In developing an energy-based design approach and assessing the damage potential of structures, one must know the distribution of earthquake input energy among energy components: kinetic, elastic strain, hysteretic, and damping. This report examines the influences of the ground motion characteristics: intensity, frequency content, and duration of strong motion and the structural properties: ductility, damping, and hysteretic behavior on the distribution of input energy for a oneand a five-story building using 20 accelerograms, ten with short and ten with long duration of strong motion. Results indicate that for certain damping ratios, ductility has a significant influence on input energy and its distribution among energy components in a structure. For a given ductility ratio, small damping ratio (less than 5%) has a minor effect on input energy, but a major influence on the energy distribution. Damping ratios larger than 5% have a significant influence on the input energy and its distribution. Three energy ratios that relate to hysteretic energy were computed: the maximum ratio of hysteretic to input energy (Eh/Eir)m, the ratio of the maximum hysteretic energy to the maximum input energy Ehm/Eirm, and the equivalent number of yield excursions Neq=Ehm/(Fy.up) where Fy is the yield strength, and up is the plastic deformation. It is found that (Eh/Eir)m generally reflects the energy demand for the largest yield excursion, and Ehm/Eirm and Neq reflect the energy demand for the entire duration of accelerogram. The study shows that (Eh/Eir)m is independent of the duration of strong motion and period of structure; however, Ehm/Eirm is independent of both only for periods less than 1 s. Results indicate that as the duration becomes longer the equivalent number of yield excursions Neq increases indicating more structural damage. The influence of ground motion characteristics and structural properties on the distribution of energy parameters for a five-story building with fixed-base, base-isolation, supplemental damping, and semi-active control are examined using the 20 accelerograms. The results show that: 1) the distribution of energy through the height of the building is mostly independent of the frequency content and the duration of strong motion, 2) baseisolation, supplemental damping, and semi-active control reduce the damage potential by reducing the input and hysteretic energy demands and have significant influences on the distribution of energy through the height of the building.


Fatigue crack propagation tests in the Paris region were performed in order to get compressive loading effect on fatigue crack growth at negative stress ratio (R) in 2A12 aluminum alloy. The results of the tests showed that the effect of the compressive loading part of the applied stress cycle on fatigue crack growth rate da/dN in 2A12 aluminum alloy at negative stress ratio can not be omitted. The fatigue crack growth rate at R<0 was more than that at R>0 under the same range of stress intensity factor Kmax. The da/dN is the function of Kmax and stress ratio R. The promoting effect has an increase trend with the increase of the absolute value of the negative stress ratio R. Then a model involved compressive loading effect on fatigue crack propagation at negative stress was obtained. The model has been obtained good agreements with the experimental data.


To model strategic interactions standard game theory assumes that agents have common knowledge of rationality. This allows agents to use deduction to form expectations on the behavior of their counterparts. In coordination games however, deduction fundamentally fails to prescribe a unique solution to agents, raising a "matching" problem in game theory. The question is, when deduction is of no use, how are agents to match or decouple their choices? The thesis explored here is inspired from the recent finding that humans recruit the same neural structures to reason about themselves and similar but not dissimilar others, and of friends but not strangers; a finding which has led some investigators to speak of self-referential mentalizing. This meshes nicely with the widely-established cross-species observation that social beings usually exhibit a preference for similar others; as well as with the well-known observation that social closeness fosters cooperation. However, as investigated by nearly all previous experiments, cooperation critically required agents to match their choices. My work adds to the experimental literature in several respects: i) it shows that both objective social closeness (friendship) and psychological closeness (perceived lab-induced similarity) can have an opposite effect on strategic interactions, depending on whether they require to match or decouple choices; ii) that this behavior is best explained by synergistic contributions of expected reciprocity and altruism, which we show to be dissociable both in behavior and the brain. From a neural perspective, expected reciprocity relies on the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, an area previously implicated in reward, interpersonal similarity and depth of reasoning; while the temporo-parietal junction is particularly important for altruism. Taken together, our results provide novel insight into the neuro-cognitive mechanisms that facilitate social cohesion.


Abstract. We examine past and future carbon emissions from global croplands, considering land-use change, changes in crop productivity, tillage practices, and residue removal. We find that emissions over the historical period are sensitive to the assumed productivity of arable land that is not planted in a given year and the assumed fraction of soil carbon that is released during land conversion. The role of this "other" arable land, both at present and over the historical period, is not well understood and should be examined further. The carbon balance of croplands over 21st century depends on changes in management practices, particularly the adoption of conservation tillage and the potential removal of residue for use as energy feedstocks. We find that croplands will not become large carbon sinks in the future, however, unless most crop residue is left on fields. Given the relatively low carbon "penalty" incurred by removal, residue use for energy feedstocks may be the preferred option.


In this study, vibrations of an electric motor are analyzed when the motor has the interaction between mechanical and electromagnetic behaviors. For this vibration analysis a 3-phase 8-pole brushless DC motor is selected. Vibrations of the motor are influenced by coupled electromechanical characteristics. The variation of air-gap induced by vibration has an influence on the inductance of the motor coil. To analyze dynamic characteristics of the rotor, we studied inductance by the variation of an air-gap. After obtaining the kinetic, potential and magnetic energies for the motor, the equations of motion are derived by using Lagrange's equation. By applying the Newmark time integration method to the equations, the dynamic responses for the displacements and currents are computed.


The results of the operative treatment of medial epicondylitis in forty consecutive elbows (thirty-eight patients) were assessed retrospectively on the basis of the subjective outcome, pain noted during resisted palmar flexion of the hand and wrist, satisfaction of the patient, and grip strength. The mean age of the patients at the time of the operation was forty-two years (range, twenty-two to fifty-six years). Coexistent ulnar neuritis was identified preoperatively in twenty-four elbows. The operative procedure involved release of the attachment of the common flexor muscle of the forearm at the medial epicondyle in all of the elbows and release of the retinaculum over the cubital tunnel in seventeen of the twenty-four elbows that had coexistent ulnar neuritis. The patients were followed for a mean of forty-four months (range, twenty-four to sixty-seven months). Twenty-five elbows had a good over-all subjective outcome. The preoperative pain had resolved in twenty-eight elbows. The over-all subjective outcome was less favorable for the elbows that had had coexistent ulnar neuritis (p < 0.05). Eleven of the sixteen elbows that had had isolated medial epicondylitis and had been treated with a flexor release were free of symptoms at the time of follow-up, compared with only three of the twenty-four elbows that had had coexistent ulnar neuritis. This difference was significant (p < 0.01). Moreover, in fifteen elbows, the symptoms of ulnar neuritis persisted. There was no difference in grip strength between the treated and contralateral extremities.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


MENA countries have long been important participants in the ICSID system. Several ICSID "firsts" are associated with MENA countries: the first signatory of the ICSID Convention, the first ICSID case, and the first "arbitration without privity."
This note examines the current (as of the end of 2020) ICSID caseload of MENA countries, including the sectoral distribution of the cases. Paradoxically, for a region so rich in petroleum resources, relatively few of the cases have involved oil and gas disputes.The note discusses possible reasons for this. It concludes by suggesting that in appropriate cases MENA countries might find ICSID's proposed new mediation mechanism an attractive option for the settlement of petroleum investment disputes.


This study attempts to reveal the effect of the contract type on the success of defense projects contingent with the level of technological uncertainty existing at the beginning of the project. Based on data collected on 110 defense development projects performed in Israel, it was found that when technological uncertainty at the start of projects is high, cost-plus contracts result in better performance. Fixed-price contracts are better suited for projects with lower levels of technological uncertainty. A combination of cost-plus and fixed-price contracts is suggested for use in projects suffering from high technological uncertainty, starting with a cost-plus contract for the early stages of the project and switching to a fixed-price contract when the uncertainty is reduced.


Fitness allows tennis players to optimise their playing technique, ensuring high level of performance and reduces the risk of injury. Combined with psychological, tactical and technical training, physical fitness makes a significant difference to determine winning a tennis match. The purpose of this study was to profile competitive Kenyanjunior female and male tennis players and determine differences in their fitness on reco gnised tennis related physiological parameters. The fitness components measured included aerobic capacity (1.5 mile run), strength (grip strength), power (vertical jump), speed (20-yard dash), muscular endurance (60-second sit-up), agility (spider test), flexibility (sit and reach) and body composition (calipers). A questionnaire was also administered to the players to determine fitness training habits and attitudes to fitness. A physical fitness training pro gramme was suggested to the coaches and players but not enforced by the researchers. A comparison of3month interval repeat test results for the different fitness components was made between KLTA junior ranked male (n=14, age 16.23) and female players (n = 12, age=14.23 yrs) and unranked players male(n = 10, age = 17.10 yrs), female (n=13.23yrs). AFAHPER_SD CONFERENCE 2005, NAIROBI, KENYA Page 67 The results of the present study showed that the boys and girls' fitness levels were sub-standard compared to I1F age based normative standards. This may partly explain the lull in the performance of Kenya's tennis players given the relative importance of physical fitness on high-level competitive tennis play. Questionnaire results showed that most of the players were spending considerable time doing fitness training each week, did not have a fitness program to follow and would like a fitness program written for them The study recommends that Kenyan players need to be coached on how to implement fitness in their daily training regime, be provided with individualised fitness programs that make more efficient use of time, minimise the risk of burnout and injury, and provide maximal fitness gains. Key lmrds: Junior tennis players, physical fitness profile, I1F, KLTA, Kenya


The name green banking suggests not the color of any bank or any of the banking operational devices, but the concept of reducing the usage of paper and wastage of resources in the normal day to day operations of the bank. Though this concept is widely popular in today's world, the implementation of it began a long time ago, perhaps not with the purpose of reducing wastage but with the purpose of increasing efficiency. Over the years, though the principal reason of bringing in technological advancements into any sector, particularly banking, has been to increase its
efficiency, productivity and competency, it became more attractive to call them the measures to improve green banking by which the banks could establish their contribution to the well-being of the society. If we look into it deeply, every little technological advancement that was employed in banking led to the development of green banking. Therefore, green banking did not come into
picture only after computerization of banks, but its evolution started right from the day the banks started to adopt alternative methods of doing their operations on a daily basis. Any concept can
be contemplated in different perspectives. Likewise, the concept of green banking can be analyzed in three different perspectives. Advantages and disadvantages to the customer, the employee and the management of the bank. Though all the three dimensions are important, the most important
are the main supplier and the end consumer. Their opinions, expectations and experiences can vary any aspect that forms the operations of banking. The management of the banks are the brains of the banks. Their thoughts, views and instructions are what flows through the employees into the
work force of the consumer. If the consumer is not satisfied, then the same flow gets reversed and affects the management. In future, every step the management takes to implement new technology into the operations of the bank, it will primarily look at two matters; whether it will improve the operations level, whether it reduces cost or increases profit and whether the clients could be satisfied. The current report will throw light upon the evolution of green banking with its issues and challenges in India.


Recent international conventions seeking the stronger protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) have been promoted largely by the OECD countries. Is there evidence to indicate that early benefits have, in fact, been gained by the world s main biotechnology and seed companies? What will be the consequences for developing countries? Will IPR legislation result in better varieties becoming available more quickly? Will it encourage local plant breeding or will IPR predominantly strengthen the market position of foreign seed companies? Will traditional seed diffusion practices become restricted? Most early experience with the implementation of IPR has been gained in developed countries and in Latin America. This paper reviews preliminary evidence against the above questions.


An ordinary differential equation (ODE) is a mathematical form to describe physical or biological systems composed by time-derivatives of physical positions or chemical concentrations as a function of its current state. Given observed pairs, a relevant modeling problem is to find the symbolic expression of a differential equation which mathematically describes the concerned phenomenon.
The Grammar-based Immune Programming (GIP) is a method for evolving programs in an arbitrary language by immunological inspiration. A program can be a computer program, a numerical function in symbolic form, or a candidate design, such as an analog circuit. GIP can be used to solve symbolic regression problems in which the objective is to find an analytical expression of a function that better fits a given data set.
At least two ways are available to solve model inference problems in the case of ordinary differential equations by means of symbolic regression techniques. The first one consists in taking numerical derivatives from the given data obtaining a set of approximations. Then a symbolic regression technique can be applied to these approximations. Another way is to numerically integrate the ODE corresponding to the candidate solution and compare the results with the observed data.
Here, by means of numerical experiments, we compare the relative performance of these two ways to infer models using the GIP method.


The world we live in today is defined by three great arcs. The first is the world of semiconductors and the innovation characterized by Moore's law, the second is the creation of ubiquitous wireless access, and the third is the emergence of the internet platform. In that context, this Essay looks at government claims of monopolization in telecommunications and computing by considering past antitrust actions against AT&T, IBM, and Microsoft. Early antitrust actions against AT&T and IBM of course long predated the rise of the Chicago School, but later actions against AT&T and IBM overlapped that rise as did the antitrust actions against Microsoft. These antitrust actions intersected with and influenced these three arcs, though teasing out the precise nature of that influence is ultimately quite tricky.


Introduction: Drug absorption is a complex process involving dissolution and precipitation, along with other kinetic processes. A deep understanding of these processes can support drug development during compound selection, formulation development, clinical study design and regulatory interactions. Aim: The purpose of this work was to 1) establish an in vitro methodology to study dissolution and precipitation in early stages of drug development where low compound consumption and high throughput are necessary, 2) develop a mathematical model for a mechanistic explanation of generated in vitro dissolution and precipitation data and 3) extrapolate in vitro data to in vivo situations using physiologically based models to predict oral drug absorption. Methods: Small-scale dissolution and pH-shift studies were performed in biorelevant media to monitor the precipitation profiles of a set of poorly soluble weak bases. After developing a dissolution-precipitation model from this data, it was integrated into a simplified, physiologically based absorption model to predict oral fraction absorbed of the selected compounds and to simulate the PK profile of a set of clinical studies. Results: The model helped explain the consequences of supersaturation behavior of the weakly basic compounds. The predicted human pharmacokinetic profiles closely aligned with the observed clinical data. Conclusions: A new approach combining experimental dissolution/precipitation methodology with a mechanistic model has been developed for the prediction of human drug absorption kinetics. The approach unifies the dissolution and precipitation theories and enables accurate predictions of in vivo oral absorption by means of physiologically based modeling.


The aging process is perceived as resulting from a combination of intrinsic factors such as changes in intracellular signaling and extrinsic factors, most notably environmental stressors. In skin, the relationship between intrinsic changes and keratinocyte function is not clearly understood. Previously, we found that increasing the activity of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) suppressed senescence in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-treated human primary keratinocytes, a model of oxidative stress-induced cellular aging. Using this model in the present study, we observed that resveratrol, an agent that increases the activities of both AMPK and sirtuins, ameliorated two age-associated phenotypes: cellular senescence and proliferative dysfunction. In addition, we found that treatment of keratinocytes with Ex527, a specific inhibitor of sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), attenuated the ability of resveratrol to suppress senescence. In keeping with the latter observation, we noted that compared to non-senescent keratinocytes, senescent cells lacked SIRT1. In addition to these effects on H2O2-induced senescence, resveratrol also prevented the H2O2-induced decrease in proliferation (as indicated by 3H-thymidine incorporation) in the presence of insulin. This effect was abrogated by inhibition of AMPK but not SIRT1. Compared to endothelium, we found that human keratinocytes expressed relatively high levels of Forkhead box O3 (FOXO3), a downstream target of both AMPK and SIRT1. Treatment of keratinocytes with resveratrol transactivated FOXO3 and increased the expression of its target genes including catalase. Resveratrol's effects on both senescence and proliferation disappeared when FOXO3 was knocked down. Finally, we performed an exploratory study which showed that skin from humans over 50 years old had lower AMPK activity than skin from individuals under age 20. Collectively, these findings suggest that the effects of resveratrol on keratinocyte senescence and proliferation are regulated by the AMPK-FOXO3 pathway and in some situations, but not all, by SIRT1.


Established in 1950, the Planned Parenthood Center of Tucson provided Arizona women with family planning [3] resources until 1977, when it expanded to locations outside of Tucson and became Planned Parenthood of Southern Arizona. The Planned Parenthood Center of Tucson was formed after the Clinica Para Madres, the first birth control [4] clinic in Arizona, merged with the national organization [5] Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The clinic moved to several rented locations throughout the Tucson area before establishing a permanent location named the Margaret Sanger Clinic in Tucson, Arizona.


Although the vast majority of thyroid nodules are benign, evaluation by ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy is usually necessary to exclude underlying malignancy. Partially in recognition of reported variability in FNA sensitivity and specificity, the 2007 British Thyroid Association (BTA) guidelines recommended two benign results 3?6 months apart to exclude neoplasia. The 2014 BTA guidance states that a second FNA is not required for nodules with benign Thy2 cytology and ultrasound characteristics unless there is strong clinical evidence to suggest malignancy. We report a retrospective analysis of patients from two large teaching hospitals who had repeat ultrasound-guided FNA biopsy between 2009 and 2014 following an initial report of Thy2/Thy2c. Radiology and cytology findings for first, second and any subsequent investigations were reviewed. Of the 162 patients with a first FNA of Thy2/2c, 25 repeat biopsies were non-diagnostic (Thy1/1c), and 130 patients again had benign Thy2/2c cytology, although 14 of these repeat biopsies were taken from the opposite side; one of these patients was later diagnosed with an incidental follicular variant of papillary thyroid cancer, another with Hurthle cell adenoma. Seven of the 162 patients with a first FNA of Thy2/2c were found to have Thy3 cytology or higher (3 Thy3a, 2 Thy3, 1 Thy4 and 1 Thy5) on repeat biopsy and progressed to thyroid surgery, where four were diagnosed with thyroid carcinoma. There was no strong clinical evidence to suggest malignancy in any of these patients, and initial ultrasound characteristics were also unremarkable. These results suggest that a second ultrasound-guided FNA biopsy may be necessary to avoid incorrect exclusion of neoplasia in patients initially found to have benign cytology, unless it is proven beyond doubt that by doing so we do not alter clinical outcomes in these generally indolent tumours.


Why do some countries participate in IMF programs while others refuse to do so? We suggest an answer to the question by unpacking one side of the typical democracy–autocracy dichotomy. Specifically, we utilize the growing literature on the varieties of authoritarianism to develop an argument linking the different incentives and constraints that leaders in party-based, personalist, and military regimes face when considering whether to sign agreements with the IMF. Empirically, we demonstrate that distinguishing among autocracies uncovers important variations in the sensitivity of such regimes to the political costs incurred by IMF participation. Party-based autocracies, for instance, respond to both sovereignty costs and the benefits of program participation during severe economic crises. Personalist regimes, however, are not sensitive to the sovereignty costs incurred with IMF participation and thus only participate when doing so provides needed revenue during economic crises. The unique features of military juntas, by contrast, suggests that such regimes are not sensitive to either of these political costs and thus do not respond to economic crises in the same way as their autocratic counterparts.


[1] We give a detailed description of the semidiurnal-band current and temperature variability observed during the Internal Waves on the Continental Margin (IWAVES) field experiments of 1996 and 1997 off of Mission Beach, California. This variability was dominated by the internal tide, and the structure of the internal tide on the slope and shelfbreak region was different from that on the narrow shelf. On the slope and shelfbreak, the internal tide was dominated by alongshore propagating coastal-trapped waves. In this region, semidiurnal-band currents were predominantly oriented in the alongshore direction. In the lower half of the water column at a water depth H of 350 m, current and temperature variability were consonant with a short wavelength (∼8 km) bottom trapped wave propagating in the alongshore direction to the north. In the upper 120 m of the water column (above the depth of the shelfbreak), slope and shelfbreak currents were highly coherent with a zero phase lag; that is, there was no phase propagation in the cross-shore direction. On the narrow (∼10 km) shelf, cross-shore currents u were much more energetic than on the slope and had the structure of a mode-one internal wave. The alongshore currents v decreased monotonically from the surface to the bottom of the water column with a phase that did not change with depth. The near-bottom u signal propagated toward the coast during all mooring deployments, faster in the summer than in the fall. The near-bottom u and mid-column temperature relative phase was neither consistent with a purely progressive nor a purely standing mode-one internal wave. We conclude that the internal tide on the shelf was partially reflected.


Databases organise, configure, and perform thing-and-people multiples in sets. Belonging, inclusion, participation, and membership: many of the relations that make up the material-social life of people and things can be formally apprehended in terms of set-like multiples stored in databases. Mid-20th century database design derived different ways of gathering, sorting, ordering, and searching data from mathematical set theory. The dominant database architecture, the relational database management system, can be seen as a specific technological enactment of the mathematics of set theory. More recent developments such as grids, clouds, and other data-intensive architectures apprehend ever greater quantities of data. Arguably, in emerging data architectures databases themselves are subsumed by even more intensive set-like operations. Whole databases undergo set-like transformations as they are aggregated, divided, filtered, and sorted. At least at a theoretical level, the mathematics of set theory, as philosophically rendered by Alain Badiou, can also suggest some explanations of how multiples expand, ramify, and split in databases. Badiou's account locates forms of instability or incoherence inherent in any set-based doing of multiples in the relation between parts and elements, between inclusion and belonging. Against the grain of Badiou's resolutely philosophical project, a set-theoretical account of databases might also point towards some vertiginous elements that elude regulation, norms, and representation.


Information Technology has become a core activity in most, if not all, corporations. Although IT managers continue to be under-represented in executive management, the very centrality of information technology to corporate success or failure suggests that this situation cannot endure. It has been suggested that information technology managers are too narrowly focused and technically oriented for strategic roles in the corporation. A key skill required of the executive relates to making decisions in situations imbued with uncertainty. This paper examines a cognitive process, the overconfidence effect, which has been shown to influence good decision making. An analysis is presented as to the susceptibility of IT professionals to the overconfidence effect when compared to accounting / finance and marketing professionals. The results suggest that information technology professionals are as good, if not better, at making complex decisions as professionals from the other two groups. Information technology professionals proved to be moderately overconfident, a situation which has some advantages as well is disadvantages. The study indicated that information technology professionals have the decision making skills to take their rightful place at the most senior levels in corporations.


Environmental horticulture firms provide a variety of commercial/residential landscape products and services encompassing ornamental plant production, design, installation, and maintenance. The companies generate tons of waste including plastic containers, trays, and greenhouse/field covers, creating the need to reduce and utilize plastic waste. Based on survey data collected in Georgia in 2013, this paper investigates determinants of the environmental horticulture firms' recycling decision (plastic containers, flats, and greenhouse poly) as well as factors influencing total quantity of recyclable materials discarded by firms. Our findings indicate that the decision to discard vs. recycle plastic containers, flats, and greenhouse poly is significantly influenced by firm scope, size, location, and partnership with recycling providers, as well as whether recycling providers offer additional waste pickup services. In terms of total quantity of discarded waste, high revenue firms with a focus on landscape maintenance and plant nurseries are found to throw away more recyclable materials compared to firms with another business focus. Insights from this study are of use to local governments and environmental organizations interested in increasing horticultural firm participation in recycling programs and lowering the volume of plastic destined for landfills.


Optical clocks have reached an impressive accuracy, surpassing by orders of magnitude that of microwave clocks, so that the optical transitions on which they are based can be considered as ideal candidates for a possible future redefinition of the second. For these reasons, it is fundamental to develop an effective way to generate time scales based on optical clocks. However, optical clocks are still far from matching the robustness, reliability and long times of autonomous operation typical of microwave clocks. Therefore, the usual way to generate a time scale based on an optical clock, is to use it as a frequency steering reference for a master clock [1], typically an Active Hydrogen Maser (AHM). The master clock is usually referred to as a flywheel oscillator, since it allows the generation of the time scale also when the optical clock is unavailable. It is hence important to understand the impact of the unavailability of the optical clock on the performances of the steering algorithm and of the generated time scale. For example, it is fundamental to understand the minimum availability of the optical clock data needed to guarantee a given level of performances. To this aim, we simulated a time scale steered with an optical clock by considering several possible scenarios for the availability of the latter. By modifying the steering algorithm described in [2], we simulated the measurement data of the frequency offset of an AHM with respect to an optical clock, and we used them to steer the AHM for the time scale generation. Then, we tested the algorithm by considering six different scenarios for the availability of the optical clock, spanning from the ideal one (continuous operation of the optical clock), to the worst one (non-uniformly distributed frequency measurements with long unavailability periods). We also considered a realistic scenario where the optical clock is operated for a few hours once a week, with the possibility of a jitter on the day of the week. Finally, we evaluated the performances by considering the phase offset of the steered time scales with respect to UTC, and we compared and discussed the results obtained within the different scenarios. The results prove that the steering algorithm is robust and effective despite its very simple implementation. As expected, the scenarios giving the best and worst performances are the ideal one and those with long unavailability periods, respectively. More interestingly, the realistic scenario, with one measurement per week only, gives results similar to the ideal scenario ones. This is remarkable, as it means that, even with a much smaller effort dedicated to the optical clock, the final performances of the time scale are still close to the optimal case.

This project 18SIB05 ROCIT has received funding from the EMPIR programme co-financed by the Participating States and from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

References
[1] H. Hachisu, F. Nakagawa, Y. Hanado and T. Ido, "Months-long real-time generation of a time scale based on an optical clock," Scientific Reports, (2018) 8:4243.
[2] L. Galleani, G. Signorile, V. Formichella and I. Sesia, "Generating a real-time time scale making full use of the available frequency standards," Metrologia 2020, in press.


The aim of this thesis is to combine economic theory and empirical analysis in an effort to understand the dynamic effects of real exchange rate determinants, policies and global factors on real exchange rates. This thesis comprises three related essays. The first essay examines the validity of the Balassa-Samuelson hypothesis (BSH). This study introduces a new approach for classifying traded and non-traded industries which allows for country-specific heterogeneity and trade endogeneity, and then uses this classification in the construction of a model that allows for the Balassa-Samuelson effect. We find that in developed countries, productivity growth in traded sectors leads to a real depreciation, inconsistent with the BSH; however, higher economic growth will be followed by a real appreciation. The results of developing countries support the BSH, although persistence profiles show slow speeds of convergence. The second essay extends the analysis into a general model of real exchange rates. It investigates the impact of trade liberalisation, productivity growth, monetary policy and government consumption on real exchange rates in four panels of countries consisting of European, non-European developed, Asian developing and non-Asian developing countries. The analysis is based on a panel structural vector error correction model augmented with foreign variables, and a Bayesian approach is used to implement sign restrictions with a penalty function for undertaking impulse response analysis. We find that trade liberalisation generates depreciation and higher government consumption causes persistent appreciation. A contractionary monetary policy shock has only short-run impact on real exchange rates, corresponding to the long-run neutrality of monetary policy. Traded-sector productivity gains cause an impact appreciation in Asian developing countries and lead to persistent appreciation in non-Asian developing countries, whereas the shocks induce long-run depreciation in developed countries, in line with the results in the first essay. The third essay combines the four panels of countries into a Global Vector Autoregressive (GVAR) model to examine how real exchange rates and key macroeconomic variables respond to an oil price shock, a US monetary policy shock and simultaneous shocks to productivity in four large Asian emerging economies. Using a sign restricted impulse response approach, we find that an oil price shock causes a depreciation of the US dollar as well as economic recession and excessive inflation in the global economy. The way in which monetary policy deals with the shock matters for the long-run level of economic activity. An unexpected US monetary tightening causes an appreciation of the US dollar and a fall in real GDP and inflation over the long run. The monetary policy reaction to this change seems to be stronger in developing countries than in developed countries. Simultaneous shocks to traded-sector productivity in China, India, Korea and Indonesia induce a rise in real GDP and currency appreciation in these four countries. Meanwhile, many Asian countries benefit from the shocks with higher productivity and GDP. The value of their currency is likely to appreciate.


Purpose: The present study aims at developing and empirically testing a research model that presents the influence of Corporate Social Responsibility on corporate image, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, demonstrating the direct and indirect effects among these structures. Design/Methodology/Approach: The examination of the proposed research model was carried out using a structured questionnaire completed by 358 mobile users in the city of Kavala. The validity and the reliability of the questionnaire were examined, while for the data analysis the Structural Equation Modeling Technique was used with LISREL 8.80. Findings: The findings of this study indicate that Corporate Social Responsibility have not a significant direct effect on customer loyalty, while corporate image and customer satisfaction have a significant positive effect on customer loyalty. Moreover, the findings provide practical new insights in understanding how a mobile company's CSR policy could be developed and implemented to help enhance customer loyalty through the mediating effects of customer satisfaction. Practical Implications: The companies would like to understand the implications of its CSR policy implementation, especially in enhancing its corporate image and customer satisfaction in terms of reputation and impression. Originality/Value: This study is a pioneer research in addressing the mediating role played by customer satisfaction for strengthening the relationship between CSR and customer loyalty in mobile phone companies.


Driving Impairment and Accident Risk in Sleep Apnea: We Need Better Assessment Tools
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is strongly associated with neurobehavioral impairment and increased motor vehicle accident (MVA) risk resulting in an estimated 1400 road fatalities and a cost of $15.9 billion annually in the United States alone. Despite these alarming figures, the elevated MVA risk might only relate to a subset of the OSA patient population, while a large proportion of patients show minimal or no driving impairment and present no relative risk on the road. At present, assessing an OSA patient's MVA risk, and their eligibility to hold an unrestricted driver's licence, is challenging. Current clinical metrics of OSA severity and daytime sleepiness are limited in their ability to identify at-risk patients. There is a need for novel assessment tools that may better reflect the risk of neurobehavioral impairment and MVA in individuals, allowing for targeted prioritisation of clinical resources and ultimately, improving traffic safety.


Video traic is increasing at a considerable rate due to the spread of personal media and advancements in media technology. Accordingly, there is a growing need for techniques to automatically classify moving images. This paper use NetVLAD and NetFV models and the Huber loss function for video classiication problem and YouTube-8M dataset to verify the experiment. We tried various attempts according to the dataset and optimize hyperparameters, ultimately obtain a GAP score of 0.8668.


Enhancing border security in support of the global 'war against terrorism' is very much in vogue these days, in particular as regards the control of air passengers. Seven years after 9/11, this trend is yet unbroken. While the build-up of defences occurs in most cases at the one-sided expense of civil liberties, the EU–Canada Agreement of 2005 is different: quite justly, it holds the reputation of a well-balanced instrument respecting the interests of citizens. Still, instead of serving as a model for future instruments, the Agreement rather runs the risk of being scrapped at the next possible occasion. A close look at the passenger name record (PNR) 'mainstream', as embodied by the EU–US branch of transatlantic relations with four Agreements rapidly succeeding between 2004 and 2008, reveals the opposite tendency away from data protection and towards an unconditional tightening of controls. This report undertakes to examine the doubtful benefits of such an approach by assessing the price to pay inter alia for 'false positive' mismatches and other collateral damages, while the actual achievement of a higher degree of public security remains very much in the dark, mostly owing to the impossibility of making all borders 100% secure. As a result, no critical reason emerges for taking leave of the good practices established by the EU–Canada instrument.


High efficiency perovskite solar cells can be made through the Lewis adduct approach. The interaction between PbI2 and the Lewis base is a key factor to make high quality perovskite films. Here, we combine a two-step method with the Lewis adduct approach to fabricate high quality organometallic perovskite films by tuning the strength of the Pb–O bond in Lewis acid–base adducts via adding different Lewis base additives. By optimizing the strength of the Pb–O bond, smooth CH3NH3PbI3 films with large perovskite grains are prepared. The high quality CH3NH3PbI3 films lead to a low recombination rate, long carrier life time and highly efficient charge transfer process. As a result, the power conversion efficiency of the best perovskite solar cell increases from 12.79% to 17.26%.


Deliberative minipublics are small groups of citizens who deliberate together about a policy issue and convey their conclusions to decision makers. Theorists have argued that deliberative minipublics can give observers evidence about counterfactual, "enlightened" public opinion—what the people would think about an issue if they had the opportunity to deliberate with their fellow citizens. If the conclusions of a deliberative minipublic are received in this spirit and members of the public revise their opinions upon learning them, then deliberative minipublics could be a means of bringing actual public opinion into closer conformity with counterfactual, enlightened public opinion. We formalize a model of this theory and report the results of a survey experiment designed to test its predictions. The experiment produced evidence that learning the conclusions of a deliberative minipublic influenced respondents' policy opinions, bringing them into closer conformity with the opinions of the participants in the deliberative minipublic.


Vision-based driver assistance systems is one of the rapidly growing research areas of ITS, due to various factors such as the increased level of safety requirements in automotive, computational power in embedded systems, and desire to get closer to autonomous driving. It is a cross disciplinary area encompassing specialised fields like computer vision, machine learning, robotic navigation, embedded systems, automotive electronics and safety critical software. In this paper, we survey the list of vision based advanced driver assistance systems with a consistent terminology and propose a taxonomy. We also propose an abstract model in an attempt to formalize a top-down view of application development to scale towards autonomous driving system.


The present study retrospectively evaluated the mammographic findings of 606 Japanese women with breast cancer (median age 50 years; range 27–89 years) and correlated them with histopathological characteristics. Mammographic findings were evaluated with an emphasis on mass shape, margin, density, calcification, and the presence of architectural distortion; these findings were correlated with histopathological characteristics such as intrinsic subtype, histological grade, lymphovascular invasion, and the Ki‐67 labeling index. An irregular mass shape and masses with a spiculated margin were significantly higher in the group of patients with luminal A breast cancer than in patients with masses that were lobular or round, or in tumors with an indistinct or microlobulated periphery (P = 0.017, P = 0.024, P < 0.001, and P = 0.001, respectively). Irregular mass shape and spiculated periphery were significantly lower in patients with Grade 3 cancer (P < 0.001 for both). In terms of lymphovascular invasion, there were significant differences between oval and irregular or round mass shape (P = 0.008 and P = 0.034), between tumors with a microlobulated and indistinct periphery (P = 0.014), between tumors with a punctate and amorphous or pleomorphic calcification shape (P = 0.030 and 0.038), and between the presence and absence of architectural distortion (P = 0.027). Equivalent or low‐density masses were also higher in Grade 1 breast cancers (P = 0.007). There were significant differences in the Ki‐67 labeling index between irregular and lobular or round tumors (P < 0.001 and P = 0.014), as well as between spiculated and indistinct or microlobulated tumors (P < 0.001 for both). Significant differences were noted in the mammographic features of different primary breast cancer subtypes. These proposed mammographic diagnostic criteria based on biological characteristics may contribute to a more accurate prediction of biological behavior of breast malignancies. (Cancer Sci 2011; 102: 2179–2185)


©2003 British Editorial Society of Bone and Joint Surgery doi:10.1302/0301-620X.85B6.13794 $2.00 e followed, prospectively, 77 patients (90 hips) with early-stage, non-traumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head for a mean period of nine years. At the time of final review, 56 (62%) were symptomatic. Using the Cox model, the initial radiological stage, the progression of staging, the reduction in size of the lesions and the percentage of necrotic volume on MRI were identified as risk factors. Using the Harris score of < 70 or surgery as the endpoint, the cumulative rates of survival were 60.0% at one year, 43.3% at two years, 38.9% at five years and 37.2% at ten years. Survival curves demonstrated that clinical deterioration could occur 90 months after the initial diagnosis, suggesting that asymptomatic patients should be followed carefully for several years. Radiological time-dependent reduction in size without progressive collapse may represent repair even when the collapse is minimal.


Beginning in December 2019, the spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has exposed weaknesses in healthcare systems across the world. To sufficiently contain the virus, countries have had to carry out a set of extraordinary measures, including exhaustive testing and screening for positive cases of the disease. It is crucial to detect and isolate those who are infected as soon as possible to keep the virus contained. However, in countries and areas where there are limited COVID-19 testing kits, there is an urgent need for alternative diagnostic measures. The standard screening method currently used for detecting COVID-19 cases is RT-PCR testing, which is a very time-consuming, laborious, and complicated manual process. Given that nearly all hospitals have X-ray imaging machines, it is possible to use X-rays to screen for COVID-19 without the dedicated test kits and separate those who are infected and those who are not. In this study, we applied deep convolutional neural networks on chest X-rays to determine this phenomena. The proposed deep learning model produced an average classification accuracy of 90.64% and F1-Score of 89.8% after performing 5-fold cross-validation on a multi-class dataset consisting of COVID-19, Viral Pneumonia, and normal X-ray images.


There is a growing demand for sustainable alternatives to petroleum based fuels to be used in the transportation sector. To this end, thermochemical pathways have been proposed for the conversion of renewable feedstock such as wood and corn stover to transportation fuels. Although it is recognized that renewable feedstock sources are environmentally superior to the current petroleum based fuels, the commercial production of renewable fuels via thermochemical pathways must also be economically advantageous. Thermochemical conversion of a renewable feedstock results in the production of a significant amount of biochar that has a low economic value. To improve the overall economics of the thermochemical pathways, there is a need for increasing the economic value of biochar by diversifying the use of biochar or by upgrading it to a higher-value product, such as activated carbon. This thesis analyzes the characteristics of biochar to provide insights in to the selection of derivatives as well as operating conditions for upgrading biochar.


Abstract Animals compromised by irradiation or graft-versus-host reaction (GVHR) are highly sensitive to endotoxin (ET). In order to determine the causes of the increased sensitivity of compromised mice, we studied alterations of hepatic (central) and bloodborne (peripheral) ET clearance processes. We observed that increased sensitivity to ET, as determined by mortality, occurred shortly after irradiation and correlated with granulocytopenia nd thrombocytopenia rather than with impairment of liver function. The involvement of granulocytes in ET clearance was indicated by injection of 51Cr-ET suspended in whole blood. By comparison with clearance of ET injected with saline or plasma, greater amounts of 51Cr-ET were sequestered in peripheral organs than in the liver. Similar results were obtained when Cr-ET in whole blood was perfused through a rat liver. ET clearance was enhanced 50% over that seen in M-199, plasma, or platelet-rich plasma. It was also found that intestinal ET contributes to mortality of granulocytopenic-thrombocytopenic mice. This was supported by the observation that bacteriologically decontaminated, irradiated animals were eight times more resistant to challenge with ET than were conventional animals. Thus, an important aspect of increased sensitivity to ET, in comprised mice, is defective peripheral clearance.


The research question is to assess the contribution of migration to rural livelihoods through remittances to the migration-sending rural households. The paper presents empirical findings from a household survey conducted in the Limpopo Province of South Africa in 1999/2000.The survey covering 585 households in 24 villages. The results indicate that migration is prevalent, and is a source of support for households to supplement their livelihood. The majority of migrants moved away from home to look for a job, with the first period of migration taking place between the ages of 15 and 30 (mean of 23). Remittances form a significant proportion (32%) of the total rural household income, surpassed only by salary and wage earnings (46%). Even though the amounts of remittances and their uses are extremely varied within and between countries, regions and even villages, they provide one of the important means through, which migrants maintain close links with the households left behind, and contribute significantly to the livelihood of a large proportion of the rural population. On the average, local wage and salary income contribute almost R17 230 per annum. This is by far the dominant source of income; it is followed by migrant remittances (cash and goods), which average R14,342 per annum.


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Abstract Elicited imitation tasks (EITs) have been proposed and examined as a practical measure of second language (L2) proficiency. This study aimed to provide an updated and comprehensive view of the relationship between EITs and other proficiency measures. Toward that end, 46 reports were retrieved contributing 60 independent effect sizes (Pearson's r) that were weighted and averaged. Several EIT features were also examined as potential moderators. The results portray EIT as a generally consistent measure of L2 proficiency (r = .66). Among other moderators, EIT stimuli length was positively associated with stronger correlations. Overall, the findings provide support for the use of EITs as a means to greater consistency and practicality in measuring L2 proficiency. In our Discussion section, we highlight the need for more transparent reporting and provide empirically grounded recommendations for EIT design and for further research into EIT development.


The occurrence of land use at a policy area in the field of land use causes some law problems. It relates to the licensing mechanism that has not been optimal yet. As the result of the policy is that society suffers loss due to inconsistent policy. The problems of this research are how the implementation of a policy in the field of land use is, what factors are causing the policy that led to the change of land use, and whether or not a policy that harms society can be classified in to a corruption act. This research is normative legal research and the approach used is qualitative.The potency of corruption can occur when there are the growth and development actions especially relating to the economy that has been running fast, and cause various changes. Local government's policy in the field of land use by giving loose and ease in licensing is an activity which potentially causes corruption. Keywords : policy, land use, corruption potency


E-learning platform quality is an important subject in the community of researchers and practitioners. Quality assessment approaches have different perspectives and differ in many respects, such as: objective, target groups and methods used. In recent years, the utility of advanced person-centered methods has become increasingly obvious. Person-centered approaches assume that samples come from heterogeneous populations and focus on identifying unobservable subpopulations that include individuals or similar cases. In this category are included both traditional techniques (e.g. cluster analysis) and advanced techniques (e.g. Latent Class Analysis, Latent Profile Analysis). In the present study, the e-learning platform quality is a general concept defined through three dimensions. The overall perception of students regarding the e-learning platform quality is based on the assessment of the following dimensions: e-learning system quality, information quality, and service quality. The aim of this paper is to extend previous research by adopting a person-oriented approach (e.g. LPA - latent profile analysis) and examine the heterogeneity of students' perceptions of e-learning platform quality. A sample of 385 students from five Romanian universities participated in the study. The data was analyzed with Mplus package version 7.4. The results of LPA revealed the presence of three profiles, reflecting different levels of e-learning platform quality perceptions: low, moderate, and high. The resulting profiles are distinct with respect to e-learning system quality, information quality, and service quality. A one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed that the perceptions of e-learning platforms quality differed significantly across the three profiles. Finally, the article presented the practical implications of the results. The results contribute, on one hand, to identifying groups of students who shared similar perception patterns when dealing with e-learning platform quality. On the other hand, the results are useful in developing a strategy of improving the e-learning platforms by including the specific needs of each student categories identified.


In spite of the trend to delegate the training and development of new managers to line managers, new managers often arrive on short management programmes without clearly formulated learning needs. If business schools are to deliver significant learning experiences, they must find ways to help course members identify these needs, and they must design programmes with the flexibility to address them. Uses the Developing Managerial Skills Programme developed at Ashridge, with its learning needs audit, live management exercise and self‐development plan to illustrate a successful design. Explains the design rationale and describes the programme, using a model of learning with seven stages: equilibrium/diagnosis/awareness/resolving/reshaping/experimentation/feedback/integration. The programme is evaluated by a survey of past participants.


The article is an ethnographic account of recent and contemporary narratives and practices of care and aging in Croatia in the pre-pandemic and COVID-19 pandemic period, within the framework of formal, informal, and "hybrid" systems of care. Its theoretical basis lies in the fields of the anthropology of family, and the anthropology of aging and care, as well as in the concepts of dignity and the conceptions of futures. The ethnographic data were gathered from 2018–2021, in four locations/regions, both in rural and urban settings. The aim of the paper is to initiate a discussion about the qualitative, socio-cultural aspects of aging and everyday life of the elderly, of its transformations and continuities, both in the spatial and temporal dimension, in urban and rural contexts, in crisis, and in "times of peace".


Fluorescence optical detection in sedimentation velocity analytical ultracentrifugation allows the study of macromolecules at nanomolar concentrations and below. This has significant promise, for example, for the study of systems of high-affinity protein interactions. Here we describe adaptations of the direct boundary modeling analysis approach implemented in the software SEDFIT that were developed to accommodate unique characteristics of the confocal fluorescence detection system. These include spatial gradients of signal intensity due to scanner movements out of the plane of rotation, temporal intensity drifts due to instability of the laser and fluorophores, and masking of the finite excitation and detection cone by the sample holder. In an extensive series of experiments with enhanced green fluorescent protein ranging from low nanomolar to low micromolar concentrations, we show that the experimental data provide sufficient information to determine the parameters required for first-order approximation of the impact of these effects on the recorded data. Systematic deviations of fluorescence optical sedimentation velocity data analyzed using conventional sedimentation models developed for absorbance and interference optics are largely removed after these adaptations, resulting in excellent fits that highlight the high precision of fluorescence sedimentation velocity data, thus allowing a more detailed quantitative interpretation of the signal boundaries that is otherwise not possible for this system.


The fire avoidance hypothesis proposes that a benefit of seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory) is to protect seeds from being killed during fire and to facilitate post-fire germination of seeds that require heat shock to break their physical dormancy. The aim of this study was to quantify the effect of fire and seed burial by a predominant seed-dispersing ant, Rhytidoponera metallica (subfamily: Ectatomminae) on germination levels of three ant-dispersed legume species (Pultenaea daphnoides, Acacia myrtifolia and Acacia pycnantha). Experimental burial of seeds within aluminium cans at a site prior to being burnt and at an adjacent unburnt site showed that fire increased germination levels, particularly for seeds buried at 1- and 2-cm deep and that overall, germination levels differed among the three plant species. To quantify seed burial depths and post-fire germination levels facilitated by R. metallica ants, seeds were fed to colonies prior to fire at the burnt and unburnt sites. Of the seeds buried within nests that were recovered, between 45% and 75% occurred within the upper 6 cm of the soil profile, although unexpectedly, greater percentages of seeds were recovered from the upper 0–2 cm of nests in the unburnt site compared with nests in the burnt site. Germination levels of buried seeds associated with R. metallica nests ranged from 21.2% to 29.5% in the burnt site compared with 3.1–14.8% in the unburnt site. While increased seed germination levels were associated with R. metallica nests following fire, most seeds were buried at depths below those where optimal temperatures for breaking seed dormancy occurred during the fire. We suggest that R. metallica ants may provide fire avoidance benefits to myrmecochorous seeds by burying them at a range of depths within a potential germination zone defined by intra- and inter-fire variation in levels of soil heating.


The loss of tropical forests has led to establishment of protected areas such as national parks to conserve environment. National parks often affect the livelihoods of local people, especially when they are strongly linked to natural resources. For conservation efforts in a national park to be efficient, cooperation of local people is required. This thesis focuses on valuations of conservation regimes, ecotourism and conservation held by local people, and on the contribution of national park and non-timber forest products to their livelihoods. The data originated from personal interviews in local communities around the Okwangwo Division of the Cross River National Park in Nigeria. In Paper I, the contribution of the Okwangwo Division to development of local communities was examined. The results showed that local people who reside around the park benefit from different types of infrastructure, employment and income from tourism. Some of the development projects undertaken by the park authorities appear to be capital intensive both in the short and long term, and risk becoming unsustainable. A choice experiment approach was applied in Paper II to elicit the preferences held by local people for different nature conservation regimes. The results showed that most of the respondents preferred the nature conservation regime that would give them more access to infrastructure. Paper III reports a study regarding willingness to conserve a leafy vegetable (afang) important for communities in the vicinity of the Okwangwo Division, using data from a contingent valuation approach. The findings showed that local people have a willingness to conserve the afang. However, since conservation of afang would entail costs to landholders, there is a need for incentives to encourage them. Data from the contingent valuation approach was also used in Paper IV to examine the willingness of local communities to contribute to ecotourism. The results revealed that most of the respondents were willing to contribute money for an ecotourism project associated with the Okwangwo Division. The findings also suggest that impacts of ecotourism on the traditions of local people should be considered when designing an ecotourism project. The income that local people around the Okwangwo Division derive from sale of non-timber forest products (NTFP) was assessed in Paper V. The results showed that NTFP play an important role in livelihoods of the local people. The results suggested that a shift from primarily subsistence to more of a cash economy may lead to an unsustainable exploitation of the products.


Abstract Changing health-risk behavior has been shown to decrease morbidity and mortality and enhance quality of life. The present review aims to describe the models and theories that underpin effective interventions and the empirical studies that warrant their successful use with specific health risk-behaviors. Motivational, behavioral enactment and multi-stage models are critically discussed in the context of identifying the ingredients that help translate theories into practice by designing effective behavior change interventions. Future research directions are outlined for continuing the development of a theory and evidence based practice in health psychology and its integration with evidence-based theory and practice of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapies, as both are focused on behavioral change. Key words: health-risk behavior, models of change, effectiveness, evidencebased interventions. INTRODUCTION Human behavior plays a central role in the maintenance of health and the prevention of disease. Health-risk behavior can be defined as any activity undertaken by people with a frequency or intensity that increases risk of disease or injury (Steptoe & Wardle, 2004). The health risk behaviors might cluster together into a risky lifestyle. Much of the mortality and morbidity is caused by individual behavioral patterns, polluted environment or poverty. Statistics show that half of the premature death from the 10 leading causes in developed countries is caused by preventable factors, such as: tobacco use, alcohol abuse, physical inactivity, unhealthy dietary habits, risk sexual practices, non-adherence to effective medication regimens and to screening programs (Gray, 1993). Health risk behaviors also influence cognitive performance, emotions, and the overall quality of life (Hawkins & Anderson, 1996). Although epidemiologic data on the relationships between these behaviors and various health outcomes were available in the early 1980s, many refinements in knowledge have occurred since then. Causal conclusions have been strengthened by more sophisticated research designs, and program implementations. The impact of these risk behaviors on health is of such magnitude that it has become one of the priorities of the most important national and international health organizations (Rutter & Quine, 2004). To advance in the field of risk behaviors change, the Behavior Change Consortium (BCC) was created as a collaborative network of institutions and specialists. BCC reviews currently informs about links between health and behavior, about the influence of the social environment on these behaviors, and about interventions to improve quality of life through modifying behavior. It also addresses what must still be learned in order to answer questions and to discover and share what works, and what does not regarding health and behavior (Prochaska, 2005). There are some important issues regarding the field. First, there is an overlapping of constructs among social cognition models of health and illness. Bandura (2000) criticizes the way the proliferation of models of health behavior determines "cafeteria style research" where a mixture of theoretical concepts are used and unnecessarily multiply predictors in the name of theoretical integration. For instance, the self-efficacy concept from Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) overlaps with perceived behavioral control from the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Theory of Planned Behavior (see below) or the barriers concept from SCT overlaps with the barriers concept from Health Belief Model. More studies are needed in order to provide evidence for discriminant validity among these constructs, and their integration with already validated theories of cognitivebehavioral practice in the clinical field (David, Miclea, & Opre, 2004), as both target health promotion and/or behavioral treatment. Second, interventions in the clinical field can be considered theory and evidence-based when (1) the theory that is used for data interpretation fulfills two criteria: (a) it provides a clear account of the hypothesized underlying psychological mechanisms that generate behavior change following the intervention; (b) the theory has been empirically tested before being used with behavior modification interventions (Michie & Abraham, 2004); researchers argue for the use of evidence obtained with specific populations and particular circumstances in order to build and improve behavior change theory, and (2) research in health psychology includes randomized control trials (RTC), elaboration and process evaluations in order to measure the impact of interventions and help identify the strategies that work in health behavior change. …


Tambukareli sub community is located in Ihayabuyaga Village, Geita district In Mwanza region. With population of more than 1500 people, communities In Tambukareli are facing inadequate access to water supply in their community. In order to solve that problem, communities decided to organize themselves to use the available water source to supply water within the community with a support from other stakeholders. The major activity planned under this project was to construct water supply scheme in order to increase accessibility of water supply throughout the year,closer to the user homes.With support from the CED student, Tambukareli water user group CTWUG)management, managed to prepare a project proposal for fund raising. The proposal was submitted to Plan International, a development NGO located in Geita. The proposal was successfully accepted by Plan International and managed to disburse funds
amounting to Tshs. 78,518,300 for the purpose of completing the intended project activities.The design of the project was community based. Thus, capacity building component
was included in the proposal. During the project implementation, water user group leaders and other community leaders were trained in various areas of project
management in order to increase their knowledge and skills for the sustainability of the project. Meanwhile, all initial preparations of the project have been completed
including purchase of pipes and its accessories ready for water scheme construction work expected to start in early April 2007. Mid term evaluation of the project has been done in order to assess the extent to which the project has achieved its objectives. Evaluation report showed that objectives has not achieved to date, however, all activities planned to achieve the intended objectives are on truck and hopefully in next few months, families at Tambukareli sub community will enjoy water closer to their
homes.


Nile islands in Egypt are the real breathing space for its surrounding cities and villages. In an environment abound with numerous economic, environmental, services and over population problems, combined with erosion of agricultural lands due to urban sprawl and poor agricultural techniques, Nile islands did neither receive adequate studies attending to highlight advantages of its natural resources which act as tourist attraction points, nor adequate developing efforts were done in order to get better services for its residents or improve their local environment. The research proposes some practical solutions for Nile island's problems based on studying sample models of successful of river islands all over the world getting use of their previous experience, as well as studying architectural design of a sample of existing successfully developed Nile islands in Egypt, their potentials, development methods and what was accomplished to make them act as tourist attraction points. The research took one of the neglected Nile islands proximate to the Maadi Corniche as an example. Proposed a development architectural design to make that island act as a refreshment area for its surrounding region and improve its tourist attraction capabilities. The research ended by concluding a general architectural design proposal that can be applied for most of the undeveloped Nile islands in Egypt.


The authors summarize the data on the interrelationship between cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenase system activity in immunocompetent cells and their functional properties, provide the results of experimental research showing an important role this enzyme system plays in macrophages and lymphocytes and the influence of immunoactive substances on their activity. The data amassed support the immunomodulating effects of cytochrome P450 inducing substances. In a majority of cases their action manifests itself in the suppression of different functions of immunocompetent cells. The role of Ah-receptor and other biochemical mechanisms in the development of those effects is discussed. Emphasis is laid on the fact that the high sensitivity of the immune system to the action of xenobiotics and the diversity of their influences on immune responses depend to a large measure on the activity of the enzyme systems metabolizing antibiotics.


Landing is the most critical operational phase of an aircraft since it directly affects the passenger safety and comfort. The factors such as the undesirable wind and ground effects, runway unevenness, excessive sink speeds and approach speeds and pilot errors can deteriorate the landing performance of an aircraft several times during its entire lifetime. When an aircraft lands, large amplitude vibrations get transmitted to the fuselage from the runway thereby causing safety and comfort problems and hence need to be suppressed quickly.
Landing gear is an essential assembly that prevents the aircraft fuselage from the ground loads. A shock absorber which is considered as the heart of the landing gear assembly plays an important role in this process by absorbing the vibrations during landing. The existing Oleo-pneumatic shock absorbers are the most efficient in absorbing the vibrations during each aircraft operation. However, they are unable to provide the continuously variable damping required during the landing phase which might reduce their efficiency. Moreover, to account for the uncertainties during landing, a damper capable of providing the variable damping effect can play a vital role in increasing the passenger safety.
A semi-active control system of a landing gear suspension can solve the problem of excessive vibrations effectively by providing a variable damping during each operational phase. Magnetorheological (MR) dampers are one of the most efficient and attractive solutions that can provide the continuously variable damping required depending on a control command.
This thesis focuses on the concept of the semi-active aircraft suspension system using the MR damper with the implementation of robust control strategy. Initially, the dynamic behavior of the MR damper is studied using the parametric modeling approach. Spencer dynamic model is adopted for simulating the dynamic behavior of the MR damper. This is followed by the analysis of the energy dissipation patterns of the MR damper for different excitation inputs.
A semi-active suspension system is developed for a three degree-of-freedom (3 DOF) aircraft model considering a tri-cycle landing gear configuration. A switching technique is developed in the simulation of the landing procedure which enables the system to switch from the single degree of freedom to three degrees of freedom system in order to simulate the sequential touching of the two wheels of the main landing gears and the nose landing gear wheel with the ground. For developing the semi-active MR suspension system, two different controller approaches, namely, the Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) and the H∞ control are adopted. The results of the designed controllers are compared for a particular landing scenario for studying the performance of the controllers in reducing the overshoot of the bounce response as well as the bounce rate response. The simulation results confirmed the improved performance of the robust controller compared to the optimal control strategy when the aircraft is subjected to the disturbances during landing. Finally, implementing the robust control approach, the landing performance of an aircraft embedded with the semi-active suspension system is simulated and analyzed for different sink velocities considering the disturbances.


Estuarine ecosystem and its biodiversity are at higher risk due to coastal contamination by heavy metals and conservation of biodiversity can be accomplished by utilizing biomarkers of pollutant at different exposure levels. In the present study, chronic toxicity test was conducted to evaluate the antioxidants and enzymes as the possible biomarkers in Green Tiger Prawn , Penaeus semisulcatus . The chronic endpoint value (MATC), no-observed effect concentration (NOEC), and low-observed effective concentration (LOEC) were also calculated to frame a criterion against chromium toxicity. The biochemical profiles such as total protein, catalase, l ipid peroxidation, a cetylcholinesterase, reduced glutathione, and g lutathione-S-transferase activity were studied. The calculated no-observed effect concentration was 69.45 µg/l and low-observed effective concentration was 33.98 µg/l, the chronic value was 48.57 µg/l for 30 days by Dunnett's procedure from background concentrations. Mortality was recorded to be 55 per cent in 80 µg/l on the 30th day of the toxicity test and was significant with other concentrations. Activity of catalase and g lutathione-S-transferase , l ipid peroxidation process and the amount of reduced glutathione significantly (p < 0.01) increased with consecutive increase in exposed chromium concentrations (5, 10, 20, 40, and 80 µg/l). The activity of acetylcholinesterase was found to be significantly (p < 0.01) reduced. Hence, catalase, l ipid peroxidation, a cetylcholinesterase, reduced glutathione, and g lutathione-S-transferase activity was validated as the promising biomarkers for chromium toxicity with Penaeus semisulcatus . Keywords: biochemical, catalase, chronic endpoint, esterase, g lutathione-S-transferase, l ipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione, total protein.


The oviduct acts as a functional sperm reservoir in many mammalian species. Both binding and release of spermatozoa from the oviductal epithelium are mainly modulated by sperm capacitation. Several molecules from oviductal fluid are involved in the regulation of sperm function. Anandamide is a lipid mediator involved in reproductive physiology. Previously, we demonstrated that anandamide, through activation of the cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1), promotes sperm release from bovine oviductal epithelial cells, and through CB1 and the transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), induces sperm capacitation. Herein we investigate co‐activation between CB1 and TRPV1, and Ca2+ influx as part of the mechanism of action of anandamide during sperm release from oviductal cells. Our results indicate that in the absence of Ca2+ anandamide failed to release spermatozoa from oviductal epithelial cells. Additionally, sperm release promoted by cannabinoid and vanilloid agonists was abolished when the spermatozoa were preloaded with BAPTA‐AM, a Ca2+ chelator. We also determined Ca2+ levels in spermatozoa preloaded with FURA2‐AM co‐cultured with oviductal cells and incubated with different cannabinoid and vanilloid agonists. The incubation with different agonists induced Ca2+ influx, which was abolished by CB1 or TRPV1 antagonists. Our results also suggest that a phospholypase C (PLC) might mediate the activation of CB1 and TRPV1 in sperm release from the bovine oviduct. Therefore, our findings indicate that anandamide, through CB1 and TRPV1 activation, is involved in sperm release from the oviductal reservoir. An increase of sperm Ca2+ levels and the PLC activation might be involved in anandamide signaling pathway. J. Cell. Biochem. 117: 320–333, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


We propose a robust and lightweight group reputation system, called H-Trust, inspired by the h-index aggregation technique. Leveraging the robustness of the h-index algorithm under incomplete and uncertain circumstances, H-Trust offers a robust reputation evaluation mechanism for both individual and group trusts with minimal communication and computation overheads. The five phases of H-Trust scheme are presented in detail, including trust recording, local trust evaluation, trust query phase, spatial-temporal update phase, and group reputation evaluation phases. The rationale for its design, the analysis of the algorithm complexity and security level are further elaborated. To validate the performance of H-Trust scheme, we conduct multi-agent based simulations. Simulation results demonstrate that H-Trust is robust and can aggregate cooperative groups in systems even when the majority of users are malicious.


As to the value of the test, that depends upon its efficacy as a guide to treatment, and this evaluation the author has not attempted, despite the title of his article. His has been an academic exercise. Had he proceeded to test the practical issue as others have done, along lines which I have described elsewhere (N.Y. St. J. Med., 1944, 44, 489; Arch. Ototaryng., Chicago, 1949, 49, 151; ibid., 1949, 50, 564; ibid., 1950, 51, 149), I venture to think that he might have finished among those who, coming to scoff, remained to pray.-I am, etc.,


Background: Imatinib is a tyrosine kinase receptor inhibitor that has been confirmed to exert inhibitory effect on the platelet derived growth factor PDGF receptor (PDGFRα and PDGFRβ) activity. Objective: To investigate the protective effect of imatinib on the myocardial fibrosis in deoxycorticosterone-acetate (DOCA)/salt induced hypertensive rats. Methods: Sixty male uninephrectomized Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to three groups: control rats (CON group); deoxycorticosterone group (DOCA group); deoxycorticosterone and imatinib group (DOCA+IMA group). Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured biweekly. The apical portion of the left ventricle was studied. Sirius-Red staining, Hematoxylin-Eosin staining, immunohistochemistry and Western blot assay were employed. Results: SBP in the DOCA group and DOCA+IMA group was higher than that in the CON group on day 14 and 28. Animals in the DOCA group showed severe interstitial and perivascular fibrosis on day 28, and the expressions of PI, PIII, tenascin-C and fibronectin were significantly higher than those in the DOCA+IMA group and CON group. When compared with the CON group, myocardial tissue inflammatory response and monocyte/ macrophage infiltration of different degrees were observed in the DOCA group and DOCA+IMA group. Protein expressions of PDGF-A, PDGF-C and PDGFRα were significantly higher in the DOCA and DOCA+IMA groups than those in the CON group, but the p-PDGFRα protein expression in the DOCA+IMA group was lower than that in the DOCA group. Conclusion: Imatinib can exert inhibitory effects on myocardial fibrosis in DOCA/salt induced hypertensive rats, which may be attributed to the inhibition of PDGFR-α activity. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2012; [online].ahead print, PP.0-0)


Concerns about climate change and our awareness on energy security have risen during the last decades leading the search for new forms of energy to reduce the world's dependence on fossil fuels. Bioenergy has been proposed as one route to contribute significantly to meet global energy demand by using renewable sources of energy.
The overall objective of this work was to study and optimise a hydrolysis treatment of lignocellulosic biomass but particularly of Miscanthus \(\chi\) giganteus under the biorefinery concept. A modified organosolv method using subcritical water, ethanol and carbon dioxide on a high-pressure batch reactor was proposed and tested for its efficacy on the hydrolysis and fractionation of Miscanthus into its lignocellulose main components, hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin. Temperature (80–200\(^0\)C), reaction time (5–60 min), ethanol concentration (0–70%), carbon dioxide initial pressure (10–55 bar) and load size (2.5–15 g) were the parameters studied and respective ranges. Optimisation models for solubilisation and delignification were obtained and validated using a central composite design based on a response surface methodology. According to both models temperature is the parameter that affects hydrolysis the most obtaining the highest hydrolysis solubilisation and delignification at 200\(^0\)C. On the other side CO2 initial pressure was not significant, what should be further investigated in the future at higher pressures.
Reducing sugars quantification obtained a maximum concentration of 2g/10g Miscanthus by DNS assay with an optimal temperature to hydrolyse hemicellulose from 140 to 180\(^0\)C. FTIR analysis of each fraction confirmed a successful separation of the biomass main components with a reduction in the cellulose fibres crystallinity. Temperature was considered the most significant parameter to fractionate biomass with the highest temperature (200 \(^0\)C) being the one that produced a better quality fibres, supernatant and lignin in terms of contamination by the other fractions. However, results also showed that higher temperature tends to oxidise lignin. Fibres analysis by scanning electron microscopy showed that fibre structure was preserved but presented lignin-type globules on their surface indicating lignin reprecipitation.


BACKGROUND
Compromised vascularity and hypoxia have been proposed as risks for tendon ruptures. The density of vascularity of the quadriceps tendon may explain the pattern of ruptures of this muscle-tendon unit.

METHODS
Twenty adult human cadavers underwent whole-body arterial perfusion with a mixture of lead oxide, gelatin, and water through the femoral artery. Thirty-three quadriceps tendons were dissected and radiographed, and each angiogram was analyzed with use of image statistical software.

RESULTS
We consistently identified a hypovascular zone located between 1 and 2 cm from the superior pole of the patella. This finding correlates with the location of spontaneous ruptures of the quadriceps tendon reported in the literature. These findings indicate that the vascular supply of the quadriceps tendon is separated into three arcades, or arches, which are medial, lateral, and peripatellar.

CONCLUSIONS
Hypovascularity may determine the site of spontaneous ruptures of the quadriceps tendon.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Understanding the vascular zones of the quadriceps tendon may facilitate the use of nonoperative as well as operative treatments to increase the vascularity of the tendon. An understanding of the vascular arcades may facilitate and enhance healing following reparative and reconstructive surgery on the tendon.


This following case study focuses on beef production using dry land leucaena to increase production on a property of alluvial scrub flats south of Biloela, Queensland. The investment proposal is for development of the property through the growing of the fodder legume tree crop leucaena. The benefit of finishing cattle on leucaena is estimated using partial budgeting techniques. The case study reports on aspects of agronomic, managerial, production and economic considerations for 174 hectares of dry land leucaena development, staged over four years. A discounted cash flow approach was applied in order to model expected returns over time. Net cash flows between the existing grass based operation and the proposed leucaena supplemented operation are estimated. Comparison between grass only and leucaena supplemented gross margins provide the marginal benefit from developing leucaena. These future cash flows were discounted to assign their present values. Productive capacity estimates were used in the analysis. Expected yields and weight gain from grass fed operations were available from detailed management records. However, given the lack of scientifically verified data on expected leucaena production across land types, production estimates were based on localised production results and sourced from technical extension experts. The use of adult equivalents and accounting for the opportunity cost of maintaining particular herd structures allows for direct comparison of gross margins across different land types and herd structures. By choosing to plant leucaena, the owner is $144,939 better off, achieves a 22% internal rate of return, a benefit-cost ratio of 3.2:1, and breaks even on the investment in seven years.


BACKGROUND
The worldwide prevalence of allergic diseases such as rhinitis, asthma, and atopic dermatitis is continuously increasing, while other allergic disorders such as urticaria and angioedema are less investigated. We performed a population study evaluating the prevalence of any kind of allergic disorders.

METHODS
The entire population of 7,201 inhabitants of Cotignola (Ravenna, Italy) was surveyed by a questionnaire assessing symptoms related to rhinitis, asthma, anaphylaxis, skin symptoms and insect sting allergy as well as the features of clinical presentations, diagnosis, and treatment received.

RESULTS
Valid questionnaires were obtained by 6,676 inhabitants (92.7%). The sample was formed by 3,266 males and 3,495 females, the mean age was 45.6 years; 1,035 subjects (15.5%) were aged less than 18 years; 404 subjects (6%) had at least one episode of wheezing/breathlessness in their lifetime, and 243 of them (60.1%) had a diagnosis of asthma; 1,002 subjects (14.8%) had nose symptoms in their lifetime, and 375 of them (37.4%) had a diagnosis of allergic rhinitis or rhinoconjunctivitis. For other allergic manifestations, data were obtained from 5,730 subjects; of them, 178 (3.1%) had skin symptoms, 59 (1.1%) had oral symptoms, and 37 (0.6%) had anaphylaxis; 207 (3.6%) had reactions to insect stings. There were no significant differences in prevalence between Italians and immigrants. Only 51.7% of subjects with asthma, 46.5% of those with rhinitis, 22.7% of those with other allergies, but 97.1% of those with insect allergy, received treatment.

CONCLUSIONS
These findings confirm recent data on epidemiology of allergic diseases in Europe, particularly in Italy, and add some details on how such diseases are managed.


In this article, I argue that we should consider the medical case narrative as an "epistemic genre." I suggest that historians of knowledge (including medical knowledge) should draw a distinction between "epistemic" and "literary" genres, and that the medical case narrative belongs to the first group, that is, those kinds of texts that develop in tandem with scientific practices. I also argue that the history of the medical case narrative should be studied in a long-term perspective. In general, the focal point of the historiography on the medical case narrative has tended to gravitate around the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with only cursory attention to earlier periods and no attempt to reconstruct the long-term lineaments of the story. I believe that this modernist focus has a very serious flaw, as it ignores the presence of a vast literature of case collections in pre-modern medicine. I believe that we need to trace the history of the medical case narrative as a genre that evolved over a very long period of time, from antiquity to modern medicine. For this purpose, I adopt the approach that literary scholar Franco Moretti has called "distant reading," that is, a focused attention to the long duration of a genre within a culture as well as its variations across cultures.  What do we see when we look at the long-term development of the medical case narrative? Distant reading suggests, at first sight, that the genre appeared in embryonic form in antiquity, with the Hippocratic Epidemics, but also that it disappeared for long periods of time, to emerge again, in new form and with new vitality, in the late Renaissance. Most interestingly, distant reading also suggests that the evolutionary dynamic of the case narrative was closely intertwined with that of two other fundamental epistemic genres, the recipe and the commentary. Here, I examine in particular the association between case and commentary.


Cobitis sp. is an endemic spined loach species from the Dough River in the southern Caspian Sea basin, (Golestan Province, Iran). To provide some reproductive features of this fish, sampling was performed at monthly intervals throughout the year and 417 individuals were collected. The specimens ranged in total length from 27.1 to 92.9 mm and total weight from 0.11 to 6.79 g. The spawning of spined loach of Dough River occurs from March to June. The highest mean value of gonadosomatic index (GSI) observed in April as 1.96 for males and 6.61 for females. Egg diameter ranged from 0.3 to 1.3 mm, with a mean value of 0.9 mm. Absolute fecundity varied from 155.04 to 3212 eggs. Fecundity relative to total weight fluctuated from 55.41 to 634.76 eggs g –1 . This species is among those spawning early in spring compared to other species of this genus from southern Caspian basin.


A generalized parallel plate radio frequency microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) varactor is presented and studied. Its application in an RF oscillator is described and the nonlinear relationship between tuning voltage and realized output frequency is derived. A low power CMOS integrated circuit is proposed to linearize the response. The circuit consumes at most 100 /spl mu/W of power while linearizing the voltage-to-frequency response to a correlation coefficient (R/sup 2/) of 0.9988. The described circuit and theory can be employed in any application where the nonlinear response associated with parallel plate RF MEMS varactors must be compensated.


Traffic signals provide one of the primary means to administer conflicting road traffic flows. The efficiency of road transportation systems significantly depends on signal operation. The state of-the-art signal control strategies are unable to efficiently and autonomously adapt to changing traffic flow patterns. In this thesis, we present an autonomous traffic signal control system, in which each intersection independently computes effective signal regimes to optimize traffic flows through that intersection at all instants-based solely on live camera footage. Our signal control system is trained via Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL). In recent years, DRL has emerged as a powerful paradigm for control optimization problems by autonomously discovering effective control policies. Our signal control agent perceives the traffic situation around an intersection through visual sensory data and continuously modifies the traffic signal regimes in real time, asper the changing traffic observations. The contributions of this thesis are summarised as; (1) A truly adaptive signal control agent, that effectively tailors its signal control decisions to changing traffic patterns and significantly outperforms the conventional signal control methods (both fixed and adaptive) in single and multi-intersection scenarios. (2) This thesis, for the first time, by using transfer learning, empirically demonstrates vision-based signal control agent's high generalizability and accelerated learning skills on newly-encountered traffic conditions (such as prioritizing the navigation of emergency vehicles, handling adverse weather and lighting conditions). (3)Additionally, this thesis presents the first application of attention-visualization to illustrate the interpretation of DRL agents' signal control decisions, while highlighting the benefits of using visual traffic data from CCTV cameras for signal control over the conventional traffic data collection methods such as induction loops.


The proliferation of multilateral and bilateral investment treaties is raising significant questions of international law and human rights law. This article examines two aspects of the emerging jurisprudence, the controversy over regulatory 'takings' and the expanding jurisdiction of international arbitrators and questions whether a proper understanding of the balance of risks involved is emerging. The representation of the risk as opposing the individual investor against the state conceals the reality of the likelihood that the 'individual investor' will be a multinational company and states are squeezed into more and more compromised situations as their policy space disappears. This is particularly true in environmental regulations as governments find that Bilateral Treaties have 'stabilization' clauses which freeze regulations in time stopping new scientific advances.


Abstract Syntactic comprehension of various types of passive sentences by Japanese Broca′s aphasic patients was investigated. Based on their performance on the so-called "possessive passive" and "indirect passive," we exemplified that the comprehension abilities of Broca′s aphasics and agrammatic Broca′s aphasics point to a distinction between the gapped and gapless passive, as is proposed in Kubo (1990). We proposed a new structural account of syntactic disorders in Japanese, based on the assumption that the Head parameter, the directionality parameter of theta-assignment, and the distinction between the internal argument and external argument are retained in the grammar of Broca′s aphasics. We then demonstrated that Broca′s aphasics interpret sentences by the argument structure of a predicate and by the canonical direction of the theta-assignment. It was also shown that the proposed principle can account for the Broca′s aphasics′ performance on other types of constructions and that it has many consequences for the language-universal account of syntactic deficits.


This paper evaluates the economic consequences of milk marketing orders for producers and consumers in organic and conventional milk markets. We develop a multi-market equilibrium displacement model that disaggregates the organic and conventional segments of the California milk market in order to evaluate the economic effects of alternative policies. We find that exemption of organics from marketing order regulation would make organic farmers better off at the expense of conventional farmers, but that complete deregulation would make both organic and conventional farms worse off.