Fault tolerance is gaining interest as a means to increase the reliability and availability of distributed energy systems. In this paper, a voltage-oriented doubly fed induction generator, which is often used in wind turbines, is examined. Furthermore, current, voltage, and position sensor fault detection, isolation, and reconfiguration are presented. Machine operation is not interrupted. A bank of observers provides residuals for fault detection and replacement signals for the reconfiguration. Control is temporarily switched from closed loop into open-loop to decouple the drive from faulty sensor readings. During a short period of open-loop operation, the fault is isolated using parity equations. Replacement signals from observers are used to reconfigure the drive and reenter closed-loop control. There are no large transients in the current. Measurement results and stability analysis show good results.


An outline is presented of action taken during the last half-century to combat the hazards associated with the proliferation of chemicals in the environment. Particular reference is made to the work of the International Programme on Chemical Safety, established in 1980 by WHO, the International Labour Organisation and the United Nations Environment Programme.


In this paper the impact of ability and learning potential on incentive contracts is analyzed. A central feature of the model is that the true ability will not be revealed. The learning potential of an agent is modeled as the magnitude of impact on the agent's expected ability that learning-by-doing has in a given task. Absent a managerial labor market, depending on an agent's learning potential a monotone or non-monotone pay structure may be optimal. A second important result is that using agents' ability distributions as inputs to information systems, higher learning potentials lead to less costly information systems, i.e., actions can be implemented at lower costs. Additionally, it is proven that the criteria cost minimization and value maximization are equivalent in the model's context.


We have analyzed asymmetric cosmic ray intensity decreases ≥4%, observed during the period of 1997 to 2013 with coronal mass ejections and X-Ray solar flares. We have found total numbers of symmetric cosmic ray intensity decreases are 47. We have the data of CMEs for 42 events out of these, 27 symmetric cosmic ray intensity decreases (Fds) have been found to be associated with coronal mass ejections. The association rate of halo and partial halo CMEs are 48.15% and 51.85 % respectively. Further we have observed that 42 symmetric cosmic ray intensity decreases, are associated with X ray solar flares of different categories and majority of the associated solar flares are C-Class X-ray solar flares. From the study of symmetric cosmic ray intensity decreases with speed of associated CMEs, we found that the magnitude of symmertic cosmic ray intensity decreases and speed of CMEs are positively correlated with correlation coefficient 0.19.


Here, we investigate the role of caveolin-1 (Cav-1) in breast cancer onset and progression, with a focus on epithelial-stromal interactions, ie, the tumor microenvironment. Cav-1 is highly expressed in adipocytes and is abundant in mammary fat pads (stroma), but it remains unknown whether loss of Cav-1 within mammary stromal cells affects the differentiated state of mammary epithelia via paracrine signaling. To address this issue, we characterized the development of the mammary ductal system in Cav-1-/- mice and performed a series of mammary transplant studies, using both wild-type and Cav-1-/- mammary fat pads. Cav-1-/- mammary epithelia were hyperproliferative in vivo, with dramatic increases in terminal end bud area and mammary ductal thickness as well as increases in bromodeoxyuridine incorporation, extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1/2 hyperactivation, and up-regulation of STAT5a and cyclin D1. Consistent with these findings, loss of Cav-1 dramatically exacerbated mammary lobulo-alveolar hyperplasia in cyclin D1 Tg mice, whereas overexpression of Cav-1 caused reversion of this phenotype. Most importantly, Cav-1-/- mammary stromal cells (fat pads) promoted the growth of both normal mammary ductal epithelia and mammary tumor cells. Thus, Cav-1 expression in both epithelial and stromal cells provides a protective effect against mammary hyperplasia as well as mammary tumorigenesis.


We propose a simple and effective variational inference algorithm based on stochastic optimisation that can be widely applied for Bayesian non-conjugate inference in continuous parameter spaces. This algorithm is based on stochastic approximation and allows for efficient use of gradient information from the model joint density. We demonstrate these properties using illustrative examples as well as in challenging and diverse Bayesian inference problems such as variable selection in logistic regression and fully Bayesian inference over kernel hyperparameters in Gaussian process regression.


We design and analyze the first practical anonymous payment mechanisms for network services. We start by reporting on our experience with the implementation of a routing micropayment solution for Tor. We then propose micropayment protocols of increasingly complex requirements for networked services, such as P2P or cloud-hosted services. The solutions are efficient, with bandwidth and latency overheads of under 4% and 0.9 ms, respectively, in the ORPay implementation, provide full anonymity (for both payers and payees), and support thousands of transactions per second.


: The effectiveness of admissions scheduling systems for optimal resource allocation in hospitals is directly dependent on the ability to estimate patient discharges accurately. Efforts to estimate discharges to date include two general methods: estimating from historical data, and physician-supplied estimates. This paper takes the position that there are essentially two criteria in evaluating methods of discharge estimation: accuracy of information and cost of information. A cost/benefit concept is used to argue that an optimal mixture exists between historical-based estimates and physician-supplied estimates, and a model is developed which combines the best aspects of each method. Data from a 300-bed hospital in Michigan are analyzed to provide the parameters for the model. The discharge estimating model was designed to be an integral part of an admission scheduling system recently implemented in the study hospital. Results of the discharge estimating model and its participation in admissions scheduling are discussed.


Encyclia microtos (Rchb.f.) Hoehne, is an endemic orchid that are distributed in the north of Peru (Tumbes and Piura) and it is being depredy illegally causing the extinction of the same one. With inter- est to maintain his conservation, is an alternative by means of the propagation in vitro . For that reason the objective of this research is to evaluate the indolbutiric acid effect (AIB) and 6-bencilaminopurine (BAP) in the development in vitro of axillar bud of E. microtos . The experience with plant of 120 days of age began, it was introduced in medium MS (Murashige and Skoog) suplement with sucrose, phytagel, AIB , BAP (sin- gle or combined) and adjusting to pH of 5.5. Nine treatments were made, in a rank of 0; 1 and 2 ppm (sin- gle or combined). The results showed that BAP (2 ppm) promoted the greater development of axillary buds with a rate of multiplication of the double of plant to the 90 days in which they were exposed to the growth regulators. To single concentrations of AIB (1 ppm and 2 ppm), promoted a better development of leaves, roots and length of the same ones.


In the past two years MSSA through the active participation in the Erazmus plus project "Equity and social inclusion through positive parenting" has held three parent trainings which were delivered to parents with children with ASD. The first three parent trainings were conducted by our colleages from England and Cyprus in the special school "Zlatan Sremec" and "Idnina" in Skopje. The fourth parent training session was held in the special school "Maca Ovcarova" in Veles where for the first time the trainers were from Macedonia. The training session was held in the 18th and 19th of June each day and it started at 10 am. The trainers that held the parent training sessions were Phd Jasmina Trosanska, Ana Sikaleska and Jurtoski Filip. In this parent training session there were six modules that were presented to the parents across the two days of training and they are all consistent with different thematic about children with ASD. Thee modules were selected after an extensive research in which the aim was to find out which modules would the parents like to have training for so that they might find out more about their children. The training session started in 10 am on the 18th of June. There were more then ten attending parents in these sessions. The training session  was opened by prof. d-r Vladimir Trajkovski, who thanked the parents for their interest and attendance and represented the ESIPP project and its goals. Phd Jasmina Trosanska began the training session with the first module titled "Introduction in Autism" after a short break Jurtoski Filip began the second module for the day "Understanding and managing challenging behaviors" and the third module was presented by Ana Sikaleska titled "Managing sensory sensitivity". The parents during the training session on the first day showed great interest for the training, and were constantly active and open for discussion and sharing their experience amongst each other and with the trainers. The session ended in 15:30 pm. On the 19th of June the second session of the parent training began at 10 am. The second session began with the lecture of d-r Jasmina Trosanska titled "Communication and its influence on behavior" after a short break Jurtoski Filip continued with the second module for the second session of the parent training titled " Positive approaches towards social development and social interaction", and the second session of the parent training was closed with the lecture of Ana Sikaleska titled " The importance of visual structure and its implementation". The second session and the overall parent training ended in 15:30. The parents during the discussion showed their gratitude for the trainings and for choosing Veles as the location to held the trainings and expressed to have more trainings from this type because they really feel the need and necessity to learn more about their children. The ESIPP team thanked them for their interest and words of praise. The team announced that there will be more trainings but in other cities and that soon in October or November we will have a conference in Skopje in which they are all invited to attend


The food industry faces problems relating to the sustainability of palm oil as a food commodity. These problem areas include social, environmental, economic and health issues. The food industry also competes with increasing palm oil demands from the energy sector. This case study identifies and analyzes different perspectives regarding sustainable palm oil as a food commodity in Sweden through interviews with palm oil experts in different businesses and organizations. This study focuses on how the food retailer Axfood manages the identified views. The results show that Axfood handle the problem areas by their membership in the organization Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). At the moment are certificates bought for all their usage of palm oil, but discussions have been started to change to another palm oil certification system within the RSPO. From the results was it concluded that higher demands are placed on palm oil from the energy sector than from the food industry. Common demands need to be placed on the fat and oil industry to reach more sustainable levels of the certified oil. Sustainability has different meanings for different actors within the palm oil industry. Decreasing the usage of palm oil is part of the solution to achieving a more environmentally responsible palm oil industry.


In addition to regular job duties, such as tree care, mulching, irrigation, and pesticide management, urban park workers have faced environmental changes due to drought, wildfires, and West Nile virus. They simultaneously have endured expectations to manage growing, diversifying park usage and limitations on career development. An integrated programming approach is used to provide training to frontline parks department employees in the cities of Arlington and Fort Worth, Texas. Results indicate high levels of adoption of practices, enhanced staff morale, and identification of potential future leaders. The program also introduces an urban audience to the broader array of Extension programming and services.


A simple, highly sensitive, accurate and selective method for determination of trace amounts of Cd(II) in water samples is presented. A novel chemically converted graphene sheets (CCG) solid-phase extraction adsorbent was synthesized by CCG sheets. The stability of a CCG especially in concentrated hydrochloric acid was studied which used as a recycling and preconcentration reagent for further uses of CCG. The method is based on CCG of Cd(II) on surfactant-coated C18, modified with a CCG. The retained ions were then eluted with 4 ml of 4 M nitric acid and determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) at 283.3 nm for Cd. The influence of flow rates of sample and eluent solutions, pH, breakthrough volume, effect of foreign ions on chelation and recovery were investigated. 1.5 g of surfactant-coated C18 adsorbs 40 mg of the Schiff's base which in turn can retain 15.2 ± 0.8 mg of each of the two ions. The limit of detection (3σ) for Cd(II) was found to be 3.20 ng L-1. The enrichment factors for both ions are 100. The mentioned method was successfully applied on determination of Cd in different water samples. The ions were also speciated by means of three-column system.

 Key words: Determination of Cd, preconcentration, chemically converted graphene sheets (CCG), flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS).


The purpose of this bachelor's thesis is to examine what attitudes the administrators of the selected elementary schools have towards school library media centers in general but also towards their own respective library media centers. Furthermore, it is to examine the administrators' views on their school librarian's role in the library media center as well as an integrated part of the school activities. A branch in this purpose is to examine if there is any differences in staffing the library media centers with a library media specialist or a teacher-librarian. To fulfill these purposes seven qualitative interviews were made with four administrators and three school librarians at three different elementary schools. Loertscher's taxonomies of the school library media program were then used to analyze the interviews. The result of the study shows that even though the administrators have visions for the library media center, they do not have enough time or funding to act on them. Therefore the conclusion is that it is not what kind of school librarian that the administrators staff their library media center with that mainly will affect the outcome of the library media center, but rather what qualifications they have and if their visions correlates with the administrator's. Also, the size of the staffing is a key factor to whether or not the library media center will advance so that it will be able to help increase the academic achievement at the school. But most importantly the school librarian needs the administrator's support to develop the library media center.


Contemporary disability theologians have increasingly lighted on 1 Corinthians chapter 12 as a classic biblical depiction of what is today known as an inclusive social model. This article traces theological attempts to define the concept of inclusion and advance that emerging consensus by offering a close reading of 1 Cor. chapter 12. St. Paul's famous "body life" chapter offers a conceptually rich and theologically sophisticated account of the spiritual gifts suggesting that every member of the church is to be understood as an active giver or conduit of divine love, a giving that is not reducible to any person's supposed physiological or intellectual deficiencies, nor the supposed gift of people with disabilities to serve as reminders that we are all destined to be dependent on others. The ecclesial discernment being proposed if Christians are to receive the gifts of all members of the Christian community depends on learning to look beyond the sociological and demographic certainties typically attached to individual congregants.


We introduce a new perspective on spectral dimensionality reduction which views these methods as Gaussian random fields (GRFs). Our unifying perspective is based on the maximum entropy principle which is in turn inspired by maximum variance unfolding. The resulting probabilistic models are based on GRFs. The resulting model is a nonlinear generalization of principal component analysis. We show that parameter fitting in the locally linear embedding is approximate maximum likelihood in these models. We develop new algorithms that directly maximize the likelihood and show that these new algorithms are competitive with the leading spectral approaches on a robot navigation visualization and a human motion capture data set. Finally the maximum likelihood perspective allows us to introduce a new approach to dimensionality reduction based on L1 regularization of the GRF via the graphical lasso.


Background and Purpose— Medication nonadherence is one of major risk factors for the poor outcome in ischemic stroke. Vaccination is expected to solve such a problem because of its long-lasting effects, but its effect on ischemic brain damage is still unknown. Here, we focused on vaccination for renin–angiotensin system and examined the effects of angiotensin II (Ang II) peptide vaccine in permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion model in rats. Methods— Male Wistar rats were exposed to permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion after 3× injections of Ang II peptide vaccine, and the serum or brain level of anti–Ang II antibody was examined. The effects of the vaccine were evaluated by differences in infarction volume, brain renin–angiotensin system components, and markers for neurodegeneration and oxidative stress. Results— Ang II vaccination successfully produced anti–Ang II antibodies in serum without concomitant change in blood pressure. Sufficient production of serum anti–Ang II antibody led to reduction of infarct volume and induced the penetration of anti–Ang II antibody in ischemic hemisphere, with suppressed expression of Ang II type 1 receptor mRNA. Vaccinated rats with sufficient antibody production showed the reduction of Fluoro-Jade B–positive cells, spectrin fragmentation, 4-hydroxynonenal-positive cells, and Nox 2 mRNA expression. Conclusions— Our findings indicate that Ang II vaccination exerts neuroprotective and antioxidative effects in cerebral ischemia, with renin–angiotensin system blockade by penetration of anti–Ang II antibodies into ischemic brain lesion. Ang II peptide vaccination could be a promising approach to treat ischemic stroke.


Objective: The objective of the following study is to investigate the effect of ovarian sex hormones on gastric ulcer in female rats. Materials and Methods: Female rats were treated daily with estrogen (0.05 and 0.1 mg/kg), progesterone (2.0 and 5.0 mg/kg), combined estrogen (0.05 mg/kg) and progesterone (2.0 mg/kg), ranitidine (30 mg/kg) or vehicle for 7 days. Ulcers were induced with aspirin on 7th day. Four hours later, animals were sacrificed and stomach were removed for macroscopic and biochemical examination. Results: Estrogen in 0.05 and 0.1 doses showed 32% and 18% of ulcer inhibition, respectively, progesterone 09% and 14% inhibition in 2.0 and 5.0 mg/kg doses, respectively, whereas combined estrogen and progesterone showed 23% and ranitidine showed 60% inhibition. However, the inhibition attained and the stomach malondialdehyde and glutathione levels in sex hormone treated groups were not statistically significant when compared to control group. Conclusion: At the tested doses, these ovarian sex hormones neither worsen nor protect against aspirin-induced gastric lesions in female rats.


Annals of Otology and Neurotology ISO Vol. 02 Suppl. S1/2019 2 years from August 2016 to July 2018. Six hundred patients who attended outpatient department (OPD) in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, with sensorineural hearing loss following inclusion criteria, are included in the study. Detailed history was taken followed by clinical examination. All patients were subjected to complete ENT examination, pure tone audiometric examination was done in all cases (MAICO MA42 audiometer). Height, body weight, and waist circumference (WC) were measured. Results The correlation between obesity and SNHL was found to be more significant in females than males. Obese and diabetic patients of both sexes were found to have higher degree of hearing loss for both high and low frequencies as compared with nonobese patients. Good correlation was found between BMI and degree of hearing loss. Abrupt high tone loss type of audiometric configuration was the commonest finding in both male and females. Conclusion There is a correlation between ages related to sensory neural hearing loss with central obesity and its comorbidities, with waist circumference as the most important indicator. Clinical Significance A careful understanding of the modifiable risk factors for age-related sensory neural hearing loss help in its early detection and prevention.


The Arctic Ocean is a major source of freshwater for the North Atlantic, although the total flux of freshwater is not constant due to seasonal variations in sea-ice cover, river runoff, net-precipitation and ablation of the Greenland ice sheet. The net result of these sources of freshwater is a large volume of freshwater travelling from the Arctic region into the sub-arctic seas. Recent observations and projections from numerous climate models highlight that the Arctic region is warming at a greater rate than other regions of the world. This would suggest that freshwater fluxes within the Arctic Ocean are likely to be altered and this highlights the need for a greater understanding of the various processes and mechanisms that operate within the Arctic region. We present here simulations that investigate the ability of the LOVECLIM global climate model to calculate freshwater fluxes within the Arctic Ocean over the later part of the 20th century. The model is forced with forcings appropriate for that time period. Freshwater fluxes are calculated and compared with in situ measurements, obtained form the literature, to assess the relative values and the proportional distribution of freshwater that the model simulates. It is known that large freshwater pulses in the North Atlantic have had a dramatic effect upon the climate, therefore it is imperative that climate models and earth system models are able to simulate freshwater flow as accurately as possible. Freshwater flux values have not previously been calculated using models, bar a few notable exceptions, this study will lay down a starting point for such future modelling studies.


Abstract We examined whether prostaglandins (PGs) and nitric oxide (NO) mediate tumor necrosis factor (TNF) actions in the estrus cycle. On Day 14 of the cycle, the following solutions were infused into the aorta abdominalis of a total of 51 heifers (Experiments 1 and 2): saline; 1 or 10 μg of TNF; 480 mg indomethacin (INDO), an inhibitor of prostaglandin H synthase; 800 mg L-NAME, an inhibitor of NO synthase; and TNF (1 or 10 μg) in combination with INDO or L-NAME. TNF at 1 μg infused directly into aorta abdominalis increased the level of PGF2alpha and decreased the level of progesterone (P4) in the peripheral blood and shortened the estrus cycle. The high TNF dose stimulated P4 and PGE2 and prolonged the corpus luteum (CL) lifespan. INDO blocked the effects of both TNF doses on the CL lifespan and hormone output. L-NAME completely blocked the effects of the luteolytic TNF dose, whereas the effects of the luteotropic TNF dose were not inhibited. In Experiment 3 (Day 14), saline or different TNF doses were infused into the jugular vein (n = 9) or into the uterine lumen (n = 18). The CL lifespans of the different groups were not different when TNF was infused into the jugular vein. Although high TNF doses (1 and 10 μg) infused into the uterine lumen prolonged the CL lifespan, low doses (0.01 and 0.1 μg) induced premature luteolysis. We suggest that the actions of exogenous TNF on the CL lifespan depend on PG synthesis stimulated by TNF in the uterus. TNF at low concentrations initiates a positive cascade between uterine PGF2alpha and various luteolytic factors, including NO, to complete premature luteolysis. PGE2 is a good candidate mediator of the luteotropic actions of exogenous TNF action.


In this study, the tropospheric NO2 vertical column density (VCD) over an urban site in Guangzhou megacity in China is investigated by means of MAX-DOAS measurements during a campaign from late March 2015 to mid-March 2016. A MAX-DOAS system was deployed at the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and operated there for about 1 year, during the spring and summer months. The tropospheric NO2 VCDs retrieved by the MAX-DOAS are presented and compared with space-borne observations from GOME-2/MetOpA, GOME-2/MetOp-B and OMI/Aura satellite sensors. The comparisons reveal good agreement between satellite and MAX-DOAS observations over Guangzhou, with correlation coefficients ranging between 0.795 for GOME-2B and 0.996 for OMI. However, the tropospheric NO2 loadings are underestimated by the satellite sensors on average by 25.1, 10.3 and 5.7 %, respectively, for OMI, GOME-2A and GOME2B. Our results indicate that GOME-2B retrievals are closer to those of the MAX-DOAS instrument due to the lower tropospheric NO2 concentrations during the days with valid GOME-2B observations. In addition, the effect of the main coincidence criteria is investigated, namely the cloud fraction (CF), the distance (d) between the satellite pixel center and the ground-based measurement site, as well as the time period within which the MAX-DOAS data are averaged around the satellite overpass time. The effect of CF and time window criteria is more profound on the selection of OMI overpass data, probably due to its smaller pixel size. The available data pairs are reduced to half and about one-third for CF≤ 0.3 and CF≤ 0.2, respectively, while, compared to larger CF thresholds, the correlation coefficient is improved to 0.996 from about 0.86, the slope value is very close to unity (∼ 0.98) and the mean satellite underestimation is reduced to about half (from ∼ 7 to ∼ 3.5× 1015 molecules cm−2). On the other hand, the distance criterion affects mostly GOME-2B data selection, because GOME-2B pixels are quite evenly distributed among the different radii used in the sensitivity test. More specifically, the number of collocations is notably reduced when stricter radius limits are applied, the r value is improved from 0.795 (d ≤ 50 km) to 0.953 (d ≤ 20 km), and the absolute mean bias decreases about 6 times for d ≤ 30 km compared to the reference case (d ≤ 50 km).


The term cultural property seems to have come into vogue after the Second World War as part of efforts to prevent the recurrence of the massive war-time destruction of objects of cultural significance to various groups and, in some cases, to all of humanity. The 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict symbolises those efforts.
Destruction is not the only doomsday scenario for cultural property. Removal of objects from their owners or region of origin is another concern. This, too, had occurred during the Second World War with the nazis' looting treasures of all kinds from occupied territories, not to mention the massive confiscation of the property of their Jewish victims everywhere. But the concern was older, as Merryman for one shows in the story of the Elgin marbles, brought from Greece to England during the 19th century. This concern has found expression in a 1970 UNESCO treaty and in a 1995 Unidroit Convention seeking to halt international traffic in cultural property.


. In view of the current poor seismic performance of bridges, this paper started with the vibration isolation and reduction mechanism of the bearing, and deduced the coordination relationship between the stress and the deformation of the bearing under the vibration isolation and vibration reduction working conditions. Combined with the shaking table test, the defect that the traditional rubber bearing has poor seismic isolation effect was analyzed. Based on this, a base-bearing double reduction system was proposed and its vibration reduction and isolation effect was compared with the traditional bearing. The shaking table test results showed that, compared with the traditional bearing, the proposed vibration reduction system had better energy dissipation effect and could weaken the apparent cracking damage of the pier under the action of earthquake. Under the 125 m/s 2 -750 m/s 2 peak acceleration excitation of the EI-Centro wave, the proposed vibration reduction system could greatly reduce the displacement variation of the upper main beam by 20 %-47 %. Moreover, the results of dynamic amplification factor measured at the corresponding height of the two types of piers also verified that the proposed base-bearing double vibration reduction system had greater competitiveness when the peak acceleration of seismic waves was less than 500 m/s 2 .


Rural poor populations in Asia and the Pacific live mainly in disadvantaged areas, isolated, lacking infrastructure, with harsh climatic and ecological conditions. Coarse grains, pulses, roots and tubers (CGPRT crops) often offer one of the limited options for development under these circumstances. Information on the situation of these crops in national economies is limited and becomes a constraint in the design of pro-poor measures for this target group with an objective of poverty alleviation. This monograph presents and analyzes long-term trends and the evolution of CGPRT crops in ESCAP countries. Its comprehensive, yet detailed, coverage of crops and countries make it a reference for researchers, students and analysts involved with the development of CGPRT crops in Asia and the Pacific. Focusing on domestic supply it provides more than a mere analysis of production trends. The discussion of consumption pattern gives additional insight and understanding of the current dynamics affecting these too-often forgotten crops. With this book, due attention is paid to an important and alternative source of food, feed and income for the poorest populations of the region.


In this work preliminary results on the characteristics of the turbulent structure of the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer (MABL) are presented. Measurements used here were conducted in the framework of the Coupled Boundary Layers Air-Sea Transfer Experiment in Low Wind (CBLAST-Low) project. A number of in situ (fast and slow sensors) and remote sensing (SODAR) instruments were deployed on the coast of Nantucket Island, MA, USA. Measurements of the mean wind, the variances of the three wind components, the atmospheric stability and the momentum fluxes from the acoustic radar (SODAR) revealed the variation of the depth, the turbulent characteristics, and the stability of the MABL in response to the background flow. More specifically, under light south-southwesterly winds, which correspond to the MABL wind directions, the atmosphere was very stable and low values of turbulence were observed. Under moderate to strong southwesterly flow, less stable and neutral atmospheric conditions appeared and the corresponding turbulent quantities were characterized by higher values. The SODAR measurements, with high temporal and spatial resolution, also indicated large magnitude of momentum fluxes at higher levels, presumably associated with the shear forcing near the developed low-level jet. The measurements from the in-situ instrumentation confirmed that the MABL typically has small negative momentum and sensible heat fluxes consistent with stable to neutral stratification while strong diurnal variations were typical for the land surface Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL). The developed internal ABL at the experimental site was in general less than 10m during the night and could reach 15m heights during the day, particularly under low-wind conditions.


The purpose of this research was to analyze the psychometric characteristics of the short-form UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-6) among Palestinian university students. The sample consisted of 288 university students (56% women and 44% men), aged 18-22 years. The psychometric characteristics of the ULS-6 were examined using confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis, and criterion-related validity methods. The unidimensionality of the ULS-6 was supported among Palestinian university students. The ULS-6 showed good psychometric characteristics, with adequate internal consistency. In addition, the ULS-6 was negatively correlated with significant others support, family support, friends support, self-esteem and satisfaction with life. The results of the present study suggested that the Arabic version of the ULS-6 constitutes a concise psychometrically sound tool to assess loneliness.


Winner of the 2004 International Council for Canadian Studies Pierre Savard Award. "There are two ladies in the province, I am told, who read,' writes Frances Brooke's Arabella Fermor, 'but both are above fifty and are regarded as prodigies of erudition.' Brooke's The History of Emily Montague (1769) was the first work of fiction to be set in Canada, and also the first book to reflect on the situation of the woman writer there. Her analysis of the experience of writing in Canada is continued by the five other writers considered in this study - Susanna Moodie, Sara Jeannette Duncan, L.M. Montgomery, Margaret Atwood and Carol Shields. All of these authors examine the social position of the woman of letters in Canada, the intellectual stimulation available to her, the literary possibilities of Canadian subject-matter, and the practical aspects of reading, writing, and publishing in a (post)colonial country. This book turns on the ways in which those aspects of authorship and literary culture in Canada have been inscribed in imaginative, autobiographical and critical texts by the six authors. It traces the evolving situation of the Canadian woman writer over the course of two centuries, and explores the impact of social and cultural change on the experience of writing in Canada


The supply the constant demand for new soybean cultivar, it is necessary to select superior plants in populations of high genetic variability. To generate new plant variants which would perform satisfactorily in the field and produce seeds of better composition, gamma rays can be used. Therefore, soybean seeds from line VX04-6828 were irradiated in a 60Co source (gamma rays) in doses: 0 (control); 50; 150 and 250 Gy, and were seeded to produce the M1 generation. Potential plants of each row were identified and evaluated for their agronomic performance. The seeds of the selected plants were sown, producing the plants of M2 generation and again selected and evaluated, including the chemical composition of their seeds. It was concluded that the use of gamma radiation increases the variability in soybean, with consequent increase in the probabilities of identification of new mutants, useful to breeding programs that aim at better agronomic performance and gains in the composition of the seeds. Better results are observed when 50 to 150 Gy is applied on soybean dry seeds.


Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and a seven-category neighborhood typology, this analysis examines the relationship between urban form and household spending. Results suggest that poor households living in urban areas have lower transportation expenditures than their counterparts in sprawling suburbs. Lower transportation costs, however, do not offset high housing prices, with poor households paying particularly high premiums for housing in the densest, most transit-rich neighborhoods. Households above the poverty threshold also benefit from reductions in transportation costs, especially in intensely urban areas. Nevertheless, these low transportation costs are not associated with lower overall expenditures; instead, they countervail high housing premiums, meaning that the most transit-rich neighborhoods do not offer cost savings relative to other neighborhood types. Findings highlight the need to expand the supply of both transit and housing in communities where poor households can leverage affordable transportation options to reduce their combined expenditure burden.


The gravitational clustering of collisionless particles in an expanding universe is modelled using some simple physical ideas. I show that it is indeed possible to understand the nonlinear clustering in terms of three well defined regimes: (1) linear regime (2) quasilinear regime which is dominated by scale-invariant radial infall and (3) nonlinear regime dominated by nonradial motions and mergers. Modelling each of these regimes separately I show how the nonlinear two point correlation function can be related to the linear correlation function in heirarchical models. This analysis leads to results which are in good agreement with numerical simulations thereby providing an explanation for numerical results. The ideas presented here will also serve as a powerful anlytical tool to investigate nonlinear clustering in different models. Several implications of the result are discussed.


A generalised approach is presented for the study of a computer-controlled queuing system with general input, 'first-come-first-served' queue discipline and multiple servers with feedback for either exponential servers or constant service times. Two generating functions for the state probabilities of the system corresponding to the two different types of service times are derived. Further, necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of statistical equilibrium of the computer-controlled queuing system are obtained from the generating functions. The results obtained here generalise many results previously obtained by other workers.


Reliable method of assessing fracture properties of asymmetric bonded joints Two methods of assessing fracture properties of adhesive joints were studied. Two wedge tests: with continuous deflection and with force measurements were compared. Asymmetric geometry of the bonded joint was considered, i.e. two different plates of aluminium alloys: Al-Cu and Al-Mg, were bonded with epoxy DGEBA adhesive. The analytical model is shown to estimate the values of fracture properties: crack position and critical fracture energy. It was found that both methods allow easy and reliable estimation and comparison of fracture properties, although some differences were observed.


Background: The burden of obstructive sleep apnea among commercial drivers in Nigeria is not known. Aim: To assess the prevalence of high risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) among intra-city commercial drivers. Setting and Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study in three major motor parks in Lagos metropolis. Materials and Methods: Demographic, anthropometric and historical data was obtained. The risk of OSA and EDS was assessed using the STOP BANG questionnaire and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, respectively. Statistical Analysis: The relationship between the OSA risk, EDS risk and past road traffic accident (RTA) was explored using the Pearson's chi square. Independent determinants of OSA risk, EDS risk and past RTA, respectively, were assessed by multiple logistic regression models. Result: Five hundred male commercial drivers (mean age (years) ±SD = 42.36 ± 11.17 and mean BMI (kg/m2) ±SD = 25.68 ± 3.79) were recruited. OSA risk was high in 244 (48.8%) drivers and 72 (14.4%) had EDS. There was a positive relationship between OSA risk and the risk of EDS (Pearson's X2 = 28.2, P < 0.001). Sixty-one (12.2%) drivers had a past history of RTA but there was no significant relationship between a past RTA and either OSA risk (X2 = 2.05, P = 0.15) or EDS risk (X2 = 2.7, P = 0.1), respectively. Abdominal adiposity, regular alcohol use and EDS were independent determinants of OSA risk while the use of cannabis and OSA risk were independent determinants of EDS. No independent risk factor for past RTA was identified. Conclusion: A significant proportion of commercial drivers in Lagos metropolis are at high risk of OSA and EDS.


CRISPR nucleases generate a broad spectrum of mutations that includes undesired editing outcomes which attenuate phenotypes and complicate experimental analysis and interpretation. Here, we develop an optimised cytosine base editing system for gene inactivation in Drosophila through predictable C-to-T editing and identify temperature as a crucial parameter for base editing efficiency. We find that activity of an evolved version of the most widely used APOBEC1 deaminase is attenuated within the temperature range commonly used for culturing Drosophila (18-29°C) and many other ectothermic species. In contrast, an evolved CDA1 domain functions with remarkable efficiency within the same temperature range. Furthermore, we show that formation of undesired indel mutations and C-to-G/A edits is exceptionally rare in Drosophila compared to other species. The predictable editing outcome, very high efficiency and minimal byproduct formation of this system allows for near homogeneous biallelic gene inactivation in vivo in a ubiquitous or conditional manner. This work significantly improves our ability to create precise loss-of-function alleles in Drosophila and provides key design parameters for developing highly efficient base editing systems in other ectothermic species.


Artistic and musical creativity thrived in the Venetian Republic between the early 16th century and the close of the 18th century. The city-state was known for its superb operas and splendid balls, and the acoustics of the architecture led to complex polyphony in musical composition. Accordingly, notable composers, including Antonio Vivaldi and Adrian Willaert, developed styles that were distinct from those of other Italian cultures. The Venetian music scene, in turn, influenced visual artists, inspiring paintings by artists such as Jacopo Bassano, Canaletto, Francesco Guardi, Pietro Longhi, Bernardo Strozzi, Giambattista and Domenico Tiepolo, Tintoretto, and Titian. Together, art and music served larger aims, whether social, ceremonial, or even political. Lavishly illustrated, Art and Music in Venice brings Venice's golden age to life through stunning images of paintings, drawings, prints, manuscripts, textbooks, illuminated choir books, musical scores and instruments, and period costumes. New scholarship into these objects by a team of distinguished experts gives a fresh perspective on the cultural life and creative output of the era.


Male fertility is largely controlled by the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, a careful balance between stimulating and suppressing gene expression and the secretion of hormones. The critical factors for male fertility have in the past been thought to be limited to testosterone and the gonadotropins. Estrogen has only recently been demonstrated to be both a crucial requirement for fertility and a cause of infertility. Reports in the early 1990s demonstrated a decrease in mean sperm counts over the last 50 years. A hypothesis for this observation is the increase of xenoestrogens in the environment that are able to mimic and potential disrupt the natural estrogens involvement in fertility. Although the mechanisms of estrogens involvement are not yet defined, the Sertoli cells are a potential sites of action as they possess receptors for the hormone and are able to locally produce it. Sertoli cells both act to protect and provide for the male germ cells and the developing spermatozoa. Pyrethroids are common synthetic insecticides of which some have previously shown estrogenic activity. Therefore this investigation examined the effects of pyrethoids, whose estrogenicity was confirmed via the yeast assay, on the estrogen receptor expression in mouse Sertoli cells as a model for general effects of estrogenic chemicals on male fertility. The results first confirmed the estrogenicity of some pyrethroids and these pyrethroids when exposed to mouse Sertoli cells effected estrogen receptor mRNA expression however in a different way to the natural ligand 17β-estradiol.


The reference to "social market economy" introduced in the Lisbon Treaty seems to fit with the political theory guiding the Court of Justice in its recent decisions in Viking and Laval. Through these judgments, the Court promotes the ideal of a European Community which integrates not only in economic but also in social terms. The article discusses the practical ways and the legal means by which it realizes this ideal. First, the Court first has to make clear the relevance of EC internal market law in the field of collective labour action (industrial action). The Court uses both the Directive on posted workers and the Treaty–based rights to economic freedom. Second, the Court has to reconcile market and social elements of the European integration. It uses a model of balancing of economic and social objectives. However, at both these two stages, difficulties arise.


We introduce a unifying class of nonparametric spot volatility estimators based on delta sequences and conceived to include many of the existing estimators in the field as special cases. The full limit theory is first derived when unevenly sampled observations under infill asymptotics and fixed time horizon are considered, and the state variable is assumed to follow a Brownian semimartingale. We then extend our class of estimators to include Poisson jumps or financial microstructure noise in the observed price process. This work makes different approaches (kernels, wavelets, Fourier) comparable. For example, we explicitly illustrate some drawbacks of the Fourier estimator. Specific delta sequences are applied to data from the S&P 500 stock index futures market.


This paper presents a study developed at SIMEPAR (Parana state weather service) using lightning data for electrical thunderstorm nowcasting. Thunderstorm electrical data collected at SIMEPAR such as lightning location, time of occurrence, current intensity, polarity, etc, are stored in real-time in a relational database. As a first step of this study, Microsoft Business Intelligence bundled with SQL Server 2005 Beta was used to access some of these data and create lightning clusters representing electrical thunderstorms. The clusters were continuously monitored to predict electrical thunderstorm displacement and evolution. Work was undertaken to assess suitability and reliability to the process. Algorithm parameters fitting and cases studies are under development and further work will be done using Weka clustering classes. Once approved, the methodology will be integrated to SisRaios - a Java lightning data visualization, analysis and thunderstorm monitoring and forecasting tool (presented in this paper). It is expected that this computational tool enhanced by the data mining study will aid meteorologists and power companies to monitor electrical thunderstorms, supplying information for starting up maintenance teams, as well as providing a better thunderstorm warnings in general and improving SIMEPAR's nowcasting capabilities.


Cryptococcus spp. are fungal species belonging to Tremellomycetes, Agaricomycotina, Basidiomycota, and several members are responsible for cryptococcosis, one of the most ubiquitous human mycoses. Affecting mainly immune suppressed patients, but also immune competent ones, the members of this genus present a high level of genetic diversity. In this study, two mitochondrial intergenic regions, i.e. nad1-cob and cob-rps3, were tested for the intra- or interspecies discrimination and identification of strains and species of the genus Cryptococcus. Phylogenetic trees were constructed based on individual and concatenated sequences from representative pathogenic strains of the C. neoformans/C. gattii complex, representing serotypes and AFLP genotypes of all newly introduced species of this complex. Using both intergenic regions, as well as the concatenated dataset, the strains clustered in accordance with the new taxonomy. These results suggest that identification of Cryptococcus strains is possible by employing these mitochondrial intergenic regions using PCR amplification as a quick and effective method to elucidate genotypic and taxonomic differences. Thus, these regions may be applicable to a broad range of clinical studies, leading to a rapid recognition of the clinical profiles of patients.


Conflict of Laws has guided nations, individual lawmakers, lawyers, and scholars for centuries. The discipline's rigorous analytical doctrines assist in resolving power clashes among governments and facilitate deep reflection on modes of legal regulation, governmental structure, and the nature of law itself. While traditional Conflicts thinking may have at one time satisfied these tasks, it now fails. As a result, many perceive the field as arcane and possibly even irrelevant. Conflict of Laws is none of these things. Conflict of Laws doctrines control some of the most compelling issues of our time: same-sex marriage, internet regulation, and mass tort litigation, to name just a few. Equally importantly, Conflict of Laws presents a vehicle for studying issues related to federalism in the United States, globalism, world governance, and the changing nature of law practice. After all, if various jurisdictions bring clashing regulations to a legal problem, this signals that the problem is not only difficult, but important. Yet existing texts and scholarship do not sufficiently highlight the discipline's significance and sometimes ignore how its influence controls contemporary issues. In short, the discipline needs reinvigorating, and this article undertakes that task. The article shows how Conflict of Laws brings out core concepts pertaining to the nature of law, federalism, and globalism. Deployed in this way, the discipline is more likely to guide resolution of domestic and international power struggles and to gain broad-based appeal. The article grapples in detail with the following topics: intuition as legal analysis, formalism, functionalism, the rules/standards debate, framing effects in legal argumentation, the propensity of Conflict of Laws to promote analytical complexity, Lex Fori as a Conflict of Laws approach, race to the bottom effects of Conflict of Laws doctrine, the cult of "judicial power" in contemporary American judicial systems, forum shopping, the distinction between the disciplines of Conflict of Laws and International Law, and conceptions of sovereignty.


The goal of this work is the proposal of a language for programming coordination artifacts, providing a better level of abstraction than than achieved via imperative programming languages. We propose a declarative logic language based on reactive rules to define coordination artifacts implementing both well-known and novel coordination paradigms. A prototype built on top of CArtAgO, and relying on the tuProlog Prolog engine, is also presented, where different coordination paradigms realized upon the language are shown.


Many applications require moderate amounts of embedded NVM (<16 kb) for security encryption. Conventional approaches (EEPROM, flash) are expensive due to the need for several additional masks and process steps relative to CMOS. NOVeA is a scalable embedded flash technology manufactured on a standard CMOS logic process with an integrated SRAM array that facilitates password authentication.


The Technology Acceptance Model, popularly known as the TAM, has been widely used in the information systems literature to explain individual adoption of information technology. In the 1990's a number of studies either extended the model by identifying antecedents to technology acceptance or have replicated and validated the model. But few studies have examined the role of organization culture in the acceptance of technology. In this paper, we use the Technology Acceptance Model to examine acceptance of Internet technology in a government agency in India. We examine the role of organizational culture in technology acceptance, that is, we consider organizational culture values to be antecedents of TAM. We found that organizational culture has a significant impact on Internet technology adoption.


Poststructuralism and complexity are plural and diverse modes of thought that share a common subscription to the `anteriority of radical relationality'. They nonetheless subscribe to a different ethic of life because they address the anteriority of radical relationality in different ways. Complexity remains strategic in its bid to become a power-knowledge of the laws of becoming. It derives that strategic ethic from its scientific interest in the implicate order of non-linearity that is said to subvert Newtonian science. Poststructuralism is poetic. It derives its poetic ethic from Heidegger and from the reworking of orphic and tragic sensibilities to radical relationality with the radically non-relational. Observing that all poetry is complexity avant la lettre, the article illustrates these points with the Odyssey and concludes that while complexity is ultimately concerned with fitness, poststructuralism is preoccupied with justice.


The spectre of the question 'What is Life?' haunts the pages of St. Augustine. It is a haunting he invites rather than attempts to exorcise, since for him, the very questioning of life unfolds a path through which the human intellect re-encounters God. In this essay, I propose to examine not the meaning of life, but the meaning of the questioning of life as it is explored by Augustine in his earliest extant works (AD 386-7). His distinct approach to the notion of life begins with evigilare and excitare . Inviting Romanianus to embrace the philosophical life in Against the Academics , Augustine exhorts his friend and faithful patron to 'wake up, wake up, I beg you!' [ evigila, evigila, oro te! ]. This 'awakening' corresponds to a process whereby the human intellect re-enters life through its desire of life, the movement of which is illustrated and enacted by the incarnation and Holy Spirit. The following essay charts this progression through four 'stages' of development: (1) self-deception, (2) assent, (3) desire and (4) self-transcendence. It registers these stages with seeking the proper form of the philosophus , the definition of which Augustine adopts and adapts from his reading of Cicero. Finally, it offers a very brief reflection on the most profound and controversial development of Augustine's intellectual career, the so-called 'cogito' argument for the mind's self-existence.


Cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub) crop with a chromosome number of 2n= 2x=14 which is popularly known as guar, chavli kayi, guari, khutti. It is a self-pollinated crop belongs to the family Fabaceae. Cluster bean originated in India and Pakistan and is characterized as a short day erect or bushy annual plant (Purseglove, 1981). It is a The present investigation was carried out with 51 genotypes along with one check variety of cluster bean during summer, 2017 using Randomized Block Design with three replications. Significant variations were recorded among genotypes for growth, yield and quality parameters. Among the fifty one genotypes, three genotypes IC-200680 (121.50cm) and IC-140777 (114.50cm) were taller and two genotypes IC-140791 (36.90cm) and IC-140792 (40.90cm) were shorter. Two genotypes IC-200680 (11.50) and IC-140774 (11.00) recorded the higher number of branches. As revealed from the mean data, the genotypes IC-200696 (28.00) and IC-200711 (28.00) were found to be the earliest with respect to days to first flowering. The number of pods per plant, an important yield contributing trait, was the higher in the genotype IC-200680 (96.70) followed by IC-34344 (96.00). In respect of pod yield per plant, the genotypes IC-103295 (198.40g) and IC34344 (177.60g) showed higher values. As far as pod characters are concerned, the genotype IC-140777 (11.50cm) recorded the highest pod length followed by IC-103295 (10.50cm), while two genotypes IC-140777 (10.80mm) and IC-140774 (10.60mm) exhibited higher pod girth and IC-39989 (2.05g) and IC-103295 (2.18g) recorded the higher pod weight. The number of seeds per pod was found to be the highest in the genotype IC-10323(9.00) and IC-34344 (9.00) followed by 140777 (8.50). The quality analysis exhibited a wide range for protein content, fiber content in pod and gum content in endosperm of the seed. The protein content was found to be the higher in the genotypes IC-28287 (24.50%) and IC-28795 (24.50%). The fibre content was found to be the higher in the genotypes IC-28795(9.03%) and IC-34344 (8.60%). The gum content was found to be the higher in the genotypes IC-9203 (33.10%) and IC-103295 (33.06%) in cluster bean. Hence, these germplasm can be considered for inclusion in further breeding programmes besides their release after extensive yield trials. K e y w o r d s


In this work we explore a new cosmological solution for an universe filled with one dissipative fluid, described by a barotropic EoS $p = \omega \rho$, in the framework of the full Israel-Stewart theory. The form of the bulk viscosity has been assumed of the form $\xi = \xi_{0}\rho^{1/2}$. The relaxation time is taken to be a function of the EoS, the bulk viscosity and the speed of bulk viscous perturbations, $c_{b}$. The solution presents an initial singularity, where the curvature scalar diverges as the scale factor goes to zero. Depending on the values for $\omega$, $\xi_{0}$, $c_{b}$ accelerated and decelerated cosmic expansion can be obtained. In the case of accelerated expansion, the viscosity drives the effective EoS to be of quintessence type, for the single fluid with positive pressure. Nevertheless, we show that only the solution with decelerated expansion satisfies the thermodynamics conditions $dS/dt > 0$ (growth of the entropy) and $d^{2}S/dt^{2} < 0$ (convexity condition). We show that an exact stiff matter EoS is not allowed in the framework of the full causal thermodynamic approach; and in the case of a EoS very close to the stiff matter regime, we found that dissipative effects becomes negligible so the entropy remains constant. Finally, we show numerically that the solution is stable under small perturbations.


Rene Almeling's book Sex Cells: The Medical Market for Eggs and Sperm concerns the issues of the gendered framing of the market and the commodification of the human body and its parts. With the rich empirical base of the study, Almeling offers a new way of theorizing bodily commodification, noting the non-commonality of this phenomenon and emphasizing the diversity of market organizational and experienced practices. The detailed and unbiased analysis of market organization and its experience, in which these two aspects are viewed in their interrelationship, promotes a better understanding of what is occurring when bodily products are offered for sale. In addition, Almeling develops Viviana Zelizer's model for market analysis, adding a biological factor to the economic, structural, and cultural factors. The book teaches us not to forget that the phenomena of the social world are highly complex and multifaceted and, therefore, cannot be explained with the application of simplified analytical schemes. Moreover, Almeling's study, in which she links together several layers of social reality, is an excellent example of how to deal with this task. The book review acquaints readers with the basic points of the book and sex cells' market construction in the United States; it also focuses on the issues that require further investigation. The reviewer will try to show the importance of including the biological factor in the theoretical framework for market analyses and its possibilities beyond such a "peripheral" and sensitive subject.


Using a full quantum mechanical calculation, we investigate the fundamental validity of the Schottky emission model for its applications to electron injection into dielectrics from a metal or semiconductor electrode. We cover a wide range of electric fields from10kV/cm to 10MV/cm and a temperature span for a large range of barrier heights. We conclude the Schottky emission model is only applicable for a very small class of dielectrics under 0.1MV/cm and at high temperatures over ~330°K. For many defective dielectrics with a barrier height (ΦB ≥ 1eV) in BEOL/MOL/MIMCAP applications, the corresponding electric fields for the measurable currents far exceed 0.1MV/cm and up to 10MV/cm, the application of the Schottky emission model is unequivocally invalid so that the extracted barrier height values are fundamentally incorrect. Several misconceptions and malpractices as widely occurred in the reliability community have been clarified with a guide to avoid future misapplications.


Charpy upper shelf energy is widely used as a fracture controlling parameter to estimate the crack arrest/propagation performance of gas transportation pipeline steels. The measurement of this fracture criterion particularly for modern steels and its apportion into different components, i.e. fracture and non-related fracture energy, are of great importance for pipeline engineers. This paper presents the results of instrumented Charpy impact experiments on high-grade pipeline steel of grade X100. First, the instrumentation technique including the design and implementation of a strain gauge load-cell and the details of the data-recording scheme are reviewed. Next, the experimental data obtained from the Charpy impact machine so instrumented are presented and discussed. These include the test data from full and sub-sized Charpy V-notched specimens. The instrumented Charpy machine was able to capture the load history in full during the fracture process of the test specimens resulting in a smooth load-time response. This eliminated the need for filtering used in similar test techniques. From the recorded test data the hammer displacement, impact velocity and fracture energy were numerically calculated. The results showed that there was a significant drop in hammer velocity during the impact event. This resulted in a change in the fracture mode from dynamic to quasi-static which was more appreciable for full-size Charpy test samples. As a result, sub-sized specimens might be preferable for impact testing of this steel in order to guarantee the conditions of dynamic crack propagation in the specimen ligament. Accurate analysis of the instrumented impact test data showed that the ratio of crack initiation energy to propagation energy was around 30% for the X100 steel. It can be concluded that in impact testing of high-grade pipeline steel a significant portion of overall fracture energy is consumed in non-related fracture processes. This high fracture initiation energy should be accounted for if the current failure models are going to be used for toughness assessment of highstrength low-alloy gas pipeline steels.


The theoretical shapes of nuclear spin-noise spectra in NMR are derived by considering a receiver circuit with finite preamplifier input impedance and a transmission line between the preamplifier and the probe. Using this model, it becomes possible to reproduce all observed experimental features: variation of the NMR resonance linewidth as a function of the transmission line phase, nuclear spin-noise signals appearing as a "bump" or as a "dip" superimposed on the average electronic noise level even for a spin system and probe at the same temperature, pure in-phase Lorentzian spin-noise signals exhibiting non-vanishing frequency shifts. Extensive comparisons to experimental measurements validate the model predictions, and define the conditions for obtaining pure in-phase Lorentzian-shape nuclear spin noise with a vanishing frequency shift, in other words, the conditions for simultaneously obtaining the spin-noise and frequency-shift tuning optima.


Drought and mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) outbreaks have affected millions of hectares of high-elevation conifer forests in the Northern Rocky Mountains during the past century. Little research has examined the distinction between mountain pine beetle outbreaks and climatic influence on radial growth in endangered whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelm.) ecosystems. We used a new method to explore divergent periods in whitebark pine radial growth after mountain pine beetle outbreaks across six sites in western Montana. We examined a 100-year history of mountain pine beetle outbreaks and climate relationships in whitebark pine radial growth to distinguish whether monthly climate variables or mountain pine outbreaks were the dominant influence on whitebark pine growth during the 20th century. High mortality of whitebark pines was caused by the overlapping effects of previous and current mountain pine beetle outbreaks and white pine blister rust infection. Wet conditions from precipitation and snowpack melt in the previous summer, current spring, and current summer benefit whitebark pine radial growth during the following growing season. Whitebark pine radial growth and climate relationships were strongest in sites less affected by the mountain pine beetle outbreaks or anthropogenic disturbances. Whitebark pine population resiliency should continue to be monitored as more common periods of drought will make whitebark pines more susceptible to mountain pine beetle attack and to white pine blister rust infection.


In the past decades, natural organic matter (NOM), which is a complex heterogeneous mixture of organic materials that are commonly present in all surface, ground and soil waters, has had an adverse effect on drinking water treatment. The existence of NOM results in many problems in drinking water treatment processes, and the properties and amount of NOM can significantly affect the efficiency of these processes. NOM not only influences the water quality with respect to taste, color and odor problems, but it also reacts with disinfectants, increasing the amount of disinfection by-products. NOM can be removed from drinking water via several treatment processes, but different drinking water treatment processes have diverse influences on NOM removal and the safety of the drinking water. Several treatment options, including coagulation, adsorption, oxidation, membrane and biological treatment, have been widely used in drinking water purification processes. Therefore, it is of great importance to be able to study the influence of different treatment processes on NOM in raw waters. The present review focuses on the methods, including coagulation, adsorption, oxidation, membrane, biological treatment processes and the combination of different treatment processes, which are used for removing NOM from drinking water.


ABSTRACT Most studies of bullying rely on school-based samples of youth; however, a few studies of justice-involved populations suggest delinquent youth experience higher rates of bullying than youth in the general population. Little is known about gender differences in bullying among justice-involved youth. Using data from a Health Coach service project for justice-involve youth implemented at two intake facilities, 312 female and 857 male newly arrested youth were included in the current study. The current study sought to determine gender differences in prevalence rates of bullying involvement. Logistic regression was used to explore gender differences in how key covariates of demographic, risk factors, and traumatic experiences related to bullying. Rates of bullying experiences were higher for girls (35%) than boys (17%), and these rates were higher than rates reported in studies using general population or school-based samples. Analysis revealed differences in risk factors of bullying by gender. For both arrested girls and boys, depressive symptoms and sexual assault victimization increased the odds of bullying. Justice-involved youth are at greater risk of bullying and experience multiple problems. Holistic treatment and prevention strategies that recognize the co-occurrence of mental health symptoms, serious victimization, and substance abuse with bullying experiences are needed.


Work on affect has made significant contributions to how international relations (IR) scholars understand the high politics of international affairs, capturing political reactions to the horrific, the spectacular, and the exceptional. However, the turn to affect has been less inclined to offer comprehensive insight into the importance of emotion in banal or everyday international politics. The theory of ontological security can offer such insight as it attends to experiences of the everyday, particularly through the discursive production of identity. Identity might be disrupted at moments of spectacular or exceptional events that call it into question but is equally made and remade in the discursive production of everyday life. This research focuses on the latter, analyzing the reproduction of the international in the everyday through the vehicle of British soap operas Coronation Street and Emmerdale, both of which introduced storylines about migrant workers in the late 2000s. British soaps are designed to be culturally proximate and incorporate didactic messages. Analysis of soaps offers a layered and intersectional view of emotional reactions to international migration at the level of an abstracted individual and the level of the nation-as-viewer.


TWINNING OF GYPSUMS FROM KORONOWO Among gypsum crystals originating from Koronowo, over a dozen specimens of twins were found to be formed on [001], and developed as so-called "Karlsbad" twins, thus interpenetrant ones. The twins were divided into three groups. To the first group the specimens were assigned, on which simultaneously two types of twinning appeared, to with juxtaposition and interpenetrant twins; to the second group - interpenetrant twins, in which the twinning extends over the entire length of an individual; to the third group - those in which the twinning occurs-over a part of the length. In the last-mentioned group there were two specimens" where twins occurred in shape of a wedge. It is assumed that formation of twins of the last group is brought about, inter alia, by lattice stresses caused, in turn, by ingrowths, which -in the specimens examined here - were gypsum crystals having divergent orientation. Moreover, it ,should he said that upon the formation of the twins described above, in all probability, influenced here decisively super-saturation of solution and presence of alien ions. The twinning was established by X-ray method, in some instances also-optically. The system of characteristic spots being obtained in the Laue's patterns. from thick slides of gypsum twins was explained, too.


A two-dimensional (2-D) array of 256 times 256 = 65,536 elements, with total area 4 times 4 = 16 cm2, serves as a flexible platform for developing acquisition schemes for 3-D rectilinear ultrasound imaging at 10 MHz using synthetic aperture techniques. This innovative system combines a simplified interconnect scheme and synthetic aperture techniques with a 2-D array for 3-D imaging. A row-column addressing scheme is used to access different elements for different transmit events. This addressing scheme is achieved through a simple interconnect, consisting of one top, one bottom single-layer, flex circuits that, compared to multilayer flex circuits, are simpler to design, cheaper to manufacture, and thinner so their effect on the acoustic response is minimized. We present three designs that prioritize different design objectives: volume acquisition time, resolution, and sensitivity, while maintaining acceptable figures for the other design objectives. For example, one design overlooks time-acquisition requirements, assumes good noise conditions, and optimizes for resolution, achieving -6 dB and -20 dB beamwidths of less than 0.2 and 0.5 mm, respectively, for an F/2 aperture. Another design can acquire an entire volume in 256 transmit events, with -6 dB and -20 dB beamwidths in the order of 0.4 and 0.8 mm, respectively


Background: Urinary bladder (UB) defects are most often associated with embryologic development and pelvic trauma. The cause of the defects could be congenital abnormalities or various aetiologies connected with modern life, including road traffic accidents, assault (gunshot injuries) and occupational hazards (neoplasia). industrial, and criminal activities. Medical treatment for these defects is mostly limited thereby necessitating surgical intervention. This study was aimed at finding alternative reconstruction tissue for restoring bladder storage and voiding capability. Materials and Methods: The surgical procedure was aseptically performed under general anesthesia. The dorsal aspect of the urinary bladder served as the recipient site, while sero-muscular colonic pedicle flap of the descending colon along with free peritoneal sheath formed a composite tissue (donor), colo-peritoneal pedicle graft. The surgical procedure included preparation of the colonic pedicle flap, preparation of free peritoneal flap, formation of composite colo-peritoneal graft, preparation of urinary bladder graft bed, and colo-peritoneo-cystoplasty. The dogs were evaluated in the post-operative period by physical examination, urinalysis, and cystography within the duration of 14 weeks. Results: Cystographic evaluations performed on the 2nd, 10th, and 14th weeks post surgery revealed gradual transition of the urinary bladder architecture at the point of graft with clear delineation and minimal blurring at initial assessment, which gradually disappeared later. Complications observed were straining and constipation, which responded positively following appropriate interventions. Post surgical urinalysis showed transient changes in specific gravity and urine pH values, but returned to pre surgical level after day 18 post surgery. Post surgical proteinuria was observed for the first 7 days, but disappeared on day 12. Hematuria occurred within the first 16 days post surgery. Conclusion: It was concluded that autologous composite colo-peritoneal tissue graft was successfully formed and effectively used in the repair of urinary bladder defects in the dogs. This surgical management intervention could be evaluated in human subjects with similar urinary bladder defects.


Polysaccharide vaccine from group C Neisseria meningitidis was administered intranasally to three groups of approximately 20 men each. The antigen, 50 tg (groups I and II) or 200 tg (group III), was given in one dose, and the subjects were studied for approximately five weeks. Although slight tearing and conjunctival redness was observed in most subjects after vaccination, only three men in the first group complained of mild ocular and nasal symptoms. No other allergic or toxic reactions were observed. Two weeks after vaccination titers of serum HA antibody to group C meningococci of >1:8 were observed in 45%, 29%, and 70% of men in groups I, II, and III, respectively. A rise in antibody after vaccination was also detected by the bactericidal test, but no detectable complement-fixing antibody developed. The intranasal vaccine did not produce significant rises in titer of local nasal antibody. Three weeks after vaccination with the 200-Rtg dose (P = .029), fewer vaccinees than controls yielded group C organisms on culture. Comparison of vaccinees with natural carriers of meningococci showed that the antibody response to natural nasopharyngeal infection was approximately three times greater than that conferred by the 200-tg dose of vaccine. Although not recommended to replace the parenteral vaccine, intranasal vaccination offers a safe method for study of the pathogenesis of meningococcal infection and is the best model available to study the role of local antibody in immunity.


A lot of Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) research is of an empirical nature. Nevertheless, statistical significance testing (SST) is still not widely used. This endangers true progress, as seeming improvements over a baseline might be statistical flukes, leading follow-up research astray while wasting human and computational resources. Here, we provide an easy-to-use package containing different significance tests and utility functions specifically tailored towards research needs and usability.


The Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines (NR&M) is currently running the Vegetation Incentives Program (VIP), which pays landholders to protect and manage nonremnant vegetation on their properties. The program is using an auction mechanism to allocate the funding. Observing the VIP gives insight into participant behaviour and the impact of the policy formation process on auctions for conservation contracts. The program is particularly interesting as this is the first time this mechanism is being used in Australia to distribute funds on a state-wide level. A preliminary analysis has been undertaken and key lessons have been identified.


BACKGROUND
Nurse turnover is a major problem all over the world. It is known that young nurses who constitute the new nurse labour force are more likely to leave their organization, especially in their first year. However, qualitative studies that approach the problem from the perspective of young nurses and focus on the reasons for their decision to leave their organization are limited.

AIM
To understand the reasons for young nurses' leaving their organization and determine their experiences, focusing on their point of view.

METHODS
The study had a descriptive qualitative design and was conducted between January and February 2019. Purposeful sampling was used, and the sample included 15 nurses that voluntarily decided to leave a university hospital in Turkey and agreed to participate in the study. Data were collected with semi-structured interviews, and the interviews were audio-recorded. The data obtained from the interviews were evaluated by content analysis.

FINDINGS
The young nurses' reasons for leaving their organization were found to be in three categories: the Negative work environment, Nursing shortage, and Unsatisfied individual expectations. The Negative work environment category included the subcategories of lack of professional solidarity, lack of support from managers, inadequacy of preceptorship process, and horizontal violence. The Nursing shortage category consisted of the subcategories of excessive workload and overtime. The category of Unsatisfied individual expectations comprised the subcategories of work-social life imbalance, availability of alternative options, and family-related reasons.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING POLICY
It was determined that the young nurses left their organization because they did not receive sufficient support from their managers and colleagues during the transition period. This finding shows that nurse executives must have the managerial skills and understanding to regulate the work environment, increase peer support, and carefully plan each stage of the transition process for the retention of young nurses in their organization. In addition, nurse executives should encourage and be involved with policy making and policymakers and other managers in their organizations to develop institutional and national strategies to ensure that young nurses remain in nursing.


Three new series of 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives such as 2-[3-(6-methylpyridinyl)]-5-aryl-[1,3,4]-oxadiazole (3a-e), 2-[3-(6-methylpyridinyl)]-4-substitutedaminomethyl-[1,3,4]-oxadiazole-5-thione (5a-e) and 2-[3-(6-methyl pyridinyl)]-5-substituted benzylthio-[1,3,4]-oxadiazole (6a-e) were synthesized. Newly synthesized compounds were characterized by spectral and analytical studies. All the synthesized compounds were screened for their antidiabetic and antioxidant activity. The Mannich bases (5a-e) showed significant antioxidant activity comparable with that of the standard employed. Compounds 3d and 5a are showing good α-amylase inhibition activity and α- glucosidase inhibition activity against the standard.


We search for the semi-inclusive process B{sub s}{sup 0} {yields} D{sub s}{sup (*)}D{sub s}{sup (*)} using 2.8 fb{sup -1} of p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV recorded by the D0 detector operating at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We observe 26.6 {+-} 8.4 signal events with a significance above background of 3.2 standard deviations yielding a branching ratio of {Beta}(B{sub s}{sup 0} {yields} D{sub s}{sup (*)}D{sub s}{sup (*)}) = 0.035 {+-} 0.010(stat) {+-} 0.011(syst). Under certain theoretical assumptions, these double-charm final states saturate CP-even eigenstates in the B{sub s}{sup 0} decays resulting in a width difference of {Delta}{Lambda}{sub s}{sup CP}/{Lambda}{sub s} = 0.072 {+-} 0.021(stat) {+-} 0.022(syst). This corresponds to the first evidence for a width difference in the B{sub s}{sup 0} system.


The present study analyses the potential impact of the EU targeted sanctions against Belarus imposed in the aftermath of the presidential elections of 19 December 2010, following the Belarusian authorities' crackdown on the political opposition. It reveals that a broader sanction approach to Belarus, implying targeting key state-owned enterprises with high export potential (chemical and petrochemical industry) and contribution to the economy, or imposition of restrictions on capital flows, may potentially cause higher economic damage for the economy as a whole, affecting vulnerable populations in the first instance, but be less efficient in facilitating a regime change. This may lead to further political and economic isolation of Belarus in the international arena and to the intensification of economic ties with Russia. EU sanctions are more likely to have the desired impact in Belarus if they target representatives of Belarusian the business elite actively supporting the regime. These businessmen have a strong lobbying power and their influence could be strengthened as a consequence of adverse effect of sanctions on their welfare status. Sanctions are likely to force them to negotiate their interests in the government and may thus lead the government to make some political concessions.


Suspended cells of a human lymphoblastic cell line were exposed to pulsed ultrasound of 775 kHz. The pulse lengths were varied between 16 and 1000 microseconds. The mark/space ratio was always kept at 1:1. Two ultrasound intensity levels were used: 3.6 and 6.4 W/cm2 spatial peak and temporal peak. After an exposure time of 5 min, cell membrane damage was measured cytometrically by a dye exclusion test. No membrane damage was observable at 16 microseconds, whereas, at pulse lengths of 1000 microseconds, about one-third of the cells were damaged.


Phenology is the study of the period phases which occured naturally in plants. Information about phenology is essential for the sustainable management of mangrove area. During these phases was significantly influenced by the circumstances surrounding environment as ever shines, temperature, and humidity. Observations of the phenology is devoted on mangrove Bruguierasexangula , especially since the phenology information about B. sexangula is still restricted in Berbak and Sembilang National Park, South Sumatra. Research was carried out in February-September 2016. The methods used in this research is a tagging method or labelling on flower buds and observed till the stage of being a mature propagule. Initiation of flowering B. sexangula was occurring in February, the next step was the flowering that occurs from April to June, while the bear season occured from late June-July. The stage of maturation of propagule until October. Harvest time of propagule B. sexangula was conducted in October. Flower initiation of B. sexangula stage to propagule maturity stage takes about 7 months


Illegal cross-border fishing is an important maritime security issue in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asian states, along with other states with interests in the region, have created three new multilateral fisheries-relevant arrangements of agencies with overlapping but different memberships: the Regional Program of Action on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing; the ASEAN–Southeast Asia Fisheries Development Center Strategic Partnership; and the Coral Triangle Initiative. Each of these multilateral arrangements has the potential to help Southeast Asian states deal with fisheries-based security issues more effectively by building polycentric coalitions and capacity. So far, however, they have had a limited impact. This is partly because they are still principally technical support bodies rather than management organizations. In addition, states need to make greater strides towards settling outstanding border disputes and address fisheries overcapacity and overfishing in waters under their jurisdiction. States are unable to address these problems adequately because the fishery sector is typically low in national priority. Moreover, national interest in fisheries remains concentrated on immediate food and economic needs, and, in international relations, on jurisdictional rights.


This research is aimed at estimating the income of mina paddy farmers, identifying the criteria used to develop business, formulating the alternative development business. The data are analyzed by using income analysis and Analysis Hierarchy Process (AHP). The results of the research show that there are three types of fish applied in mina paddy: catfish, tilapia, and goldfish. The income of catfish in mina paddy amounting to Rp. 51.440.607,27,-/year, tilapia amounting to Rp. 35.895.335,-/year, goldfish in mina paddy amounting to Rp. 37.731.957,-/year. While from AHP analysis results, the criterias making an assessment in the development of aquaculture are production, revenues, marketing and third-party support. The highest value weighting results that become an alternative strategy to the development of aquaculture in mina paddy using software Expert Choice 11 is the application of catfish in mina paddy with weights value of 0,493. Keywords : mina paddy, income, the Analysis Hierarchy Process (AHP)


Bone lesion is a frequent organic manifestation in leprosy. Osseal destructions caused by granulomatous process induced by M. leprae are so-called specific lesions in contrast to non-specific lesions based on nerval or arterial diseases. The specific osseal alterations are characterized by cystic brightenings in roentgenograms while non-specific osseal changes show absorption to bone structure as akroosterolysis and osteoporosis. Typical radiologic findings in different stages of mutilation are demonstrated.


Recent studies argue that US inequality has increased less than previously thought, in particular due to a more modest rise of wealth and capital income at the top (Smith et al., 2019; Smith, Zidar and Zwick, 2020; Auten and Splinter, 2019). We examine the claims made in these papers point by point, separating genuine improvements from arguments that do not appear to us well grounded empirically or conceptually. Taking stock of this body of work, and factoring in other improvements, we provide a comprehensive update of our estimates of US income and wealth inequality. Although some of the points raised by the revisionists are valuable, the core quantitative findings of this literature do not appear to be supported by the data. The low capital share of private business income estimated in Smith et al. (2019) is not consistent with the large capital stock of these businesses. In Smith, Zidar and Zwick (2020), the interest rate assigned to the wealthy is higher than in the datasets where both income and wealth can be observed, leading to downward biased top wealth shares; capitalizing equities using almost only dividends dramatically underestimates the wealth of billionaires relative to the Forbes 400. In Auten and Splinter (2019), business profits earned by the top 1% but not taxable (due in particular to generous depreciation rules) are classified as tax evasion; tax evasion is then allocated to the bottom 99% based on an erroneous reading of random audit data. Our revised series show a rise of inequality similar to Saez and Zucman (2016) and Piketty, Saez, and Zucman (2018) while allowing for a more granular depiction of the composition of wealth and income at the top.


Public concerns about the issue of the environmental safety of genetically modified plants have led to a demand for technologies allowing the production of transgenic plants without selectable (antibiotic resistance) markers. We describe the development of an effective transformation system for generating such marker-free transgenic plants, without the need for repeated transformation or sexual crossing. This system combines an inducible site-specific recombinase for the precise elimination of undesired, introduced DNA sequences with a bifunctional selectable marker gene used for the initial positive selection of transgenic tissue and subsequent negative selection for fully marker-free plants. The described system can be generally applied to existing transformation protocols, and was tested in strawberry using a model vector in which site-specific recombination leads to a functional combination of a cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter and a GUS encoding sequence, thereby enabling the histochemical monitoring of recombination events. Fully marker-free transgenic strawberry plants were obtained following two different selection/regeneration strategies.


I develop and defend a novel answer to Peter van Inwagen's 'Special Composition Question,' (SCQ) namely, under what conditions do some things compose and object? My answer is that things will compose an object when and only when they exist simultaneously relative to a reference frame (I call this 'Temporally Restricted Composition' or TREC). I then show how this view wards off objections given to 'Unrestricted Mereology' (UM). TREC, unlike other theories of Restricted Composition, does not fall prey to worries about vagueness, anthropocentrism, or arbitrariness. TREC also has advantages over all the other answers to the SCQ. TREC is an account an A-theorist anti-Eternalist who wants an unrestricted mereology should accept. I also engage in some conceptual hygiene by showing how UM, as it should be used, should not, in itself, entail or contain a commitment to either Eternalism or Four-Dimensionalism.


The purpose of this research was to review, analyze and compare algorithms lying under the empirical technique in order to suggest the most effective algorithm in terms of efficiency and accuracy. The research process was initiated by collecting the relevant research papers with the query of "duplication record detection" from IEEE database. After that, papers were categorized on the basis of different techniques proposed in the literature. In this research, the focus was made on empirical technique. The papers lying under this technique were further analyzed in order to come up with the algorithms. Finally, the comparison was performed in order to come up with the best algorithm i.e. DCS++. The selected algorithm was critically analyzed in order to improve its working. On the basis of limitations of selected algorithm, variation in algorithm was proposed and validated by developed prototype. After implementation of existing DCS++ and its proposed variation, it was found that the proposed variation in DCS++ producing better results in term of efficiency and accuracy. The algorithms lying under the empirical technique of duplicate records deduction were focused. The


Due to the attractive advantages of wireless communication technologies, wireless networking and mobile computing has developed expeditiously and gained ample prevalence. Thereby, many practical applications are being designed for the use of wireless ad hoc networks in both military and civilian scenarios. However, some security concerns have arisen from such networks, especially in that misbehaving nodes pose a major threat during the construction of a trusted network. Therefore, security is one of the key challenges in wireless ad hoc networks, requiring significant attention due to their own features and concerns.
This thesis presents several computational models and security strategies for the design of secure, trustworthy networks, which are able to make rational decisions when encountering potential threats. In this thesis, we first propose a distributed network management model for secure group communication. Our approach simplifies the complexity of traditional group management and supports the inclusion of other security mechanisms for the purpose of secure communications. As a decentralized management method, trust can perform well in a dynamic and agile environment. Our proposed trust system defines the concept of trust, establishes the trust relationship between distributed nodes, involves the novel and effective computational model, and specifies a set of trust-based rules in this system for wireless nodes. We also propose a hybrid cryptosystem through the application of both symmetric and asymmetric key algorithms to provide reliable and secure protection of data confidentiality. With the design of selective encryption, uncertainty is incorporated into data encryption and the overhead spent on the data protection is significantly reduced. Thus, the communicating parties not only obtain reliable security protection, but also improve the efficiency of data communication. Through security analysis and simulation experiments, we have shown how decentralized management is useful in wireless and ad hoc scenarios, how trust provides feasible solutions for misbehavior detection, and how our proposed strategies offer security properties.


This paper presents an experimental study made on the use of different kinds of information sources in manual assembly. The general idea is that only the necessary information should be presented to the worker and it should be presented where and when the worker needs it as this is believed to both save time and unload cognitive strain. To account for the latter two aspects of this thought, where and when, this paper investigates the use of a handheld unit as an information source in manual assembly. Having a mobile information system, such as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), that can be carried with you at all times, as opposed to a stationary one, such as a computer terminal, is hypothesized to greatly improve productivity and quality. Experimental results show that the use of a PDA significantly improves quality whereas productivity does not significantly improve.


The diminished sensitivity of inflation to changes in resource utilization that has been observed in many advanced economies over the past several decades is frequently linked to the increase in global economic integration. In this paper, we examine this "globalization" hypothesis using both aggregate U.S. data on measures of inflation and economic slack and a rich panel data set containing producer prices, wages, output, and employment at a narrowly defined industry level. Our results indicate that the rising exposure of the U.S. economy to international trade can indeed help explain a significant fraction of the overall decline in responsiveness of aggregate inflation to fluctuations in economic activity. This flattening of the U.S. Phillips curve is supported strongly by our cross-sectional evidence, which shows that increased trade exposure significantly attenuates the response of inflation to fluctuations in output across industries. Our estimates indicate that the inflation-output tradeoff is about three times larger for low-trade intensity industries compared with their high-trade intensity counterparts. JEL Classification: E30, E31, E32


Abstract The study of Upper Cretaceous and Lower Paleogene benthic foraminifera from the Bidart section (SW France) provides detailed data on the paleobathymetry as well as paleoenvironmental conditions across the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary. A quantitative analysis of benthic foraminiferal assemblages from the Upper Maastrichtian Abathomphalus mayaroensis Biozone and the Danian Guembelitria cretacea, Parvularugoglobigerina eugubina, and Parasubbotina pseudobulloides Biozones was performed. Benthic foraminifera indicate that the upper Maastrichtian and lower Danian sediments at Bidart were deposited in the upper–middle part of the slope. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages indicate mesotrophic conditions during the late Maastrichtian and a strong decrease in the food supply to the sea floor coincident with the K/Pg boundary. This change in the trophic regime was related to the collapse of the food web triggered by the mass extinction of calcareous primary producers. Benthic assemblages in the lower Danian are strongly dominated by few species, and suggest that primary productivity was dominated by blooms of non-calcareous primary producers, creating a stressful environment for the benthic fauna. The faunal turnover, together with the geochemical evidence, is compatible with an asteroid impact scenario. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages suggest that primary productivity had not completely recovered more than 200 kyr after the K/Pg boundary event.


Although the importance of merchant guilds for the commercial development of Europe is beyond doubt, scholars do not agree about why they emerged, persisted, and ultimately declined between the eleventh and eighteenth centuries. Historical studies usually focus on individual cases and idiosyncratic circumstances that restrict comparisons, whereas economic approaches based on game or contract theory often impose narrow assumptions on their models that tend to neglect two key features of these institutions: In imperfect markets, merchants used more than one institution to solve a given problem, and individual institutions often addressed more than one problem. However, a new methodological approach (maximum likelihood estimation) permits rigorous comparative analysis of the probability that merchants, under a given set of market and political circumstances, will delegate control of their dealings. This model requires only one assumptionthat merchants relinquished such control only when they expected a positive return.