation and tumor size independently predicted high-MP results. In 20 pts, MP risk would have resulted in discordant recommendations for AT compared to those based on standard clinicopathologic features. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-09-27.


One strategy to make PM titanium components competitive in terms of mechanical properties is the addition of suitable alloying elements. PM offers the possibility to adapt the alloy composition in order to achieve the required properties. In this study, different alloying elements were introduced into α/β titanium alloys and fatigue behaviour was evaluated. Four-point bending fatigue tests with a stress ratio of 0.2 were performed on specimens manufactured by metal injection moulding (MIM) and shot peening. Results showed an enhanced sintering activity of Ti-6Al-7Nb by adding small amounts of iron. The impact on fatigue properties was evaluated. The increase of oxygen in Ti-6Al-7Nb from 0.15 wt.% to 0.45 wt.% caused a decrease in elongation from 16% to 6%. However the fatigue strength at 107 cycles is just slightly reduced from 450 to 350 MPa. The addition of 0.5 wt.% yttrium powder to gas atomized Ti‑6Al‑4V powder led to a noticeable refinement of the microstructure of the sintered parts, due to the formation of Y2O3 particles, which hinder grain growth. In spite of a slightly higher residual porosity, the microstructural refinement increased the fatigue strength at 107 cycles from 450 to 470 MPa. At 106 cycles, the fatigue strength increased even from 705 to 765 MPa. The addition of yttrium did not result in a higher oxygen pick up, which indicates a scavenging of oxygen from the titanium matrix by formation of Y2O3 during sintering. Contrary to the fatigue strength results, the scavenging effect led to a decrease in tensile strength of about 70 MPa. The microstructure of fatigue-tested specimens was characterized by using optical and scanning electron microscopy.


A simplified treatment of the application of Heaviside's operational methods to problems of airplane dynamics is given. Certain graphical methods and logarithmic formulas that lessen the amount of computation involved are explained. The problem representing a gust disturbance or control manipulation is taken up and it is pointed out that in certain cases arbitrary control manipulations may be dealt with as though they imposed specific constraints on the airplane, thus avoiding the necessity of any integration. The application of the calculations described in the text is illustrated by several examples chosen to show the use of the methods and the practicability of the graphical and logarithmic computations described.


We use changes in Brazil's tax on capital inflows from 2006 to 2011 to test for direct portfolio effects and externalities from capital controls on investor portfolios. The analysis is structured based on information from investor interviews. We find that an increase in Brazil's tax on foreign investment in bonds causes investors to significantly decrease their portfolio allocations to Brazil in both bonds and equities. Investors simultaneously increase allocations to other countries that have substantial exposure to China and decrease allocations to countries viewed as more likely to use capital controls. Much of the effect of capital controls on portfolio flows appears to occur through signalling —i.e. changes in investor expectations about future policies— rather than the direct cost of the controls. This evidence of significant externalities from capital controls suggests that any assessment of controls should consider their effects on portfolio flows to other countries. JEL Classification: F3, F4, F5, G0, G1


This paper presents new methods for a multi-objective linear programming (MOLP) problem with random fuzzy variables (RFVs). First, a robust MOLP problem is introduced in which the coefficients of objective functions and constraints are RFVs. Then, the proposed problem is transformed into deterministic linear programming problems by new methods based on the idea of possibility theory and the random fuzzy chance-constrained programming. These methods can satisfy optimistic and pessimistic decision makers separately and simultaneously. Finally, an example is also solved to clarify the discussed methods. [Received 13 June 2013; Revised 24 November 2013; Revised 5 April 2014; Accepted 20 April 2014]


It has long been known that the NHS in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland receives more funding per head of population than the NHS in England. 12 In 1995-6, for example, Scotland received 25% more, Wales nearly 18% extra, and Northern Ireland 5% more per capita than England. These differences have resulted largely from historical accident rather than differences in need: for the first 30 years of the NHS, public sector resources between countries were allocated on the basis of traditional arm wrestling between the Treasury and the Scottish Office, Welsh Office, and Northern Ireland Office.

In the late 1970s, the Barnett formula was introduced.3 This put the allocation of resources toScotland on a more objective footing. Similar formulas were subsequently introduced for Wales and Northern Ireland. However, these formulas applied to the growth in public funding, and they did not seriously challenge existing historical patterns. Furthermore, they were based principally on population size rather than any other measures of need. The conclusion, drawn a decade ago, that NHS funding in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland is in excess of these countries' entitlement relative to need can still be argued convincingly.4

This state of affairs has an advantage—it provides a useful opportunity for natural experiment. The NHS is broadly similar in each of the four countries, but it is funded at different levels. It is inconceivable that the English NHS could receive, at a stroke, 25% more resources per capita in order to reach Scottish levels. This would require an extra £8.3 billion, more than six times the amount awarded to the NHS in 1997-8. But if it did, what does evidence from Scotland indicate that the extra funds would buy? Do the Scots get more doctors and nurses for their extra funding, or extra treatments? Are …


ABSTRACT We previously showed that Caco-2 cell absorption of β-carotene from taurocholic acid (TA)-based mixed micelles differed depending on the composition of the micelles. In this study, the shapes and sizes of TA-based mixed micelles, that is, mixed micelles of TA, 1-oleoyl-rac-glycerol (MG), oleic acid (OLA), and either 1-palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (MPPC; i.e., a lysophospholipid) or 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC; i.e., a phospholipid) (60:3:1:0.75–12) were determined by using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). We found that increasing the ratio of MPPC in mixed micelles of TA, MG, OLA, and MPPC was responsible for the previously observed enhanced β-carotene absorption by Caco-2 cells and changed the micelle shape from core–shell spherical to core–shell ellipsoidal. In contrast, increasing the ratio of POPC in mixed micelles of TA, MG, OLA, and POPC was responsible for the suppressed β-carotene absorption by the cells, changed the micelle shape from core–shell spherical to core–shell ellipsoidal to core–shell cylindrical, and caused a rapid increase in micelle volume. These results will be useful for understanding the mechanisms that mediate β-carotene absorption by cells and for developing technologies to improve the intestinal absorption of lipophilic components of drugs and nutrients. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


variety of polymeric materials were developed as the basis for sequestering and sensing ions in aqueous solution. Polymers were made that can act as selective ion exchange resins. The selectivity can sometimes be made to approach exclusivity and allow the simultaneous removal and purification of a variety of chemicals. This approach can be used to turn waste streams of hazardous chemicals into resources of valuable materials. In addition, some of the polymers were used to construct ion selective electrodes for sensing ions in aqueous solution. Similar polymers were constructed with complexing monomers that possess chromophores, allowing for the construction of chemically selective optical ion sensors. The result of these studies is a general approach for the construction of selective ion sequestering and sensing polymers.


In the present investigation, a series of 3,6-disubstituted-1,2,4-triazolo-1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives (6a-t) were synthesized and evaluated for their anticonvulsant activity and neurotoxicity. The structures of synthesized compounds were confirmed on the basis of their elemental analysis and spectral data results. In anti-MES activity compounds 6b, 6c, 6g, 6j, 6k, 6q and 6r showed potent activity comparable to that of standard drugs: phenytoin and carbamazepine. Compounds 6c, 6k, 6n, 6p and 6s successfully passed the rotorod test without any sign of neurological deficit.


This paper investigates the notion of "efficiency" and financial and management indicators to assess the success or failures of Social Security offices and their staff during the heyday of the Welfare State, from 1945 to the 1980s. In this context, local Social Security offices had to register new beneficiaries, implement a certain degree of social justice through revenue redistribution, while also maintaining a financial balance between contributions and expenses. Based mainly on an analysis of first-hand accounts from a cohort of former Social Security employees, this research paper aims to cast light on the obstacles that these institutions faced, as well as their assets, in completing their mission. Social Security staff played a decisive role in many respects. They were able to overcome structurally limited productivity thanks to substantial dedication to their tasks. In particular, they successfully gave social benefit programmes a "human face", at least until financial imbalances forced these offices to cut back on overheads.


The goal of this study was to determine whether peripheral oxygen delivery and efficacy of alveolar-arterial oxygen (A-a O 2 ) transfer, as estimated from the A-a O 2 pressure gradient, are compromised in Holstein calves at moderate altitude. The primary objective was to evaluate age-related changes in arterial blood-gas variables, L-lactate, and hematocrit in healthy calves. The secondary objective was to determine if coughing and nasal discharge, commonly used indicators of respiratory disease, are associated with A-a O 2 gradient. Arterial blood-gas tensions were evaluated in a cohort of 61 dairy calves on one farm at moderate altitude (1,601 m to 1,696 m). Sampling was performed on four occasions at approximately 10, 38, 150, and 261 days of age. Hyperventilation, as indicated by hypocapnia, was evident in calves of all ages. Increasing age was associated with a nonlinear increase in arterial oxygen tension (P,0.001) and a nonlinear decrease in A-a O 2 gradient (P,0.001). The mean A-a O 2 gradient at 10 and 38 days of age was over 18 mmHg, indicating poor efficacy of oxygen transfer. Cough score (P=0.02) but not nasal score (P=0.32) was associated with an in increase in A-a O 2 pressure gradient. Mean hematocrit remained low (,27%) despite hypoxemia. From 38 days of age, median L-lactate concentration remained over 1.5 mmol/L, indicating substantial anaerobic respiration due to inadequate oxygen delivery. Twenty-five percent of calves were treated for respiratory disease. The maximum age at first treatment was 102 days. In conclusion, there was a nonlinear improvement in A-a O 2 transfer efficacy with increasing age, but peripheral oxygen delivery remained compromised. Hyperventilation and impaired A-a O 2 transfer due to functional immaturity of the pulmonary system may be risk factors for respiratory disease in dairy calves at moderate altitude.


Here's the galloping history of health care financing. After Medicare began in 1965 and some new technologies were introduced in the '70s, health care costs increased dramatically. In the '80s, there was an attempt to check those costs with HMOs and by instituting "diagnostic related groups," a scheme in which doctors and hospitals were paid according to a fixed schedule of diagnoses. There wasn't much to be done about DRGs except fiddle with definitions to make sure patients were not pitched back out onto the street too quickly, and by and large, DRGs did help control costs. For a while, HMOs and the managed care movement of which they were a part also helped control costs, but in the '90s the model began to give out. Employers pitted HMOs against each other and switched plans often enough that patients in a system one year might not be in it the next, which made it a challenge to meet long-range goals. Also, employers heard complaints from their employees about restricted choices of doctors or hospitals, long waits, and too many gatekeepers. Managed care's control over cost eventually relaxed—and now costs are escalating once again. "Pay for performance" is the next best idea in the health care financing world, aimed this time not just at controlling cost but improving quality. Experiments in commercial insurance and at Medicare follow the wisdom of Wall Street: tie compensation to performance. Employers, still footing most of the bill for health care, are asking insurers to prove they are worth the money. Insurers are looking for predictable costs and better quality to remain attractive to employers. Medicare, like employers, wants to get what it pays for, and like insurers, wants predictable cost and improved quality. Pay for performance programs are not one thing, they are many. Some insurers' quality measures are for doctors, others for hospitals. Hospital programs may either reward "good" hospitals (by giving the hospital an opportunity to earn more than what was contracted) or punish "bad" ones (by withholding part of the contracted rate until quality measures are in). Doctor programs reward "high quality" doctors with bonus payments. Each scheme has a different logic and may have a different impact. One concern about pay for performance plans is that, absent knowledge about whether a particular clinical process results in a better outcome (and absent reliable consensus about what a "better outcome" is), they may tie compensation to something over which a doctor or hospital has no control. Often, though, plenty of evidence supports the intervention that the programs are designed to increase. Diabetes and asthma, for example, affect large numbers of people, with painful, protracted, and expensive consequences. Controlling blood sugar and managing asthma with medication prophylactically are not just good guesses— they really do help patients stay well and they really do save money. Getting that aspirin into a person with chest pain in the ER really has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing mortality from heart attacks. These are good things to reward doctors and hospitals for doing. It remains to be seen which programs will actually lower costs, improve quality, and keep doctors and hospitals from feeling alienated in the process. Right now, a thousand flowers of pay for performance are blooming. But this is the real problem: such a fragmented approach, resembling U.S. health care in general, is unlikely to yield dramatic improvements. Good care can control the effects of asthma in a child with health insurance, but pay for performance leaves those children with no health insurance—now nine million of them—with no better health care than they had before. Pay for performance may be a way to play the current health care game more prudently, more cost effectively, and with better outcomes for those inside it. But why does "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic" come to mind? Because pay for performance is only the next best thing. The very best thing would be to stop playing the current game and design a system—a costworthy, predictably priced, prevention-oriented, and quality-rewarded system—that works for everybody. Pay for Performance: The Next Best Thing


Available evidence indicates that neural crest cells, which originate from ectoderm at the neural plate margin, form the skeletal and connective tissues in the face and portions of the cranium. Common origins may thus account for some brain-eye-face malformation complexes such as arhinencephaly. These are thought to involve deficient crest-cell formation which particularly affects frontonasal derivatives. In contrast, the more caudal maxillary process and visceral arch derivatives seem to be more affected by defective crest migration. Also considered are malformations possibly resulting from defects in crest-cell proliferation and differentiation.


† The causation of a given death is always multiple, so that the necessity of selecting a single cause for purposes of tabulation has become a distressing problem. The solution depends on the purpose for which the information is to be used. For the purposes of preventive medicine the single cause of death hitherto given has been very useful, but it would be even more valuable to indicate all those terminal morbidity conditions that meet desirable standards in defining important diseases. This would also relieve the physician of the unwelcome task of designating the dominant cause unless he wishes to do so by underscoring one.


ABSTRACT
 Anoplophora glabripennis, the Asian longhorned beetle, is a wood-boring insect that can develop in a wide range of healthy deciduous hosts and requires gut microbes to aid in wood degradation and digestion. Here we show that larval A. glabripennis harbor a diverse gut bacterial community, and this community can be extremely variable when reared in different host trees. A. glabripennis reared in a preferred host (Acer saccharum) had the highest gut bacterial diversity compared with larvae reared either in a secondary host (Quercus palustris), a resistant host (Pyrus calleryana), or on artificial diet. The gut microbial community of larval A. glabripennis collected from field populations on Brooklyn, NY, showed the highest degree of complexity among all samples in this study. Overall, when larvae fed on a preferred host, they harbored a broad diversity of gut bacteria spanning the &agr;-, &bgr;-, &ggr;-Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes. Cellulase activities (&bgr;-1,4-endoglucanase, &bgr;-1,4-exoglucanase, and &bgr;-1,4-glucosidase) in the guts of larvae fed in a preferred host (A. saccharum) or a secondary host (Q. palustris) were significantly higher than that of artificial diet fed larvae. Larvae that fed on wood from a resistant host (P. calleryana) showed suppressed total gut cellulase activity. Results show that the host tree can impact both gut microbial community complexity and cellulase activity in A. glabripennis.


In this article the authors tryes to evaluate the possabilities for a functional analysis of palaeolithic flaked quartz tools by an analysis of samples from three cave sites in northern China. The sites range in time from c 200 000 yrs BP to c 20 000 yrs BP. It is concluded that the tools are affected by mechanical and to some degree also chemical weathering. They may, however, be functionally interpreted if the analysis is geared towards defining regularities in the formation of linear features in the lower parts of the microtopography. These parts of the tools surface seem to be less affected by mechanical post-depositional processes. Since different worked materials have different hardness and thus produces wear patterns with different coverage and relation to high points in the micro topography, it is assumed that different types of worked materials stands different chanses of detection on an original sample. A research program is proposed where tools from sites with variable sedimentary conditions are evaluated and compared to expreimental tool surfeces produced by contact with variable materials and subsequently altered by simulated weathering processes. Even very old quartz tools exposed to environmental processes for a long time may thus at different levels of detail be given a functional meaning.


This paper addresses the use of a proposed heuristic method to evaluate affect in the user interface, educational design, and content of educational multimodal software system. A case study is presented where this method is used to evaluate a Museum Explorer system. This system was designed to support an educational objective of making the users more engaged and reflective, by supporting the use narrative to help the users tell a visual story. We recruited participants to apply the evaluation method to the Museum Explorer system. Our findings were that the evaluation method was effective, but we observed a number of effects that suggested necessary improvements. For example, the emphasis in the method had to be changed to avoid a focus on simple usability issues. Moreover, we found that the evaluators had to be clear on the affective teaching objectives and on how the software design was intended to support them. We conclude with a revised set of heuristics based on these findings.


Social contact is important for successful aging. Numerous studies have established that close connections to and participation in social groups and communities provide support, increase a sense of belonging and access to information that can be key for physical and mental health. Compared with numerous findings on social engagement and health in Western world, empirical evidence in the research area from non-Western settings is limited. Using a nationwide representative sample of older adults in China, this study continues efforts along this line by studying how social contact influence mental and physical health among Chinese older adults. The findings suggest that increasing social contact has a positive relationship with physical and mental health among Chinese elders.


A retrospective review of the microbiological and clinical data of 17 specimens obtained from axillary hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) over a period of 6 years was undertaken to study the aerobic and anaerobic microbiology of this condition. A total of 42 bacterial isolates (2.5 per specimen) were obtained, 12 aerobic or facultative (0.7 per specimen) and 30 anaerobic or micro-aerophilic (1.8 per specimen). Aerobic and facultative bacteria only were isolated in six (35%) cases, anaerobic bacteria only in seven (41%) and mixed aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in four (24%). The predominant aerobic bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus (six isolates), Streptococcus pyogenes (three) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (two). The most frequently isolated anaerobes were Peptostreptococcus spp. (10), Prevotella spp. (seven), micro-aerophilic streptococci (four), Fusobacterium spp. (three) and Bacteroides spp. sensu stricto (three). This study highlights the polymicrobial nature and predominance of anaerobic bacteria in axillary HS and the need for antimicrobial thereby to reflect this.


The lack of efficient electrocatalysts has been a main obstacle for the large-scale commercialization of CO2 electroreduction. In this work, we demonstrate that two-dimensional (2D) beta-PdBi2 mono-layer is a promising solution for this issue. beta-PdBi2 monolayer is a stable 2D crystal and the three-dimensional (3D) bulk interlayer energy is similar as for other layered materials that can be exfoliated into 2D crystals. Interestingly, beta-PdBi2 monolayer has rather intri-guing electronic properties: while being metallic, it also has a non-trivial topological point. Remarkably, the extra electronic states at the Fermi level induced by the intrinsic spinorbit coupling (SOC) effect significantly enhance the adsorption of OCHO* intermediate on beta-PdBi2 monolayer, resulting in a rather small onset potential of -0.26 V vs. RHE for CO2 electroreduction to HCOOH. These results not only suggest a promising candidate for CO2 electrolysis but also deepen our understanding of the factors dominating the catalytic activity of 2D materials.


Manganese (Mn) oxides are among the strongest sorbents and oxidants in environmental systems. A number of biotic and abiotic pathways induce the oxidation of Mn(II) to Mn oxides. Here, we use a combination of proteomic analyses and activity assays, to identify the enzyme(s) responsible for extracellular superoxide-mediated Mn oxide formation by a bacterium within the ubiquitous Roseobacter clade. We show that animal haem peroxidases (AHPs) located on the outer membrane and within the secretome are responsible for Mn(II) oxidation. These novel peroxidases have previously been implicated in direct Mn(II) oxidation by phylogenetically diverse bacteria. Yet, we show that in this Roseobacter species, AHPs mediate Mn(II) oxidation not through a direct reaction but by producing superoxide and likely also by degrading hydrogen peroxide. These findings point to a eukaryotic-like oscillatory oxidative-peroxidative enzymatic cycle by these AHPs that leads to Mn oxide formation by this organism. AHP expression appears unaffected by Mn(II), yet the large energetic investment required to produce and secrete these enzymes points to an as yet unknown physiological function. These findings are further evidence that bacterial peroxidases and secreted enzymes, in general, are unappreciated controls on the cycling of metals and reactive oxygen species (ROS), and by extension carbon, in natural systems.


Hereditary sensory neuropathy type IA is a condition characterized by nerve abnormalities in the legs and feet (peripheral neuropathy). Many people with this condition experience prickling or tingling sensations (paresthesias), numbness, and a reduced ability to feel pain and sense hot and cold. Some affected individuals do not lose sensation, but instead feel shooting pains in their legs and feet. As the disorder progresses, the sensory abnormalities can affect the hands, arms, shoulders, joints, and abdomen. Affected individuals may also experience muscle wasting and weakness as they get older. Weakness in the ankle muscles can make walking difficult. As the condition progresses, some people with hereditary sensory neuropathy type IA require wheelchair assistance.


Currently , 4G network becomes commercial in large scale around the world and the industry has started the fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5G) research. Compared to 4G network, 5G network will support larger mobility as well as higher transmission rate, higher user experience rate, energy efficiency, spectrum efficiency and so forth. All of these will boost a variety of multimedia services, especially for Over-The-Top (OTT) services. So for, OTT services have already gained great popularity and contributed to large traffic consumption, which propose a challenge for operators. As OTT services are designed to deliver over the best effort Internet, the QoE management solutions for traditional multimedia services are obsolete, which propose new challenges in QOE management aspects for network and service providers, especially for the 4G and future 5G network. This paper attempts to present the technical challenges faced by 5G network from QoE management perspective of OTT services. Our objective is to enhance the user experience of OTT services and improve network efficiency. We analysis the characteristics and QoE factors of OTT services over 5G wireless network. With the QoE factors and current QoE management situation, we summarize OTT services QoE quantification and evaluation methods, present QoE-driven radio resource management and optimization solutions. Then, we propose a framework and whole evaluation procedure which aim at obtaining the accurate user experience value as well as improving network efficiency and optimizing the user


The basic principle of educational equality is that each child should receive an equally good education. This sounds appealing, but is rather vague and needs substantial working out. Also, educational equality faces all the objections to equality per se, plus others specific to its subject matter. Together these have eroded confidence in the viability of equality as an educational ideal. This article argues that equality of educational opportunity is not the best way of understanding educational equality. It focuses on Brighouse and Swift's well worked out meritocratic conception and finds it irretrievably flawed; they should, instead, have pursued a radical conception they only mention. This conception is used as a starting point for developing a luck egalitarian conception, pluralistic and complex in nature. It is argued that such a conception accounts for the appeal of equality of opportunity, fits with other values in education and meets many of the objections. Thus, equality is reasserted as what morally matters most in education.


Background/Objectives: The application of composite materials has been increasing worldwide in all manufacturing industries. In drilling operation, the quality of hole is the basic requirement in various applications. So, the selection of optimized drilling parameters is very important for the better hole quality. Our objective is to formulate a mathematical model using response surface methodology. Methods: A series of experiments are conducted using ARIX-CNC vertical machining center on Square slabs of size 100mm x 100mm x 10mm, fabricated by stir casting method. Our work is focusing on formulating the model to investigate the effects of various drilling parameters such as spindle speed (1000, 2000 & 3000rpm), feed (0.05, 0.1 & 0.15 mm/rev) and drill tool diameter (5, 7.5 & 10mm) on thrust force, torque and circularity in drilling of Al / SiC metal matrix composite and Al / SiC / Gr hybrid composite using solid carbide drills. Findings: The experimental results on drilling of the metal matrix and hybrid composites are collected separately on L27 orthogonal array and analyzed using Signal – Noise (S/N) ratio, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and regression analysis with the help of Design expert software and Mathematical models are developed with an objective to correlate the selected drilling parameters with drilling force, torque and circularity error in drilled holes. ANOVA is used to reveal the dominant factors that affect the responses mentioned above. Application/Improvements: The developed models are significant and the predicted values are very close to the actual values. This model can be effectively used for drilling of Al/SiC metal matrix and Al/SiC/Gr Hybrid composites within the range of the process parameters.


Objectives In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of tranexamic acid (TXA) on osteotendinous junction healing in a rat model, both biomechanically and histologically. Materials and methods Sixty-four male Wistar-Albino rats weighing 450 to 600 g were used in this study. The rats were divided into two groups as the experimental (n=16) and control (n=16) groups. Achillotomy and subsequent repair site was exposed to 1 mL of TXA in the experimental group, while 1 mL of saline was given to the control group. For biomechanical and histopathological investigation, each group was further divided into two subgroups. At the end of four weeks, all rats were sacrificed. Biomechanical tests were performed using the M500-50CT device. The Bonar, Movin, and Nourissat bone-tendon junction scoring systems were used for histopathological evaluation. Results There was no statistically significant difference in the elongation at a maximum point, maximum loading, and maximum stress variables in the biomechanical study (p=0.558 p=0.775, and p=0.558, respectively). In the histopathological evaluation, the collagen content and layout were close to the native tissue in the experimental group (p=0.047 and p=0.008, respectively). Vascularity, hyalinization, and glycosaminoglycan content were significantly lower in the experimental group (p=0.004, p=0.014, and p=0.026, respectively). The total Bonar and Movin scores were more favorable in the experimental group (p<0.001). Conclusion This experimental study showed that local administration of TXA accelerated bone-tendon junction healing in rats.


Five treatments were applied at time of bale removal to evaluate several products for twospotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) management in alfalfa hay. Mite numbers were very high prior to this harvest and were assumed to be more than adequately present for this study. Data were obtained at six, fifteen and eighteen days post treatment. Data at six days after application documented that only Zeal TM and Trilogy 7 had fewer spider mites than the untreated check, but data also indicated that western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) were also probably present and feeding on mites. Western flower thrips were present in almost equal numbers as twospotted spider mites at fifteen days post treatment and mite numbers had decreased greatly from the previous sampling date. Mite numbers/stem were similar at eighteen days to that of fifteen days post treatment. Thrips predation was thought to obscure differences in spider mite populations resulting from treatments in this experiment, and therefore data from this experiment should be so noted when future treatment decisions are considered.


This article highlights some salient ecological features of Indian coastal resources and the need for a viable coastal resources management plan. The transition between the land and the sea is one of the most fragile, complex and a productive ecosystem. It is bestowed with enormous resources, both - living, non-living and is a potential area for recreation and harnessing non-conventional energy resources (wave and wind energy). This is the zone of dynamic activity, constantly transforming itself to maintain equilibrium, under the varying intensity of the natural processes operating here Coastal zone of India has diverse ecosystems like mangroves, corals, beaches, wetlands, estuaries, lagoons and backwaters harboring many ecologically and economically important fauna and flora and also serves as a barrier against many destructive natural hazards. Coastal zone is a region of diverse activity, both complementary and conflicting to each other. Accelerated and unscientific developmental activities have induced catastrophic consequences. In order to optimally utilize&reap the benefits, without hampering the fragile balance, it is necessary to adopt coastal management strategies based on solid scientific foundation that allow for multiple use of the resources without causing serious damage to the environment. Indian seas are witnessing increased anthropogenic activities like marine fishing, off-shore oil and gas, marine transport, dumping ground for waste disposals, etc all of which have been bringing about changes in the coastal environment. Increasing stress due to development of industries, trade and commerce, tourism and resultant human population growth and migration towards coastal cities and urban centers pose a serious threat to the to the health of these coastal ecosystems and to lives and livelihoods of coastal communities. The industrial development of coast has resulted in degradation of coastal ecosystems and diminishing the living resources of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the form of coastal and marine biodiversity and productivity. Municipal sewage, land use, tourism, maritime transport, offshore oil exploration and production, dumping at sea degrade the marine environment. Felling of mangroves and clearing of forests increase the sedimentation rate affecting the live coral and species diversity. Mangroves are a crucial component deserving high priority in any coastal zone management plan as they are degraded and destroyed due to conversion into agriculture, aquaculture and industrial land. Fishery and fishery resources are another major component in coastal resource management. Preliminary efforts to develop a model coastal zone plan in three different stretches refined our skills to expand the plan at country level. As a result, an exhaustive management plan is being implemented at three different coastal states of the country. It is strongly hoped that many maladies afflicting coastal environment could be effectively addressed by formulating and actively adopting an all encompassing and exhaustive coastal zone management plan. Options to tide over this persistent issue is being debated at national and even international levels and some suggestions consistently made by public interest groups and NGOs includes: Earmarking exclusive zone for fishery, mangroves and other coastal biodiversity and for settlement for fishing communities. All fishery development recommendations suggest that Integrating fishing community with the ongoing development could be initiated to reverse their poverty. It could be done only through long term planning to enhance their special skills which will make them employable and eventually integrate them with the ongoing developmental process. It is also to be remembered that downslide in economic returns of fishing sector is a global phenomenon and Indian fishermen are no exception to this. It is strongly hoped that many maladies afflicting coastal environment could be effectively addressed by formulating and actively adopting an all encompassing and exhaustive coastal resource management plan.


Much of the orthodox literature on medical ethics and law emphasises hospital care. This is because many of the classic dilemmas chosen for analysis are drawn from acute medicine in a secondary care setting. Do patients have the right to refuse life saving treatment? In the face of scarcity in intensive care, who should be treated and for what reason? Should adolescent young women be allowed to have abortions without parental consent? In what circumstances should life sustaining treatment be withdrawn? The list goes on. One might infer from this focus on secondary care that primary care clinicians face fewer and less interesting dilemmas and, indeed, have an easier moral and legal time of it. In fact, there are good arguments to the contrary.12 It is these quandaries, and the personal demands that they make on general practitioners (GPs), that is the topic for this issue's section on ethics and law.

While the drama and stress of ethico-legal dilemmas in acute care should not be underestimated, they occur in what might be called a "slice of time". To use the jargon of linguistics, they are synchronic. Within a hospital, doctors and patients are usually strangers who will rarely meet again outside the context of outpatient follow-up. Even then patients may not see the same doctors. This has important implications for the ethico-legal texture of associated interactions.

For example, patients who refuse life sustaining treatment—or any other treatments deemed to be in their best clinical interest—may be a source of regret for clinicians. However, the clinicians know that in respecting the patient's …


Kneller et al. (1999) examined the predictions of the public-policy endogenous growth models of Barro (1990) and others that suggest that unlike distortionary taxation and productive expenditures, nondistortionary taxation and nonproductive expenditures have no direct effect on the rate of growth. This paper provides an econometric theory with their empirical methodology and applies to work by Kneller et al. (1999) as a numerical example to show how the econometric theory works in practice. This paper also confirms from the viewpoint of econometric analysis that their study supports the Barro (1990)'s predictions.


In the many years since their introduction, positive theories of inflation have rarely been tested. This paper documents a negative relationship between inflation and the welfare state (proxied by the parameters of the unemployment benefit program) that is to be expected in such theories. Because unemployment benefits make the monetary authority less concerned about the plight of the unemployed, building a welfare state has a similar effect to appointing a conservative central banker. The relationship holds in a panel of 20 OECD countries over the period 19611992, a region where Romer finds no evidence of commitment problems. It holds controlling for country and time fixed effects, country specific time trends, other covariates, and using a decadal panel. Interpreted as causal, the estimated effect is economically large: a 1-standard deviation decrease in benefit duration is predicted to add 1.4 percentage points onto inflation, or 31 of the standard deviation in inflation.


This special feature brings together three original articles on Internet finance, grassroots programmers, and an e-psychotherapy platform, respectively, to engage in the ongoing debate on China's e-commerce and digital economy. The three authors contribute to a rethinking of the Chinese digital capitalism from the perspective of sociology (Nicholas Loubere), anthropology (Ping Sun), and social psychology (Hsuan-Ying Huang). They pinpoint the role of commercial activities as vehicles to highlight human agency and diversity in China's transformations. The three articles— "China's Internet Finance and Tyrannies of Inclusion" by Loubere, "Programming Practices of Chinese Code Farmers" by Sun, and "Therapy Made Easy" by Huang—not only provide empirical studies of particular grassroots players or makers in China's e-commerce and digital economy, but also critically discuss their role and agency in negotiating the complicated network of power and knowledge to create a politics of difference in people's daily lives. The special feature contributes to the debates on Chinese digital economy from a micro and meso-level analysis that is rooted in the humanities and social sciences. It examines the grassroots participants and makers of China's e-commerce boom, and at the same time moves beyond the discussion on e-commerce to critique the paradoxes of Chinese digital capitalism, as experienced by poor and disadvantaged individuals engulfed by entrepreneurial digital loan sharks and systems of social surveillance (Loubere), the second-generation-migrant grassroots programmers or code farmers in small software companies in Shenzhen (Sun), and an entrepreneurial psychotherapist whose online platform has taken on the mission of constructing a psychotherapy infrastructure for an under-developed profession (Huang). Together the three articles aim to redefine the "who" of digital economy as an unlikely collection of unimagined individuals and underrepresented groups; the "what" of digital economy as measured by its social and cultural impact rather than its volume of business and transaction; and the "how" of digital economy in terms of the implication of and impact on grassroots players in their strategies for survival.