The purpose of this study is to investigate teachers' perspective towards schools diversity. Schools diversity refers to teachers' factors such as gender, race, teaching experience and position. A set of questionnaires is used as the main survey method in this study involving 161 teachers in the districts of Temerloh, Maran and Kuantan, in Pahang State of Malaysia. An instrument of 12 domains based on the School Diversity Inventory developed by Gottfredson and Jones (2001) was adapted and revised to be used for the purpose of this study. A pilot test was conducted to determine the reliability of the instrument. From the pilot test conducted earlier, the reliability of the instrument based on the Alpha Cronbach found to be high (0.8�0.9). The data were analyzed based on descriptive and inferential statistical techniques in terms of means, t-tests, and ANOVA. Findings of the study as related to schools diversity showed that the mean scores of teachers' perspectives found to be average (2.98). The ANOVA analysis of teachers' perspectives on teaching experience found to be significantly difference in terms of races, places of living and the family socio-economic status. The implication of the study reveals that schools diversity does exist. Thus, it is recommended that the Ministry of Education should improve the level of acceptance in schools diversity among teachers in order to uphold the quality of education without prejudice among Malaysian citizens.


Stellar scattering off irregularities in a galaxy disk has been shown to make an exponential radial profile, but no fundamental reason for this has been suggested. Here, we show that exponentials are mathematically expected from random scattering in a disk when there is a slight inward bias in the scattering probability. Such a bias was present in our previous scattering experiments that formed exponential profiles. Double exponentials can arise when the bias varies with radius. This is a fundamental property of scattering and may explain why piece-wise exponential profiles are ubiquitous in galaxies, even after minor mergers and other disruptive events.


Research investigating the effectiveness of treatments for inmates with poor sleep quality appears minimal. Some difficulties related to poor sleep quality can be addressed effectively with little time and expense. Studies show that psychoeducational interventions are effective in reducing sleep complaints and improving sleep quality in a variety of populations including college students and adults. However, the effect of sleep hygiene interventions on inmate sleep complaints is unknown. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate a psychoeducational intervention program aimed at improving prison inmate sleep habits, length, and quality. Participants of this study were inmates at a department of corrections facility for men in the southern United States. Using the Sleep Quality Index, the Sleep Habits Questionnaire; the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Sleep Hygiene Awareness and Practice Scale the effectiveness o f a psychoeducational intervention program aimed at improving sleep quality, length, and habits for inmates was evaluated using multivariate analysis of variance. Results revealed that the intervention program did not have a significant impact on sleep quality, length, or habits for study participants. However, inmates in this sample had a higher rate of sleep disturbances and poor sleep quality than reported in previous studies with adults and college student populations. This finding suggests a need for effective sleep hygiene interventions in the prison environment.


This study contributes to pioneering literature on the impact of mobile phone-based money transfer, especially in agriculture. It provides information regarding financial intermediation to the excluded through the use of new generation Information Communication Technology (ICT) tools, especially the mobile phone. The study employs propensity score matching technique to examine the impact of MMT services on household agricultural input use, agricultural commercialization and farm incomes among farm households in Kenya. It uses cross-sectional data collected from 379 multi-stage randomly selected households in three provinces of Kenya. The study found that use of mobile phone-based money transfer services significantly increased level of annual household input use by $42, household agricultural commercialization by 37% and household annual income by $224. We conclude that mobile phone-based money transfer services in rural areas help to resolve a market failure that farmers face; access to financial services. We discuss implications for policy and practice.


The strikingly successful end-results following cooperative management of cases of toxic goiter, of complicated cases of peptic ulcer and of other types of diseases requiring specialized preoperative and post-operative attention find a decidedly suggestive parallel in the group management of surgical diseases of the colon. The combination of resources made available by isolation of patients with surgical lesions of the colon into a single division under the combined management of surgeon and clinician has brought results as striking, in our experience, in the short length of time in which it has been employed, as the results obtained from any segregated group of unusual cases. Not only has isolation of these patients afforded individualization, with better selection of cases for different types of operation, but collective management in the postoperative period has been equally invaluable. Colonic conditions are complicated; they extend over a long period before the patients who suffer from


Direct torque control (DTC) is known for its fast control in AC motor drives due to its simple control structure that directly controls the torque without the need for modulation blocks or frame transformations. However, when used in induction motor (IM) drives it has three main drawbacks: large torque ripples, variable switching frequency, and sector flux-droop at the low-speed region due to the employment of the torque hysteresis controller (THC). Torque ripple minimization can be achieved in DTC drives by replacing the originally proposed two-level inverter with a three-level neutral-point clamped (3L-NPC) inverter. Nevertheless, the switching frequency remains variable and low, which produces an elevated torque ripple and asymmetrical switching signals for the inverter. In addition, sector flux-droop resulting from driving the IM at the low-speed region produces a high current distortion that consequently eliminates the robustness of DTC. To alleviate these problems, an interleaving constant switching frequency torque controller-based DTC (CSFTC-DTC) was implemented. It improves the operation of the IM at the low-speed region by increasing the duty-cycle of the applied active voltage vector and reducing the duration of the applied zero vectors. Although the conventional CSFTC-DTC regulates the stator flux of the IM at the low-speed region and minimizes the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the stator current, it produces a high torque ripple—one of the main disadvantages of classical DTC. In this paper, an interleaving CSFTC-DTC is proposed to subdivide the duty cycle of the applied vectors of the 3L-NPC inverter to limit the influence of the large duty-cycle of the applied vectors on flux-regulation and torque ripples. The simulation and experimental results presented validate the effectiveness of the proposed method over the conventional method.


Our own observations have raised doubts about the reliability of linear analogue scales. A group of 20 individuals (median age 29, range 20-57) was recruited from our university department. On four occasions the responders marked the position of 10 random numbers between 0-100 along a straight line measuring 100 mm. The ends of the line were labelled 0 and 100. The results showed that in order to be 95"O confident that two responses to a random number are independent of each other they must be more than 13 mm apart along a 100 mm line. Responders also estimated the degree of yellowness for each of 10 samples from a colour chart. In this study the results indicated that the 95",, confidence range for precision was 59 mm along a 100 mm line. These findings are similar to those of other investigators who have used linear analogue scales to measure the perceived loudness of various volumes of sound2 and to estimate grip strength.3 Although visual analogue scales are a convenient way of estimating subjective states, the interpretation of responses must be careful. The ability to produce a response that can be measured with great accuracy does not validate the reliability of the response itself.


Is economic inequality the result of conscious policy choices? Or are growing inequalities the inevitable by-product of international trade, economic growth, structural changes in the economy, demographic changes, or other factors outside the scope of politics? By examining the effects of non-political forces on government redistribution of income within 16 OECD countries in the 1980-2000 period, this paper concludes that although international trade appears to reduce redistribution, high degrees of unionization maintain a significant positive impact. Of the parameters included in this study unionization and international trade appears to have the strongest effects on government inequality reduction, statistically significant even when controlling for fixed countryand year effects (Linear Mixed Model analysis). However, the data is inconclusive with respect to government partisanship's effect on redistribution, and indicates that minority governments tend to reduce inequalities significantly more than majority governments. The paper ends with a remark about the need to separate empirical and normative arguments in studies of economic inequality.


Title: Cannabinoid receptor ligands prevent dopaminergic neurons death induced by neurotoxic, inflammatory and oxidative stimuli in vitro.
Background: During the last 25 years increasing efforts have been invested for the comprehension of the cannabinoid system in a wide range of healthy and
 pathological conditions. Previous investigations have indicated the possible protective role of synthetic cannabinoids like arachidonyl-2'-chloroethylamide, ACEA (CB1 agonist), during neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease. Other synthetic CB1 receptor ligands such as N-(Piperidin-1-yl)-5-(4- iodophenyl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide, AM251, commonly known as an antagonist/inverse agonist, have recently been presented as an allosteric modulator of this receptor. In this study, we show the protective effect of ACEA against oxidative and inflammatory damage in in vitro dopaminergic neurons.
Methods and Findings: Neuro2A cells differentiated into dopaminergic-like neurons were challenged with neurotoxic, inflammatory and oxidative treatments, 6-hydroxidopamine (6OHDA), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Cannabinoid-dependent cell protection was evaluated by means of cellular viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and the pro apoptotic protein
 caspase 3 expression after CB1 agonist ACEA and antagonist AM251. The ACEA treatment resulted in an increase of cellular viability after the 6OHDA, LPS and H2O2 challenges. When cells were co-treated with ACEA and AM251, an increase in cell death prevention was observed, with a reduction in reactive oxygen species production and caspase 3 expression.
Conclusions: Together, we show an ACEA-mediated neuronal protection by means of ROS expression reduction and pro apoptotic protein caspase 3 expression inhibition.


would not go on feeling as bad as she did just then. I was lost for words. This booklet is designed to be given to such bereaved people, to help them through the feelings and issues following a major bereavement. The authors have admirably confronted the tasks of presenting an accurate picture of the pain and turmoil ahead, whilst holding on to the idea that it is essentially a healthy, healing pro-


Objectives: Inflammation is one of the predictors of atrial fibrillation (AF) following surgical or interventional cardiac procedures. Recent evidence suggests that colchicine may represent a new strategy to prevent AF following cardiac procedures. This study aims to assess the antiinflammatory efficacy of colchicine in prevention of early AF event (EAFE). Materials and Methods: We reviewed all available studies that assessed the effectiveness of colchicine therapy on the occurrence of AF in patients undergoing cardiac procedures. Meta-analysis was performed by random effect inverse variance-weighted method by entering AF events and the total population from each study. Results: After thorough review of the databases, we found three studies comparing colchicine and placebo which had EAFE as the outcome. Of 584 patients, 286 patients were on colchicine and 298 on placebo. All the three studies were randomized. After pooled analysis, colchicine was associated with significant reduction in AF events compared to placebo (odds ratio = 0.44 [0.29, 0.66], P < 0.001). There was no statistical heterogeneity between included studies (χ2 = 0.45, P = 0.80, I2 = 0%). Conclusion: Colchicine may prove beneficial in the prevention of AF following cardiac surgery. Further research is warranted.


This paper presents and analyzes the integration with progression of education for sustainable development in Chalmers University of Technology's MScEng programme in Mechanical Engineering. The programme has an idea and structure that emphasizes employability, integration of general engineering skills, authentic engineering experiences and focus on holistic view of the complete lifecycle of products and systems. The realization of these aims stress the need of an integrated and adapted sustainable development education for mechanical engineering. To reach this goal, we applied a combined top-down and bottom-up education development process that started with the formulation of programme vision and programme level learning outcomes. Faculty meetings and workshop to formulate the course learning outcomes and to map the programme level outcomes to courses in which the outcomes are satisfied followed this. The strategy became to integrate specific sustainability topics in courses where it is appropriate and to have a separate course in sustainable development to ensure that general aspects of sustainable development are included and that a team of faculty takes full responsibility for this. Design-build-test project courses are shown to be suitable arenas for integrating teaching and learning of sustainable development. Results from a student survey on perceptions of the relevance and quality of sustainability education are accounted for and discussed. Outstanding challenges in the area are identified.


Choosing the morally right action can be based on the ends resulting from the decision – the Consequentialist view – or on the conformity of the means involved with some overarching notion of duty – the Deontological view. Using a series of experiments, we investigate the overall prevalence and the consistency of consequentialist and deontological decision-making, when these two moral principles come into conflict. Our design includes a real-stakes version of the classical trolley dilemma, four novel games that induce ends-versus-means tradeoffs, and a rule-following task. These main games are supplemented with six classical self-versus-others choice tasks, allowing us to relate consequential/deontological behavior to standard measures of prosociality. Across the six main games, we find a sizeable prevalence (20 to 40%) of non-consequentialist choices by subjects, but no evidence of stable individual preference types across situations. In particular, trolley behavior predicts no other ends-versus-means choices. Instead, which moral principle prevails appears to be highly context-dependent. In contrast, we find a substantial level of consistency across self-versus-other decisions, but individuals' degree of prosociality is unrelated to how they choose in ends-versus-means tradeoffs that only affect others.


This paper provides an overview of TCAPP, including the methodology, the results to date, and proposed future activities. It includes a detailed description of the technology cooperation frameworks completed by each country, the process that produced them and the plans for how TCAPP will help to implement the directions articulated by the country teams. The US Government initiated the Technology Cooperation Agreement Pilot Project (TCAPP) in August 1997 in recognition of the need to establish a mechanism for implementing Article 4.5 of the Framework Convention on Climate Change. ''The developed country partners shall take all practicable steps to promote, facilitate and finance, as appropriate, the transfer of, or access to, environmentally sound technologies and know-how to other Parties, particularly developing country Parties, to enable them to implement the provisions of the Convention.'' TCAPP builds support for implementing clean energy technologies by facilitating collaboration among the participating countries, the US and other OECD countries, international donors, and the private sector. The governments of Brazil, China, Kazakhstan, Mexico and the Philippines are currently participating and helping to shape this initiative. International donors and the private sector have also been actively engaged in the design and implementation of this pilot program.


Abstract This paper details the "cylinder-gruel rite" (tsutsugayu shinji) observed annually on 15 January at Suwa Taisha, a Shintō shrine complex in Nagano Prefecture. The oracular ritual is an instance of the Japanese tradition of New Year's divination (toshiura), and involves the boiling of hollow reeds or bamboo in rice gruel to augur crop yields and economic prospects for the coming year. Whereas Japan's modernization and shift away from an agricultural economy has rendered such observances archaic, their continued practice cannot be explained solely by their heritage value as survivals of pre-modern tradition. Careful analysis of the Suwa oracle's formal structure within the frame of Shintō practice reveals that the ritual works to intimate a transcendent sociality, an infallible source of divinatory revelation that provides a sustaining source of hopeful momentum. Consideration of the documentary history of the ritual further suggests the ways that the ritual has been leveraged by various actors throughout history to support imagined aspirational trajectories. Following Zigon's anthropological critique that hope does not obviate human agency but necessitates and sustains it, this paper discusses the possible implications of these generative/sustaining and imagined/instrumental modes for an anthropological engagement with hope.


This study assessed the instrumentality of Touch 'n Go eWallet mobile app at selected areas in University Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) and Politeknik Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin (PTSS) Perlis, Malaysia, in July and August 2019. Fifteen staff from the two institutions was selected as participants. The purpose of the test was to assess the usability of the app and get user feedback to improve the instrumental quality of the application in order to meet user satisfaction and their experience. This report contains the participants' feedbacks, task completion rates, ease or difficulty of task completion, time on task, errors, and recommendations for improvements. This study used 4 tasks to assess the instrumental quality of Touch 'n Go eWallet mobile app. Overall, the outcome of the study revealed that the app is generally usable and instrumental to assisting users accomplish their electronic wallet goals. There is however some observed issues in the app that require fixing to enhance the instrumental quality of app.


Background: The underlying factors of reversion from cognitive impairment to normal cognitive functioning in stroke are not well understood. We compare demographic, cognitive and imaging factors in Vascular Cognitive Impairment, No Dementia (Vascular CIND) patients who revert to normal cognitive functioning to Vascular CIND patients who do not revert. Methods: Thirty-one ischaemic stroke patients, who met classification criteria for Vascular CIND, were >49.5 years old, met NINDS stroke criteria, and were free from additional neurological illness, completed baseline and 1-year examinations. Forty-five per cent of the Vascular CIND participants reverted to no cognitive impairment at 1-year follow-up examination. Results: There was greater cognitive impairment in non-reverters on a summary score spanning several neuropsychological domains and on psychomotor and working memory summary scores. There were no differences on demographic factors or in stroke severity between reverters and non-reverters. Structural MRI analyses revealed no baseline differences in number of strokes, stroke volume or stroke location. However, there was greater frontal white matter hyperintensity load in the non-reverter group. Conclusions: These results suggest that Vascular CIND reversion may be a function of a combination of baseline neuropsychological function and location of cerebrovascular disease.


Purpose

This paper is an extension of the previous study published by Chan and Boer (2016). It seeks to explore deeper into the subject matter, to better aid ex-offenders' reintegration effort back into society. The purpose of this paper is to expand the sample size of participants from 12 to 25, and to further ascertain any emerging factors (also known as predictors) that influence the reintegration process of ex-offenders in the hope of further reducing recidivism rate.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a qualitative research framework where attention was devoted to understanding the experiences of 25 formerly incarcerated males − 12 participants were from the initial study, and now extended with another 13 participants to deepen the scope of the study. All participants who took part in the study had been out of prison for at least five years and had been incarcerated in the prison of Singapore more than once but are no longer on parole.

Findings

This study indicated three other new factors that emerged with the additional 13 participants, along with those seven different factors from the previous study that influenced the success of reintegration. These Ten Reintegration Assessment Predictors are critical as they further increase the probability of success of ex offender reintegration to society upon release. The combination of these ten predictors reported are essential for the reintegration process, and when put together, they formed the reintegration model.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation to this research was that only two halfway houses took part in the process. Both of which are faith-based halfway houses. The previous study had 12 participants who took part in the research. Despite of attempts to enlarge the number of participants in the study, only an additional 13 new participants volunteered to take part.

Practical implications

From the themes that emerged from the previous study, critical factors for reintegration of offenders were ascertained. With the addition of three factors identified, it would further strengthen the factors needed to increase the success of reintegration of offenders. Resources could be channelled appropriately to strengthen the factors identified that are critical for the work of reintegrating offenders through their transition from incare to aftercare. Eventually, this is done to decrease the rate of recidivism and reoffending.

Social implications

Decreasing the rate of recidivism and reoffending is always in the interest of every government. However, it is often not an easy task since most incarcerated persons will encounter numerous challenges after their release as they seek to reintegrate into the community. Under tremendous stress and pressure when facing the challenges, the cycle of reoffending perpetuates which eventually affects the rate of recidivism. This would adversely impact both individuals and the community they are in.

Originality/value

In Singapore, various initiatives to introduce new programmes and alternative sentencing options were initiated by the government to lower the rate of recidivism. Following from the previous study of 12 individuals who had successfully reintegrated back into the community, seven factors were identified to influence reintegration. With the addition of 13 participants to the research, three other factors further emerged and the study now concluded with ten factors deemed critical to strengthen the reintegration of offenders. From the study, a reintegration model for offenders was formulated.


Genetic engineering (GE) in agriculture is a controversial topic in science and society at large. While some oppose genetically modified crops as proxy of an agricultural system they consider unsustainable and inequitable, the question remains whether GE can benefit the poor within the existing system and what needs to be done to deliver these benefits? Golden Rice has been genetically engineered to produce provitamin A. The technology is still in the testing phase, but, once released, it is expected to address one consequence of poverty " vitamin A deficiency (VAD) " and its health implications. Current interventions to combat VAD rely mainly on pharmaceutical supplementation, which is costly in the long run and only partially successful. We develop a methodology for ex-ante evaluation, taking into account the whole sequence of effects between the cultivation of the crop and its ultimate health impacts. In doing so we build on a comprehensive, nationally representative data set of household food consumption in India. Using a refined disability-adjusted life year (DALY) framework and detailed health data, this study shows for India that under optimistic assumptions this country's annual burden of VAD of 2.3 million DALYs lost can be reduced by 59.4% hence 1.4 million healthy life years could be saved each year if Golden Rice would be consumed widely. In a low impact scenario, where Golden Rice is consumed less frequently and produces less provitamin A, the burden of VAD could be reduced by 8.8%. However, in both scenarios the cost per DALY saved through Golden Rice (US$3.06-19.40) is lower than the cost of current supplementation efforts, and it outperforms international cost-effectiveness thresholds. Golden Rice should therefore be considered seriously as a complementary intervention to fight VAD in rice-eating populations in the medium term.


The problem of obtaining the lasing modes and corresponding threshold conditions for vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) is formulated as a frequency-dependent eigenvalue problem in required gain amplitudes and corresponding fields. Both index and gain guiding are treated on an equal footing. The complex gain eigenvalues define necessary but not sufficient conditions for lasing. The actual lasing frequencies and
modes that the VCSEL can support are then determined by matching the gain necessary for the optical system in both magnitude and phase to the gain available from the laser's electronic system. Examples are provided.


In theory, importance sampling speeds up stochastic gradient algorithms for supervised learning by prioritizing training examples. In practice, the cost of computing importances greatly limits the impact of importance sampling. We propose a robust, approximate importance sampling procedure (RAIS) for stochastic gradient de- scent. By approximating the ideal sampling distribution using robust optimization, RAIS provides much of the benefit of exact importance sampling with drastically reduced overhead. Empirically, we find RAIS-SGD and standard SGD follow similar learning curves, but RAIS moves faster through these paths, achieving speed-ups of at least 20% and sometimes much more.


A perceived gap exists in how well Canadian health technology assessment (HTA) producers are supporting the use of their HTAs by decision-makers. The authors propose that the newly released HTA Database Canadian search interface incorporate structured decision-relevant summaries of HTAs that would be developed by participating Canadian HTA organizations. The registry would serve as a "one-stop shop" by including HTA reports along with their structured summaries in a format that better meets decision-makers' needs. The Health Technology Analysis Exchange - a Canadian network of publicly funded HTA producers - is well-positioned to undertake this work and would welcome input about both the idea and its execution.


ABSTRACT A case study was conducted to evaluate the SO2 emission reduction in a power plant in Central Mexico, as a result of the shifting of fuel oil to natural gas. Emissions of criteria pollutants, greenhouse gases, organic and inorganic toxics were estimated based on a 2010 report of hourly fuel oil consumption at the "Francisco Pérez Ríos" power plant in Tula, Mexico. For SO2, the dispersion of these emissions was assessed with the CALPUFF dispersion model. Emissions reductions of > 99% for SO2, PM and Pb, as well as reductions >50% for organic and inorganic toxics were observed when simulating the use of natural gas. Maximum annual (993 µg/m3) and monthly average SO2 concentrations were simulated during the cold-dry period (152–1063 µg/m3), and warm-dry period (239–432 µg/m3). Dispersion model results and those from Mexico City's air quality forecasting system showed that SO2 emissions from the power plant affect the north of Mexico City in the cold-dry period. The evaluation of model estimates with 24 hr SO2 measured concentrations at Tepeji del Rio suggests that the combination of observations and dispersion models are useful in assessing the reduction of SO2 emissions due to shifting in fuels. Being SO2 a major precursor of acid rain, high transported sulfate concentrations are of concern and low pH values have been reported in the south of Mexico City, indicating that secondary SO2 products emitted in the power plant can be transported to Mexico City under specific atmospheric conditions. Implications: Although the surroundings of a power plant located north of Mexico City receives most of the direct SO2 impact from fuel oil emissions, the plume is dispersed and advected to the Mexico City metropolitan area, where its secondary products may cause acid rain. The use of cleaner fuels may assure significant SO2 reductions in the plant emissions and consequent acid rain presence in nearby populated cities and should be compulsory in critical areas to comply with annual emission limits and health standards.


At least one species of siren is endemic to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, yet very little is known about the populations of the region. Texas Parks and Wildlife refers to the populations of Siren spp. in South Texas as the "South Texas siren (large form Siren sp. 1)," and recognizes these populations as a threatened species, yet their current population status remains unclear. The species identification of the South Texas siren has been hampered by similarity in morphology across species, and by the lack of complete siren genetic sequences in the NCBI GenBank database. In addition to species ambiguity, very little is known about the preferred habitat characteristics of sirens, specifically in South Texas. The aim of this study was to identify the species of Siren spp. that inhabit South Texas, and to assess the vegetation and environmental variables of siren habitat. Sirens were collected from seventeen water bodies throughout South Texas. Thirty-six sites were assessed for siren presence and correlation with environmental variables, cooccurring species, and vegetation composition. There was no significant correlation between siren presence and the environmental factors; however, nearly all sirens were collected in water bodies that had a high (>95%) percent cover of edge vegetation, and siren abundance appeared to be affected by seasonality. A total of 65 South Texas siren tissue samples were collected between 2013 and 2015. Confirmed specimens of Siren lacertina were compared with the South Texas siren samples, to analyze both coding and non-coding regions (protein coding genes, rRNAs, and tRNAs). For species identification, nine complete mitochondrial genomes were sequenced, and comparisons were made against single genes to assess their utility for species resolution. Sequence divergence and phylogenetic relationships suggest that siren populations in South Texas are composed of at least one distinct species that differs from published sequences for Siren intermedia and S. lacertina. In addition, the results suggest that CO1 is likely the most useful gene for species identification in lieu of the complete mitochondrial genome. The results from this study will provide critical information for this cryptic species, and will aid in the development of future conservation and management practices.


M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) represent a viable target for treatment of multiple disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) including Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. The recent discovery of highly selective allosteric agonists of M1 receptors has provided a major breakthrough in developing a viable approach for the discovery of novel therapeutic agents that target these receptors. Here we describe the characterization of two novel M1 allosteric agonists, VU0357017 and VU0364572, that display profound differences in their efficacy in activating M1 coupling to different signaling pathways including Ca2+ and β-arrestin responses. Interestingly, the ability of these agents to differentially activate coupling of M1 to specific signaling pathways leads to selective actions on some but not all M1-mediated responses in brain circuits. These novel M1 allosteric agonists induced robust electrophysiological effects in rat hippocampal slices, but showed lower efficacy in striatum and no measureable effects on M1-mediated responses in medial prefrontal cortical pyramidal cells in mice. Consistent with these actions, both M1 agonists enhanced acquisition of hippocampal-dependent cognitive function but did not reverse amphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion in rats. Together, these data reveal that M1 allosteric agonists can differentially regulate coupling of M1 to different signaling pathways, and this can dramatically alter the actions of these compounds on specific brain circuits important for learning and memory and psychosis.


This paper presents a Multiplicative Patchwork Method (MPM) for audio watermarking. The watermark signal is embedded by selecting two subsets of the host signal features and modifying one subset multiplicatively regarding the watermark data, whereas another subset is left unchanged. The method is implemented in wavelet domain and approximation coefficients are used to embed data. In order to have an error-free detection, the watermark data is inserted only in the frames where the ratio of the energy of subsets is between two predefined values. Also in order to control the inaudibility of watermark insertion, we use an iterative algorithm to reach a desired quality for the watermarked audio signal. The quality of watermarked signal is evaluated in each iteration using Perceptual Evaluation of Audio Quality (PEAQ) method. The probability of error is also derived for the watermarking scheme and simulation results prove the validity of the analytical derivations. Simulation results show that MPM is robust against various common attacks such as noise addition, filtering, echo, MP3 compression, etc. In comparison to the original patchwork method and its modified versions, and some recent methods, MPM provides more robustness and inaudibility of the watermark insertion.


The unmanned research aircraft ALADINA (Application of Light-weight Aircraft for Detecting in situ Aerosols) has been established as an important tool for boundary layer research. For simplified integration of additional sensor payload, a flexible and reliable data acquisition system was developed at the Institute of Flight Guidance, Technische Universitat (TU) Braunschweig. The instrumentation consists of sensors for temperature, humidity, three-dimensional wind vector, position, black carbon, irradiance and atmospheric particles in the diameter range of ultra-fine particles up to the accumulation mode. The modular concept allows for straightforward integration and exchange of sensors. So far, more than 200 measurement flights have been performed with the robustly-engineered system ALADINA at different locations. The obtained datasets are unique in the field of atmospheric boundary layer research. In this study, a new data processing method for deriving parameters with fast resolution and to provide reliable accuracies is presented. Based on tests in the field and in the laboratory, the limitations and verifiability of integrated sensors are discussed.


This book provides in-depth and innovative analysis of the minimum wage in Europe. Labor economist Daniel Vaughan-Whitehead looks at its scope within the enlarged EU and poses the question of harmonization between the minimum wages of the individual member states - or even a common EU minimum wage. This book also explores the role of the minimum wage at the national level, looking at trends and effects, with case studies on specific national policy issues or industrial sectors. Minimum wage fixing has returned to the core of policy debates, as illustrated by the adoption of a statutory minimum wage by Austria, Ireland, and the UK and ongoing discussions in Germany and Sweden. Proposals to have common rules at the EU level have also multiplied since EU enlargement, in particular to minimize "social dumping" - the practice of exporting goods from countries with poor labor standards. Bringing together 15 national studies from noted European specialists in the field, this timely collection aims to stimulate the current debate.


Forty-eight adolescents with a physical, intellectual or emotional disability participated in this study, while enrolled in a work adjustment program. A variable designated as "locus of evaluation" was hypothesized to have a significant effect upon how subjects regarded themselves and how experimentally induced success or failure feedback might change this level of regard. The experimental procedure, designed as an analogue to the psychological stress of a disabling condition, involved simulated feedback regarding one's competence relative to an immediate social reference group. Subjects who utilized a locus of evaluation based upon social acceptance and social status were hypothesized to show greater sensitivity to experimentally induced feedback and less self-regard than subjects who less frequently endorsed such locus of evaluation statements. The hypotheses were partially confirmed. Subjects who utilized standards based upon social acceptance and social status (1) revealed lower self-regard, (2) did not consistently raise or lower self-regard after experimentally induced success or failure feedback, (3) revealed a greater shift in self-regard, in either a positive or negative direction after such feedback, compared to subjects who endorsed extrinsically phrased locus of evaluation statements less frequently.


Robust segmentation of hair from portrait images remains challenging: hair does not conform to a uniform shape, style or even color; dark hair in particular lacks features. We present a novel computational imaging solution that tackles the problem from both input and processing fronts. We explore using Time-of-Flight (ToF) RGBD sensors on recent mobile devices. We first conduct a comprehensive analysis to show that scattering and inter-reflection cause different noise patterns on hair vs. non-hair regions on ToF images, by changing the light path and/or combining multiple paths. We then develop a deep network based approach that employs both ToF depth map and the RGB gradient maps to produce an initial hair segmentation with labeled hair components. We then refine the result by imposing ToF noise prior under the conditional random field. We collect the first ToF RGBD hair dataset with 20k+ head images captured on 30 human subjects with a variety of hairstyles at different view angles. Comprehensive experiments show that our approach outperforms the RGB based techniques in accuracy and robustness and can handle traditionally challenging cases such as dark hair, similar hair/background, similar hair/foreground, etc.


Due to lack of appropriate data, estimation of water balance components for large areas is usually problematic. Recent development of global databases based on satellite estimates as well as rapid progress in hardware and software for modeling of complex processes governing the water balance at the land surface, caused that many efforts employ these new tools to reduce the limitations in this field.� Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) are two particular projects, which has recently been used by many scientists to estimate water balance in different regions of the world. Regarding the lack of attention to this free information in Iranian studies, this research aims at investigating the possibility of using these resources in estimating the water balance of Iran basins. Urmia lake watershed was selected as a study area and the water balance components were extracted from GRACE GLDAS data. Comparison of the estimated changes in total water balance of the basin by GRACE data and changes in the lake water volume based on observations showed a similar trend. Besides, estimation of annual variations in groundwater using GRACE and GLDAS showed suitability of GRACE data for study of the groundwater changes. Overall, the results of present study indicated that GRACE data can be used as an appropriate tool to perform a preliminary, rapid, and inexpensive assessment of water balance in watersheds of the country. � � �


Here we describe a 4-yr course reform and its outcomes. The upper-division neurophysiology course gradually transformed from a traditional lecture in 2004 to a more student-centered course in 2008, through the addition of evidence-based active learning practices, such as deliberate problem-solving practice on homework and peer learning structures, both inside and outside of class. Due to the incremental nature of the reforms and absence of pre-reform learning assessments, we needed a way to retrospectively assess the effectiveness of our efforts. To do this, we first looked at performance on 12 conserved exam questions. Students performed significantly higher post-reform on questions requiring lower-level cognitive skills and those requiring higher-level cognitive skills. Furthermore, student performance on conserved questions was higher post-reform in both the top and bottom quartiles of students, although lower-quartile student performance did not improve until after the first exam. To examine student learning more broadly, we also used Bloom's taxonomy to quantify a significant increase in the Bloom's level of exams, with students performing equally well post-reform on exams that had over twice as many questions at higher cognitive skill levels. Finally, we believe that four factors provided critical contributions to the success of the course reform, including: transformation efforts across multiple course components, alignment between formative and evaluative course materials, student buy-in to course instruction, and instructional support. This reform demonstrates both the effectiveness of incorporating student-centered, active learning into our course, and the utility of using Bloom's level as a metric to assess course reform.


Abstract. Snow in the High Atlas Mountains is a major source for freshwater renewal and for water availability in the semi-arid lowlands of south-eastern Morocco. Snowfall- and snow-ablation monitoring and modelling is important for estimating potential water delivery from the mountain water towers to the forelands. This study is part of GLOWA-IMPETUS, an integrated management project dealing with scarce water resources in West Africa. The Ameskar study area is located to the south of the High Atlas Mountains, in their rain shadow. As a part of the M'Goun river basin within the upper Drâa valley, the study area is characterised by high radiation inputs, low atmospheric humidity and long periods with sub-zero temperatures. Its altitude ranges between 2000 m and 4000 m, with dominant north- and south-facing slopes. Snowfall occurs mainly from November to April but even summit regions can become repeatedly devoid of snow cover. Snow cover maps for the M'Goun basin (1240 km2) are derived from calculations of NDSI (Normalized Difference Snow Index) from MODIS satellite images and snow depth is monitored at four automatic weather stations between 2000–4000 m. Snowfall events are infrequent at lower altitudes. The presence of snow penitentes at altitudes above 3000 m indicates that snow sublimation is an important component of snow ablation. Snow ablation was modelled with the UEB Utah Energy Balance Model (Tarboton and Luce, 1996). This single layer, physically-based, point energy and mass balance model is driven by meteorological variables recorded at the automatic weather stations at Tounza (2960 m) and Tichki (3260 m). Data from snow pillows at Tounza and Tichki are used to validate the model's physical performance in terms of energy and water balances for a sequence of two snowfall events in the winter of 2003/4. First UEB modelling results show good overall performance and timing of snowmelt and sublimation compared to field investigations. Up to 44% of snow ablation is attributed to snow sublimation in typical winters with subzero temperatures and low atmospheric humidity at an altitude of 3000 m. At altitudes below 3000 m snowmelt generally dominates over sublimation. Unfortunately, the highest altitude zones suffer long periods with direct water loss into the atmosphere by sublimation in the course of which they cannot contribute to direct runoff or groundwater formation in the southern High Atlas Mountains. Keywords: sublimation, snow ablation modelling, energy balance model, High Atlas Mountains


Repeated daily left prefrontal transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was first proposed as a potential treatment for depression in 1993. Multiple studies from researchers around the world since then have repeatedly demonstrated that TMS has antidepressant effects greater than sham treatment, and that these effects are clinically meaningful. A large industry-sponsored trial, published in 2007, resulted in US FDA approval in October 2008. Most recently, a large NIHsponsored trial, with a more rigorous sham technique, found that a course of treatment (3–5 weeks) was statistically and clinically significant in reducing depression. However, consistently showing statistically and clinically significant antidepressant effects, and gaining regulatory approval, is merely the beginning for this new treatment. As with any new treatment involving a radically different approach, there are many unanswered questions about TMS, and the field is still rapidly evolving. These unanswered questions include the appropriate scalp location, understanding the mechanisms of action, refining the 'dose' (frequency, train, number of stimuli/day and pattern of delivery), understanding whether and how TMS can be combined with medications or talking/exposure therapy, or both, and how to deliver maintenance TMS. This article summarizes the available clinical information, and discusses key areas where more research is needed. TMS reflects a paradigm shift in treating depression. It is a safe, relatively noninvasive, focal brain stimulation treatment that does not involve seizures or implanted wires, and does not have drug–drug interactions or systemic side effects.


Purpose of the Study
This study examined whether caregiving has a differential effect on the well-being of sibling caregivers relative to other caregiving groups and whether race moderates this effect.

Design and Methods
Using the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States, 631 family caregivers (including 61 sibling caregivers) and 4,944 noncaregivers were identified. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to estimate the effect of the caregiver-care recipient relationship and its interaction with race on caregivers' well-being (i.e., depressive symptoms, self-rated health, life satisfaction, and perceived control over life).

Results
Caregivers in general reported poorer well-being than noncaregivers, but sibling caregivers were less affected by caregiving than parent or spouse caregivers. Among sibling caregivers, caregiving took a significantly greater toll on non-Hispanic White caregivers than those from minority groups with respect to depressive symptoms and life satisfaction.

Implication
The findings suggest that the experience of sibling caregivers is significantly shaped by their cultural background.


A series of four colloquies held in the first quarter of 2000 examined the expected development of biomass commercialization in the next 2 to 5 years. Each colloquy included seven to ten representatives from key industries that can contribute to biomass commercialization and who are in positions to influence the future direction. They represented: Corn Growers, Biomass Suppliers, Plant Science Companies, Process Engineering Companies, Chemical Processors, Agri-pulp Suppliers, Current Ethanol Producers, Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers, and Enzyme Suppliers. Others attending included representatives from the National Renewable Energy Lab., Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fuels Development, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, environmental groups, grower organizations, and members of the financial and economic development community. The informal discussions resulted in improved awareness of the current state, future possibilit ies, and actions that can accelerate commercialization. Biomass commercialization on a large scale has four common issues: (1) Feedstock availability from growers; (2) Large-scale collection and storage; (3) An economic process; (4) Market demand for the product.


Applications of the newly developed hybrid of the boundary integral and economical multipole techniques to large–scale dynamical simulations of concentrated emulsion flows of deformable drops are considered. For N=O(102−103) drops in a periodic cell with O(103) boundary elements per drop, the method has two to three orders of magnitude gain over a standard boundary–integral method at each time–step, thus making long–time large–scale dynamical simulations feasible. In the steady shear flow, large systems N≥O(102) are imperative for convergence at high drop volume fractions c≥0.5. At high concentrations, most of the shear thinning occurs for nearly non–deformed drops; at c≈0.55 and small capillary numbers, phase transition is observed in dynamical simulations. In sedimentation of deformable drops from a homogeneous initial state, even larger N≥O(103) are required to accurately describe the Koch–Shaqfeh type of instability in a wide time range with N up to 1200 and ensemble averaging over the initial conditions. The dynamics of the average sedimentation rate is studied versus concentration c for matching viscosities λ=1; for a Bond number of 1.75, systems with c ∼ 0.25 are found to be most unstable. Additionally, a low drop–to–medium–viscosity ratio system, λ= 0.1, is more unstable than those with λ=0.25 and λ=1. In the third application, buoyancy– or gravity–driven motion of a large bubble/drop through a concentrated emulsion of neutrally buoyant drops is studied by simulations. For a size ratio of two, convergent (box–size independent) results for the bubble/drop settling velocity are obtained in simulations with N≤800.


Some aspects of tricarboxylic acid-cycle activity during differentiation and aging in Dictyostelium discoideum were examined. The concentrations of glutamate, aspartate, alanine, citrate, 2-oxoglutarate, succinate, fumarate, malate, oxaloacetate, pyruvate and acetyl-CoA were determined at four stages over the course of differentiation. The rate of O2 utilization was also determined over differentiation. In addition, experiments are described in which the specific radioactivities of citrate, 2-oxoglutarate, succinate, fumarate and malate were determined during a 30 min labelling of cells from the preculmination stage of development with [14C]glutamate, [14C]aspartate or [14C]alanine. A similar experiment was also performed with cells from the aggregation stage of development using [14C]glutamate.


To quantify the shape of cleft lip noses and to evaluate the outcome following rhinoplasty objectively, a three-dimensional measuring system for the nasal shape was developed using a contact-type measuring apparatus. In this system, the surface data for a face could be obtained accurately, and facial landmarks could be identified semiautomatically. A new method for evaluating the nasal shape, which regards the nose as a polyhedron constructed of triangles which consist of facial landmarks, has been subsequently devised. Facial plaster models of 129 Japanese volunteers, 61 men and 68 women, were made. The nasal shapes were characterized by linear and angular measurements using semiautomatically identified landmarks, and the new polyhedral system of measurement was applied. The polyhedron was constructed of 10 triangular planes each consisting of three landmarks. The normal vector of each plane was calculated, and the angles described by these normal vectors were calculated. Consequently, the nasal shapes of males and females were characterized as follows: (1) the proportion of the size of the nasal ala to that of the nasal dorsum was larger in males than in females; (2) a more outward projection of the nasal ala was observed in males than in females; (3) the so-called 'nasal tip angle' was more acute in males than in females; (4) the transitional area from the nasal dorsum to the face was steeper in females than in males; (5) the upper compartments of the nasal ala were steeper in females than in males.


Built at the beginning of the 16th century by the final Mamluk sultan Al-Achraf Qânsuh Al-Ghuri, the entrance to the Citadel of Aleppo was particularly affected by an earthquake in 1822, bombings during the Battle of Aleppo in August 2012, and a collapse of ramparts due to an explosion in July 2015. Even if compared to other Syrian sites, there are still enough vestiges to grasp the initial architecture, the civil war situation makes extremely difficult any "classic" process of digitization by photogrammetry or laser scanning. On this basis, we propose a process to produce a 3D model "as relevant as possible" only from a few sightseeing photographs. This process combines fast 3D sketching by photogrammetry, 3D modeling and texture mapping and relies on a corpus based on pictures available on the net. Furthermore, it has the advantage to be applicable to destroyed monuments if sufficient pictures are available. Five photos taken in 2005 by a tourist archaeologist around the entrance were first used to generate a partial and poor quality point cloud with photogrammetry. The main elements of the inner gate and a part of the arched bridge are distinguishable on the point (Fig. 1). Because the architecture is fairly rectilinear and symmetrical, it has been possible to redraw in 3D most of the outlines by constantly comparing with what is visible on these first photos. The next step is the enrichment of the 3D model from the initial geometric basis and thanks to a corpus of photos available on the internet. This corpus was constituted from selection of pictures obtained with a search on Google Web Search and the keywords "Citadel" and "Aleppo". The selection took into account both the resolution of the images and the coverage of the items of interest and gathered 66 pictures. The enrichment of the 3D model is performed through an iterative process made up of four main steps: (i) orthophoto extraction from some photos of the corpus (ii) 3D modeling from these orthophotos (iii) seamless texture extraction (iv) texture mapping. The resulting 3D textured model is presented in Fig. 2. There are still some uncovered lateral areas, unreadable engraved wall writings, and some details are reconstructed naively, but the essential items, allowing to visually characterize the fortified entrance as a whole, have been reconstituted. The 3D model was first used to produce some renderings intended to obtain first reviews from archaeologists and architecture specialists, photos and complementary documents allowing correcting and filling the gaps. We wish to set a collaborative process to improve the model, based on an exchange with experts of the domain. The resulting model aims at feeding an interactive website dedicated to 3D display of heritage under threats. Other rendering of the model such as virtual reality or 3D printing could also be considered to share this testimony of our heritage. The application of this methodology to other sites deserves further studies that would depend on the possibilities of photogrammetry, the architectural complexities and human means for 3D modeling.


The interaction between coiled carbon nanotubes (CCNT) and the polymer matrix is important in the mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of the CCNT reinforced nanocomposite. In this study, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to study the interfacial characteristics of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs). Furthermore, the influence of the geometries of the CCNTs on the load transfer mechanism is evaluated. Pullout simulations considering different geometries of CCNTs are carried out to examine the tensile force and the interfacial shear stress (ISS). The results reveal that the maximal tensile force is reduced by increasing CCNT inner diameters, increasing the helix angles, and decreasing nanotube diameters. The distance between CCNTs and the polymer matrix is varied, and the interfacial distance favors greater ISS. Decreasing the inner diameter of the CCNT, the helix angle, and the tube diameter increases the ISS. The enhancement mechanism of CCNT/polymer composites has also been illustrated. Due to a lack of experimental results, only numerical results are given. The present study helps to understand the interfacial adhesion behavior between the polymer matrix and CCNTs and is expected to contribute to the development of CCNT reinforced polymer composites.


A recent Samaritans survey claimed 80% of employees have been bullied at work. Bullying is said to contribute to stress at work, and anti-bullying initiative Dignity at Work estimates it cost UK organisations £13.75 billion in 2007. Mobiles and Blackberries have apparently led to 'cyber bullying', making it impossible to escape abusive colleagues. Has bullying reached epidemic proportions, or is it the definition that is out of control? Being bullied can now mean everything from being the subject of gossip to having comments ignored or receiving unpleasant emails. When what was once accepted as the normal workplace grind is recast like this, it is not surprising that bullying seems on the rise. Managers only need to set 'unreasonable deadlines' or firmly tell someone off, a la Sir Alan Sugar on The Apprentice, to be branded bullies. Concern about bullying has led to new policies designed to protect employees, and training courses in managing 'sensitive situations'. Is this a much-needed response to a growing problem, or have we gone soft? Do HR professionals and the unions exaggerate our vulnerability? Are we no longer capable of resolving unpleasant situations with the informal help of friends and colleagues, and if not, why not?


The purpose of Discovery Cruise 224, Leg 2, was to continue the physical and biological surveys previously undertaken during Leg 1 as part of the EEC MAST OMEGA Project; and to undertake comparisons of the western Mediterranean macrozooplankton and micronekton communities on either side of the Almeria-Oran Front.

The sampling programme consisted of: 1) Fine scale SeaSoar surveys, at the beginning and end of the leg, to investigate the changes in the structure of the Almeria-Oran frontal system, and to establish the sites for biological sampling. 2) Investigations of the day and night depth distribution, throughout the water column, of the macroplankton and micronekton communities, by means of a vertically stratified series of RMT1+8M net deployments, at two sites on either side of the Almeria-Oran Front. This was largely successful, but bad weather prevented any near-bottom tows being carried out at one of the sites. 3) Investigations of the near-surface cross-frontal distribution of macrozooplankton and micronekton, again using the RMT1+8M net system. 4) Observations on the patterns of acoustic backscatter, using the shipborne ADCP and towed EK500 systems, throughout the cruise and to relate these with data from the biological sampling; with additional 'sea-truthing' from Longhurst-Hardy Plankton Recorder deployments.

In addition studies were made on the bioluminescent characteristics of the interesting examples of the pelagic fauna.


This paper empirically examines the effects caused by a sharp decline in the number of local officials in recent years on the regional public service supply system, the regional employment, and the business environment of non-profit organizations. Especially, from the viewpoint of the Regional Revitalization Policies, this paper analyzes the kinds of municipalities and types of public services where the employment reductions occurred, and whether they are functionally absorbed in cooperation with the regional third sectors through office consignment and subsidizing, etc. From the results of the analysis, first, when viewed in the most recent five years, the number of skilled labor related staff members, such as cooks, largely declined in municipalities, and the rate of decline is higher in municipalities with distressed local economies and government finances, as well as with available capacity for further administrative reform. Second, the employment rate of change in the municipalities has a significant positive correlation with that of non-company offices, such as unincorporated and third sector offices. In addition, the employment of skilled labor related staff by municipalities suggests that this is functioning as an unemployment measure. Third, savings in "labor costs" through employment reductions in municipal finances do not lead to an increase in "office consignment," as they are substituted by an increase in "subsidy" and "part-time job wages" alternatively. Fourth, in the finance of social welfare corporations, office consignment revenue from the government administrative sector shows a significant positive correlation with the change in the "office consignment" budget of the location municipality, but no significant correlation is observed with the change in the number of paid staff members in the third sector.


Problem statement: The way of referring to a place in the geographical space can be formal, based on the spatial coordinates, or informal, which we use in natural language by using toponyms (place names). A toponym can represent several geographical places. This ambiguity made problematic its conversion towards a unique formal representation. Toponym disambiguation in text is the task of assigning a unique location to an ambiguous place name in a given textual context. Approach: Several toponym disambiguation heuristics assumed a geographical proximity between the toponyms of the same context. This proximity can be in terms of spatial distance or in terms of arborsecent relationships, i.e., proximity in the hierarchical tree of the world places. This study presented a new toponym disambiguation heuristic in text based on the quantification of the arborescent proximity between toponyms. This quantification was done by a new measure of geographical correlation that we call the Geographical Density. Results: Our method was compared to the state of the art methods using GeoSemCor corpus and it has outperformed them in term of recall (87.4%) and coverage (99.0%). The results showed that the toponyms of the same context are much closer in terms of arborescent relationships than in terms of spatial relationships. Conclusion: We believe that the quantification of arborescent relationships between toponyms of the same textual context is a good way to improve the recall of TD task. However, all the arborescent relationships' types must be considered and not only the meronymy, which is the relation the most exploited in the existing TD methods.


Magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration in relativistic Harris sheets in low-density electron–positron plasmas with no guide field have been studied by means of two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. Reconnection rates are of the order of one when the background density in a Harris sheet is of the order of 1% of the density in the current sheet, which is consistent with previous results in the non-relativistic regime. It has been demonstrated that the increase of the Lorentz factors of accelerated particles significantly enhances the collisionless resistivity needed to sustain a large reconnection electric field. It is shown analytically and numerically that the energy spectrum of accelerated particles near the X-line is the product of a power law and an exponential function of energy, γ−1/4exp (− aγ1/2), where γ is the Lorentz factor and a is a constant. However, in the low-density regime, while the most energetic particles are produced near X-lines, many more particles are energized within magnetic islands. Particles are energized in contracting islands by multiple reflection, but the mechanism is different from Fermi acceleration in magnetic islands for magnetized particles in the presence of a guide field. In magnetic islands, strong core fields are generated and plasma beta values are reduced. As a consequence, the fire-hose instability condition is not satisfied in most of the island region, and island contraction and particle acceleration can continue. In island coalescence, reconnection between two islands can accelerate some particles, however, many particles are decelerated and cooled, which is contrary to what has been discussed in the literature on particle acceleration due to reconnection in non-relativistic hydrogen plasmas.


Over recent years, more and more companies have come to recognise the utility of storytelling in the workplace. Stories are thought to be an effective means of sharing information and can fulfil a range of knowledge management functions. Furthermore, storytelling can contribute to social bonds between co-workers because stories allow the audience to create impressions about the attitudes and beliefs of the storyteller. The potential of storytelling in global virtual teams has received minimal research focus to date. In this paper we adopt an action research approach to investigate storytelling used as a knowledge transfer technique in offshore outsourced projects and observe the influence on team relationship development. Findings suggest that storytelling by recorded video can be an effective form of communication in the early stages of projects and helps overcome the challenge of relationship development in offshore outsourced projects.


The issue of a priori threshold setting in speaker verification is a key problem for field applications. In the context of the Caller Verification in Banking and Telecommunications (CAVE) project, we compared several methods for estimating speaker-independent and speaker-dependent decision thresholds. Relevant parameters are estimated from development data only, i.e. without resorting to additional client data. The various approaches are tested on the Dutch SESP database.


A theoretical model is developed for chemical generators producing O2(1Δ) at high pressure. Such generators are especially important for supersonic chemical oxygen‐iodine lasers. The model treats different types of generators, e.g., bubble‐column, film, aerosol, and jet generators. The main factor affecting the O2(1Δ) yield under high pressure is liquid‐phase quenching enhanced by depletion of HO2− ions near the gas/liquid interface. Simple analytical expressions are derived for the O2(1Δ) yield at the exit of the generator. Output characteristics of different specific generators are calculated and compared with available experimental results. O2(1Δ) yield ≥0.5 can be achieved for oxygen pressure up to 50 Torr and flow rates of 3 mmol/cm2 s. For equal velocities of the gas and the liquid the maximum flux of the energy carried by O2(1Δ) for jet or aerosol generators reaches 200 W/cm2. It can be increased by increasing the liquid velocity in the generator.


Evidence is presented for the coexistence of smooth muscle and decidual cells in nodules on and within the ovarian tunica albuginea at term. Routine histologic techniques and electron microscopy have been employed in characterizing the morphology of the nodules. Recent literature concerning the frequency of ovarian decidualization during pregnancy is discussed with respect to the possible relationship of such decidualization to the histogenesis of leiomyomatosis peritonealis disseminata (LPD). The hypothesis that LPD may represent "disseminated fibrosing decidua" is discussed in light of finding collagen fibrils, secretory decidual cells, and smooth muscle cells in these nodules. It is concluded that the present case does not represent "fibrosing decidua." The authors agree with others who have proposed that the smooth muscle in ovarian decidua and LPD result from proliferation of stem cells which may reside in the subperitoneal stroma in association with ectopic endometrial stroma and which may respond to the hormones of pregnancy.


We illustrate the potential of the bwHPC for sociological research. After briefly explaining why modern sociological research requires more computational time, we outline a recently developed computationally intense statistical model for the analysisof relational data. We close by summarizing an empirical study in which we applied this model to answer a substantive question and greatly benefited from the bwHPC with regard to computation time.


This volume serves as an introduction to the field of positive political economy and the economic and political processes with which it is concerned. This new research tradition is distinct from both normative and historical approaches to political economy. Grounded in the rational-actor methodology of microeconomics, positive political economy is the study of rational decisions in a context of political and economic institutions. More analytical than traditional approaches, it is concerned with the derivation of principles and propositions against which real-world experience may be compared. Its focus is on empirical regularities, and its goal is theoretical explanation. The field has focused on three main areas of research: models of collective action, constraints on competitive market processes, and the analysis of transaction costs. Developments in all of these areas are covered in the book. The first part of the volume surveys the field, while the second part displays positive political economy at work, examining a variety of subjects. The final part contains essays by leading political economists on the theoretical foundations of the field.


I evaluate Latin America's relative economic performance by combining the Solow growth coefficients from 22 rich countries and the actual factor accumulation in the region. I find that actual income growth was consistently below simulated growth for all of the countries in the sample, indicating that low productivity is likely behind slow gross domestic product growth in the region. The low productivity growth is partially explained by government consumption spending, ethnic diversity, autocracy, export composition, and educational quality.


Different marine and coastal activities have diverse economic, environmental, and socio-cultural objectives, which can lead to conflict when these multidimensional activities coincide spatially or temporally. This is sometimes driven by a lack of understanding or other users' needs and consequentially adequate planning and the utilization of acommonlanguage is essential. By using a transparent approach based on multi-criteria analysis, we characterize and establish priorities for future development/conservation for all users in the coastal area using six representative European Case Studies with different levels of complexity. Results varied according to location, but significantly it was found that stakeholders tended to favour ecological and social over economic objectives. This paper outlines the methodology employed, the results derived, and the potential for this approach to reduce conflict in coastal and marine waters. Keywords: case studies, coexist, conflict (reduction), European Coastal Zone, marine spatial planning, multi-criteria analysis, stakeholders.


Clothing heat and vapour resistances are important inputs for standards and models dealing with thermal comfort, heatand cold-stress. A vast database of static clothing heat resistance values is available, and this was recently expanded with correction equations to account for e€ects of movement and wind on the static value of heat resistance in order to obtain the dynamic heat resistance of clothing ensembles. For clothing vapour resistance, few data were available so far. Indices for vapour permeability (im) and reduction factors for vapour transfer (Fpcl) of clothing were used instead, using a relation between heat and vapour resistance to derive the clothing vapour resistance from the value for clothing heat resistance. This paper reviews the two commonly used approaches (im and Fpcl), as well as ®ve alternative approaches to the problem. The di€erent approaches were evaluated for their accuracy and their usability. The present paper shows that the currently used relations are not adequate when the wearer of the clothing starts moving, or is exposed to wind. Alternative approaches are shown to improve the determination of dynamic clothing vapour resistance, though some are thought to be too complex. An empirical description of the relation between the clothing permeability index (im) and the changes in clothing heat resistance due to wind and movement was selected as the most promising method for deriving clothing vapour resistance. For this method the user needs to know the static heat resistance, the static im value of the clothing and the windand movement-speed of the wearer. This method results in a predicted maximal decrease in clothing vapour resistance by 78%, when clothing heat resistance is reduced by 50%, which is consistent with theoretical expectations and available data. # 1999 British Occupational Hygiene Society. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.


BACKGROUND
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is an intensive treatment that offers the potential for longer life or cure for some types of cancer. Hematopoietic stem cell transplant is associated with decreased quality of life and functional status and distressing symptoms. Self-efficacy for symptom management (SESM) is a person's belief in his/her ability to implement behaviors to manage these symptoms. Presence of SESM can affect symptom distress, healthcare utilization, and posttransplantation outcomes.

OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to explore the meaning of SESM in adults during the acute phase of HSCT.

METHODS
Interviews were conducted before and at 30 days after transplantation. Descriptive thematic analysis was performed on verbatim interview transcripts.

RESULTS
Themes of confidence, being responsible, and caring for mind, body, and spirit were identified, with subthemes of self-confidence, confidence in others, confidence and symptom level, vigilance, self-advocacy, and normalcy. Participants reported having high SESM before transplantation and having much less or no SESM when symptom distress was the most severe.

CONCLUSIONS
This is the first study to examine the patient's perspective of self-efficacy in the acute phase of HSCT. This contributes to existing literature on the concept of symptom management and expands nursing knowledge of SESM in patients undergoing HSCT.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Nurses can assess SESM before transplantation and implement interventions to enhance SESM when symptoms are at their most distressing after HSCT. The findings from this study can provide the basis for creating behavioral interventions to enhance self-efficacy for symptom management in HSCT patients.


The Arch of Constantine in Rome marks the passing of the pre-Christian era in architectural terms, recapitulating imperial traditions while at the same time heralding a new consciousness. It pioneered modes of design that exploited recycled elements for the sake of effects and motives quite beyond purely pragmatic considerations. Long the subject of controversy, the monument is today the focus of a scholarly quarrel over the possibility that its superstructure once belonged to an earlier arch on the same site. This study refutes this hypothesis on the basis of considerations of technique and design, showing instead that its composition depended on the emulation of the nearby Arch of Septimius Severus. The connection between the two buildings is indeed as direct as that between Trajan9s Column and its full-scale "copy," that of Marcus Aurelius, and it is possible to unravel the rationale behind the transformation of one arch into the other. Since the composition of Constantine9s was in this way effectively resolved, the architect could concentrate on the adaptations necessary for accommodating the various sets of recycled components. And despite their heterogeneous character, the outcome was a project of singular coherence in terms of proportion and geometry. It was the product of a unitarian conception that promoted Constantine9s ideological program in the realm of urban design, imperial iconography, and political and religious intent.


A time lapse analysis was performed on two 3D seismic datasets (4D seismic) acquired over the northern part of the Gullfaks oilfield in the North Sea. The first survey was acquired in 1985, prior to the production start in 1986, a second survey was acquired in 1995, followed by a third in 1996. The drainage interpretations carried out by means of the repeated seismic datasets are in reasonable agreement with similar interpretations performed the traditional way by reservoir engineers, and have locally resulted in an improved understanding of drainage. The time lapse seismic data are routinely used in well planning projects on Gullfaks. In 1997, two wells were drilled into segments that, based on repeated seismic data, were interpreted to be undrained. Both wells encountered oil-filled reservoirs. Although these wells were not based on time lapse seismic alone, the wells served as a good test of the reservoir management potential associated with the 4D technology. Furthermore, waterfront movements predicted on the basis of time lapse seismic data are confirmed by well observations.


Although transport fuels are currently obtained mainly from petroleum, alternative fuels derived from lignocellulosic biomass (LB) have drawn much attention in recent years in light of the limited reserves of crude oil and the associated environmental issues. Lignocellulosic ethanol (LE) and lignocellulosic hydrocarbons (LH) are two typical representatives of the LB-derived transport fuels. This editorial systematically compares LE and LB from production to their application in transport fuels. It can be demonstrated that LH has many advantages over LE relative to such uses. However, most recent studies on the production of the LB-derived transport fuels have focused on LE production. Hence, it is strongly recommended that more research should be aimed at developing an efficient and economically viable process for industrial LH production.


Effect of various duration of hypokinesia on structural-metabolic characteristics of the lumbar vertebral segment has been studied in Wistar rats. Hypokinesia results in certain morphological changes of the spongy bone and tissues of the intervertebral disk, demonstrating as delayed processes of ossification, disturbed course of organization into bundles of collagenous fibers of the fibrous ring, widening of the nucleus pulposus zone. Polarization-optical investigations reveal some disturbances in the macro-molecular organization of collagen, expressed as decreasing degree of its refraction and as redistribution of glycosaminoglycans towards increasing sulfated keratan sulfates.


Mankind has been stricken with "major" epidemic diseases throughout its history. The most serious among them immediately threaten man's life e.g. plague, cholera, smallpox, typhus, and dysentery, besides, there are others which take a slower course e.g. lues, leprosy, leishmaniasis, tuberculosis, and malaria. Yet, the "lesser" epidemic diseases like diphtheria, scarlet fever, mumps, pneumococcosis, influenza, and most recently AIDS may also turn into "major" ones. Originally, man exclusively depended on his genetic makeup for protection, and being particularly prone to attacks of disease he was subject to natural selection. Thus, only one human species survived, the homo sapiens. Interbreeding achieved biologic adaptation and created a balanced genetic polymorphism. Advancing in his degree of civilization, man formed groups, developed clothing, fire, houses, and tools, and his increasing cultural awareness allowed him to migrate from the tropical climates to more temperate, and less disease-infested zones. Immigration and wars, and the accompanying infections jeopardized and diminished entire populations and eradicated highly developed cultures like that of the American Indians. The plague, coming from Asia, and lues, from America, as well as cholera, influenza, and smallpox spread around the whole globe. Fear and terror led to irrational conclusions and triggered persecutions. The attitude of accepting disease as a God-sent fate (Hiob), or a God-sent punishment suppressed reasonable measures against disease. The necessary official measures have increasingly restricted liberty, and this patronizing treatment needs to be opposed with a higher sense of responsibility. Medical art has developed from more healing towards prophylactic and predictive medicine, which prognosticates the individual susceptibility to particular infections, and other risk factors.


The establishment of the National Islamic Calligraphy Art Association in 1985 also known as Persatuan Seni Khat Kebangsaan (PSKK) was the result of the decline in the usage of 'jawi' script and the introduction of the National Cultural Congress 1971. The 'jawi' was derived from Arabic script using the Malay alphabets and pronunciations. The main objectives of PSKK are to preserve the 'jawi* script and to educate the general public the correct method of writing according to the order of the classical Islamic calligraphy. To date, there is no in depth research has been done on the 28 years of existence of PSKK, its contributions and styles to the contemporary of Islamic art in Malaysia. The research used the historical and exploratory approach in analyzing the data. The analysis is on the form, styles and content based on the Al- Qur'an, Al-Hadith, Malay traditional heritage and culture. PSKK had and still contributes to the development of contemporary Islamic art in Malaysia. Four basic components of PSKK styles composed of idea, tools, form and content which are inter-related. The styles and content manifested by the PSKK artists were well received by the general public. It is undeniable to state that the PSKK's contributions to the development of Contemporary Islamic Art in Malaysia is of utmost importance. It reflects the identity of Malaysia forms and meaning in Islamic culture as a whole.


OBJECTIVES
We examined patterns of sexual behavior and risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in young adulthood for Black, Hispanic, and White females.

METHODS
We used a nationally representative sample of 7015 female young adults from wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Sexual risk items assessed behaviors occurring in the previous 6 years and past year to determine classes of sexual risk and links to STIs in young adulthood.

RESULTS
Latent class analysis revealed 3 sexual risk classes for Black and Hispanic youths and 4 sexual risk classes for White youths. The moderate and high risk classes had the highest probabilities of risky sexual partners, inconsistent condom use, and early age of sexual initiation, which significantly increased odds for STIs compared with recent abstainers.

CONCLUSIONS
We found different classes of sexual behavior by race/ethnicity, with Black and Hispanic young women most at risk for STIs in young adulthood. Preventive efforts should target younger adolescents and focus on sexual partner behavior.


Introduction: the idea to explore at least some of the regions diversity such as the Colombian Orinoco through bioprospecting study of Lacmellea standleyi (Woodson) Monach. arises as a consequence of ignorance of much of the floristic richness in Colombia and the potential relevance of much of this in the nutrition, health and industry. Objective: to evaluate the antioxidant potential, nutritional and phenolic content, antimicrobial activity, and safety degree of aqueous, ethanol, and ethyl acetate extracts of Lacmellea standleyi fruits in three different ripening stages. Methods: the nutritional value was evaluated using standardized methods to full fruit in its three ripening stages. Each of the extracts was chemically characterized by spectrophotometric assays. Antimicrobial activity was measured by the size of inhibition against strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Candida parpsilosis; the acute toxicity of the fruits was measured through in vitro tests using Artemia salina as experimental model. Results: the results show that green fruits are suppliers of antioxidant compounds. Higher levels of nutrients are found in the intermediate state and mature fruit has attractive organoleptic properties and a relatively high nutrient content. Conclusions: the antioxidant capacity of Lacmellea standleyi fruits was evident in the three ripening stages, giving the plant a promising future in the pharmaceutical industry, standing out in this field the fruits in the green stage. Furthermore, the results suggest the application of the intermediate and mature fruits in the finished products development. The safety observed in the plant material warrants its use in human consumption.


Background 40% of patients with lung cancer are diagnosed following an emergency admission to hospital (DFEA), but little is known about this group. There are particular challenges in providing information in these circumstances. This paper reports preliminary qualitative findings from a mixed methods study seeking to describe the characteristics, needs and outcomes of patients with lung cancer DFEA admitted over one year to a University hospital. Aim To explore patients' and carers' experiences of lung cancer DFEA, focusing on reports about information provision and needs. Methods This study is in progress. Patients DFEA and their carers are invited to participate in a qualitative interview following completion of the Charlson co-morbidities index; Sheffield Profile for Assessment and Referral to Care holistic needs questionnaire and a modified 2012 National Cancer Patient Experiences Survey. Interviews usually take place following hospital discharge. Data are analysed using a grounded theory approach, aided by NVivo. Findings From a target sample of 15 patients and 15 carers, to date we have recruited 10 patients (5m; 5f; aged 49–91) and 6 female carers (from 81 patients DFEA). One group of participants talk about their 'need to know'; they report wanting information about all aspects of diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. A second group describe themselves as knowing 'what the score is', reporting no need for more information or not wanting to know 'too much'. Some describe clinicians who respond well to their particular needs for information, while others reported non personalized responses: for example, the provision of information about treatment options when a cancer is too advanced for these. Where participants criticize information-giving, this influences wider perceptions of care. Conclusion High levels of morbidity present challenges when studying this group. The experience of information provision shapes wider experiences of care for patients DFEA with lung cancer and their carers.


During the Asian Financial Crisis in 1996-1998 and the recent economic downturn due to sub-prime tribulations in 2008-2009, most corporations that were severely hit are non-Islamic corporations and financial institutions. Although some of the Islamic corporations and banking groups were affected, but the damage done were not as serious as suffered by conventional corporations and financial institutions. We also noticed that almost all financial institution and banking groups around the globe are embarking on Islamic banking products. This paper will examine what are the factors that contribute to the sort of insulation on Islamic corporations and financial institutions from these two economic crises. The discussion will also include the comparison of corporate governance characteristics of the western Anglo-Saxon model and Islamic corporate governance. Unlike the western concept of corporate governance which is based on the western business behaviour that is secular driven, this article suggests that corporate governance in IFIs is founded on the epistemological aspect of Tawhid, Shari'ah and ethics. The initial findings submit that Islam presents unique values and unique characteristics of corporate governance with the aim to uphold and maintain the principle of social morality not only to the shareholders of the firm but to all stakeholders.Keywords: Islamic Corporate Governance, Anglo-Saxon governance, shariah board governance


This paper puts forward a comprehensive formulation for the wide area dynamic state estimation of power systems. This is a problem of great current interest in the power systems community, where significant progress has been achieved in recent years. This proposal builds on the existing work and formulates a novel approach to estimate dynamic and algebraic state variables of the entire power system in a simultaneous solution method. In contrast to existing formulations, the proposed approach simultaneously co-estimates the transient evolution of the transmission grid's nodal voltages and the dynamic states associated with synchronous machines and their associated controllers. Since controllers with hard limits are always present in a power system, the proposal also estimates when and how hard limits constrain the time evolution of the power system operating state. In this case, constrained dynamic variables associated with non-windup and windup limiters are automatically handled in the estimation process by transforming the inequality constraints of hard limits into equality constraints using the complementarity theory and the Fischer-Burmeister merit function. The feasibility of the proposed method is demonstrated on the WSCC 9-bus power system and the Mexican 190-bus power system.


The present study examined the haematological effects of ichthyophthiriasis in common carp. Blood was collected from 4 groups of juvenile carp: 1. healthy; 2. with minor symptoms of ichthyophthiriasis; 3. with severe symptoms of ichthyophthiriasis (moribund); survivors of ichthyophthiriasis after a 3-week recovery period. Blood was subjected to a standard haematological procedure and the following parameters were evaluated: haematocrit (Ht), haemoglobin concentration (Hb), erythrocyte (RBC) and leukocyte (WBC) counts, mean cell volume (MCV), mean cell haemoglobin (MCH), and mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC). The differential leukocyte count and thrombocyte count were calculated using stained blood smears. No change in Ht or Hb, but a significant decrease in RBC compensated by an increase in MCV and MCH were observed. Fish with minor symptoms of disease had a significant increase in WBC (167.4 × 103/mL) without an alteration in the differential count, as compared to the controls (93.3 × 103/mL), while those with severe symptoms had a significant decrease in WBC (48.4 × 103/mL) accompanied by lymphopenia, and an increase in neutrophil and monocyte contribution. After 3 weeks of recovery WBC returned to a level similar to that in the controls (89.5 × 103/mL). In all the parasite-infested fish metabolic activity of phagocytes was significantly reduced, as compared to the controls. In the fish with severe symptoms of disease thrombocytosis and hypercoagulability were observed.


The UNILAC was improved for high current performance by replacing the Wideroe prestripper accelerator by an RFQ and an IH-type DTL. In addition, one of two ion source terminals was equipped with high current sources of MUCISand MEVVA-type. Therefore, a redesign of the LEBT from the ion source to the RFQ entrance was necessary. The new LEBT was installed at the beginning of 1999. The commissioning was carried mainly with a high intense argon beam. The achieved 17 emA Ar are 6 emA above the RFQ design intensity. The expected performance of the new LEBT was achieved: full transmission for high current beams, preservation of brilliance along the beam line, isotope separation for all elements, transverse phase space matching to the RFQ linac, and macropulse shaping. In particular, the high degree of space charge compensation was confirmed.


Germans have now been unified for thirty years, longer than they had been separated by concrete barriers, yet the Wall in their respective heads has persisted. Unequal wages, a lack of investment in structurally weak regions, and ongoing western elite domination continue to fuel Eastern perceptions of second-class citizenship, despite significant shifts in the fates of key social groups who initially saw themselves as the "winners" and losers" of unification. This article considers the dialectical identities of four groups whose collective opportunity structures have been dramatically reconfigured since 1990: eastern intellectuals and dissidents; working women and mothers; eastern youth; and middle-aged men. It argues that the two groups counted among the immediate winners of unification—dissidents and men—have traded places over the last three decades with the two strata counted among unity's core losers, women and youth. It also testifies to fundamental, albeit rarely noted changes that have taken hold with regard to the identities of western Germans across thirty years of unification.


Traffic injuries and deaths touch the lives of all people and remain a major health problem that requires renewed priority. There is currently a major opportunity in the US to shape traffic safety priorities for the next 5–10 years, as the federal transportation legislation, determining the largest federal expenditure for transportation overall is being re-authorised. Prevention Institute, working with key government, academic and community leaders across the US, has developed a unique analysis and recommendations for traffic safety priorities that will be shared in this session. These recommendations, published in, 'A 21st Century Approach to Traffic Injury Prevention,' a chapter of the book, 'Healthy, Equitable Transportation Policy,' are unique because they have the potential to substantially reduce rates of injury and death from traffic crashes and foster collaboration between diverse partners because they also support equity, environmental and chronic disease prevention goals. Developing cross-sectoral partnerships, united around strategies that achieve multiple health benefits will be important in integrating safety and health more centrally in transportation policies. Overarching goals supported by the strategies that will be shared include improving community infrastructure, ensuring safe and accessible alternatives to driving, and continuing to advance existing traffic safety successes. Success stories will be shared of how strategies can be tailored to fit specific community needs. These promising and evidence-based strategies were commissioned by the National Convergence Partnership, a group of US funders. Strategies were compiled and analysed from literature reviews, expert interviews and policy and research reports.