The elderly abuse recognizing to be a substantial and growing public health problem worldwide. The present study aims to analyse the risk factors of elderly abuse in family environment of Nijgadh Municipality. A descriptive cross-sectional study has been carried out among 204 elders taken from the community through simple random sampling method. The data were collected through face to face structured interview schedule in 2021. The binary logistic regression model was created as statistical analysis. The result of the study revealed that the elders who lived without spouse were 6.221 times more likely to be abused than those who lived with partners. Followed by functional disability of elders (elders with disability were 2.277 times higher than no disability), etc. This study created 5 models of risk factors among which model 2 had explained variation (24.6%) than others. This study found that living without a spouse, dependency, poor health, having fewer family members and the aging of seniors are the most common reasons for being abused in a family environment. This research has produced data on the odds ratio of elderly abuse based on many socio-demographic factors, which can be utilized to identify and protect elders who are at high risk of abuse through multi-sectoral social justice action.


An image-based visual servo control design is proposed for a four rotor vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) craft, known as an X4-flyer, accomplishing a trajectory tracking task. The approach taken is an image-based visual servo design that is applicable to under-actuated dynamic systems. The work is an extension of the authors earlier work (2000) to the trajectory tracking problem. Semiglobal stability of the closed loop system is proved for bounded trajectories.


Sexual isolation between species often depends on preferences for conspecific mates. Recent models suggest that whether conspecific preference is determined genetically or learned will affect the process of speciation: Learned conspecific preferences might make speciation more likely. However, we understand little about how often and for which taxa, conspecific preferences are learned. Some species learn conspecific preference by imprinting on conspecifics; others learn from experience with heterospecifics. Even when one sex learns conspecific preference, the other may not. We tested whether conspecific mate preference is learned through social experience in males and females from 2 three-spined stickleback species that show strong sexual isolation (benthics and limnetics: Gasterosteus spp.). We reared fish with either mostly conspecifics or mostly heterospecifics and measured how this experience affected conspecific preference. In both sexes, experience enhanced conspecific mate preference but the sexes differed in the outcome. Females learned to prefer their own species through experience with conspecifics; males learned to discriminate through experience with heterospecifics. We also found species differences in the effect of social experience related to differences in sociality. Our results suggest that learned conspecific mate preference may have facilitated rapid speciation in the post Pleistocene radiation of sticklebacks. Copyright 2009, Oxford University Press.


We study the characteristic foliation of a twisted Jacobi manifold. We show that a twisted Jacobi manifold is foliated into leaves that are, according to the parity of the dimension, endowed with a twisted contact or a twisted locally conformal symplectic structure.


The purpose of this contribution is a comparative analysis of different "partitive markers" in the noun phrase of several Germanic varieties, with a special focus on areally peripheral non-standard or less standardized West Germanic varieties. Starting with the use of genitive case for the marking of partitive functions in various syntactic contexts in the older stages of German, we then take a closer look at those varieties for which the survival of at least some genitive forms and functions related to partitive meanings is reported in modern times. This is true for some Highest Alemannic dialects in Switzerland (Henzen 1932, 122–124; Szadrowsky 1937, 1940) and for Letzebuergesch, both the dialects and the Koine (Dohmer 2017).1 We would like to emphasize, however, that for Highest Alemannic recent data are lacking completely. While there is some recent research on the more widely existing pronominal remnants of partitive genitive forms (see Strobel 2017), there is in general much less information concerning the expression of partitivity within the noun phrase (see Glaser 1992, 1993; Grestenberger 2015)


Developing a leadership pipeline was the number one strategic business challenge in the American Chamber of Commerce Shanghai 2010 survey, even ahead of increasing market share and new innovations. With local leaders replacing expats at astonishing levels, the development of Chinese managers is critical to success. For instance, an Aon Hewitt survey showed that between 2007 and 2010, the number of MNCs replacing expats with locals nearly doubled to 46%. In addition, MNCs in China experience turnover rates 25% above the global average with the average retention period of a middle manager in Shanghai amounting to less than two years. The fact that highly skilled leaders can expect up to 40% increases in salary at a new organization certainly encourages turnover. While employee development can act as a retention tool, programs should be systematically focused on key competency needs to ensure the continual development of a strong pipeline. Keywords human resources, China, competencies, skills, return on investment, ROI, leaders, business development Comments Suggested Citation Kovack, K. S. (2015). What are the key competencies and skills required for leaders in China for the greatest ROI?Retrieved [insert date] from Cornell University, ILR School site: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/ student/93 Required Publisher Statement Copyright held by the authors. This article is available at DigitalCommons@ILR: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/student/93 Kasey S. Kovack April 10, 2015 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


I. INTRODUCTION Information is a marketable commodity in the modern economy. (1) Financial institutions, in particular, have strong incentives to transfer consumer information to affiliates and others to engage in cross-marketing and cross-branding activities. (2) Data transfers may often take place across international borders, with enormous benefits for international trade. (3) However, even as modern technology increases the utility of information, it creates greater opportunities for intrusions into individual privacy. (4) New York Attorney-General Eliot Spitzer has stated, "New technology has brought extraordinary benefits to society, but it also has placed all of us in an electronic fishbowl in which our habits, tastes and activities are watched and recorded." (5) In 1995, the European Union (EU) promulgated a Directive requiring EU member states to implement stringent privacy protections and prohibiting the transfer of data from the European Union to any country that does not provide an "adequate" level of privacy protection. (6) In Part II, this Note will discuss the EU Directive and compare it to U.S. privacy regulation, particularly to the privacy protections for financial information embodied in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The Note will then address the Safe Harbor Agreement entered into by the United States and the European Union, under which data transfers from the European Union can take place to U.S. companies that agree to meet certain intermediate privacy protection standards. However, the financial services industry is excluded from the Safe Harbor agreement. Although the non-transferability provisions of the Data Protection Directive have yet to be rigorously enforced, financial institutions currently have no acceptable Safe Harbor alternatives that guarantee the transferability of personal data for the long term. In the absence of a viable alternative to the Safe Harbor, financial institutions will be unable to secure the uninterrupted ability to transfer data from the European Union to the United States. If cross-border data flows are interrupted, financial services firms can expect to experience serious difficulties. Consider ABC Bank, a hypothetical multinational financial conglomerate that operates in Europe but has branches and affiliates in the United States. There may be situations in which ABC will want to share information regarding its European customers with its U.S. affiliates to enable its affiliates to market financial services to those customers. (7) Direct marketing of associated services to consumers, particularly attractive to many financial institutions in the aftermath of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act's consolidation of the financial services industry, (8) could be impeded by restrictions on cross-border data transfer. (9) In addition, ABC will certainly collect large amounts of personal information for its internal databases in the course of its operations. ABC may be able to contract for data processing and analysis most cheaply with an unaffiliated American company. Taking advantage of this market efficiency would require cross-border data transfer. Perhaps most importantly, a centralized human resources system may require ABC to transfer employee data internationally in order to pay salaries and to provide employee benefit programs. (10) Additionally, a number of transactions vital to the international financial system rely on cross-border data flows. Payment systems that require the transfer of personal information, such as credit card transactions, could be hindered by strict application of the Directive's non-transferability rules. (11) Investment bankers often rely on market analysis, takeover maneuvers, and due diligence activities, in which transferring personal data is of significant importance. (12) The credit reporting system also relies on the free transfer of information about consumer credit, even across national boundaries. (13) Part III of this Note will discuss the options currently available to the financial services industry if it wishes to legally transfer data from the European Union to the United States. …


Power domain based multiple access scheme is introduced in this paper, namely Non-orthogonal multiple-access (NOMA). We deploy a wireless network using NOMA together with a wireless power transfer (WPT) scheme for dedicated user over Nakagami-$m$ fading channel. When combined, these promising techniques (NOMA and WPT) improve the system performance in term of ergodic performance at reasonable coefficient of harvested power. However, fixed power allocation factors for each NOMA user can be adjusted at the base station and it further provide performance improvement. We design a new signal frame to deploy a NOMA scheme in WPT which adopts a linear energy harvesting model. The ergodic capacity in such a NOMA network and power allocation factors can be updated frequently in order to achieve a fair distribution among NOMA users. The exact expressions of ergodic capacity for each user is derived. The simulation results show that an agreement between analytic performance and Monte-Carlo simulation can be achieved.


Crit Care Med 2015 • Volume 43 • Number 12 (Suppl.) intravascular coagulation (DIC) syndrome, and it is widely used in clinical situations. Recently, it has been reported that rTM also has an anti-inflammatory effect. Hypothesis: rTM may improve the neurologic function after heatstroke in mice. Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice were subjected to heat exposure {(HE), 41 ± 0.5oC} for 60 min. After HE, normal saline (Ns) or rTM (6 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally for 5 days. Exp. 1: The rotarod performance test was used to evaluate the motor function after HE. Mice were trained once a week for 6 weeks. Then, they were divided into two groups (Ns and rTM) and subjected to HE. The rotarod test was performed at 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 weeks post HE. Exp. 2: In this experiment, animals were sacrificed at 1 week (Ns and rTM) or 3 weeks (Ns and rTM) post HE and the brains were collected separately (cortex, stem and cerebellum). Cytokine concentrations (TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10) were measured using ELISA methods. Results: The rotarod score initially decreased in the third week compared to the first week in the Ns group, then improved from 5 weeks post HE, whereas no decrease was observed in the rTM groups and significant differences were observed at 3 weeks post HE (p < 0.05). The TNF-α concentration at 1 week post HE in the stem was significantly low (p<0.05) in the rTM groups compared with the Ns group. There were no significant differences in the IL-6 and IL-10 concentrations. Conclusions: These results suggest that the administration of rTM suppresses inflammatory cytokines at 1 week post HE and improves the neurologic function. rTM may contribute to early rising after heatstroke in the clinical setting.


The long pepper (Capsicum annuum L. cv. 'Yalova Charleston') was stored in plastic film with various oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) permeabilities consisting of 7±1°C temperature and 90±5% relative humidity (RH). Physico-chemical changes were recorded on 0, 10, 20 and 30 days of storage. Weight loss was higher in pepper stored under normal atmosphere (NA) compared to modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). Initial total soluble solids of 4.20% increased to 5.27% in NA. The acidity and ascorbic acid contents of peppers decreased during storage. The highest values were recorded at the end of storage from the fruit stored under PP (polypropylene). Changes in fruit color at the end of storage proceeded more slowly in the treated fruit. Total chlorophyll values exhibited significant decline in the fruits subjected to NA. However, the chlorophyll content in the fruits subjected to PP was low. The color values obtained from fruits supported the chlorophyll findings. At the end of the study, 35μ PP packaging material gave the best result at the end of 30 day-storage with respect to the parameters evaluated in the study. Therefore, especially 35μ PP treatment was effective with regard to delaying the maturity along the storage and fruit quality in peppers.


Experts theorized that a Brushless Wound-rotor [Synchronous] Doubly-fed Electric Machine System (BWRSDF), which can symmetrically motor or generate with variable speed, provides higher efficiency, higher power density, higher torque density, and lower cost than any other electric machine system, including the permanent magnet electric machine system, but only with the discovery of a practical brushless real time control solution for its known issues of instability and the multiphase slip-ring assembly that continually eludes state-of-art control methods, such as Field Oriented Control (FOC). Comprising a dual-ported transformer circuit topology with the attractive characteristics common to the advanced induction electric machine system, such as versatility, robustness, field weakening, practically unconstrained torque and power rating, simplicity, and low cost, etc., but with higher efficiency and torque than the permanent magnet electric machine system, the fully electromagnetic core of the BWRSDF uses readily available technology and materials without the market volatility, safety and reliability issues of rare-earth permanent magnets.


BACKGROUND
Obesity is a chronic disease with serious health consequences, but weight loss is difficult to maintain through lifestyle intervention alone. Liraglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 analogue, has been shown to have potential benefit for weight management at a once-daily dose of 3.0 mg, injected subcutaneously.

METHODS
We conducted a 56-week, double-blind trial involving 3731 patients who did not have type 2 diabetes and who had a body-mass index (BMI; the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters) of at least 30 or a BMI of at least 27 if they had treated or untreated dyslipidemia or hypertension. We randomly assigned patients in a 2:1 ratio to receive once-daily subcutaneous injections of liraglutide at a dose of 3.0 mg (2487 patients) or placebo (1244 patients); both groups received counseling on lifestyle modification. The coprimary end points were the change in body weight and the proportions of patients losing at least 5% and more than 10% of their initial body weight.

RESULTS
At baseline, the mean (±SD) age of the patients was 45.1±12.0 years, the mean weight was 106.2±21.4 kg, and the mean BMI was 38.3±6.4; a total of 78.5% of the patients were women and 61.2% had prediabetes. At week 56, patients in the liraglutide group had lost a mean of 8.4±7.3 kg of body weight, and those in the placebo group had lost a mean of 2.8±6.5 kg (a difference of -5.6 kg; 95% confidence interval, -6.0 to -5.1; P<0.001, with last-observation-carried-forward imputation). A total of 63.2% of the patients in the liraglutide group as compared with 27.1% in the placebo group lost at least 5% of their body weight (P<0.001), and 33.1% and 10.6%, respectively, lost more than 10% of their body weight (P<0.001). The most frequently reported adverse events with liraglutide were mild or moderate nausea and diarrhea. Serious events occurred in 6.2% of the patients in the liraglutide group and in 5.0% of the patients in the placebo group.

CONCLUSIONS
In this study, 3.0 mg of liraglutide, as an adjunct to diet and exercise, was associated with reduced body weight and improved metabolic control. (Funded by Novo Nordisk; SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes NN8022-1839 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01272219.).


We have investigated the effects of the aluminum substitution in In2S3 using an approach that combines X-ray diffraction, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. For the very first time, an understanding of the evolution of the local structure in this family with Al-content is reached based on the synergy of these three techniques. In particular, the comparison of the measured and simulated 27Al NMR quadrupolar constants allows an unambiguous attribution of the Al-sites in the investigated (In1-xAlx)2S3 compounds (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.185). It shows that for high Al-contents a new tetrahedral site (Td(4a)) is occupied, leading to a tetragonal to cubic modification. The present paper provides a definite explanation of the band gap reduction upon the aluminum substitution in In2S3, which is directly related to the occupation of the Td(4a) site. The present results could help to improve the performances of solar cells using In2S3-based compounds as alternative buf...


In this paper, we present a trellis-based blind channel estimation and equalization technique coupling two kinds of adaptive Viterbi algorithms. First, the initial blind channel estimation is accomplished by incorporating the list parallel Viterbi algorithm with the least mean square (LMS) updating approach. In this operation, multiple trellis mappings are preserved simultaneously and ranked in terms of path metrics. Equivalently, multiple channel estimates are maintained and updated once a single symbol is received. Second, the best channel estimate from the above operation will be adopted to set up the whole trellis. The conventional adaptive Viterbi algorithm is then applied to detect the signal and further update the channel estimate alternately. A small delay is introduced for the symbol detection and the decision feedback to smooth the noise impact. An automatic switch between the above two operations is also proposed by exploiting the evolution of path metrics and the linear constraint inherent in the trellis mapping. Simulation has shown an overall excellent performance of the proposed scheme in terms of mean square error (MSE) for channel estimation, robustness to the initial channel guess, computational complexity, and channel equalization.


While the revolution in technology has created opportunities for new products and markets it has also created new challenges, including relentless pressure for innovation. As a result companies must shift attention to another dimension of the innovation process—the importance of the effi cient organization and management and other intangible sources of creativity. But do businesses really know how much they are investing in the intangibles that are so critical to innovation?


Motivated by predicting the lifetime of polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs), we map the fracture dynamics of a network of ionomer bundles onto a correlated percolation model. A kinetic Monte Carlo method is employed to study these dynamics. The swelling pressure upon water uptake causes the breakage events of ionomer bundles, and the strength of the bundle-to-bundle correlations is characterized by the stress field and the stress redistribution scheme. Local load sharing (LLS) and equal load sharing (ELS) are the two most frequently studied stress transfer schemes. We adopt a stress transfer scheme that follows a powerlaw-type spatial decay in this thesis as an intermediate scheme between LLS and ELS. By tuning the magnitude of the stress field and the effective range of stress transfer, two fracture regimes, i.e., the random breakage (percolation-type) regime and the localization (correlated crack growth) regime, can be observed. A central property considered in this thesis is the frequency distribution of percolation thresholds. Based on this distribution, we introduce an order parameter to assess the crossover between these two fracture regimes. Moreover, the average percolation threshold is found to exhibit a peculiar variation, which has not been reported in previous correlated percolation studies.


This paper discusses Milton's concept of apocalyptic violence, focusing on the Merkabah images in Books VI and VII of Paradise Lost. The author, inspired by Michael Lieb's theory of the dual nature of violence-destruction and regeneration-intends to argue that the two Merkabah images can best exemplify the duality of violence. The paper first examines how violence works in apocalyptic narratives and then takes the Merkabah image in the war in heaven in Book VI of Paradise Lost as a representation of apocalyptic violence, in which justice is served. Then the author delineates the development of Milton's apocalyptic thoughts, pointing out that Milton has relinquished radical apocalypticism by the time he composed Paradise Lost. Thus, the author contends that the war in heaven in Paradise Lost cannot be interpreted as Milton's invocation of Christ's intervention to terminate the Restoration. Moreover, the Merkabah image signifies divine presence that vouchsafes the implementation of violence to serve the cause of justice. The paper then demonstrates that the same chariot vision appears again in the creation scene in Book VII. Milton employed the same Merkabah image to concatenate destruction and regeneration. The "chariot of paternal deity" engaged in the war in heaven in Book VI represents destruction, and the same chariot of the Son in the creation scene in Book VII denotes regeneration. At the end of the paper, the author links the theme of destruction and regeneration to Milton's concept of justice and mercy. Violence is used to serve the cause of justice, which, according to Milton, must be moderated by mercy.


Salt marshes are highly valuable ecosystems that provide numerous important ecosystem services. Given the global marsh decline, there is a pressing need to understand the natural bottlenecks and thresholds to their establishment and long-term ecological maintenance. Seed presence in the right place and time is a prerequisite for pioneer establishment. We performed field surveys and manipulative seed-bank experiments on 2 mudflats with different levels of exposure in the Westerschelde, The Netherlands, to identify patterns of seed arrival and persistence and their role in determining seed bank abundance. Seed arrival decreased with distance from the seed-source area, i.e. the salt marsh, resulting in seeds being deposited on the mudflat close to the marsh edge. Once arrived, most of the surface seeds were washed away during subsequent tides, with retention of <20%. However, seed burial enhanced seed retention nonlinearly with increasing burial depth. Predation was not a major cause of seed loss. These results point to the importance of hydro dynamic and morphodynamic processes to both lateral seed dispersal and vertical seed burial on tidal flats and, therefore, suggest that saltmarsh establishment and expansion are closely linked to the physical dynamics of the entire estuarine system.


Early seeding and accumulation of soluble carbohydrates is critical for the full expression of snow mold [caused principally by Typhula incarnata Lasch ex. Fr., Typhula ishikariensis Imai, Sclerotinia borealis Bub. & Vleug., Microdochium nivalis (Ces, ex Berl. & Vogl.) Samuels and Hallet] resistance in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. em Thell). Experiments were conducted during two growing seasons in the field at Lethbridge, AB, to study how early seeding affects the quantity of simple sugars and fructan, and degree of fructan polymerization in both resistant and susceptible cultivars. Different planting dates were employed to obtain plants at different developmental stages prior to winter dormancy. Leaf and crown tissue samples were collected from 14 winter wheat cultivars differing in snow mold resistance throughout the autumn, winter, and early spring. Snow mold resistant cultivars accumulated moderate levels of simple sugars and high levels of fructans across seeding dates and maintained a higher degree of polymerization of fructans compared with snow mold susceptible cultivars. Early seeded treatments generally accumulated lower levels of simple sugars and higher levels of more highly polymerized fructan in the autumn and winter than did late seeded treatments. The closest correlations between snow mold resistance and fructan content (r = 0.87) or degree of polymerization (r = 0.74) were observed in the later seeded treatments, suggesting that early seeding masked the expression of genotypic snow mold resistance. These results demonstrate an association between early seeding and fructan accumulation in relation to snow mold resistance in winter wheat and provide a physiological basis for the higher level of snow mold resistance among early seeded treatments.


A nomographic method is described for determination of the mans requirements of proteins, fats and carbohydrates depending on the climatic factor and physical activity. The authors propose that the principle of the territorial division of the country into climatic zones be used for a differentiated study of the influence of climatic factors on the human body. A mathematical principle of the assessment of the man's requirement of the main foodstuffs has been developed, based on the physiological correlation of proteins, fats and carbohydrates according to to their calorific value (14:27:59). The method proposed allows the assessment of the requirement of food for a person, or different groups of the population with respect to their environment (climatic conditions) and physical activity.


Empathic deficits have been linked to poor functioning in schizophrenia, but this work is mostly limited to self-report data. This study examined whether performance-based empathy measures account for incremental variance in social competence and social attainment above and beyond self-reported empathy, neurocognition, and clinical symptoms. Given the importance of working memory in theoretical models of empathy and in the prediction of functioning in schizophrenia, we also examined whether empathy mediates the relationship between working memory and functioning. Sixty outpatients and 45 healthy controls were compared on performance-based measures of 3 key components of empathic responding, including facial affect perception, emotional empathy (affective responsiveness), and cognitive empathy (emotional perspective-taking). Participants also completed measures of self-reported empathy, neurocognition, clinical symptoms, and social competence and attainment. Patients demonstrated lower accuracy than controls across the 3 performance-based empathy measures. Among patients, these measures showed minimal relations to self-reported empathy but significantly correlated with working memory and other neurocognitive functions as well as symptom levels. Furthermore, cognitive empathy explained significant incremental variance in social competence (∆R (2) = .07, P < .05) and was found to mediate the relation between working memory and social competence. Performance-based measures of empathy were sensitive to functionally relevant disturbances in schizophrenia. Working memory deficits appear to have an important effect on these disruptions in empathy. Empathy is emerging as a promising new area for social cognitive research and for novel recovery-oriented treatment development.


Recent developments in polymer-based controlled delivery systems have made a significant clinical impact. The second Symposium on Innovative Polymers for Controlled Delivery (SIPCD) was held in Suzhou, China to address the key challenges and provide up-to-date progress and future perspectives in the innovation of polymer-based therapeutics. At SIPCD, a stimulating panel discussion was introduced for the first time on "What is the future of nanomedicine?" This report highlights the most recent research and developments in biomedical polymers and nanomedicine made by 29 invited scientists from around the world, as well as important issues regarding clinical advancements of nanomedicine conferred during the panel discussion.


Channel flow, initially fully developed and two-dimensional, is subjected to mean strains that emulate the effect of rapid changes of streamwise and spanwise pressure gradients in three-dimensional boundary layers, ducts, or diffusers. As in previous studies of homogeneous turbulence, this is done by deforming the domain of a direct numerical simulation (DNS); here however the domain is periodic in only two directions and contains parallel walls. The velocity difference between the inner and outer layers is controlled by accelerating the channel walls in their own plane, as in earlier studies of three-dimensional channel flows. By simultaneously moving the walls and straining the domain we duplicate both the inner and outer regions of the spatially developing case. The results are used to address basic physics and modelling issues. Flows subject to impulsive mean three-dimensionality with and without the mean deceleration of an adverse pressure gradient (APG) are considered: strains imitating swept-wing and pure skewing (sideways turning) three-dimensional boundary layers are imposed. The APG influences the structure of the turbulence, measured for example by the ratio of shear stress to kinetic energy, much more than does the pure skewing. For both deformations, the evolution of the Reynolds stress is profoundly affected by changes to the velocity–pressure-gradient correlation Πij . This term – which represents the finite time required for the mean strain to modify the shape and orientation of the turbulent motions – is primarily responsible for the difference (lag) in direction between the mean shear and the turbulent shear stresses, a well-known feature of perturbed three-dimensional boundary layers. Files containing the DNS database and model-testing software are available from the authors for distribution, as tools for future closure-model testing.


This article examines recent debate over core or 'independent' integrity institutions in the Victorian and Commonwealth governments to highlight some of the need, and potential, for more careful deliberation over options for building the capacity of integrity systems - the second of the analytical themes used in Australia's national assessment. The first part compares resourcing of major integrity institutions by Australian governments over the past 15 years. Staffing and finances are seen as a useful basic measure of capacity, helping lift attention away from the assumption that creation of new bodies necessarily increases capacity. The data also show that some jurisdictions—including Victoria—may yet have some way to go if they wish to match other governments. The second part of the analysis identifies eight further issues for consideration in deliberations on institutional design. Our conclusion is that by working through such issues more systematically, it may be possible to identify new or different institutional options for configuring integrity resources. This could help avoid inappropriate choices—whether unnecessary new bodies, overloads on existing ones or the import of frameworks that do not necessarily 'fit' local conditions—of particular relevance to current proposals for a new Commonwealth anti-corruption agency.


This article explores the diverse and intriguing implications of the Supreme Court's recent decision in Wellness International Network, Ltd. v. Sharif, both from an "internal" bankruptcy perspective and as a very important and revealing component of the Court's still-evolving general jurisprudence of non-Article III adjudications.
The contrast between Wellness and the Stern v. Marshall decision, of only a few years earlier, prominently highlights in that larger jurisprudence a seemingly schizophrenic admixture of formal (Stern) and functional (Wellness) analytical methods. This article maintains, however, that what Stern and Wellness reveal and confirm is a coherent and consistent jurisprudence of non-Article III adjudications with a bifurcated analytical methodology that is a logical corollary of (and that facilitates a complex interaction between) the dual interests protected by Article III, § 1 — both nonwaivable structural separation-of-powers values and the waivable personal right of individual litigants to an Article III adjudication. When a litigant has objected to the non-Article III adjudication at issue, its constitutionality is determined by formal constraints that preserve inviolate the litigants' absolute right to final judgment from an Article III judge in any traditional private-right action. When the litigants have consented to the non-Article III adjudication at issue, however, the Court uses a functional mode of analysis that assesses whether the consent adjudication system at issue, as a practical matter, actually threatens the structural integrity of the Article III judicial branch.
In the bankruptcy context, Wellness provides further evidence that the Supreme Court is, over a long run of decisions, simply confirming the constitutional significance of its extensive summary-plenary jurisprudence (taken from established English bankruptcy practice prevailing at the time of the Founding) as the operative constitutional boundary for the adjudicatory powers of non-Article III bankruptcy judges. This article uses the Wellness litigation to demonstrate how that summary-plenary jurisprudence can directly inform the core-noncore distinction drawn by the current jurisdictional statute (which codifies constitutional constraints). The Court's existing and extensive summary-plenary jurisprudence provides a highly developed analytical framework for resolving even the most nuanced and difficult core-noncore determinations.


The temporal and spatial expression patterns of three 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) synthase genes were investigated in pollinated orchid (Phalaenopsis spp.) flowers. Pollination signals initiate a cascade of development events in multiple floral organs, including the induction of ethylene biosynthesis, which coordinates several postpollination developmental responses. The initiation and propagation of ethylene biosynthesis is regulated by the coordinated expression of three distinct ACC synthase genes in orchid flowers. One ACC synthase gene (Phal-ACS1) is regulated by ethylene and participates in amplification and interorgan transmission of the pollination signal, as we have previously described in a related orchid genus. Two additional ACC synthase genes (Phal-ACS2 and Phal-ACS3) are expressed primarily in the stigma and ovary of pollinated orchid flowers. Phal-ACS2 mRNA accumulated in the stigma within 1 h after pollination, whereas Phal-ACS1 mRNA was not detected until 6 h after pollination. Similar to the expression of Phal-ACS2, the Phal-ACS3 gene was expressed within 2 h after pollination in the ovary. Exogenous application of auxin, but not ACC, mimicked pollination by stimulating a rapid increase in ACC synthase activity in the stigma and ovary and inducing Phal-ACS2 and Phal-ACS3 mRNA accumulation in the stigma and ovary, respectively. These results provide the basis for an expanded model of interorgan regulation of three ACC synthase genes that respond to both primary (Phal-ACS2 and PhalACS3) and secondary (Phal-ACS1) pollination signals. Pollination of flowers is a key regulatory event in plant reproduction. In many flowers pollination causes an initial,


Tactile graphics use raised lines, textures, and elevations to provide individuals with visual impairments access to graphical materials through touch. Tactile graphics are particularly important for students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, where educational content is often conveyed using diagrams and charts. However, providing a student who has a visual impairment with a tactile graphic does not automatically provide the student access to the graphic's educational content. Instead, the student may struggle to decipher subtle differences between textures or line styles, and must deal with cramped and confusing placement of lines and braille. These format-related issues prevent students with visual impairments from accessing educational content in graphics independently, because they necessitate the students ask for sighted clarification. We propose a machine-vision based "tactile graphics helper" (TGH), which tracks a student's fingers as he/she explores a tactile graphic, and allows the student to gain clarifying audio information about the tactile graphic without sighted assistance. Using an embedded mixed-methods case study with three STEM university students with visual impairments, we confirmed that format-related issues prevent these students from accessing some graphical content independently, and established that TGH provides a promising approach for overcoming tactile-graphic format issues.


In the past, times of severe economic crisis regularly led to the weakening of competition policy. In retrospect, this reaction appears to have deepened the crises it was meant to alleviate, at least in the United States at the beginning of the New Deal. This precedent suggests that a backlash against competition policy would be a wrong answer to the current challenges, even though exceptional economic conditions call for flexibility and adaptations. This set of three articles addresses competition policy in times of crisis. Andrea Amelio and Georges Siotis describe the European Commission's handling of competition cases in the current unusual circumstances. Antoine Winckler and Francois-Charles Laprevote focus on State aid, and Carlos Winograd tells the story of the long-lasting negative impact of the Argentinian crisis of 2000 on the nascent competition policy.


The clinical pediatric anesthesiology community has been greatly affected by a growing body of research suggesting that sedative drugs and anesthetic agents may have long lasting detrimental neurocognitive effects in children. Various animal models have indicated apoptotic brain cell death and neurocognitive impairment following anesthetic exposure in early life. Although these studies cannot be directly extrapolated to anesthesia in children, parents and governmental regulatory agencies have been paying attention nonetheless. Adding to the evidence are a number of human epidemiologic studies that have documented neurologic deficits and cognitive decline following early anesthetic exposure. 1-4 Clinical studies in children exposed to general anesthesia have assessed outcome measures including academic performance or school readiness, validated neuropsychologic testing, and educational interventions for neurodevelopmental or behavioral problems.


By incorporating the publicly available information about the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) theater missile defense system and making some educated guesses about the unknown parameters of the system, we construct a computer model of a THAAD-like kill vehicle to simulate the endgame homing process. Using this model, we simulate endgame homing processes against incoming targets of different velocities, corresponding to theatre and strategic targets. We also simulate homing processes against certain types of countermeasures. The simulation results demonstrate that, given state-of-the-art technologies for infrared sensors, ground-based radars, and divert/attitude control thrusters, first, a THAAD-like defense would have nearly the same miss distance and kill probability against a strategic target as against a theater target, and second, countermeasures, like infrared stealth, radar jamming, and decoys, have the potential to defeat a THAAD-like kill vehicle using infrared homing during the endgame.


800x600 In our book Global Insanity we argued that the existential predicament faced by humanity is a predictable consequence of Western Enlightenment thinking and the resulting world model, whose ascendance with the Industrial Revolution entrained development of the global consumer Economy that is destroying the biosphere. This situation extends from a dominant mindset based on the philosophy of reductionism.  The problem was recognized and characterized by Robert M. Hutchins.  In 1985, Hutchins ideas were discussed by Robert Rosen in Chapter 1 of  Anticipatory Systems: Philosophical, Mathematical & Methodological Foundations . Building on Hutchins' ideas, Rosen laid the foundation for an entire new, non-reductionist paradigm, which he called "complexity theory".  This new paradigm is what we are further developing here.  One has to recognize that a paradigm shift is needed to overcome the entrenched mindset and world model that reductionism has created. Here we explore the myriad interconnected ways-psychological, social, cultural, political, and technological-that the Western world model and consumer economy works as a complex system to thwart, neutralize, or co-opt for its own ends any effort to bring about the kind of radical change that is needed to avert global ecological catastrophe and societal collapse. This resistance to change stems from the need, inherent in the Western model, to continually grow the consumer economy.  The media's continued portrayal of consumptive economic growth as a good thing, the widely held belief that the Economy is paramount, and current political and technological trends all manifest the system's active resistance to change. From the perspective of the mature economic system, any work that does not serve to grow the Economy is counterproductive, and viewed as unnecessary, a luxury, or subversive. The potential for real change (i.e. toward creation of a better system) is thus inversely related to the viability of the Economy, which will eventually decline as the system develops into senescence. To the extent that the fragile metastability of senescence affords opportunity for radical change, economic decline can be viewed as a hopeful sign. But taking maximum advantage of that opportunity will be extraordinarily difficult, as it will require widespread recognition of the problem, major voluntary sacrifice by the relatively large numbers of people who still benefit from the system (including what remains of the "middle class"), and concerted "grassroots" efforts.  It can be expected that the system will resist those efforts until the end, becoming increasingly reliant on media-enabled distraction and divisive politics, as well as violent coercion, to maintain itself.  Investment in education and science is widely touted as necessary for improving our situation, but this is misguided as long as the educational system and scientific enterprise continue to work in collusion with the larger system, as they currently do. Until the reductionist mindset and world model that drives the system is effectively challenged, there can be little hope for the kind of change needed to avert the catastrophic collapse of civilization. Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */
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The Support Vector Machine (SVM) is a new and very promising classification technique developed by Vapnik and his group at AT\&T Bell Labs. This new learning algorithm can be seen as an alternative training technique for Polynomial, Radial Basis Function and Multi-Layer Perceptron classifiers. An interesting property of this approach is that it is an approximate implementation of the Structural Risk Minimization (SRM) induction principle. The derivation of Support Vector Machines, its relationship with SRM, and its geometrical insight, are discussed in this paper. Training a SVM is equivalent to solve a quadratic programming problem with linear and box constraints in a number of variables equal to the number of data points. When the number of data points exceeds few thousands the problem is very challenging, because the quadratic form is completely dense, so the memory needed to store the problem grows with the square of the number of data points. Therefore, training problems arising in some real applications with large data sets are impossible to load into memory, and cannot be solved using standard non-linear constrained optimization algorithms. We present a decomposition algorithm that can be used to train SVM''s over large data sets. The main idea behind the decomposition is the iterative solution of sub-problems and the evaluation of, and also establish the stopping criteria for the algorithm. We present previous approaches, as well as results and important details of our implementation of the algorithm using a second-order variant of the Reduced Gradient Method as the solver of the sub-problems. As an application of SVM''s, we present preliminary results we obtained applying SVM to the problem of detecting frontal human faces in real images.


This dissertation is a study of value adaptation by the southern New England Indians who attended Moor's Charity School, in Lebanon, Connecticut, between 1743 and 1770. These Indians were part of New Light Minister Eleazar Wheelock's extended household, dubbed by one student, the "tawnee family." This designation distinguished these Indian scholars as surrogate members of the Wheelock family. I analyzed how the Indian students adapted to, resisted and reformed the values taught at Moor's as they grew to adulthood. I drew my analysis from letters collected in the Eleazar Wheelock Papers housed at Dartmouth College. My arguments are drawn principally from Indian-authored texts preserved in the Wheelock Papers. Wheelock and the students' correspondence allow one to examine lifelong relationships, particularly with respect to the meaning of family. One of my arguments is that family--as an ideological construct, as the defining places of gender roles and as a defender of rights to the broader society--is essential to understanding racial relations at the time. The easily identifiable and the less recognizable families formed under the auspices of Wheelock functioned within one Anglo-American family. One result of the education Indians received at Moor's was a newly created perception of what constituted appropriate values within those Anglo-American and Indian households that interacted extensively. Some Moor's students became Wheelock's proteges and went on missions to convert the Iroquois to Christianity. They also served as leaders in their own tribes. The correspondence demonstrates that belonging, as a perceived sense of place or comfort whether within a family or faith in colonial southern New England, was a central concern of the correspondents. Importantly, Wheelock and the Indian students debated the conditional and fluid set of circumstances that created an amorphous sense of longing in the Indian students, for community, for a place to belong and for acceptance. My study concludes that following a lifetime of disillusionment the adult proteges found it necessary to create a new, intentional community in upstate New York. They felt physical removal was necessary to preserving their adapted values, and ultimately finding a place to belong.


BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a growing incidence and studies regarding the risk factors or pathogenesis for this type of carcinoma benefit special interest. This study evaluates the correlations between p53 protein expression and clinical and laboratory factors in patients with HCC.

METHODS
The study group included 76 patients diagnosed with HCC, either by biopsy or after surgical resection (with curative intent). Immunohistochemistry for p53 protein assessment was performed in all patients. Correlations between the protein 53 expression and age, tumour size, viral infection, liver cirrhosis were performed using the chi-square test (Pearson's chi-square) together with the contingency coefficient Kendall's coefficient in the tau-b form.

RESULTS
In the study group, 51 patients were male (67%) and 25 female (33%). Cirrhosis due to hepatitis virus B or C infection (in a proportion of 63% of the study group) was not significantly associated with the presence of HCC. Altered expression of p53 protein was observed in 69 patients (91%). The relationship between p53 protein expression and patient sex (p=0.067), age (p=0.531), tumour size (p=0.270), presence of hepatitis B and C viral infections (p=0.7), and of liver cirrhosis (p=0.511) was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION
The p53 protein expression was not significantly associated with the demographic characteristics of the patients, tumour size, presence of viral B and C infections or liver cirrhosis.


Although survey‐based point predictions have been found to outperform successful forecasting models, corresponding variance forecasts are frequently diagnosed as heavily distorted. Professional forecasters who report inconspicuously low ex ante variances often produce squared forecast errors that are much larger on average. In this paper, we document the novel stylized fact that this variance misalignment is related to the rounding behavior of survey participants. Rounding may reflect the fact that some survey participants employ a rather judgmental approach to forecasting as opposed to using a formal model. We use the distinct numerical accuracies of panelists' reported probabilities as a way to propose several alternative and easily implementable corrections that (i) can be carried out in real time, that is, before outcomes are observed, and (ii) deliver a significantly improved match between ex ante and ex post forecast uncertainty. According to our estimates, uncertainty about inflation, output growth and unemployment in the U.S. and the Euro area is higher after correcting for the rounding effect. The increase in the share of nonrounded responses in recent years also helps to understand the trajectory of survey‐based average uncertainty during the years since the financial and sovereign debt crisis.


Auxetic materials, including textiles, exhibit a negative Poisson's ratio (NPR), which is of interest for many applications. This research aims to optimize the structural parameters of helical auxetic yarns (HAYs) and to evaluate the auxetic performance of these yarns. The research reports on the improvement of auxetic yarn quality and the yarn auxeticity through studying the effect of helical angles, diameter ratio and tensile moduli of the two plies, as well as the binder filament feeding. The maximum NPR of the optimized auxetic yarns was experimentally achieved as low as –9.6, with the helical angle of around 14.0° on average using the optimal machine setting. The optimized yarn parameters enabled the making of high-quality auxetic yarns with a wider range of machine settings than before. In parallel, theoretical and numerical studies were carried out for the engineering design of auxetic yarns, which enabled comparisons among the experimental results, calculated results and results from finite element analysis. The comparison showed that a lower initial helical angle, higher tensile modulus of the wrap ply and lower tensile modulus of the core ply led to a higher auxetic effect. A new finding is reported in that a concave relationship between the diameter ratio and the NPR was discovered. The results of this study could assist researchers in producing HAYs, and this type of HAY could be used for many potential applications, such as filtration and impact protection.


The discovery of materials is an important element in the development of new technologies and abilities that can help humanity tackle many challenges. Materials discovery is frustratingly slow, with the large time and resource cost often providing only small gains in property performance. Furthermore, researchers are unwilling to take large risks that they will only know the outcome of months or years later. Computation is playing an increasing role in allowing rapid screening of large numbers of materials from vast search space to identify promising candidates for laboratory synthesis and testing. However, there is a problem, in that many materials computationally predicted to have encouraging properties cannot be readily realised in the lab. This minireview looks at how we can tackle the problem of confirming that hypothetical materials are synthetically realisable, through consideration of all the stages of the materials discovery process, from obtaining the components, reacting them to a material in the correct structure, through to processing into a desired form. In an ideal world, a material prediction would come with an associated 'recipe' for the successful laboratory preparation of the material. We discuss the opportunity to thus prevent wasted effort in experimental discovery programmes, including those using automation, to accelerate the discovery of novel materials.


: The informative value of the levels of calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, and glucose was estimated in individuals who had suddenly died from acute coronary insufficiency or acute myocardial infarction in the prenecrotic phase. The informational variations in the concentrations of electrolytes and glucose were found to reflect the differences available in the pathogenesis of an ischemic process in acute coronary insufficiency and acute myocardial infarction in the prenecrotic phase.


As to be expected in collective volumes organized around a theme like this one, the concluding commentary aims to compare and contextualize the chapters. Scales, locations, sources, and methods of the studies vary but two main conclusions can be drawn: natural events are found to have had significant impacts on fourteenth-century societies; and the likelihood of some linkages among both widespread and local natural and cultural phenomena deserves continued purposeful investigation. Analytical concepts of 'teleconnections' and 'crisis' are explored and critiqued as tools for understanding this historic period. Some directions for further research are indicated.


In the current study I examined whether interpretive movement to music enhances emotional experience of the music, in dancers and non-dancers. Participants interacted with a series of musical excerpts, varying in valence and arousal, by either sitting still (still condition), moving arms up and down to the beat of the music (constrained condition), or gesturing their arms freely to the music (free condition), allowing for creative interpretation. Physiological and self-reported emotional responses to these songs were compared post-interaction. I found that after free gesturing, experienced dancers had polarized valence and arousal ratings towards happy vs. sad excerpts as opposed to after still and constrained conditions. Similar results were obtained of skin conductance (sweat) and zygomaticus major (smiling) responses. Non-dancers showed no difference in ratings or physiological responses between interaction conditions. This suggests that the effects of movement on emotional responsiveness to music are mediated by dance training.


Enriched environment (EE) has been recently shown to affect visual cortex development and plasticity, and to prevent dark rearing effects. The factors mediating EE effects on visual cortical development and plasticity are still unclear. We have investigated whether IGF-1 is involved in mediating EE effects on the developing visual cortex. We show that EE increases the number of IGF-1 positive neurons in the visual cortex at P18. Increasing IGF-1 in the visual cortex of non-EE rats by means of osmotic minipumps implanted at P18 mimics EE effects, accelerating visual acuity development, assessed with Visual Evoked Potentials (VEPs). Blocking IGF-1 action in the visual cortex of EE rats by means of the IGF-1 receptor antagonist JB1 from P18 completely blocks EE action on visual acuity development. These results show that IGF-1 is a key factor mediating EE effects on visual cortical development. We then show that IGF-1 affects GAD65 immunoreactivity in perisomatic innervation and the condensation of Chondroitin Sulphate Proteoglycans (CSPGs) in perineuronal nets (PNNs) in the visual cortex. This suggests that IGF-1 action in mediating EE effects could be exerted through the modulation of intracortical inhibitory circuitry and PNN development.


The Src tyrosine kinase is necessary for activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) by the β-adrenergic receptor agonist, isoproterenol. In this study, we examined the role of Src in the stimulation of two small G proteins, Ras and Rap1, that have been implicated in isoproterenol's signaling to ERKs. We demonstrate that the activation of isoproterenol of both Rap1 and Ras requires Src. In HEK293 cells, isoproterenol activates Rap1, stimulates Rap1 association with B-Raf, and activates ERKs, all via PKA. In contrast, the activation by isoproterenol of Ras requires Gβγ subunits, is independent of PKA, and results in the phosphoinositol 3-kinase-dependent activation of AKT. Interestingly, β-adrenergic stimulation of both Rap1 and ERKs, but not Ras and AKT, can be blocked by a Src mutant (SrcS17A) that is incapable of being phosphorylated and activated by PKA. Furthermore, a Src mutant (SrcS17D), which mimics PKA phosphorylation at serine 17, stimulates Rap1 activation, Rap1/B-Raf association, and ERK activation but does not stimulate Ras or AKT. These data suggest that Rap1 activation, but not that of Ras, is mediated through the direct phosphorylation of Src by PKA. We propose that the β2-adrenergic receptor activates Src via two independent mechanisms to mediate distinct signaling pathways, one through Gαs to Rap1 and ERKs and the other through Gβγ to Ras and AKT.


We interpret the newly discovered pentaquark Pc(4450) as a bound state of charmonium ψ(2S) and the nucleon. The binding potential is due to the charmonium-nucleon interaction that in the heavy quark approximation is proportional to the product of the charmonium chromoelectric polarizability and the nucleon energy-momentum distribution. We use the large Nc expansion to estimate the quarkonium polarizability and calculate the nucleon properties in the framework of the mean-field picture of light baryons. Two almost degenerate states JP=(1/2)- and JP=(3/2)- are predicted at the position of the Pc(4450) pentaquark. We find that the nucleon-ψ(2S) bound state has a naturally narrow width in the range of tens of MeV. The unitary multiplet partners of the Pc(4450) pentaquark and the generalization to bb¯-nucleon pentaquark bound states are discussed.


With the development of the computer and the digital image processing technology, application of machine vision technology to make online detection research has been gradually developed, so the machine vision technology has been introduced into the registration detection of rotary screen printing, in order to enhance the accuracy and speed of the registration error's detection, that is a very significant research topic. Firstly, general planning about the rotary screen printing machine registration detection system has been designed. In addition, texture noise of printing picture has been analyzed, which has been collected by smart camera. Finally, based on mean shift arithmetic for color image segmentation has been put forward. Experiments show that the algorithm based on mean shift segmentation method for color image segmentation textile printing can achieve good results, moreover that can accurately carry out the fabric chromatic region segmentation, which for the registration error detection system design on rotary screen printing machine lays the foundation.


Particle dynamics in supercooled liquids are often dominated by stringlike motions in which lines of particles perform activated hops cooperatively. The structural features triggering these motions, crucial in understanding glassy dynamics, remain highly controversial. We experimentally study microscopic particle dynamics in colloidal glass formers at high packing fractions. With a small polydispersity leading to glass-crystal coexistence, a void in the form of a vacancy in the crystal can diffuse reversibly into the glass and further induces stringlike motions. In the glass, a void takes the form of a quasivoid consisting of a few neighboring free volumes and is transported by the stringlike motions it induces. In fully glassy systems with a large polydispersity, similar quasivoid actions are observed. The mobile particles cluster into stringlike or compact geometries, but the compact ones can be further broken down into connected sequences of strings, establishing their general importance.


Miscanthus × giganteus and Panicum virgatum are potential promising bioenergy feedstock crops suitable for the temperate zone. The energy efficiency and sustainability of bioenergy production could be improved by reducing their fertilizer inputs – particularly energy intensive nitrogen fertilizers. Miscanthus is known to benefit from nitrogen fixation by associative diazotrophs. However, because the effects of edaphic‐, management‐, and plant‐related factors on feedstock‐associated diazotroph communities have not yet been characterized, it is not currently possible to optimize the nitrogen contribution to feedstock crops from associated diazotroph communities. To address this critical knowledge gap, we characterized the bacterial and diazotroph communities in the rhizosphere and endophytic compartments of both species at eight research sites across Illinois. We also quantified the nifH gene abundance in the rhizosphere soil as well as a range of soil chemistry parameters at these sites. Multivariate statistical analyses revealed that diazotroph and bacterial communities in the rhizosphere varied primarily among sites, with very small differences between host species. Conversely, diazotroph and bacterial communities in the endophytic compartments differed significantly between plant species, but did not vary substantially among sites. Finally, nifH gene abundance in the rhizospheres of both species varied substantially from site to site and was positively correlated with soil iron concentration as well as soil ammonium concentration, and negatively correlated with abundance of other soil nutrients including calcium, total nitrogen, and nitrates. These results indicate the potential edaphic drivers of associative diazotroph communities in feedstock rhizospheres and suggest that manipulating bioavailable iron content in the soil is a potential direction for investigating the optimization of these communities to improve their nitrogen contribution to crops.


This study examined the writing development of two language minority students over 3 school years, in particular, students' writing samples in the form of dialogue journals. Analyses focus on the function of content features (pragmatics) in their writing, the development of mechanical control (surface features), and the change in content over time. Students' attitudes toward and perceptions about writing and the degree of correspondence with actual writing were also of interest. Two fifth grade students whose first language was Spanish and who were receiving literacy instruction in English served as subjects. The study's design involved collecting writing samples in the form of dialogue journals, interviewing the students, and videotaping students during a journal writing session. Results support the notion that children should have primary language support to facilitate second language literacy acquisition. Important differences in the students' development include mean length of entry, growth toward controlling the mechanical features of their writing, and initial reliance on the Spanish language as a basis for inventing spelling in English. Interview data showed that one student focused on meaning and process while the other student expressed concern over spelling and the skills aspect of learning to write. Dialogue journal evaluation sheets for surface features and content features, and a dialogue journal interview are appended. (JP) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************


This paper presents an improved bivariate mixed distribution, which is capable of modeling the dependence of daily rainfall from two distinct sources (e.g., rainfall from two stations, two consecutive days, or two instruments such as satellite and rain gauge). The distribution couples an existing framework for building a bivariate mixed distribution, the theory of copulae and a hybrid marginal distribution. Contributions of the improved distribution are twofold. One is the appropriate selection of the bivariate dependence structure from a wider admissible choice (10 candidate copula families). The other is the introduction of a marginal distribution capable of better representing low to moderate values as well as extremes of daily rainfall. Among several applications of the improved distribution, particularly presented here is its utility for single‐site daily rainfall simulation. Rather than simulating rainfall occurrences and amounts separately, the developed generator unifies the two processes by generalizing daily rainfall as a Markov process with autocorrelation described by the improved bivariate mixed distribution. The generator is first tested on a sample station in Texas. Results reveal that the simulated and observed sequences are in good agreement with respect to essential characteristics. Then, extensive simulation experiments are carried out to compare the developed generator with three other alternative models: the conventional two‐state Markov chain generator, the transition probability matrix model, and the semiparametric Markov chain model with kernel density estimation for rainfall amounts. Analyses establish that overall the developed generator is capable of reproducing characteristics of historical extreme rainfall events and is apt at extrapolating rare values beyond the upper range of available observed data. Moreover, it automatically captures the persistence of rainfall amounts on consecutive wet days in a relatively natural and easy way. Another interesting observation is that the recognized "overdispersion" problem in daily rainfall simulation ascribes more to the loss of rainfall extremes than the under‐representation of first‐order persistence. The developed generator appears to be a sound option for daily rainfall simulation, especially in particular hydrologic planning situations when rare rainfall events are of great importance.


Melatonin (n-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is a substance secreted by multiple organs including the pineal gland, retina, bone marrow, the gastrointestinal track, and the immune system. Its main function is the regulation of the circadian rhythm (day–night cycles). It plays an anti-inflammatory, antioncotic, and immunomodulatory role by scavenging free-radicals and through interactions with cell membrane and intracellular proteins. Melatonin is capable of entering the oral cavity by diffusing into the saliva from blood. As the majority of the melatonin remains bound to serum albumin, the amount of melatonin in saliva is approximately one-third of that present in the blood. The existence of MT1 receptors on healthy and cancerous oral mucosal cells is suggestive that melatonin may act as an anti-inflammatory or antioncotic agent in the oral cavity; for example, its anti-inflammatory effects have been reported on human gingival fibroblasts. Furthermore, intraperitoneal melatonin has been reported to reduce periodontitis in diabetic rats. Similarly, topical application of melatonin in diabetic patients has diminished the progression of periodontal bone loss as evident by the downregulation of pro-inflammatory factors. Hence, it has been suggested that melatonin may be used in the management of perimucositis and peri-implantitis in the field of dental implants. The aim of this review is to critically analyze and summarize the research focusing on the potential of melatonin in the fields of oral implantology.


The general dispersion equation, derived for the 3-D transmission line matrix (TLM) condensed node mesh, is presented and compared to dispersion of the finite-difference time-domain and the expanded node TLM schemes. Spurious mode propagation, as predicted by the dispersion equation for the condensed node, is also addressed. Analysis of dispersive effects is essential to assessing abnormalities in time-domain simulations.<<ETX>>


Outbreaks of community-acquired Pseudomonas aeruginosa folliculitis have recently been described in association with health spa whirlpools. In February 1984 we detected an outbreak of Pseudomonas folliculitis among hospital staff and patients using a swimming pool in a newly constructed physiotherapy unit. A rash developed in 5 (45%) of the 11 physiotherapists who had used the pool, as compared with 0 of the 17 who had not (p less than 0 005). Pseudomonas folliculitis also developed in 6 (21%) of 29 outpatients and 4 (33%) of 12 inpatients who had used the facility; Pseudomonas infection of a surgical wound also developed in 1 of the 4 inpatients. The epidemic curve was consistent with a continuing common-source outbreak. P. aeruginosa, serotype O:10, was isolated from three physiotherapists, the patient with an infected surgical wound and the pool. A case-control study of pool users did not identify risk factors for infection, although the physiotherapists had spent longer in the pool than had the patients. After hyperchlorination and structural repairs to the pool, no further cases were identified among pool users. This outbreak is the first reported nosocomial outbreak of Pseudomonas folliculitis. Further investigation is needed to determine the risk of serious Pseudomonas infections in hospitalized patients using physiotherapy pools.


social support with higher distress, anxiety, and depression scores associated with younger age, higher unmet needs, and lower levels of social support. Multivariate regression analyses, showed similar fi ndings con fi rming the associations depicted by the univariate regression analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Bladder cancer patients experience signi fi cant psychological distress and distress levels could be increased by increased patient supportive care needs and lack of social support. Patient focused interventions could be tailored to address these issues with the goal to improve patient quality of life and emotional adjustment. RC rate: 9%) and 1702 (90.1%) underwent RC. Median follow-up time was 1.9 years. 90-day mortality was signi fi cantly lower in patients who initiated TMT compared to patients who underwent RC (crude rate: 2.7% versus 7%, p [ 0.03; adjusted aOR: 0.26 [0.10-0.66]). A statistically signi fi cant difference in CSS could not be observed (aHR: 0.96 [0.59-1.54]). CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this cohort study con-ducted in a setting with regionalized cancer care is the fi rst population-based study that con fi rms, in comparison to prior US-based registry cohorts, the similar survival outcomes between TMT and RC observed in single-center comparative studies. However, we detected a 90-day mortality rate among patients who underwent RC that was more than twice as high as the one seen among patients who initiated TMT.


This paper investigates human learning and skill performance to control an underactuated pendulum-driven capsule system within an interactive virtual simulation environment. A number of experiments is conducted with 9 participants who learned to control the capsule using a physical joystick. The results show differences in learning and skill performance among the participants. Right-handed and lefthanded participants achieve their highest trial on the opposite side of their handedness. The high learners tend to achieve great final performance whereas the moderate learners produce stable low or moderate performance. The variance of the displacements achieved appears to be a learning indicator while the high frequency of joystick oscillation at the right portion and interval gives high performance results.


In this thesis I investigate how, if at all, boards of directors impact firm performance. To date, corporate governance research agendas have tended to concentrate on one particular role that a board performs. For example, agency theory concentrates on the monitoring role, resource dependence theory concentrates on the board providing access to resources and stewardship theory concentrates on the board's advice-giving or strategic role. While these approaches can provide specific (but limited) insights into how boards impact firm performance, there has been limited work that seeks to understand the board of directors–firm performance relationship in its entirety. In order to pursue this broader agenda, I commence with a review of the corporate governance literature. The initial overview covers six theories of corporate governance and highlights how only three of these theories (resource dependence theory, agency theory and stewardship theory) directly relate to how the board impacts firm performance. I use these theories to develop a series of specific research questions about the relationships between various board demographic variables and firm performance. Following the literature review is a summary of the philosophical and methodological basis for the remainder of the research program. The first empirical study adopts the methodology used in international studies to investigate the link between boards and firm performance. I examine the relationships between board demographics and firm performance in 348 of Australia's largest publicly-listed companies and describe the attributes of these firms and their boards. The need for this study is justified by the relatively modest sample sizes used in previous Australian studies and the differences in board composition between Australian boards and their international counterparts. For example, Australian companies more closely conform to 'best practice' governance structures than their international counterparts. I find that, after controlling for firm size, board size is positively correlated with firm value. I also find a positive relationship between the number of board interlocks and the market-based measure of firm performance, Tobin's q. I discuss the implications of these findings in light of the prevailing international research and conclude they are not robust enough to draw meaningful conclusions. The second empirical study responds to calls in the literature for a more processfocused research methodology by using qualitative case study analysis to examine links between the board of directors and firm performance. By employing a pattern matching analysis of five cases, I am able to examine the hypothesised links between board demography and firm performance expected under the three predominant theories in corporate governance research, namely agency theory, stewardship theory and resource dependence theory. I find that while each theory can explain a particular case, no single theory explains the general pattern of results. I conclude by endorsing recent calls for a more holistic, process-orientated approach to both theory and empirical analysis to understand better how boards add value. Following this case study investigation I revisited the data and undertook a post-hoc analysis designed to identify areas of potential theory development. Using a qualitative sensemaking approach aligned with grounded theory I identified eleven themes for inclusion in future theory development. The final substantive chapter of the thesis provides a model of board effectiveness that uses the construct of board intellectual capital to integrate the three predominant theories of corporate governance and illustrate how the board can contribute to corporate performance. I contend that boards wishing to improve their performance need to review their intellectual capital and in so doing I provide a practitioner-based framework to assist a board in assessing its level of intellectual capital. In particular, I highlight that any theory or model of corporate governance must be contingency based. That is, the relative composition of roles for a particular board at a point in time will depend on several factors including the growth trajectory of the organisation, the strength of the management team, whether a crisis situation exists, the strategic issues facing the organisation and, of course, the size and primary function of the organisation. Further, the level to which a board can adequately execute the roles required of it is determined by its intellectual capital, a construct that comprises four important dimensions: human capital; social capital; structural capital; and cultural capital. I conclude the thesis by summarising the major empirical findings and detailing the contributions of this work to theory, practice and public policy. The major conclusion of the thesis is that there are several different, sometimes conflicting roles that boards can execute to add value to the corporations they govern and, further, that there are numerous ways for a board to organise itself to carry out these roles. As a result of this research, academics and practitioners have a new framework to assist them to understand how boards contribute to firm performance.


Atomic-layer MoS2 ultrathin films are synthesized using a hot filament chemical vapor deposition method. A combination of atomic force microscopy (AFM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transition electron microscopy (HRTEM), photoluminescence (PL), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) characterization methods is applied to investigate the crystal structures, valence states, and compositions of the ultrathin film areas. The nucleation particles show irregular morphology, while for a larger size somewhere, the films are granular and the grains have a triangle shape. The films grow in a preferred orientation (002). The HRTEM images present the graphene-like structure of stacked layers with low density of stacking fault, and the interlayer distance of plane is measured to be about 0.63 nm. It shows a clear quasi-honeycomb-like structure and 6-fold coordination symmetry. Room-temperature PL spectra for the atomic layer MoS2 under the condition of right and left circular light show that for both cases, the A1 and B1 direct excitonic transitions can be observed. In the meantime, valley polarization resolved PL spectra are obtained. XPS measurements provide high-purity samples aside from some contaminations from the air, and confirm the presence of pure MoS2. The stoichiometric mole ratio of S/Mo is about 2.0–2.1, suggesting that sulfur is abundant rather than deficient in the atomic layer MoS2 under our experimental conditions.


Administrative Overload as a Cause of Diagnostic Error To the Editor In their Invited Commentary, Newman-Toker and Makary1 mentioned several important reasons why diagnostic errors occur. But they did not mention one reason that has taken on increasing severity in the past few years. I refer to the excessive amount of administrative drudgery that results from filling out forms for insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, pharmacies, visiting nurse agencies, home health care companies, and numerous other entities. These intrusions continue throughout the day and they are a serious distraction. These intrusions decrease physicians' diagnostic abilities to sort through patients' symptoms and physical signs and come up with reasonable diagnostic possibilities. All physicians are vulnerable to the dangerous effects of this "administrative overload." Although the name may sound comical, the effects are not. Besides leading to diagnostic error, administrative overload causes burnout, loss of enthusiasm, and loss of job satisfaction. Medical leaders should consider administrative overload as a serious and growing cause of medical error.


The aim of the research is to gain understanding of the experience of the parents of physically disabled children. Special attention is given to the position of the parents in the border area between the two worlds: those of the disabled and the healthy. The theoretical and methodological tool enabling us to reach the goal is the hermeneutic and narrative approach (Cermak, 1999, 2002). Here we assume that story telling reflects the way in which our experience is structured and our understanding of the world and ourselves within it is constructed. If we as researchers want to learn something about the experience of being a parent of a physically disabled child, we may focus on the way such experience is structured through narration. The analysis of a life story allows for grasping the way in which disabled children's parents experience their fate, how they cope with it and what they make of it.


The processes encountered in the real world are usually multiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems. Systems with more than one input and/or more than one output are called MIMO system. The MIMO system can either be interacting or non-interacting. If one output is affected by only one input, then it is called non-interacting system, otherwise it is called interacting system. The control of interacting system is more complex than the control of non-interacting system. The output of MIMO system can either be linear or non-linear. In process industries,the control of level, temperature,pressure and flow are important in many process applications.In this work, the interacting non -linear MIMO systems (i.e. level process and thermal process) are discussed. The process industries require liquids to be pumped as well as stored in tanks and then pumped to another tank. Most of the time the liquid will be processed by chemical or mixing treatment in the tanks, but the level and temperature of the liquid in tank to be controlled at some desired value and the flow between tanks must be regulated.The interactions existing between loops make the process more difficult to design PI/PID controllers for MIMO processes than that for single input single output (SISO) ones and have attracted attention of many researcher in recent years.In case of level process, the level of liquid in the tank is controlled according to the input flow into the tank. Two input two output (TITO) process and four input four outputs (FIFO) process are described in the thesis work. The aim of the process is to keep the liquid levels in the tanks at the desired values. The output of the level process is non-linear and it is converted into the linear form by using Taylor series method. By using Taylor series method in the non-linear equation, the converted linear equation for the MIMO process is obtained. The objective of the thermal process is to cool a hot process liquid.The dynamic behaviour of a thermal process is understood by analysing the features of the solutions of the mathematical models. The mathematical model of the thermal process is obtained from the energy balance equation. The nonlinear equation is linearized by using Taylor series. The responses of the higher-order thermal process (3 x 2 and 3 x 3) are obtained and analysed. Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Engineering Workbench (LabVIEW) is used to communicate with hardware such as data acquisition, instrument control and industrial automation. Hence LabVIEW is used to simulate the MIMO system.


Abstract The detection of smuggled nuclear/radiological materials or weapons in commercial cargo remains a severe technical challenge due to the complexity of the global cargo network, sources of normally occurring radiation, and the broad nature of the threat. This article presents an analysis of the physical constraints on the nature and detectability of nuclear and radiological threats, using 122,500 radiography images from a containerized cargo stream. This analysis suggests that existing radiography systems, in conjunction with passive monitoring, may offer stronger detection capabilities than previously realized and presents data on the distribution of material in stream-of-commerce cargo to inform the development of future technologies.


Text designers are likely to benefit from guidance on how to use typographic differentiation for emphasis. Three experiments use purposely-designed fonts to explore the size and nature of differences in the stylistic characteristics of fonts (weight, width, contrast, italic) which affect letter identification. Results indicate that words set in bold and expanded fonts, when alternated with words set in a Neutral test font, may impair performance, whereas changing to italic does not. Possible explanations are explored through measuring the physical and perceptual similarities of the test fonts.


Lately, there has been an increase in utilization of natural gas, as a relatively clean fossil fuel in place of coal as we move towards the use of low-carbon energy sources. As a result, there is a need to recover natural gas from high concentration carbon dioxide (CO2) gas fields which have been regarded as uneconomical to be developed previously. In such cases, naturally occurring CO2 needs to be separated from natural gas or reduced to a lower content to meet sales gas specifications and utilization for power generation. Meanwhile, the separated CO2 needs to be disposed or utilized efficiently for consumption by various processes. In this work, we develop a variant of the composite table algorithm to be applied in the planning of field development involving high CO2 gas field, often considered as unconventional resources. This methodology is superior to previously developed graphical approach as the model is able to solve more generic cases without imposing strict assumptions on stream purity requirements. The methodology is illustrated using case studies such as those demonstrated in the paper. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org) PRES17 conference


Background Using a previously developed method for calculating expected years of life with care needs based on data from the Japanese long-term care insurance system, we examined recent trends in expected years of life with care needs by age group and prefecture. Methods Information on care needs was available from the long-term care insurance system of Japan. Expected years of life with care needs by age group and prefecture in 2005–2009 were calculated. Results Expected years of life with care needs at age 65 increased from 1.43 years in 2005 to 1.62 years in 2009 for men, and from 2.99 to 3.44 years for women. As a proportion of total life expectancy, these values show an increase from 7.9% to 8.6% in men and from 12.9% to 14.4% in women. Expected years with care needs did not increase in the age groups of 65 to 69 and 70 to 74 years but markedly increased in the age group of 85 years or older. Expected years with care needs increased in every prefecture during the period studied. The difference in 2005 between the 25th and 75th percentiles in prefectural distributions was 0.16 years for men and 0.35 years for women. The difference remained nearly constant between 2005 and 2009. Conclusions Expected number of years of life with care needs increased among Japanese from 2005 to 2009, and there was a wide range in distribution among prefectures. Further studies on coverage of care needs under the long-term insurance program are necessary.


A tunnel sprayer system is considered as one of the most economical and reasonable sprayers for protection of an orchard crop. The performance of the spraying system (spray deposition %, recycling %, and deposition % on abaxial and adaxial surface) could be improved through appropriate design. However, the morphological parameter of the orchard significantly influenced accuracy and effectiveness of the same spraying system. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the morphological parameters of guava tree. Three techniques were used for estimation of leaf area: Grid Count Method (GCM), Image Processing Technique (IPT) and Regression Model (RM). The grid count method was used as a reference for area estimation. R 2 was 0.98 and 0.94 for IP & RM compared to GCM, respectively. In the regression model, only length and width of the guava leaf were found statistically significant (P < 0.01). It was concluded that the image processing technique provided better results for leaf area estimation with mean error ± standard deviation (−0.23 ± 3.41) than regression developed model. This study ensured the accuracy of image processing technique for the leaf area estimation and allows the researchers to deal with voluminous of leafs with accurate and quick response. Leaf area density (LAD) was recorded to be in range of 0.07–2.73 m 2 /m 3 . These morphological parameters could be used for design optimization of recycling tunnel sprayer in future, which would help to improve the performance of tunnel system.


Abstract. Floods are the most frequent, costliest natural disasters having devastating consequences on people, infrastructure, and the ecosystem. During flood events near real-time satellite imagery has proven to be an efficient management tool for disaster management authorities. However one of the challenges is accurate classification and segmentation of flooded water. The generalization ability of binary segmentation using threshold split-based method, is limited due to the effects of backscatter, geographical area, and time of image collection. Recent advancements in deep learning algorithms for image segmentation has demonstrated excellent potential for improving flood detection. However, there have been limited studies in this domain due to the lack of large scale labeled flood event dataset. In this paper, we present two deep learning approaches, first using a UNet and second, using a Feature Pyramid Network (FPN), both based on a backbone of EfficientNet-B7, by leveraging publicly available Sentinel-1 dataset provided jointly by NASA Interagency Implementation and Advanced Concepts Team, and IEEE GRSS Earth Science Informatics Technical Committee. The dataset covers flood events from Nebraska, North Alabama, Bangladesh, Red River North, and Florence. The performances of both networks were evaluated with multiple training, testing, and validation. During testing, the UNet model achieved the meanIOU score of 75.06% and the FPN model achieved the meanIOU score of 75.76%.


Temporary voltage swells and sags appear with high frequency in electric power systems, and they significantly affect sensitive loads such as industrial manufacturing or communication devices. This paper presents a strategy to design proportional-resonant controllers for three full-bridge voltage-source converters with a common DC-link in dynamic voltage restorer systems. The proposed controllers allow the system to quickly overcome temporary unbalanced voltage sags. Simulation results carried out in MATLAB/Simulink and experimental results implemented in a Typhoon HIL402 device demonstrate the ability of the proposed design method. The results show that the system with the proposed controllers can ride-through single-phase or double-phase voltage sags up to 55% and three-phase voltage sags up to 70% in a duration less than one grid-voltage cycle.


This paper describes efficient concept acquisition for an infant agent (IA) based on learning biases that are observed in child language development. An IA acquires concepts through learning relations between visual features of objects and acoustic features of human speech. In this task, the IA has to find out which visual features are indicated by a speech. Previous concept acquisition systems find out them by using probabilistic methods, however, such approaches need much samples to achieve high accuracy. In this paper, firstly, we propose basic concept acquisition system using Online-EM algorithm without the biases. And then, we implement two types of learning biases to accelerate a learning process into our system. The experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve efficient learning.


The post independent South African government in 1994 started operating in an environment that was characterised by racial discrimination, exclusion of the black majority from the economic activities of their country and were relegated to second class citizens by apartheid. The Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) became the main driver of the South African Government's effort to overcome the apartheid legacy and was seen as a tool address these imbalances. This article analyses the effects of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) policy on the SMEs. This research contributes to the knowledge of African governments on how the indigenous policies can close the gap between the white minority who control the economy and the disadvantaged black majority who have been marginalised by their colonial masters. Methodologically, the study critically analysed the literature of B-BBEE policy and how it has been implemented in South Africa since it was put in place. The researcher drew insights from Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), which was later amended to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) and the findings of other researchers.


The early detection of the schizophrenia prodrome in young people considered 'at-risk' of developing this severe mental illness has entered mainstream clinical practice despite the limitations in the predictive specificity of the clinical criteria that define the At-Risk Mental State syndrome. These limitations are increasingly addressed by brain imaging research, which has added substantial evidence to the notion of emerging and progressive gray and white matter abnormalities in the early phase of illness. The association of the apparent neuropathology with the clinical signs and symptoms of the disorder – along with cognitive impairment and the underlying pathophysiology – will be reviewed.

Borderline personality disorder is a mental health condition that affects how you think and feel about yourself and others, leading to difficulties in daily living. It includes challenges with self-esteem, trouble controlling emotions and conduct, and a history of shaky relationships. BPD is a significant mental illness marked by extreme mood swings and relationship difficulties. BPD patients experience intense emotions, and bouts of rage, anxiety, or melancholy might last for days.


Motivation: Several tools exist to count Mendelian violations in family trios by comparing variants at the same genomic positions. This naive variant comparison however, fails to assess regions where multiple variants need to be examined together, resulting in reduced accuracy of existing Mendelian violation checking tools. Results: We introduce VBT, a trio concordance analysis tool, that identifies Mendelian violations by approximately solving the 3-way variant matching problem to resolve variant representation differences in family trios. We show that VBT outperforms previous trio comparison methods by accuracy. Availability: VBT is implemented in C++ and source code is available under GNU GPLv3 license at the following URL: https://github.com/sbg/VBT-TrioAnalysis.git Contact: email@example.com Supplementary information: Supplementary materials are available at Biorxiv.


1. Mass losses and nutrient losses from fresh roadside cuttings were studied in the field during a 6-week period. Large amounts (over 50%) appear to be lost from the cuttings. The losses were positively related to initial nutrient concentrations during this short-term study. Mass and nitrogen losses were best explained by the initial C:N ratio, phosphorus and potassium losses by the initial phosphorus concentration.

2. For potassium the losses were particularly large (up to 90%). For this element only, the observed relationship between loss rate and initial chemical composition could not be established significantly. It is concluded that potassium is mainly lost by leaching whereas the major nitrogen, phosphorus and mass losses are most probably caused by rapid microbial decomposition of readily soluble substances.

3. Using existing data on chemical composition of other roadside cuttings, nutrient losses after different hay removal delay times were modelled for different plant communities. All or most of the losses were assumed to return to the soil system.

4. When soil impoverishment is aimed for, cuttings should be removed within 1 or 2 weeks in most plant communities. If removal is delayed longer, the amounts of nutrients removed will often fall below the annual atmospheric input. In plant communities where annual above-ground production of nitrogen and phosphorus are lower than the annual atmospheric deposition already, rapid removal of the cuttings may be the only way to maintain at least potassium at a limiting level.

5. The main effect of hay-making on the soil nutrient status most likely consists of a reduction of the potassium availability, at least on sandy soils with a low cation exchange capacity and provided there is little delay in hay removal.