Background NHS health policy emphasises the crucial role of patient experience as a core component of high quality care, alongside effectiveness and safety. Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) measure patients' experiences with their healthcare. They are increasingly being seen as valuable for assessing patient outcomes and differences in quality between health care providers. Previous patient surveys to assess ambulance service care have not been implemented routinely or in a standardised way. This research forms part of a doctoral study to develop a PREM for use in UK ambulance services. Methods The study comprised three subsections: A secondary analysis of interview data exploring patients' experiences of their prehospital care. Development of questionnaire items based on those themes emerging from the secondary analysis. Semi-structured interviews with service users that explore their opinions of the questionnaire items and whether the PREM includes all aspects of the ambulance service experience that should be encompassed. Results The secondary data analysis revealed specific 'processes of importance' to service users accessing ambulance care i.e. 'timeliness' and parallel 'experiential components of care' i.e. 'reassurance' that either enhanced or reduced the perception that the 'processes of care' were undertaken to a high standard. The key themes formed the foundation for generating the 53 item questionnaire. The interview stage is on-going and the data obtained are being used to amend the questionnaire items. Conclusions The construction of the PREM has incorporated the views of patients that the measure is ultimately designed for, and conforms to the concept of patient-centred care—the theoretical foundation of the research. Once completed, the PREM will enable ambulance trusts to measure differences in patient experiences, between and within organisations. This can result in positive changes to patient experience through the introduction of feedback, training and education to prehospital clinicians.


The study investigated the factors influencing the involvement of farm families in non farm income generating activities. Multi — stage and stratified simple random sampling procedures were used to compose the sample. The sample was made up of seventy two (72) heads of rural farm families. Data were collected by use of structured interview schedule and Focus Group Discussion. Data were analysed by simple percentage, Chi square test, multiple regression and correlation There was a significant relationship between number of non farm income generating activities and demographic characteristics (R2 = 0.870). Farm size (t = -2.386; p = 0.020), level of education (t = -4.227; p = 0.00), and household size (t = 5.404; p = 0.00) were significant and constant predictors of number of non farm income generating activities engaged in by the farm families. A significant relationship was found between involvement in non farm income generating activities and soil degradation due to infertility (X2 = 23.66, p < 0.01) and oil spillage (X2 = 26.01, p < 0.01). The study established a linear relationship between number of income generating activities and demographic characteristics. Extension workers should take into cognisance all rural income generating activities engaged in by the farm families when embarking on services and programmes aimed at improving their welfare.


The domain name is an identity which has grown in a number of dimensions along with the exponential growth of Internet. Though early days of Internet saw only a few popular Top Level Domain (TLD) names such as .com and .org, the subsequent demand caused by the commercial and marketing aspects had prompted an explosion of domain name registrations, including country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) domain names. To complicate the matter are the plans by ICANN that controls the administration of top level domain names to relax the Internet addresses naming rules, at top level as well as 2nd level. After analyzing the domain pricing data collected from a number of domain registrars from 12 countries, this paper examines the dynamics of domain pricing and how such pricing can get affected by new ICANN rules, especially at ccTLD level.


It has been observed that the corrosion of iron pipes in soil can produce variations in ground conductivity around the pipe, and that the visibility of such pipes to GPR can be greatly reduced. This new investigation and measurement of the permittivity and conductivity of soil contaminated by iron pipe corrosion products produces more accurate knowledge of permittivity and conductivity data and their likely spatial variation with distance from the corroding pipe. The experimental data are the result of monitoring accelerated corrosion over a period of several weeks and using TDR and direct conductivity measurement schemes. FDTD simulations of GPR signals show how the corrosion induced variation in the visibility of the pipe varies with the thickness and shape of the new spatial variations permittivity and conductivity. The results indicate that in the earlier stages of pipe corrosion use of lower GPR frequencies will still detect the pipe, although at lower spatial resolution.


The problems confronted by people who experience mental disorders are often conceptualised in terms of health and illness. However, these problems extend far beyond the healthcare system, into all areas of human life. Having a psychiatric diagnosis may have a negative impact on every aspect of the individual's life, leading to the deprivation or limitation of rights in relation to housing, employment, and family life. In this article, some of these problems are discussed within the theoretical framework of debates on citizenship and on human rights. As the context is Europe, reference is made to the recent policy initiatives with the EU, to national and European level consumer organisations and to cases brought before the European Court of Human Rights.


Abstract The paper investigates the relationship between SMAC capabilities in productivity, innovation and competitive advantage for supply chain performance. This paper shows how SMAC technologies insight into business issues to increase supply chain performances. So, the main objective is to develop a model to transform the organization into sustainable businesses. More specifically, authors developed a theoretical framework which finds that SMAC (Social media, Mobile, Analytics, and Cloud) capabilities have a positive impact on supply chain performance in terms of productivity, competitive advantage, and innovation. The paper draws from literature and experiential knowledge of other authors with the perspective of SMAC technologies in supply chain management to address the objective of the paper. Keywords: SMAC, Supply Chain, Productivity, Innovation, Competitive Advantage


This paper presents the idea of Ecoskin: an additional ecological layer that enfolds fragments of housing surfaces in existing high-rise dwelling buildings. This added new coat is independent, detached from the existing building both conceptually and structurally. It can supplement all typical houses built with 20 century technologies, and enable their ecological recuperation. Ecoskin emerges from the conflicts of modern living within the natural environment: striving to raise the quality-of-life, to enable energy savings and to filter external environmental damages and yet enable buildings to tackle their own self-created hazards. It collects runoffs, accumulates solar energy, recycles grey water, allows for better insulation, ameliorates the air quality, and even designates spaces for private businesses and agriculture. Ecoskin also deals with the ecology of communal life, confronting two major problems created by the rigidity of modern land-use: the lack of vivid street life (as often created at the footsteps of high-rise residential buildings); and the inability to cater for alternative lifestyles, for which the combining of living, working and recreation is a necessity. While dealing with these issues, Ecoskin aspires to revive and reclaim the public realm. This paper will attempt to demonstrate how a simple and inexpensive structure that coats existing residential high-rises can potentially improve the connection of people to their natural environment as well as to their social surroundings, and yet, revive the public realm around high-rise residential areas.


OBJECTIVE
To explore differences in expenditures for elderly patients with acute and chronic coronary artery disease according to the specialty of the principal care physician.

STUDY DESIGN
Retrospective analysis of Medicare claims.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A total of 250,514 patients with coronary artery disease (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification [ICD-9-CM] codes 410-414) were drawn from a national random sample of 1992 Medicare expenditures. Patients were classified by the physician type with the highest number of Medicare Part B outpatient claims into a cardiologist group and a generalist group. The outcome was mean total expenditures, stratifying (1) by comorbidity as measured by the modified Charlson Index and (2) by severity defined as the proportion of patients with acute myocardial infarction or unstable angina.

RESULTS
Those patients in the cardiologist group had lower comorbidity and higher severity than those in the generalist group. Overall mean expenditures were significantly higher for the cardiologist group than for the generalist group ($7658 vs $6047; P < .001). These differences in mean expenditures were evident at each level of comorbidity. However, when stratified by severity of diagnosis, differences were seen predominantly in those with acute diagnoses. For those with either acute myocardial infarction or unstable angina, the mean expenditures were higher for the cardiologist group than for the combined generalist group ($15,378 vs $12,260; P < .001); however, the mean expenditures for those with only chronic conditions were similar ($4856 vs $4745; P = .53).

CONCLUSION
Expenditures were higher when cardiologists were the principal care physicians treating patients with acute disease but not chronic disease.


The switching character of SiCGe/SiC heterojunction phototransistors with charge-compensation technique has been simulated with commercial simulator MEDICI. The influences of light power density, wavelength and carrier lifetime on switching characters were studied. Simulation result shown that the devices are latch-free device and fall time is much longer than rise time. The increasing of light power density and wavelength cause shorter rise time and longer fall time unless reaches SiCGe absorption edge 520nm, trade-off must made between responsivity and switching speed when carrier lifetime is considered, the ratio of them gets it maximum values at minority carrier lifetime equal 90ns.


The Fixed Regression Test-Day Model (FRM) and Random Regression Test-Day Model (RRM) for genetic evaluation of milk yield trait of dairy cattle in Khorasan Razavi province were studied. Breeding values and genetic parameters of milk yield trait from two models were compared. A total of 164391 monthly test day milk records (three times milking per day) obtained from 19217 Holstein cows distributed in 172 herds and calved from 1991 to 2008, were used to estimate genetic parameters and to predict breeding values. The contemporary group of herd- year- month of production was fitted as fixed effects in the models. Also linear and quadratic forms of age at calving and Holstein gene percentage were fitted as covariate. The random factors of the models were additive genetic and permanent environmental effects. In the random regression model, orthogonal legendre polynomial up to order 4(cubic) was implemented to take account of genetic and environmental aspects of milk production over the course of lactation. Heritability estimates resulted from the FRM was 0.15. The average heritability estimates resulted from the RRM of monthly test day milk production for the second half of the lactation was higher than that of the first half of lactation period. The highest and lowest heritability values were found for the first (0.102) and sixth (0.235) month of lactation. Breeding value of animals predicted from FRM and RRM were also compared. The results showed similar ranking of animals based on their breeding values from both models.


Background:Casemix-based inpatient prospective payment systems allocate payments for acute care based on what is done within an episode of care without regard for the outcome. To date, they have provided little incentive to improve quality. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have recently excluded 8 avoidable complications from their payment system. Objective:This study models an inpatient prospective payment system that comprehensively excludes not-present-on-admission and other complication diagnoses from the entire funding process, effectively adding a diagnosis-related group (DRG)-specific average complication payment across all discharges. Research Design:Complication-averaged cost weights were estimated using the same patient level cost dataset used for estimating the relative resource weights for Victorian public hospitals in 2006–07. All codes with a "C" prefix (secondary diagnoses that are coded as having arisen after admission) and codes that define a condition that prima facie represent a specific complication of care were excluded from the code string. The episodes were then regrouped to DRGs and new complication-averaged cost weights were developed. Results:When complication codes were excluded across 1.2 million discharges, 1.37% became ungroupable, 14.86% included at least one complication diagnosis code, and 1.56% grouped to another DRG. Modeled funding for individual metropolitan hospitals in Victoria, Australia, was redistributed by −2.5% to 1.8%. Conclusions:The cost weights reflect the average cost of preventable and unpreventable complications and have the potential to drive improvements in clinical care. This study is in contrast to previous studies estimating the funding impact of preventing all complications.


Background: 5α-Reductase type II (5αR2) inhibition is a promising strategy for benign prostatic hyperplasia treatment. A computational approach including virtual screening, ligand-based 3D pharmacophore modeling, 2D quantitative structure-activity relationship and molecular docking simulations were adopted to develop novel inhibitors. Results: Hits were first filtered via the validated pharmacophore and 2D quantitative structure-activity relationship models. Docking on the recently determined cocrystallized structure of 5αR2 showed three promising hits. Visual inspection results were compared with finasteride ligand and dihydrotestosterone as reference, to explain the role of binding to Glu57 and Tyr91 for 5αR2 selective inhibition. Conclusion: Alignment between Hit 2 and finasteride in the binding pocket showed similar binding modes. The biological activity prediction showed antitumor and androgen targeting activity of the new hits.


We assess the quantitative effects of the 199798 banking crisis in Asia at both the macroeconomic and bank levels, comparing our findings to broader studies of banking crises. Asia's crisis was both more severe and more costly than others but showed little evidence of prolonged bank runs. We assess the nature of reforms using measures designed to address externalities or market structure, information asymmetries, and legal infrastructure. We compare these measures to results from Barth, Caprio, and Levine (2000) with respect to the effects of banking structure and regulation on financial development, finding that reforms to date have underemphasized private monitoring and have concentrated too many assets in state-owned institutions. Despite extensive efforts at broadening legal infrastructure, progress has been poor, especially in Indonesia and Thailand.


Background: Cemented hip arthroplasty can result in devastating complication such as Bone Cement Implantation Syndrome (BCIS). BCIS consists of decreased blood pressure, decreased heart rate, a decrease of consciousness, and sudden death. This devastating condition caused by systemic circulation of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). Decrease heart rate caused by PMMA reaction with the heart muscle. PMMA reach heart muscle due to the increased intramedullary pressure and the opening of the intramedullary blood vessel during cementation. Aim: The purpose of this study is to prove that intramedullary epinephrine and femoral hole before the insertion of bone cement and K-wire result in the lower amount of PMMA in rabbit's myocardium. Methods: This research is conducted as experimental research with post-test only control group design with the subject rabbits. A total of 28 research subjects who met the inclusion criteria of the study were randomly divided into treatment and control groups. The control group did not receive epinephrine and femoral hole treatment. Treatment group 1 received epinephrine intramedullary only, treatment group 2 received femoral hole only, and treatment group 3 received intramedullary epinephrine and femoral hole. Results: Statistical analysis using parametric tests one-way ANOVA found a significant difference between treatment and control groups on the amount of rabbit's heart muscle. The amount of PMMA particle in all treatment groups are lower than the control group with a p-value of 0.000 (p<0.05). The amount of PMMA particle in treatment group 3 (received epinephrine and femoral hole) is lower than the control group with a p-value of 0.000 (p<0.05). Conclusion: The conclusion of this research is intramedullary epinephrine and femoral hole making before the insertion of bone cement and K-wire result in the lower amount of PMMA particle in


Background The global prevalence of obesity has increased steadily in recent years. Waist circumference (WC) reflects body composition better than body mass index. The Korean Society for the Study of Obesity released the 2018 Obesity Fact Sheet to address the incidence of obesity-related comorbidities according to WC levels. Methods Data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service health examination database from 2009 to 2016 were analyzed. Abdominal obesity was defined as a WC ≥90 cm in men and ≥85 cm in women. Incidence rates of comorbidities and all-cause mortality rates were calculated after standardizing by age and sex based on the 2010 census. Results From 2009 to 2015, the incidence rates of type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, myocardial infarction, and ischemic stroke increased both in men and women. Individuals with the lowest WC levels had the highest all-cause mortality rates followed by those with the highest WC levels in men, women, and the total population. The incidence rates of total cancer increased as WC levels escalated between 2009 and 2016. In men, the incidence rates of colorectal, prostate, and liver cancers increased as WC levels increased. The incidence rates of thyroid, colorectal, and stomach cancers increased as WC levels rose in women. In addition, medical expenses continuously increased as WC increased in both men and women. Conclusion Based on the 2018 Obesity Fact Sheet, strategies for reducing the abdominal obesity and related comorbidities and medical expenses are a public health priority.


The connection of climate variability with anchovy spawning and recruitment in the Black Sea in particular, and other ecosystems in general, was studied using a two-way coupled lower trophic level and anchovy bioenergetics model. Climate variability was represented by a 50-yr time series of daily temperature and vertical mixing rates with stochastic variations. Temperature was found to be the dominant factor influencing early life stages and hence population dynamics of Black Sea anchovy as marked by a high correlation of anchovy egg production and recruitment success in response to changes in temperature. Each decrease of 2°C in summer mean temperatures resulted in a delay in the timing of egg production of between 12 and 19 days. Water temperatures in the spawning season had a greater influence than the number of available spawning females on the intensity of egg production. Anchovy recruitment was similarly influenced by temperature, with decreased temperatures resulting in a significant delay in the onset of peak recruitment during the fall by 21–38 days. Also, recruitment numbers in December decreased by about 20% with decreasing temperatures. The impact of temperature on production was slightly diminished by the impact of vertical mixing. The strong linkage of climate variability with anchovy spawning and recruitment has an important prediction potential for short-term anchovy stock estimations, which may serve fisheries management purposes.


Mechanical response of small volumes by contact testing becomes a key issue both fundamentally and/or for practical applications. Phenomenological studies by nanoidentation and continuous micro scratch technique in different solids eventually reveal specific deformation behavior and failure trends. Mostly such differences can be attributed to the material constitutive properties and to the loading conditions. Nevertheless, the current study mainly in glassy polymers of small volume behavior by nanomechanical probing introduces highly complex combination. These in terms of inhomogeneous deformation, characteristic damage patterns, crack density variations and fracture criteria aspects. The current objective is to develop t%rther hisights into darnage evolution by including also the critical variable of the deformation rate. Experimentally, nanoidentation and continuous micro scratch techniques were applied at ambient temperatures with tip velocities spanning four orders of magnitude, The study has revealed that in some circumstances even the self-organized damage features could be illuminated with emphasis to the local strain rate aspects.


Totipotent cDNA libraries representative of all the potentially expressed sequences in a genome would be of great benefit to gene expression studies. Here, we report on an innovative method for creating such a library for durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum) and its application for gene discovery. The use of suitable quantities of 5-azacytidine during the germination phase induced the demethylation of total DNA, and the resulting seedlings potentially express all of the genes present in the genome. A new wheat microarray consisting of 4925 unigenes was developed from the totipotent cDNA library and used to screen for genes that may contribute to differences in the disease resistance of two near-isogenic lines, the durum wheat cultivar Latino and the line 5BIL-42, which are respectively susceptible and resistant to powdery mildew. Fluorescently labeled cDNA was prepared from the RNA of seedlings of the two near-isogenic wheat lines after infection with a single powdery mildew isolate under controlled conditions in the greenhouse. Hybridization to the microarray identified six genes that were differently expressed in the two lines. Four of the sequences could be assigned putative functions based on their similarity to known genes in public databases. Physical mapping of the six genes localized them to two regions of the genome: the centromeric region of chromosome 5B, where the Pm36 resistance gene was previously localized, and chromosome 6B.


An estimation of the dominant stresses in powders with or without interstitial gas flow yields a semiqualitative criteria for the transition between flow regimes (plastic-fluidized, plastic- inertial, plastic-suspension, inertial-fluidized, inertial-suspension). It will be shown that, at ambient pressure, fine powders (particle diameter less than ~ 100 µm) experience a direct transition from plastic to fuidized regime, or from plastic to suspension. The inertial regime is absent in these fine powders. These ideas will be applied to understand the onset of fluidization in rotating drums. Previous measurements with xerographic toners (particle diameter around 10 µm) in rotating drums indicated that fluidized and plastic regimes coexist in the drum. The extent of the fluidized region grows when angular speed is increased. Here, we present measurements on the width of the horizontal surface of the fluidized zone as a function of rotation velocity, drum diameter and toner properties. We find that the results depend on the product of three fundamental parameters: (i) the ratio of the fluidized toner bulk density to the packed toner bulk density; (ii) the ratio of centrifugal acceleration to the acceleration of gravity and (iii) the ratio of gravitational potential energy per unit volume (or equivalently, kinetic energy per unit volume) to the powder tensile strength.


The environmental conditions experienced in UK schools not only influence the effectiveness of teaching and learning but also affect energy consumption and occupant behaviour plays a critical role in determining such conditions. The aim of this study is to understand occupant behaviour in controlling window blinds in UK primary schools which not only mediate internal conditions but also influence the use of artificial lighting and consequently electricity consumption. Occupant behaviour in controlling blinds against direct solar gain and glare through windows in 140 classrooms of 22 primary schools between 2007 and 2008 was studied through questionnaires, interviews and observations of blind status. Results show that on average blinds are closed very regularly in all the schools except one. This is due to a wish to prevent overheating, reduce glare and also limit the impact of distractions from outside, as some classrooms are located on the ground floor. Such behaviour affects both the effectiveness of teaching and learning and also electricity consumption and consequently a school's carbon foot print. It is also likely to be at least in part responsible for the gap between design the energy consumption predicted at the design stage and that actually experienced when the school is in use. Designers need to understand the implications of this behaviour to ensure they deliver effective, energy efficient spaces that perform as anticipated.


Development of mucosal immunity and tolerance requires coordinated expression of a number of genes within the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT). To study the roles of these genes in the MALT, we have established a MALT-specific gene transfer model using replication-defective adenovirus as vector. In this model, the target gene of interest is directly delivered into the Peyer's patch by intra-Peyer's patch injection of the recombinant virus. Using this gene transfer model, we investigated the roles of B7-1 and IL-12 in the development of mucosal tolerance. We found that intra-Peyer's patch injection of OVA induced Ag-specific T cell hyporesponsiveness, as manifested by decreased T cell proliferation and IL-2/IFN- g production upon subsequent immune challenge. Intra-Peyer's patch B7-1 gene transfer at the time of OVA administration partially reversed the inhibition of T cell proliferation and IL-2 secretion, but had no effect on IFN- g production. By contrast, intra-Peyer's patch IL-12 gene transfer completely restored T cell proliferation and IFN- g secretion and partially reversed IL-2 inhibition. Using an adoptive TCR transgenic model, we further demonstrated that B7 and IL-12 played distinct roles during the inductive phase of mucosal tolerance. B7 selectively increased T cell proliferation and IL-2 secretion without affecting IFN- g production, whereas IL-12 increased both IL-2 and IFN- g production. These results indicate that B7 alone may not be sufficient to abrogate mucosal tolerance, and that cytokines such as IL-12 may also be required. Based on these findings, we propose a new model to explain the paradoxical roles of B7 in mucosal immunity and tolerance. Journal of Immunology, 2000, 165: 3145–3153.


This method is founded on the base of a three-staged conception for alternative electromagnetic and seismic (in the dynamical variant) field interpretation for 3-d high complicated medium [1]. For it's practical realisation it had been developed such theoretical and practical results: [2,3]: 1.It had been elaborated and practical realised a new common observation system for alternating electromagnetic and seismic fields with using a local source of excitation. The choice of the excitation source type had been stated by such features: a) common geometry of the normal field, b) absence of one or more components in the field, excited in the onedimensional medium. In the case of electromagnetic field such features can be achieved by an excitation source of vertical magnetic dipole type, in the case of seismic field – by a source of vertical strength type. The fact, that the chosen excitation source is local allows to provide a regular overlapping for a given observation net for different angles of directions excitation source - heterogeneity). As the input data for the interpretation we use three components of the elastic displacement field and three components of the magnetic field as a function of space coordinates and time. The analysis of the straight problem solution for seismic and electromagnetic cases shows that a common numerical approach is realisable for both fields if we preliminary convert the electromagnetic data to the real axis and seismic data on the image axis of the complex frequency plane. And the whole interpretation process must be provided on that plane, not returning to the time domain.


This paper uses Indian stock futures data to explore unbiased expectations and efficient market hypothesis. Having experienced voluminous transactions within a short time span after its establishment, the Indian stock futures market provides an unparalleled case for exploring these issues involving expectation and efficiency. Besides analyzing market efficiency between cash and futures prices using cointegration and error correction frameworks, the efficiency hypothesis is also investigated after explicitly modeling the underlying state of the market (expansion or contraction) through the first-order Markov switching set-up. The results based on Markov switching analysis show that relatively longer time horizon is more effective in eliminating arbitrage opportunities than the short run.


Adaptive Polar Sampling (APS) is proposed as a Markov chain Monte Carlo method for Bayesian analysis of models with ill-behaved posterior distributions. In order to sample efficiently from such a distribution, a location-scale transformation and a transformation to polar coordinates are used. After the transformation to polar coordinates, a Metropolis-Hastings algorithm is applied to sample directions and, conditionally on these, distances are generated by inverting the CDF. A sequential procedure is applied to update the location and scale.Tested on a set of canonical models that feature near non-identifiability, strong correlation, and bimodality, APS compares favourably with the standard Metropolis-Hastings sampler in terms of parsimony and robustness. APS is applied within a Bayesian analysis of aGARCH-mixture model which is used for the evaluation of the Value-at-Risk of the return of the Dow Jones stock index.


Recommender systems (RS) commonly retrieve potential candidate items for users from a massive number of items by modeling user interests based on historical interactions. However, historical interaction data is highly sparse, and most items are long-tail items, which limits the representation learning for item discovery. This problem is further augmented by the discovery of novel or cold-start items. For example, after a user displays interest in bitcoin financial investment shows in the podcast space, a recommender system may want to suggest, e.g., a newly released blockchain episode from a more technical show. Episode correlations help the discovery, especially when interaction data of episodes is limited. Accordingly, we build upon the classical Two-Tower model and introduce the novel Multi-Source Augmentations using a Contrastive Learning framework (MSACL) to enhance episode embedding learning by incorporating positive episodes from numerous correlated semantics. Extensive experiments on a real-world podcast recommendation dataset from a large audio streaming platform demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework for user podcast exploration and cold-start episode recommendation.


Although global warming and its future possible consequences for human societies have been thoroughly examined in recent years, quantitative studies about the notable effects of climate changes upon human societies in history are almost absent. Recently, the authors scientifically explored the relationship between climate change and wars by comparing high-resolution paleo-climate reconstructions with known war incidences in history. They found that in most of the geographic regions worldwide war frequencies showed a cyclic pattern that closely followed the paleo-temperature changes. In this research, the authors proposed a conceptual model to exemplify how climatic fluctuations are translated into war peace cycles via socio-economic mechanism, with China during 1500 – 1800 to be a case study. The model was quantitatively verified by time series analysis and Pearson"s correlation analysis. Statistical results confirmed that, cooling impeded agricultural production brought about a series of social problems including food price inflation, then successively war outbreak, famine and population decline. The findings indicate that war-peace, population and price cycles in agrarian societies in recent centuries have been driven mainly by long-term climate change, which may challenge those socio-economic theories about historical cycles, human demography and wars. The observed temperature-war relationship may give some indication of future societal impacts from climate warming.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of using online grammar websites on students' achievement and motivation in learning English grammar. A 2 x 2 quasi-experimental design was used in this study. The independent variables were the teaching methods - computer-based and conventional method. The dependent vaiables were the achievement score and motivational score. A sample consisting of 120 Form 2 students who were divided into two main groups, the good students and the weak students. The achievement scores and the motivational score were obtained through pre-test and post-test and Keller's Instructional Materials Motivation Scale (IMMS) respectively. The gain scores used to compared the achievement of students were obtained from the difference between the post-test scores and the pre-test scores. The result of the study were suppotive of the use of online grammar websites as it has a significant effect on both, the weak and good students. The implication of this study is that the appropriate use of online grammar websites has the potential to significantly improve the achievement and the motivation of students in learning English grammar. Besides this implication, the findings also could contribute towards improving the teaching and learning process of English language in Malaysian schools.


Although there are many definitions of antioxidants, the most general description; antioxidants are carried a phenolic function in their structure and prevent the formation of free radicals or intercept from damage to the cell by scavenging existing radicals. Moreover, they are one of the most effective substances that contain essential nutrients for healthy individuals. The importance of these antioxidants, which have an incredible effect on the body and increase the body's resistance, is increasing day by day for healthy individuals. Numerous studies have been carried out for antioxidants with excellent properties and however new, reliable, selective, sensitive and green analytical methods are sought for their determination at trace levels in food samples. Along with the latest developments, electrochemical methods are of great interest in the world of science because they are fast, reliable, sensitive and environmentally friendly. Electrochemical methods have been frequently applied to analyze antioxidant capacity in many nutrients samples found in different forms such as solid, liquid without any pretreatment applications in the last decade. Furthermore, these methods are preferred because of the short analysis time, the ability to lower detection limits, reduction in a solvent, high sensitivity, portability, low sample consumption, wide working range, and more economical than existing other traditional analytical methods. The antioxidant sensing applications by modern electrochemical methods such as cyclic, square wave, differential pulse, and combined with stripping voltammetric techniques were used to deduce antioxidant capacity (AC) in critical nutrients. Moreover, this chapter includes a description of the classification of electrochemical methods according to the working electrode type, dynamic working range, limit of determination (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), sample type, and using standard analyte and so forth for each voltammetric methods. While many articles applied for the determination of antioxidant sensing by electrochemistry have gained momentum in the last two decades, we focused on the studies conducted over the last 4 years in this chapter.


As an alternative form of childcare, in Romania foster care is a welfare system that comes to meet the needs of the children who are medically fragile, who have been mistreated or who need specialized services. Most children who benefit from this protection have been traumatized and need medical, psychiatric, educational and special social care, and others come here because their biological families are unable or unequipped to manage care for a child with serious emotional issues or behavioral problems. The placement treatment is based on the premise that foster parents can serve as an important provider of therapy in the  daily interactions with the child, that therapy should not be practiced only by a clinician and that the psychological needs of children can be best achieved in a family environment. Therefore, success of the placement to a specialist carer depends on the attachment that is created between the family of the carer and the child taken into care but also on the support received by the family from the community. The aim of this study is to find out the quality of life of children placed in a foster family. The standard of living is further understood as satisfaction of the basic needs (both spiritual and existential) of a child.The  analysis of the problem was based on a qualitative research firstly using observation as a method precursory of all the other tools and  direct investigation of the face-to-face type. The sample consisted of two groups of respondents - children and foster parents. It should be stressed that the investigation into family life is very difficult because it may interfere with intimacy. In the case of the questionnaire prepared for children, it was necessary for it to be made as simple as possible without going too deep into their privacy. The relatively simple and comprehensive questionnaire makes it easy to assess the quality of life of children placed in foster families and the fact that the issue is studied from two perspectives, using two different questionnaires provides the possibility to collect more varied information, at least some of which can be compared. The results of this study demonstrate that the placement of children in professional foster care increases their quality of life, bringing major contributions to their recovery and social integration. Keywords : social protection, foster family, quality of life, research method


With the development and scientific progress of the society, today the competition of comprehensive national strength is increasingly competitive and reflected in innovation capability of technology. In this case, major universities increase professional strength and competitiveness, forming a "game" relations. The term originally refers to the chess game, poker and other games of athletics. In game theory, the game refers to the conflict as well as cooperation between rational people or groups. Early the "game theory" was more used to explain some economic phenomena. With the knowledge heterogeneity, strategic interactivity among individuals, traditional resources, technology, information and other constraints of various organizations are no longer limited by knowledge and time. In such a scenario, the university is the main place to train professionals and a part for cognitive coordination. In this study, " Game Theory " is as an entry point and the model of it characterizes the competion status of similar professionals in our universities. It also analyzes the strategic interaction from the same subjects of different universities in the transition process of shared resources. Ultimately based on the "Game Theory", learning behavior and policy advice are proposed and more inspiration and advice are given.


Along with the fast growing economy of a developing country as far as India is concerned, there has been reported an emerging number of crime and criminal offences. In many of the cases the suspects are quite freely escaped because of the insufficient testimonials and lack of communication links in time. As an instance, suppose a bank robbery takes place and right then no one is able to press the emergency buzzer or to dial up to nearest police station. Eventually, when the nearest police station is informed about the fact, the gang is beyond the reach leaving no clue behind. Same is observed in many cases as rash driving and hit and run, eve teasing and molestation of women at less crowded streets, pick pocketing and blackmailing at Automatic Teller Machines at roadside and many more. Where there is a crime involved, there has to be a quality surveillance and expert actuation to stand against all these activities with minimum human intervention. Our goal is to design an intelligent device that can continuously keep an eye on any activity happening around it and on administrator's request it can track any suspect, be it an object or a human being, with minimum power consumption and least human efforts. As an actuator it sends a signal to the nearest traffic control or police station intimating the state of crime along with its location and also tells about which direction it is heading to. In view of a real-time establishment of the concept, the flying device is designed to be a robot that looks and flies like a Bird, the processor is chosen to be ARDUINO UNO, the image processing is made by mat-lab tool and the communication link between the administrator and the device is via RFID system and between device and the police control is achieved by GPS/GSM technology.


Post-event 911 Muslims get "labeling" as an entity that refers  to  the  fatalist devian, fundamentalists, terrorists and a number of other negative Labeling. Labeling (labeling) can not be separated from the role  of the  mass media to distribute messages containing the theme of  labeling. An  idea promoted by some Western media tend to provide reinforcement on the labeling. As one of the sensitive issues that tendentious depiction of Islam and labeling will be a provocative theme.Most Muslims respond to such labeling in ways counterproductive. However, most respond with high context communication through the dissemination of messages clarification by using social media. One such action is through the production and distribution of the comic «The Muslim Show» (TMS). Visualization packaging and design of messages in the TMS showed the creativity of the author to show the entity- whether Muslims specifically or so on about the condition of multidimensional community of Muslims. The themes in the comic duo made by the French Muslims are trying to show the positive side, peaceful Islam in the fight against Islamophobia.


To evaluate the role of fish larvae as a link between the microbial loop and higher trophic levels, predation of protozoan zooplankton by young larvae was investigated. More than 400 individual fish larvae with total lengths of less than ca 10 mm in 52 different taxonomic groups were collected at different sampling times from several coastal regions, and the gut contents of larvae were examined under epifluorescence microscopy after staining with DAPI. Among numerous fragments of copepod nauplii, many flagellate-like cells with a size of 5 μm and ciliate-like cells with a size of 20 to 30 μm were frequently recognized. The number of protozoan cells varied significantly from one larva to another. Some individuals had more than 60 protozoa, while others contained none at all. The amount of protists contained in the gut of larvae depended on the fish species and did not show any trend with the body or mouth sizes of larvae, nor the sampling site or season. Fish taxa were divided into 3 groups depending on the amount of protists in the gut: 'abundant', 'moderate', and 'none'. The Acanthopterygii group contained the highest concentration of protozoa. Results of the present study suggested that fish larvae of some taxonomical groups were important predators of protozoa and may be an important link between the microbial loop and the grazing food chain.


It is suggested that a transition is taking place towards new modes of organising transnational corporations' innovative activities. First, different units of multinational firms, including foreign-based subsidiaries, are increasingly involved in the generation, use and transmission of knowledge. Secondly, multinationals are developing external networks of relationships with local counterparts, through which foreign affiliates gain access to external knowledge sources and application abilities. As a result of this evolutionary process, multinationals' organisation is subject to both centripetal and centrifugal forces. Considerable efforts are then necessary to innovate coordination procedures and mechanisms, in order to enhance the generation, circulation and use of knowledge. A number of empirical works are reviewed, providing some evidence of the evolutionary process discussed in the paper. Copyright 2000 by Oxford University Press.


Heavy metal contamination of soil and water causing toxicity/stress has become one important constraint to crop productivity and quality. This situation has further worsened by the increasing population growth and inherent food demand. It has been reported in several studies that counterbalancing toxicity due to heavy metal requires complex mechanisms at molecular, biochemical, physiological, cellular, tissue, and whole plant level, which might manifest in terms of improved crop productivity. Recent advances in various disciplines of biological sciences such as metabolomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, etc., have assisted in the characterization of metabolites, transcription factors, and stress-inducible proteins involved in heavy metal tolerance, which in turn can be utilized for generating heavy metal-tolerant crops. This review summarizes various tolerance strategies of plants under heavy metal toxicity covering the role of metabolites (metabolomics), trace elements (ionomics), transcription factors (transcriptomics), various stress-inducible proteins (proteomics) as well as the role of plant hormones. We also provide a glance of some strategies adopted by metal-accumulating plants, also known as "metallophytes."


Tropical seaweeds and 'plant-like' animals often contain both secondary metabolites and high concentrations of minerals. Typically, secondary rnetabolites are most concentrated in the tip of the organism and minerals in the base. We used within-individual variation in defenses in the alga Neomeris annulata to test the hypothesis that surgeonfishes are deterred from feeding by calcium carbonate but not by chemical defenses, whereas parrotfishes are deterred from feeding by chemical defenses but not by calcium carbonate. Our results supported this hypothesis. The parrotfish Scarus sordjdus preferred to feed on an artificial food containing CaCO, compared to control food, but preferred control food over food containing a sesquiterpene-rich organic extract of N. annulata. Two species of parrotfishes fed primarily on the metabolite-poor, CaC0,-rich basal regions of N. annulata, whereas 2 species of surgeonfishes fed primarily on the metabolite-rich, CaCO.,-poor tips. Variation in grazing location had important consequences for N. annulata. Individuals grazed on the tips grew in length more slowly than individuals grazed around the base. Individuals grazed on the tips were temporarily rich in CaC03; individuals grazed around the base were temporarily rich in sesquiterpenes. These patterns were probably not a result of induction of defenses, but rather a consequence of selective removal of CaC0,-poor and sesquiterpene-poor material respectively.


We describe graded contractions of Virasoro algebra. The highest weight representations of Virasoro algebra are constructed. The reducibility of representations is analysed. In contrast to standart representations the contracted ones are reducible except some special cases. Moreover we find an exotic module with null-plane on fifth level.


More recent survey‐based studies have indicated that, although many companies are involved in benchmarking, adoption of best practices is not as high as might be expected. This study was undertaken to identify the factors that have an impact on the adoption decision of manufacturing best practices. A review of the relevant literature identified ten potential factors. These can be classified into three categories: best practice factors, organizational factors, and environmental factors. Best practice factors include codification, complexity, compatibility, perceived operational benefits, and cost. Organizational factors include satisfaction with the existing practice, existence of champion, and organizational resource availability. Finally, environmental factors include perceived outside support and external pressures. The results indicated that cost of adoption, external pressures, and satisfaction with the existing practice are the main determinants of the adoption decision. These results should be of considerable interest to practitioners.


Based on the geometric relationship of the tetrahedron, 3-R target location theorem and calculation principle are given, and analytical model of locating built on distances between three stations and the target is put forward. In theory, we analyze its location precision and present its emulation about the precision. Besides, we give an analysis of some application examples on radar network and target tracking. This method is convenient to operate and easy to implement, without variable coupling.


The book consists of novel and empirical research in broad areas of technology and curriculum in selected African countries. The central theme of the book is technology and the higher education curriculum. The book consists of case studies from selected African countries, namely, Lesotho; Namibia; Kenya; South Africa; Zimbabwe; Tanzania and Nigeria. These studies confirm that in this contemporary digital era, educational technology is playing an increasingly important role. It has become so ubiquitous and fundamental in the teaching and learning. Higher education sectors across the continent are increasingly compelled to use educational technology to keep up with needs of 21st century students who want to be afforded opportunities to be able to learn in real time, anytime, and on their own terms using opportunities for creative innovation made possible by new information and communication technologies.


Blood pressure (BP) measurements of pregnant women have been collected in offices and at home for previous research. However, it remains uncertain whether there is difference between research BP, defined as BP measured for the purpose of epidemiological research and BP measured at home or in an office. Therefore, the present study aimed to compare research BP with home and unstandardized office BP. Research, home, and office BP were measured among pregnant women who participated in the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Birth and Three‐Generation Cohort Study (TMM BirThree Cohort Study). Research BP was measured twice at our research center while the participant was seated and after resting for 1‐2 minutes. Research, home, and office BP were compared and agreement among the values was assessed. Differences among research, home, and office BP values and possible factors affecting differences were analyzed. Among 656 pregnant women, the mean (± standard deviations) research systolic (S), diastolic (D) BP, home SBP, home DBP office SBP, and office DBP were 103.8 ± 8.5, 61.8 ± 7.3, 104.4 ± 9.2, 61.2 ± 6.8, 110.5 ± 10.8, and 63.8 ± 8.7mmHg, respectively. Research SBP value was lower than home value (P = .0072; difference between mean research and home BP: −0.61 ± 7.8 mmHg). Research SBP and DBP values were lower than office values (P < .0001 for both SBP and DBP; means ± standard deviations of differences between research and office BP: 6.7 ± 10.1 and 2.0 ± 8.5 mmHg for SBP and DBP, respectively). In conclusion, when research BP is measured under conditions controlled, research BP can give close values to home BP for pregnant women.


Extraction of IOFB using an intraocular magnet offsets these complications by providing greater control. 3 Intraocular magnets used for such a controlled removal are made of rare earth elements or electromagnets. Being relatively more expensive, such magnets may not be available in all vitreoretinal centres. We describe a new technique that can be used as an alternative to the intraocular magnet in situations where an intraocular magnet is not freely available. The basic principle of our technique is to magnetize commonly used intraocular instruments such as the microvitreoretinal (MVR) knife by the application of an external magnet to its shaft. The magnetized MVR knife itself can then be used to lift the IOFB lying on the retinal surface.


Quantification of chiltepin hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L. glabriusculum) phytochemicals provides a tool to evaluate the fruit quality and health impact. This study evaluates the phytochemical content and antioxidant activity of chiltepin from different locations of Sonora, Mexico, at two ripening stages (immature and mature). Seeds from Cumpas and Sahuaripa, were grown under greenhouse conditions and phenolic compounds, flavonoids, carotenoids, chlorophylls, and ascorbic acid were determined by spectrophotometric techniques. Capsaicinoids were determined by HPLC-DAD. The antioxidant activity was determined through DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging and by FRAP techniques. The origin of the seed influenced the antioxidant activity and phytochemical content. Samples from Cumpas, were superior in phytochemicals compared with Sahuaripa. Antioxidant activity and phytochemicals were higher in mature stage. Antioxidant activity correlates mainly with phenolic compounds and carotenoids. This study highlights that mature chiltepin pepper from Sonora could grow under controlled conditions develop bioactive compounds with antioxidant potential.


Genetic incompatibility is a hallmark of speciation. Cytonuclear incompatibilities are proposed to be among the first genetic barriers to arise during speciation. Accordingly, reproductive isolation (RI) within species should be heavily influenced by interactions between the organelle and nuclear genomes. However, there are few clear examples of cytonuclear incompatibility within a species. Here, we show substantial postzygotic RI in first‐generation hybrids between differentiated populations of an herbaceous plant (up to 92% reduction in fitness). RI was primarily due to germination and survival, with moderate RI for pollen viability. RI for survival was asymmetric and caused by cytonuclear incompatibility, with the strength of incompatibility linearly related to chloroplast genetic distance. This cytonuclear incompatibility may be the result of a rapidly evolving plastid genome. Substantial asymmetric RI was also found for germination, but was not associated with cytonuclear incompatibility, indicating endosperm or maternal‐zygote incompatibilities. These results demonstrate that cytonuclear incompatibility contributes to RI within species, suggesting that initial rates of speciation could be influenced by rates of organelle evolution. However, other genetic incompatibilities are equally important, indicating that even at early stages, speciation can be a complex process involving multiple genes and incompatibilities.


Incursions upon professional prerogatives are increasing with the advent of new requirements for accoutability; this has stemmed in part from the government's enlarged role in paying for mental health services. The author discusses the effect of professional norms on the assessment of quality of care, including the concepts of risk and autonomy, observability and privacy, the perspective of time, and the appropriateness of the penalty. He offers some suggestions for the design and implementation of quality-of-care standards that he believes will benefit both professionals and administrators, as well as protect the patient.


The study of calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) blood level variability to evaluate adherence in transplantation has improved over the years. The aim of our study was to assess factors associated with this variability using the coefficient of variation (CV). A cross-sectional sample of kidney recipients grafted for more than 1 year was recruited. We recorded clinical data, data from a clinical pharmacist interview and from 6 questionnaires measuring adherence, satisfaction, behaviours, beliefs, perception of the illness and social vulnerability. 408 recipients were enrolled (61.2% male, mean age 54) and divided into 2 groups: low variability CV<30% (n=302), high variability CV≥30% (n=106). In univariate analysis, hospital-home distance, cyclosporine, time since transplantation, and presence of discrepancies in drug regimen were associated with a greater risk of CV≥30%. In contrast, tacrolimus QD conferred a lower risk of CV ≥30%. In multivariate analysis, only the presence of discrepancies remained significant: (OR 3.2 [1.21-9.01]; p=0.022). A cc ep te d A rt ic le This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Discrepancies in drug regimen appear as the main risk factor associated with CNI blood variability. The clinical pharmacist's input is an accurate and simple way of detecting nonadherence which is not revealed in self-report questionnaires.


Researches in Cypriote History and Archaeology collects the Proceedings of an international meeting held in Florence in April 2009. The title and the contributions disclose how the original planning of a workshop in Florence evolved in time. A report of the University of Florence research activity in the Kouris river valley has been initially planned; as soon as the idea of the meeting was advertised, it was found appropriate to enlarge the horizon and to include in the discussion further issues on Cypriote History, Archaeology and Philology. It will, thus, be seen that starting from the Kouris Valley a kind of small overview on Bronze and Iron Age Cyprus has been put together. A wide variety of themes and interests raised up during the meeting in Florence, as well as a positive esprit de collaboration which allowed to share new results of interesting researches in progress, open further possibilities of exchanges and lead us to hope for a new meeting dedicated to Cypriote History and Archaeology, to be planned in Tuscany in a next future.


Felty's syndrome is a rare, severe extra-articular manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). There is no standard therapy, and several disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs have been used with varying success. Only very few reports exist in literature on the use of biologicals in this indication and this with a variable efficacy. We report the case of a 53-year-old woman with severe refractory/partly undertreated RA who presented with Felty's syndrome and pancytopenia, in whom treatment with rituximab led to an marked increase of red blood cells, neutrophils and thrombocytes. In addition, the RA disease activity status improved dramatically and treatment with steroids could be reduced. The current sparse literature on this topic is reviewed.


This document presents a detailed description of the challenge on clarifying questions for dialogue systems (ClariQ). The challenge is organized as part of the Conversational AI challenge series (ConvAI3) at Search Oriented Conversational AI (SCAI) EMNLP workshop in 2020. The main aim of the conversational systems is to return an appropriate answer in response to the user requests. However, some user requests might be ambiguous. In IR settings such a situation is handled mainly thought the diversification of the search result page. It is however much more challenging in dialogue settings with limited bandwidth. Therefore, in this challenge, we provide a common evaluation framework to evaluate mixed-initiative conversations. Participants are asked to rank clarifying questions in an information-seeking conversations. The challenge is organized in two stages where in Stage 1 we evaluate the submissions in an offline setting and single-turn conversations. Top participants of Stage 1 get the chance to have their model tested by human annotators.


Abstract According to positive egalitarianism, not only do relations of inequality have negative value, as negative egalitarians claim, but relations of equality also have positive value. The egalitarian value of a population is a function of both pairwise relations of inequality (negative) and pairwise relations of equality (positive). Positive and negative egalitarianism diverge, especially in different-number cases. Hence, an investigation of positive egalitarianism might shed new light on the vexed topic of population ethics and our duties to future generations. We shall here, in light of some recent criticism, further develop the idea of giving positive value to equal relations.


Debris flow entrainment refers to the increase in mass
by way of erosion of the channel beds or undermining the channel
banks. Entrainment makes the calculation of travel distance and
velocities of debris flow much more complex and difficult. Shear
failure of the material in the channel bed is usually considered to
be the dominant mechanism in entrainment analysis. However in
granular flow, material at the surface of the channel bed can be
eroded by progressive scouring under the base of the debris. This
may result in more material being eroded and entrained than just
considering the shear failure mechanism. A new analytical model is
proposed to calculate entrainment in debris flow analysis by
considering both rolling and shearing motion. Newton's Law of
Motion is used to calculate accelerations, velocities, and
displacements of granular particles. To study the entrainment
process inside granular flow and to verify the new entrainment
model, numerical experiments have been carried out using the
Discrete Element Method (DEM). Velocities, including translational
velocity, rotational velocity and average velocity, total volume,
shear stresses are monitored using measurement circles in the
numerical experiment. Variations of the depth of erosion at
specific locations along the debris flow channel are monitored and
the average entrainment rates are calculated. By comparing the
numerical experimental results with the analytical solutions, it is
found that results from the analytical model agree well with that
from the numerical experiments. In order to use the new entrainment
model into debris flow runout calculation, the new entrainment
model has been incorporated in a runout model based on an energy
approach. Entrainment calculation governed by a second order
partial differential equation is solved using the finite difference
method. The total mass and profile of the channel bed are adjusted
during the entrainment calculation. Sensitivity analyses have been
carried out on the new model by varying the model parameters
including internal friction angle, basal friction angle, turbulent
coefficient and mean of Probability Density Function (PDF) etc.
Back analysis of historical cases is carried out using the new
model. Several case histories have been studied which include the
Tsingshan debris flow, Niumian Rock Avalanche, Fjaerland debris
flow, Faucon debris flow and Zymoetz River rock avalanche. An
extremely large rock avalanche occurred on April 9, 2000 at Yigong
is also studied in the thesis. Measurements obtained from site
investigation, including flow velocity, flow height, entrainment
depth at specific locations, run-out distance and total volume at
deposition fan, have been used to evaluate the model. The results
are encouraging based on comparisons of the run-out distance, front
velocity and total volume of the debris. Improvements are required
on the entrainment depth and total volume in some cases when
lateral spreading of the debris is significant.


: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of hypnosis on the regulation of peripheral skin temperature. The independent variables were the presence of a hypnotic trance during the session on thermal regulation and the number of trials received. A two-factor mixed-design analysis of variance with repeated measures on one factor showed a significant main effect for trials and a significant interaction between hypnosis and trials. It may be concluded that hypnosis, in conjunction with thermal regulation techniques, exerts a significant influence over performance. The cognitive characteristics influenced by hypnosis may account for this finding.


After more than 30 years of feminist activism in New Zealand the government policy response to sexual violence continues to be highly contested. This thesis draws on archival material (both official and community records) to trace the competing discourses and agendas within the early policy development process. This process involved the pākehā and Māori women's rights movements seeking to influence the ways in which the problem of rape was represented and responded to by government within the social policy context. Using Bacchi's "What's the problem represented to be?" methodology, the analysis of these discourses identifies the silences and assumptions, as well as the privileged government agenda that redefined, individualised and sought to professionalise the services for rape victims/survivors. I explore the perspectives of feminists involved in the movement and how tensions with the state may be seen to be reflected in the policy process, particularly through the emergence of neo-liberalism, the interplay between liberal and radical feminist views and in the highly contested area of rape education and prevention. Further, I consider how the problem of meeting cultural needs through social policy responses stalled, despite seeming state support for such responses through the 1980s and what it may be about the issue of rape itself and its connection to gender inequality that has contributed to a muted government response to the issue of sexual violence. In a postscript I briefly review current policy discourse and comment on how the focus on rehabilitation, the financial instability of services, lack of adequate provision of appropriate services for women and communities continue to be features of the sector today. I argue that a specific focus on rape education and prevention, critical for reducing the incidence of rape, continues to be severely under attended to, and that this in part reflects continued reluctance to address both the nature of rape and the need for wider structural change in addressing it.


We developed a mark-sighting approach with automatic camera systems and assessed the size and density of wild pig (Sus scrofa) populations in the North and Central Coast regions of California in 1994 and 1995. Eighty and 149 wild pigs were captured and tagged at 4 and 6 study sites in 1994 and 1995, respectively. Of those animals, 202 (88%) were subsequently sighted among over 3,000 photographs of wild pigs obtained from 54 camera stations. Sighting rates for both tagged and nontagged wild pigs were similar between years and averaged 2.8 ± 0.5 and 2.8 ± 0.4 wild pigs/camera-station night, respectively. Sighting rates for all wild pigs during the study averaged 5.7 ± 0.8 wild pigs/camera-station night. Mark-sighting data analyzed with program NOREMARK provided estimates of population size, and narrow 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for most research sites suggested we obtained sufficient sightings for reliable estimates of size of populations. It also proved possible to identify nontagged wild pigs in photographs for determining minimum population sizes, and the 95% CI from mark-sighting estimates encompassed the minimum population sizes for 8 of 10 study sites. An important factor influencing the reliability of population estimates was the proportion of tagged animals resighted. At one site where few tagged animals were sighted, 95% CIs were large and did not encompass the minimum population estimate. Mean population densities ranged from 0.7 to 3.8 wild pigs/ km 2 , comparable to previous research on wild pigs in the regions we studied. Densities increased from 1994 to 1995, potentially related to higher rainfall and increased forage availability in 1995. Also, densities were lower in areas with relatively high hunting pressure, suggesting that sport hunting may be effective at reducing wild pigs numbers in some areas.


If any two people can be called indispensable in launching the conservative movement in American politics, they are William F. Buckley Jr. and Barry Goldwater. Buckleys National Review was at the center of conservative political analysis from the mid-fifties onward. But the policy intellectuals knew that to actually change the way the country was run, they needed a presidential candidate, and the man they turned to was Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater. Goldwater was in many ways the perfect choice: self-reliant, unpretentious, unshakably honest and dashingly handsome, with a devoted following that grew throughout the fifties and early sixties. He possessed deep integrity and a sense of decency that made him a natural spokesman for conservative ideals. But his flaws were a product of his virtues. He wouldnt bend his opinions to make himself more popular, he insisted on using his own inexperienced advisors to run his presidential campaign, and in the end he electrified a large portion of the electorate but lost the great majority. Flying High is Buckleys partly fictional tribute to the man who was in many ways his alter ego in the conservative movement. It is the story of two men who looked as if they were on the losing side of political events, but were kept aloft by the conviction that in fact they were making history.


In The Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga Srivatsa Ramaswami presented the full breadth of yogasana teachings as taught by Sri. T. Krishnamacharya (1888--1989) -- the father of modern yoga. Now, for the first time, Ramaswami imparts his vast yoga experience and knowledge of Krishnamachara's distinct vinyasa krama system in an accessible question-and-answer format with experienced California yogi David Hurwitz. In a beautifully clear and conversational style, Ramaswami and Hurwitz delve deeply into various general and specific topics relating to yoga philosophy and practice, shedding light on even the most confusing concepts. The nearly 240 questions are drawn directly from Hurwitz's private study with Ramaswami, and include: Does yoga lead to happiness? How do we achieve the famous ahimsa (non-violence)? How does the yogi "see" his soul? What is the role of breath in Asana? Where does willpower come in? and Was Krishnamacharya happy? Yoga Beneath the Surface is the next best thing to studying directly with one of yoga's true gurus -- and a must-read for every serious yoga student.


LEVITAN, SAR A. and BARBARA HETRICK Big Brother's Indian Programs—With Reservations. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971, 228 pp., $8.95, L.C. 78-1720277. Federal programs are analyzed critically, with recommendations for improvement of policy in the areas of education, health care, welfare services, manpower and natural resources, and community structure. Legal status, socioeconomic conditions, cultural problems, and tribal government are explained.


As societies move from long periods of dictatorships and authoritarian regimes to democracy and from prolonged civil wars to peace, a question arises as to how should these societies should deal with the horrors of their past. But more importantly, as per the particular circumstances of each country's history and transition, what mechanisms can bring justice to citizens, more specifically to women and to set the stage for sustainable peace and development? It will be argued that transitions provide opportunities to further gender justice, in particular through the implementation of a gender-sensitive transitional justice agenda. However in many instances, transitional justice systems fail to address gender concerns leaving the social inequalities that were prevalent prior to the war to prevail. This thesis will therefore explore how the transitional justice systems of Rwanda and Sierra Leone have failed to address gender inequalities. Drawing upon the lessons learnt through the gender analysis of the transitional justice systems adopted by the two countries, recommendations will be made regarding a more gender sensitive framework for justice in Rwanda and Sierra Leone


: Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) are old world monkeys that were introduced to Texas in 1972, and their population has since increased to over 800 individuals. Macaques are considered to be primarily vegetarian but will opportunistically forage on a variety of food items. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine if macaques impact the nest success of bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). In June 1996, 20 artificial ground nests simulating those of bobwhite quail were placed randomly in areas with and without macaques. Nests were checked at 3-day intervals for 24 days and nest success was compared at each time interval between areas with and without Japanese macaques by Z-tests. The monkeys exhibited an immediate detrimental effect on nest success (P = 0.051), destroying or consuming 85% of the nests within the first 3 days and all the nests within 15 days. The combination of all native nest predators on the control area resulted in a compensatory effect regarding nest success (P > 0.106) for days 6 through 12. However, days 15 through 24 resulted in a lower nest success (P = 0.074) on areas with macaques. This study suggests that Japanese macaques could be an important predator of upland game bird nests.


In this work, we present the main features and algorithmic details of a novel implementation of the frozen density embedding (FDE) formulation of subsystem density functional theory (DFT) that is specifically designed to enable ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations of large-scale condensed-phase systems containing 1000s of atoms. This code (available at http://eqe.rutgers.edu) has been given the moniker of embedded Quantum ESPRESSO (eQE) as it is a generalization of the open-source Quantum ESPRESSO (QE) suite of programs. The strengths of eQE reside in a hierarchical parallelization scheme that allows for an efficient and fully self-consistent treatment of the electronic structure (via the addition of an additional DIIS extrapolation layer) while simultaneously exploiting the inherent symmetries and periodicities in the system (via sampling of subsystem-specific first Brillouin zones and utilization of subsystem-specific basis sets). While bulk liquids and molecular crystals are two classes of systems that exemplify the utility of the FDE approach (as these systems can be partitioned into weakly interacting subunits), we show that eQE has significantly extended this regime of applicability by outperforming standard semilocal Kohn–Sham DFT (KS-DFT) for large-scale heterogeneous catalysts with quite different layer-specific electronic structure and intrinsic periodicities. eQE features very favorable strong parallel scaling for a model system of bulk liquid water composed of 256 water molecules, which allows for a significant decrease in the overall time to solution when compared to KS-DFT. We show that eQE achieves speedups greater than one order of magnitude ( >10×) when performing AIMD simulations of such large-scale condensed-phase systems as: (1) molecular liquids via bulk liquid water represented by 1024 independent water molecules (3072 atoms with a 25.3× speedup over KS-DFT), (2) polypeptide/biomolecule solvation via (gly)6 solvated in (H2O)395 (1230 atoms with a 38.6× speedup over KS-DFT), and (3) molecular crystals via a 3 × 3 × 3 periodic supercell of pentacene (1940 atoms with a 12.0× speedup over KS-DFT). These results represent a significant improvement over the current state-of-the-art and now enable subsystem DFT-based AIMD simulations of realistically sized condensed-phase systems of interest throughout chemistry, physics, and materials science.


Abstract In this article, we examine recent trends in CSR within a broader consideration of its historical development. The origin of CSR and the purpose it serves nowadays have diverged in different directions. By pinpointing some of the reasons for this shift and charting the evolution of the historical development of CSR, compounded with the stakeholder approach of the firm, we aim to shed some light on the B Corp label. Will this label, which has the potential for new directions in the field of social entrepreneurship, suffer the same fate as CSR and Stakeholders? Or, is it just old wine in a new bottle?


Project success is an issue of intense interest to both scholars and project management practitioners, and yet its theoretical elaboration continues to be somewhat under-developed. Responding to this gap between theory and practice, we tease out the dynamics of the design(ing) duality in relation to project management. Our argument is informed by the contrasting management theories of Taylor (design) and Follett (designing), and it is illustrated by drawing on two different experiences of a large Initial Training Network project funded by the European Commission. We suggest that a comprehensive appreciation of project success requires an interweaving of the substantive and processual understandings reflected in the design(ing) duality.


In 2013 a survey of Phytophthora diversity was performed in 25 natural and seminatural forest stands and 25 rivers in temperate montane and subtropical lowland regions of Taiwan. Using baiting assays, 10 described species and 17 previously unknown taxa of Phytophthora were isolated from 71.5% of the 144 rhizosphere soil samples from 33 of 40 tree species sampled in 24 forest stands, and from 19 rivers: P. capensis, P. citrophthora, P. plurivora, P. tropicalis, P. citricola VII, P. sp. × botryosa-like, P. sp. × meadii-like and P. sp. occultans-like from Clade 2; P. palmivora from Clade 4; P. castaneae and P. heveae from Clade 5; P. chlamydospora and P. sp. forestsoil-like from Clade 6; P. cinnamomi (Pc), P. parvispora, P. attenuata nom. prov., P. flexuosa nom. prov., P. formosa nom. prov., P. intricata nom. prov., P. × incrassata nom. prov. and P. × heterohybrida nom. prov. from Clade 7; P. sp. palustris and five new hybrid species from Clade 9. The A1 mating type of Pc was widespread in both montane and lowland forests and rarely associated with disease, whereas the A2 mating type was limited to lowland forests and in some cases causing severe dieback. Most other Phytophthora species were not associated with obvious disease symptoms. It is concluded that (i) Taiwan is within the centre of origin of most Phytophthora taxa found, (ii) Pc A2 is an introduced invasive pathogen, and (iii) interspecific hybridizations play a major role in speciation and species radiations in diverse natural ecosystems.


The tribo-electrification mechanisms had been successfully applied to dynamic monitor the tribological properties between the metal films by our laboratory members. Moreover, the novel method of using continuous tribo-electrification variations for monitoring showed more sensitive and discriminative than that by the continuous friction coefficient variations as usual. However, the above method is only suitable for the conducted material pairs. This study is based on the above views to further develop another novel method for dynamic monitoring the tribological properties between the semiconductor films in the friction process. The experiment was conducted by the self-developed friction tester and its measure system. The continuous variations of electrical contact resistance and friction coefficient were measured for monitoring the timings of film rupture between the semiconductor films. Moreover, the wear loss was measured by an accuracy balance and the SEM was used to observe the structures of material transfer. Therefore, the wear mechanisms of Ti sliding against Ti with TiO2-film under different normal loads can be investigated. According to the experimental results of this study, the novel method of using electrical contact resistance variations does show great potentialities for dynamic monitoring the tribological properties of the TiO2-film.


Objectives Muscular targets that are deep or inaccessible to surface electromyography (sEMG) require intrinsic recording using fine-wire electromyography (fEMG). It is unknown if fEMG validly record cortically evoked muscle responses compared to sEMG. The purpose of this investigation was to establish the validity and agreement of fEMG compared to sEMG to quantify typical transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) measures pre and post repetitive TMS (rTMS). The hypotheses were that fEMG would demonstrate excellent validity and agreement compared with sEMG. Materials and methods In ten healthy volunteers, paired pulse and cortical silent period (CSP) TMS measures were collected before and after 1200 pulses of 1Hz rTMS to the motor cortex. Data were simultaneously recorded with sEMG and fEMG in the first dorsal interosseous. Concurrent validity (r and rho) and agreement (Tukey mean-difference) were calculated. Results fEMG quantified corticospinal excitability with good to excellent validity compared to sEMG data at both pretest (r = 0.77–0.97) and posttest (r = 0.83–0.92). Pairwise comparisons indicated no difference between sEMG and fEMG for all outcomes; however, Tukey mean-difference plots display increased variance and questionable agreement for paired pulse outcomes. CSP displayed the highest estimates of validity and agreement. Paired pulse MEP responses recorded with fEMG displayed reduced validity, agreement and less sensitivity to changes in MEP amplitude compared to sEMG. Change scores following rTMS were not significantly different between sEMG and fEMG. Conclusion fEMG electrodes are a valid means to measure CSP and paired pulse MEP responses. CSP displays the highest validity estimates, while caution is warranted when assessing paired pulse responses with fEMG. Corticospinal excitability and neuromodulatory aftereffects from rTMS may be assessed using fEMG.


Relatively few herbicides are registered in Alabama or in the southeastern United States for use in annual hill plasticulture production of strawberries. Acquisition of 24(c) special local needs status for certain herbicides could make more of these chemistries available to the strawberry industry. These herbicides, especially when applied as tank mixes pose potential risks to strawberry plant growth and fruit yield. Special local needs status for these herbicides has been granted for other states, but more evaluation of these products in Alabama soils under plastic mulch is needed. The objective of this study was to assess tank mix applications of preemergence herbicides with different modes of action on plant growth, crop yield, and fruit size of 'Camarosa' strawberry. A study was conducted at the Chilton Research and Extension Center in Clanton, AL, in 2018 and 2019. Pendimethalin (3.5 L·ha–1) and S-metolachlor (1.6 L·ha–1) were evaluated for potential phytotoxicity in 'Camarosa' strawberry when applied alone or in tank mixes with napropamide (8.6 kg·ha–1), sulfentrazone (0.3 L·ha–1), or terbacil (0.42 L·ha–1) by comparing them to a nontreated control. At 18 weeks after planting, pendimethalin tank mixed with napropamide reduced plant dry weight by 33% compared with the control, but this reduction was not significant. Additionally, tank mixes of pendimethalin with sulfentrazone, napropamide, and terbacil reduced shoot dry weight by 43%, 52%, and 43%, respectively, compared with pendimethalin alone. Pendimethalin + napropamide tank mix reduced relative growth rate by 95% compared with the control between 6 and 18 weeks after planting. All treatments were similar to the control in marketable yield. Differences in plant growth parameters did not appear to affect yield by the end of the experiment. All single applied treatments along with S-metolachlor tank mixed with napropamide and sulfentrazone; pendimethalin tank mixed with sulfentrazone and terbacil appeared to be safe for direct application to strawberry planting beds covered in polyethylene mulch.


In wireless ad hoc networks (WANets), multihop routing may result in a node knowing the content of transmissions of nearby nodes. This knowledge can be used to improve spatial reuse in the network, thereby enhancing network throughput. This paper is to develop overlapped transmission techniques based on this idea and analyze several factors affecting their performance. Then develop a MAC protocol based on the IEEE 802.11 standard to support overlapped transmission in a WANet. The resulting overlapped carriersense multiple access (OCSMA) protocol improves spatial reuse and end-to-end throughput in a random network scenario.


With the conclusion of the Cold War and the advent of a neoliberal stage of capitalist expansion, it has been argued that national identifications have been increasingly replaced by emergent global modes of consciousness. Disagreements, however, abound over the historical role of the global. For some, it is seen as a subject of deterritorializing capital flows while for others, it supersedes nationalism and plays a central role in fighting the hegemony of modernist states and the excesses of neoliberal capitalism. Given these theoretical dilemmas, and the fact that nation-states have yet to disappear, the paper argues for a reorientation from pitting globalization against nationalism to their mutual constitution and reconstitution instead. With Malaysia as a case study, it argues that there is something substantive about nationalism and nation-state processes that demands a reconceptualization of nationalism and globalization. While the modern nation-state may be a political institution universalized via colonization and its consequences, its normative content and the mechanisms of nation-state building and national subject-making are never shaped by a wholesale adoption of the Western model. Rather, it is premised upon improvisations in response to contextual and material particularities of different societies. The article explores how alternative definitions and histories of national integration in multiethnic postcolonial societies such as Malaysia can become a first step towards reconsidering the concepts of nation and nationalism.


In order to assess the climatological risk in terms of the dry week probabilities and length of the growing period of Indian Sundarbans region for successful crop planning, the present study was conducted using long term rainfall data from 1984 to 2018 received in Gosaba CD (Community Development) block of Indian Sundarbans. The probability of a rainfall events with 25 %, 50%, 75 % probabilities were estimated. Markov Chain model was used to estimate the initial, conditional probabilities of dry and wet weeks along with the probability of two consecutive wet and dry weeks considering 10 mm and 20 mm rainfall thresholds. Length of growing period (LGP) was calculated using Moisture adequacy index computed by the soil water balance method of Thornthwaite and Mather. Weekly rainfall varied from 1.11 mm in 51st Standard Meteorological Week (SMW) with standard deviation of ± 3.41 to 88.49 mm in 29 th SMW with standard deviation of ± 58.19.50 % chance of getting more than 20 mm and 10 mm weekly rainfall was observed from 20 th (23.37 mm) to 41st SMW (30.64 mm) and 17th (14.63 mm) to 42nd SMW (16.87 mm) respectively. The risk of dry spells was very higher from 42nd to 17th SMW. Average LGP of the study area was 237.4 days with standard deviation of ± 29.88.Probability of a week being stress free growing period and moderately drought period was more than 50 % from 18 th to 48th SMW and 49th to 5th SMW respectively. Grass pea, potato with straw mulch and green gram can be included in the rice based cropping system during winter and summer seasons for sustainable intensification of the cropping systems in Indian Sundarbans region.


Introduction The development of a model for the internal provision of clinical supervision in which both the supervisors (staff at AFC band 7 and above) and supervisees are well informed staff members of the multi disciplinary team, who use this process of reflection to understand and enhance their work while being supported by the management structure of the organisation. Aims To introduce a sustainable model that works successfully across multi disciplinary boundaries. To provide supervisors with training and 'supervision of their supervision' support groups facilitated by an external person/s. To promote the importance of clinical supervision as a staff support mechanism from the top of the management structure down. To assist staff to recognise the value for themselves personally and professionally of both accessing clinical supervision, AND providing it for others. Results and discussion (pro's and cons) Pros; Supervisors are widely reporting enjoyment and satisfaction from their new roles, and the diversity it brings to their work, as well as the useful insights it gives to the working roles of their supervisees which may previously have been misunderstood. Supervisees are reporting the benefits of having 'quality time' for reflection in their busy working schedule. And cons; Take - up from trained nurses was slow due to inherent misunderstandings/mistrust of the purpose of supervision. There were also fears regarding the maintenance of confidentiality in a small organisation, and difficulty dividing supervisors into peer support groups avoiding conflicting professional relationships. Sustainability relies in part on the management of the systems and register of supervisors and constant encouragement and promotion regarding the role and importance of 'supervision' for individuals, teams and the wellbeing of our patients Conclusion Other hospices may be interested in implementing a similar model and can learn from our experience.


Background The left atrial (LA) function has an important role in hypertension as it is strongly predictive of adverse cardiac events and death, assessment of the circadian blood pressure (BP) profile is more predictive than assessment of the office BP reading in estimating the cardiovascular risk. The 2D speckle tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) provides more insight into early hypertension-induced LA dysfunction. Aim The aim of this work is to assess the impact of abnormal circadian BP profile on LA function using 2D-STE and its effect on functional capacity in hypertensive patient with preserved ejection fraction assessed by conventional echocardiography. Patients and methods This work included 60 consecutive hypertensive patients with preserved ejection fraction by conventional echocardiography [mean age 48±5 years and body surface area (BSA) 1.9±1.1] they were classified into two groups according to the data derived from 24 h ambulatory BP, group 1: dipper group that included 28 patients (mean age 48±8 years and BSA 1.9±0.1) and group 2: nondipper group that included 32 patients (mean age 50±6 years and BSA 1.9±0.09). All patients were evaluated by comprehensive 2D and Doppler echocardiographic techniques, TDI and 2D-STE, ambulatory BP, and stress. Myocardial perfusion imaging using treadmill exercise test was done to exclude coronary artery disease (CAD) and to assess the functional capacity. Results The results showed a statistically high significant decrease in the average peak left atrial global longitudinal strain in group 2 (the nondipper group) (group 1=26±4 vs. 20.4±3.5 in group 2, P<0.00), and a statistically significant decrease in the functional capacity parameter using treadmill metabolic equivalents (METs) in group 2 (group 1=7.3±1.4 vs. 6.2±0.8 in group 2, P<0.01) in comparison with group 1. Also we found a significant positive correlation between the average peak atrial longitudinal strain and the functional capacity assessed by treadmill stress test (r=0.424, P=0.05). There were no other significant differences between the two groups with respect to other LA parameters by conventional echo Doppler, TDI, and 2D-STE. Conclusion Abnormal circadian BP profile add more deleterious effect on LA function in hypertensive patients as detected by 2D-STE that denotes more decrease in functional capacity and worse cardiac events.


In 2015 an intense rainfall event hit the Valleys of the Trebbia, Nure, and Aveto watercourses in the Northern Apennines. In about 6 h a mesoscale convective system deployed a stunning amount of precipitation of 340 mm, with an extreme hourly rainfall intensity of >100 mm/h. It triggered debris flows along slopes and stream channels, landslides and floods, which caused serious damages. Through the optimal combination of rainfall data and radar volumes, in this work we present a detailed rainfall analysis, which will serve as a basis to create a quantitative correlation with debris flows over elementary hydrological units. We aim at providing an objective basis for future predictions, starting from the recognition of the forcing meteorological events, and then arriving at the prediction of triggering phenomena and to the debris-flow type. We further provide seven observations/case studies on the effects of extreme-precipitation events on freshwater environments in small mountain catchments. Extreme-precipitation events are becoming more frequent and widespread globally but their ecological effects are still insufficiently understood. In general, the effects of extreme events on inland-waters' ecosystems are highly context-dependent, ranging from deleterious to beneficial. We therefore highlight the necessity of further studies to characterize these effects in more depth to be able to include appropriate mitigation measures in environmental planning and stewardship.


We present experimental results about the effects of thermal treatment, ionic strength, and pH on the protein adsorption and coalescence stability of freshly prepared (2 h after emulsification) and 6-day-stored emulsions, stabilized by the globular protein beta-lactoglobulin (BLG). In all emulsions studied, the volume fraction of the dispersed soybean oil is 30% and the mean drop diameter is d(32) approximately 40 microm. The protein concentration, C(BLG), is varied between 0.02 and 0.1 wt %, the electrolyte concentration, C(EL), between 1.5 mM and 1 M, and pH between 4.0 and 7.0. The emulsion heating is performed at 85 degrees C, which is above the denaturing temperature of BLG. The results show that, at C(BLG) > or = 0.04 wt %, C(EL) > or = 150 mM, and pH > or = 6.2, the heating leads to higher protein adsorption and to irreversible attachment of the adsorbed molecules, which results in enhanced steric repulsion between the protein adsorption multilayers and to higher emulsion stability. At low electrolyte concentration, C(EL) < or = 10 mM, the emulsion stability is determined by electrostatic interactions and is not affected significantly by the emulsion heating. The latter result is explained by electrostatic repulsion between the adsorbed protein molecules, which keeps them separated from each other and thus precludes the formation of disulfide covalent bonds in the protein adsorption layer. The coalescence stability of heated and nonheated emulsions is practically the same and does not depend on C(EL), when pH is around the isoelectric point (IEP) of the protein molecules. This is explained with the adsorption of uncharged BLG molecules, in compact conformation, which stores the reactive sulfhydryl groups hidden inside the molecule interior, thus preventing the formation of covalent intermolecular bonds upon heating. We studied also the effect of storage time on the stability of heated and nonheated emulsions. The stability of nonheated emulsions (C(BLG) = 0.1 wt %, C(EL) > or = 150 mM, and pH = 6.2) significantly decreases after 1 day of storage (aging effect). In contrast, no aging effect is observed after emulsion heating. FTIR spectra of heated and nonheated, fresh and aged emulsions suggest that the aging effect is caused by slow conformational changes of the protein molecules in the adsorption layer, accompanied with partial loss of the ordered secondary structure of the protein and with the formation of lateral noncovalent bonds (H-bonds and hydrophobic interactions) between the adsorbed molecules. After thermal treatment of the BLG emulsions, the molecules preserve their original secondary structure upon storage, which eliminates the aging effect.