The principal concern of this book is the use of vibrational spectroscopy as a tool in identifying mineral species and in deriving information concerning the structure, composition and reactions of minerals and mineral products. This does not mean that the approach is purely empirical; some theoretical understanding of the vibrational spectra of solids is essential to an assessment of the significance of the variations in the spectra that can be found within what is nominally a single mineral species, but which usually includes a range of compositions and defect structures. Theory alone, however, can give only limited support to the mineral spectroscopist, and careful studies of well-characterized families of natural and synthetic minerals have played an essential role in giving concrete structural significance to spectral features. The publication of this book represents a belief that theory and practice have now reached a state of maturitity and of mutual support which justifies a more widespread application of vibrational spectroscopy to the study of minerals and inorganic materials. The wide area of theory and practice that deserves to be covered has required a careful selection of the subject matter to be incorporated in this book. Since elementary vibrational spectroscopy is now regularly included in basic chemistry courses, and since so many books cover the theory and practice of molecular spectroscopy, it has been decided to assume the very basic level of knowledge which will be found, for example, in the elementary introduction of Cross and Jones (1969). With this assumption, it has been possible to concentrate on those aspects that are peculiar to or of particular significance for mineral spectroscopy.


In this reflective paper, I interweave autoethnographic personal narrative and critical self-reflection with theoretical literature in order to engage and wrestle with decolonizing and Indigenizing my teaching and curricular practices in Canadian higher education. Acknowledging that walking this path is challenging, I seek multiple trailheads in an effort to access my hidden curriculum, my complicit knowledge, and unsettling moments that have the potential to transform me. My objective is to critically interrogate myself to prepare for respectfully and appropriately moving toward reconciliation in my relationships with Indigenous colleagues, students, and communities, and in my work as a curriculum maker.


Background: Mortality in HIV/AIDS patients have increasingly been attributed to noncommunicable causes. Since the dawn of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) infection and antiretroviral drugs, there has been conflicting data on the role of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) use across the globe with no data in Ghana. We studied the prevalence and determinants of isolated systolic hypertension in HIV/AIDS patients on ART. Method: This cross-sectional study involved 200 HIV/AIDS patients who received treatment at the HIV/AIDS clinic of the GA South Municipal Hospital in Accra, Ghana. Blood pressure (systolic and diastolic), pulse and anthropometric (weight and height, waist and hip circumference) data were obtained using standard protocols. Other relevant data were obtained with the aid of a pretested questionnaire. Results: Age, Blood Pressure, Pulse Pressure, BMI and WHR were significantly associated with duration of ART use. The mean systolic blood pressure was significantly high in patients who have been on ART for over 2 yrs. Males were significantly older than females (p=0.003). 4%, 0.5%, and 5.5% of the participants had grade 1, 2, and ISH respectively. Gender was significantly associated with ISH (p=0.021). Females are less likely to develop isolated systolic hypertension. Those within the age group; 30-39 yrs (OR: 7.05, 95% CI: 4.10-12.13, p<0.0001), 40-49 yrs (OR: 3.42, 95% CI: 0.36- 32.10, p<0.0001) 50-59 yrs (OR: 6.13, 95% CI: 0.62-61.03, p<0.0001) are at risk of developing ISH. Conclusion: Isolated systolic hypertension was prevalent in 5.5% of HIV/AIDS patients on ART. Age and gender were the significant determinants of ISH. Efficient and easy accessible measures should be adopted to prevent and control ISH in HIV/AIDS patients on ART especially males and young adults.


The first attempts to establish an implantation process leading to formation of ferromagnetic inclusions inside the GaSb matrix are presented. Gallium antimonide containing ferromagnetic MnSb precipitations is considered as a promising material for novel spintronic applications. It is possible to obtain such inclusions during the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth. However, for commercial application it would be also important to find an optimal way of producing this kind of inclusions by Mn ions implantation. In order to achieve this goal, several parameters of implantation and post annealing procedures were tested. The ion energy was kept at 10 keV or 150 keV and four different ion doses were applied, as well as various annealing conditions. The analysis of X-ray absorption spectra allowed to estimate the local atomic order around Mn atoms. Depending on the implantation energy and annealing processes, the manganese oxides or manganese atoms located in a heavily defected GaSb matrix were observed. The performed analysis helped in indicating the main obstacles in formation of MnSb inclusions inside the GaSb matrix by Mn ion implantation.


THE ROLE played by vasospasm in vascular disease is receiving increasing attention from surgeons dealing with peripheral circulatory disturbances. That cerebral vasospasm may be equally important in various intracranial pathologic states is not widely accepted, 1 and as a consequence comparatively little attention has been directed toward an effective means of overcoming such spasm in instances in which it presumably is a causal factor of clinical importance. It is probable that this lag in interest in cerebral vasopasm stems largely from the earlier physiologic concept that the cerebral circulation is influenced chiefly by extracranial factors such as the systemic blood pressure, the carotid sinus and other reflex mechanisms. 2 It is now generally recognized, however, that in addition to these obviously important extracranial influences there are significant intracranial mechanisms which affect the cerebral circulation. In brief, these are the carbon dioxide and oxygen tension of the arterial blood supplying the


The antiphospholipid antibody syndrome has numerous cardiac manifestations, including valvular thickening, insufficiency, and mass lesions. The mass lesions may be confused with atrial myxomas and other vegetations, sometimes necessitating a surgical diagnosis. There are no prospective studies on treatment or follow-up of intracardiac lesions in antiphospholipid antibody syndrome. We prospectively followed up three patients with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome for intracardiac lesions (one atrial and two mitral valve masses) complicated by systemic embolization. Anticoagulation led to complete resolution of the masses in 6 weeks to 3 months. We propose that initial treatment of an intracardiac lesion in patients with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome should be a trial of systemic anticoagulation before surgical intervention.


We report on a term neonate with unexplained respiratory distress, dilatation of the descending aorta, and low serum retinol concentration. The respiratory distress did not respond to conventional medical management and persisted for 22 days requiring an inspired oxygen fraction of 0.4 to 0.5 to maintain adequate arterial oxygen saturation. One week after intramuscular vitamin A therapy, the respiratory distress and requirement for supplementary oxygen resolved. Dilatation of the distal aorta resolved at 7 weeks of age. An association between vitamin A deficiency and aortic dilatation has previously been described in rats, but the association in humans has rarely been reported. We suggest that unexplained neonatal respiratory distress and a dilated aorta should prompt suspicion of vitamin A deficiency. An underlying infective or inflammatory process may give rise to a falsely low serum retinol concentration. Serum retinol and retinol binding protein concentrations in both the mother and infant should be used to guide vitamin A status, treatment, and subsequent response.


In December 1998, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson announced that the U.S. planned to begin producing tritium for its nuclear weapons in commercial nuclear power plants. This decision overturned a fifty-year policy of keeping civilian and military nuclear production processes separate. Tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, is needed to turn A-bombs into H-bombs, and the commercial nuclear power plants that are to be modified to produce tritium are called ice condensers. This book provides an insider's perspective on how Richardson's decision came about, and why it is dangerous.Kenneth Bergeron shows that the new policy is unwise not only because it undermines the U.S. commitment to curb nuclear weapons proliferation but also because it will exacerbate serious safety problems at these commercial power facilities, which are operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority and are among the most marginal in the United States. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's review of the TVA's request to modify its plants for the new nuclear weapons mission should attract significant attention and opposition.Tritium on Ice is part expose, part history, part science for the lay reader, and part political science. Bergeron's discussion of how the issues of nuclear weapons proliferation and nuclear reactor safety have become intertwined illuminates larger issues about how the federal government does or does not manage technology in the interests of its citizens and calls into question the integrity of government-funded safety assessments in a deregulated economy.


Previously, we designed and synthesized a series of bis-substituted aromatic amide-based histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors. In this study, we report the replacement of a bromine atom by different amides on the phenyl ring of the CAP region. Representative compounds 9d and 10k exhibited low nanomolar IC50 values against HDAC1, which were ten times lower than that of the positive control SAHA. The IC50 of 9d against the human A549 cancer cell line was 2.13 μM. Furthermore, 9d increased the acetylation of histones H3 and H4 in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, 9d significantly arrested A549 cells at the G2/M phase and induced A549 cell apoptosis. Finally, molecular docking investigation rationalized the high potency of compound 9d.


The aim of this study was to examine the ability of governments to come up with a tax system which is both fair and efficient simultaneously. The study successfully explored the concepts of fairness and efficiency during the design process of a tax system, in order to ensure successful implementation. The paper begins with covering the features of a good taxation system; it continues with explaining, in detail, the principles of fairness and efficiency, including the economic efficiency approach. According to the study, fairness can be well illustrated using the horizontal and vertical equity models. Under the horizontal equity approach, fairness of taxation systems assumes that people enjoying equivalent conditions should all be treated in an equal manner. In relation to the vertical approach, it is required that a similar level of fairness should be reached to include people that exhibit different and unique circumstances. The study also covered a broad definition of efficiency which is when the resultant state facilitates the very minimum level of costs of meeting a given set of goals and objectives. This means the ability of a government to accomplish a given set of goals and objectives at minimal costs or even minimal gains, on a similar level of resources invested at any given moment in time. The paper concludes that it is not possible for any taxation system to be fair and efficient simultaneously and that there would always be a degree of conflict in trying to attain both fairness and efficiency for any given tax system.


Abstract The self-boring pressuremeter can be used to determine in situ consolidation characteristics of clays (Clarke et al. 1979). The test procedure includes undrained loading from which total horizontal stress, shear modulus and strength can be determined. Excess pore pressures are generated during loading. These decay during the holding portion of the test when the membrane is held at about 10% cavity strain. The rate of decay is used together with a theoretical prediction of consolidation around a cavity to determine the horizontal coefficient of consolidation. The main disadvantage of this is the difficulty with measuring the pore water pressure. As the excess pore pressures dissipate the total applied pressure within the membrane is reduced. The total pressure can be monitored more accurately than the pore pressure and, hence, holding tests based on total pressure decay would be a preferred field technique. This paper discusses work carried out at the SERC Bothkennar soft clay site where undrained SBP and holding tests were carried out down to a depth of 19.6 m. The tests have been interpreted using total pressure observations. The tests have also been interpreted using a finite element package which includes the Cam Clay model and coupled consolidation. This interpretation allows a comparison to be made between the use of pore and total pressure decay in the analysis and recommendations for an alternative test procedure are made.


Curfew laws seek to provide general protection to youth and adults by restricting the times that children of certain ages are allowed to occupy public places or streets. These laws often contain exemptions for youth accompanied by an adult, responding to an emergency, or traveling to or from school, work, or a religious service, among others. However, the actual language used and exemptions included vary by locality. As a result, courts have reached different results — several courts upheld curfew laws as constitutional, while others overturned these laws. Although not the original reason behind juvenile curfew enactment, several studies have found that juvenile curfew laws reduce other youth health consequences. For example, studies have shown that the enactment of a juvenile curfew law reduces juvenile traffic injuries and fatalities, pediatric transports and pediatric trauma transports, and the volume of juvenile trauma cases. Given that these laws have public health benefits and continue to be enacted across the country, this article will provide guidance for policymakers on how to propose and draft these laws to avoid problems in other similar statutes that resulted in them being overturned. A four-step framework by Harold Lasswell for understanding the creation of a policy called "The Policy Cycle" is used as structure for this article.


We report a case of spontaneous iliac occlusion in a 44-year-old male patient after long-distance running. Atherogenic risk factors like hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and smoking were missing. Spontaneous iliac occlusion is extremely rare and only a few cases have been documented. Angiography showed occlusion of the left iliac artery with collateral flow via the obturator artery to the common femoral artery. Thrombectomy was performed but reocclusion occurred. An iliacofemoral bypass, arterial lysis and bypass thrombectomy was necessary within a few months. At the last follow-up visit two years afterwards the patient was symptom-free. This case indicates that exercise-dependent blood flow disturbances in long-distance-runners could produce changes of the intima.


Clinical deterioration during or after radiation of the central nervous system may be due to progression of, or a complication induced in, the lesion being treated. Deterioration may also be due to an adverse effect of the radiation on nervous tissue or vessels within the beam, to alteration in the blood-brain barrier, thus influencing the effects of drug therapy, or to a superimposed catastrophe unrelated to the treatment. Transient effects, which occur within the first 3 months of radiotherapy, include increase in symptoms suggesting enlargement of the tumor and the somnolence syndrome that occurs in children. Classical permanent radiation effects include necrosis, atrophy, calcification, necrotizing leukoencephalopathy, mineralizing microangiopathy, aneurysm formation, tumor induction, and cerebrospinal fluid fistulae. Rarely, demyelination occurs with higher doses than are currently used. The permanent effects tend to occur later than the transient ones; some are progressive and many have serious consequences. The appearances of mineralizing microangiopathy are specific; but the nature of the other complications is only evident in the clinical context, although there may be difficulty distinguishing between radiation necrosis and further growth of an intracerebral tumor. Selected cases illustrate the computed tomographic features of these entities.


Using modern economic theories, this paper analyzed drawbacks of Shareholding cooperative development of agricultural cooperatives in institutional design and expounded inevitable difficulties of development of agricultural cooperatives. Shareholding cooperative development provides a pass for many social forces entering and controlling agricultural cooperatives and making numerous non-agricultural cooperative organizations become formal cooperatives. Deep cause for Shareholding cooperative development of agricultural cooperatives involves how to recognize status and function of family producers of agricultural products in the drive of agricultural modernization and the problem of state policies choosing family producers of agricultural products or other participants in the agricultural industry chain. Shareholding cooperative development is only an expedient measure in certain period, and it should not change development laws of things and essential feature of agricultural cooperatives because of stressing national conditions.


It is clear that the Internet and other global information infrastructures provide a major challenge to Higher Education. Questions such as: the extent to which education should become 'virtual', the actual cost and value of such innovation and to what degree such education suits its stakeholders (e.g. students) are now discussed the world over. These issues formed the focus for a conference held at Mansfield College, Oxford in September 2002 and this book contains the most rounded and challenging papers from that event. The book is divided into three main parts which consist of the following themes within Higher Education: current practical and planned uses for Virtual Learning; the future 'Virtual' vision; and the large questions that remain unanswered behind 'Virtual Education'. The contributors range from the nerdy end of experimenters of futuristic innovative technologies via the practitioner middle of well-known organizers of existing virtual systems to the other extreme of the critical engagement of philosophers. This stimulating and important book is aimed at researchers of topics such as technology-driven Education, Philosophy, Innovation and Cultural Studies. It is also meant to appeal to anyone with interest in the impact that the technological virtual will have upon Higher Education in future.


The Casali Fortezza system. The case study of Castellaccio di MonteroniThe landscape of Lazio's Tyrrhenian coasts is strongly characterized by the presence of fortifications. Parallel to them, in the interland, the baronial expansion, between the tenth and eleventh centuries, paved the way to a large-scale fortification of the Roman countryside. Along the main routes were built lookout towers, farmhouses were consolidated with defense mechanism and the first castles were constructed. The research focuses on the study of Castellaccio di Monteroni in Ladispoli, built in the fifteenth century on Roman structures and on previous constructions dating back to the period of the Baronial expansion. The Castellaccio di Monteroni is one of the few remaining examples of Casale Fortificato (Fortified Manor). It is placed on the 35th kilometer of the Via Aurelia and takes its name Castellaccio from the abandonment over the centuries and Monteroni due to the heaps of the nearby Etruscan necropolis. The main function carried out over the centuries was a resting place, a sure point of reference for couriers, travelers and pilgrims traveling along the Via Aurelia. When in the nineteenth the route of the Via Aurelia was moved to the present one the fortification fell into abandonment. The analysis of this architecture is of great interest, not only for the knowledge of the geometry of the fortifications of the Roman countryside, but also because it is one of the few remaining examples of Casale Fortificato, representing a rare medieval architectural heritage.


BACKGROUND
Obtaining accurate histopathologic detail for breast lumpectomy specimens is challenging because of sampling and loss of three-dimensional conformational features with conventional processing. The whole-mount (wm) technique is a novel method of serial pathologic sectioning designed to optimize cross-sectional visualization of resected specimens and determination of margin status.

METHODS
Using a Markov chain cohort simulation cost-effectiveness model, we compared conventional processing with wm technique for breast lumpectomies. Cost-effectiveness was evaluated from the perspective of the Canadian health care system and compared using incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (icers) for cost per quality-adjusted life-year (qaly) over a 10-year time horizon. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to test the robustness of the model with willingness-to-pay (wtp) thresholds of $0-$100,000. Costs are reported in adjusted 2014 Canadian dollars, discounted at a rate of 3%.

RESULTS
Compared with conventional processing, wm processing is more costly ($19,989 vs. $18,427) but generates 0.03 more qalys over 10 years. The icer is $45,414, indicating that this additional amount is required for each additional qaly obtained. The model was robust to all variance in parameters, with the prevalence of positive margins accounting for most of the model's variability.

CONCLUSIONS
After a wtp threshold of $45,414, wm processing becomes cost-effective and ultimately generates fewer recurrences and marginally more qalys over time. Excellent baseline outcomes for the current treatment of breast cancer mean that incremental differences in survival are small. However, the overall benefit of the wm technique should be considered in the context of achieving improved accuracy and not just enhancements in clinical effectiveness.


The Aurora Kinase family (AKI) is composed of serine-threonine protein kinases involved in the modulation of the cell cycle and mitosis. These kinases are required for regulating the adherence of hereditary-related data. Members of this family can be categorized into aurora kinase A (Ark-A), aurora kinase B (Ark-B), and aurora kinase C (Ark-C), consisting of highly conserved threonine protein kinases. These kinases can modulate cell processes such as spindle assembly, checkpoint pathway, and cytokinesis during cell division. The main aim of this review is to explore recent updates on the oncogenic signaling of aurora kinases in chemosensitive/chemoresistant cancers and to explore the various medicinal chemistry approaches to target these kinases. We searched Pubmed, Scopus, NLM, Pubchem, and Relemed to obtain information pertinent to the updated signaling role of aurora kinases and medicinal chemistry approaches and discussed the recently updated roles of each aurora kinases and their downstream signaling cascades in the progression of several chemosensitive/chemoresistant cancers; subsequently, we discussed the natural products (scoulerine, Corynoline, Hesperidin Jadomycin-B, fisetin), and synthetic, medicinal chemistry molecules as aurora kinase inhibitors (AKIs). Several natural products' efficacy was explained as AKIs in chemosensitization and chemoresistant cancers. For instance, novel triazole molecules have been used against gastric cancer, whereas cyanopyridines are used against colorectal cancer and trifluoroacetate derivatives could be used for esophageal cancer. Furthermore, quinolone hydrazine derivatives can be used to target breast cancer and cervical cancer. In contrast, the indole derivatives can be preferred to target oral cancer whereas thiosemicarbazone-indole could be used against prostate cancer, as reported in an earlier investigation against cancerous cells. Moreover, these chemical derivatives can be examined as AKIs through preclinical studies. In addition, the synthesis of novel AKIs through these medicinal chemistry substrates in the laboratory using in silico and synthetic routes could be beneficial to develop prospective novel AKIs to target chemoresistant cancers. This study is beneficial to oncologists, chemists, and medicinal chemists to explore novel chemical moiety synthesis to target specifically the peptide sequences of aurora kinases in several chemoresistant cancer cell types.


The temporal stability of the clock signal has a profound effect on the performance of synchronous RSFQ digital systems. Short-term clock fluctuations, or clock jitter, can severely degrade system performance due to the hazard of timing constraint violations. Successful large-scale RSFQ digital systems will require highly stable multi-Gigahertz on-chip clock sources. To meet this need, methods for characterizing and measuring the short-term stability of such sources are required. In this paper we identify the relevant figure of merit to characterize and compare various clocks: the cycle-to-cycle standard deviation of the clock periods. We have developed experimental techniques for the measurement of this figure of merit and applied it to the characterization of an RSFQ ring oscillator. The experimental results are compared with results from a stochastic circuit simulator. We determined the value of jitter to be 1.52% at 10 GHz.


Abstract We assessed the opportunities for restoring indigenous forest from grassland. Using a map of basic ecosystems at 2008, we identified grassland areas with a high ratio of biodiversity benefit (after conversion to indigenous forest) over loss of agricultural production. With approximately 2 mha of grassland with a benefit/cost ratio of 0.2 or more, there are many opportunities for restoration. We also assessed the opportunities to protect shrublands already regenerating to indigenous forest. There are presently about 0.7 mha of shrublands with a high carbon sequestration over stock-carrying capacity ratio (>20). National models of other ecosystem services such as erosion control, provision of fresh water, water regulation, and tourism and recreation, may be used in a second-tier selection process. The methods developed here could be used in a formalised system for calculating ecosystem service offsets.


ExpeTimental results by present author's research group at Tohoku University are reviewed. High purity iron which is considered to show the inherent mechanical properties of iron was prepared and used to investigate the low temperature brittleness, temperature dependenceof the yield stress, solution softening and hardening, and effects of small addition of solutes on these properties. Specimenswere wires and tensile tested at various temperatures above 4.2 K. [ron of 99,999•/• purity and higher showstransgranular fracture (TGF) below 50 K the microstructure is unfavorable to the intergranular fracture (lGF), and shows IGF below 120K if the microstructure is favorable. The ductile-to-brittle transition temperature of IGF strongly dependson the microstructure. Less pure iron. 99.99•/•, shows IGF at 77K even though the microstructure is unfavorable to IGF. Oxygen segregated at grain boundaries promotes IGF, but the effect is small. Carbonsegregated at grain boundaries prevents IGF by increasing the cohesion at the boundaries. Thestrong temperature dependenceof the yield stress is the inherent nature of iron, although impurities promote the dependence. High purity iron shows ahumpon the temperature-yield stress curve at the temperature range between170 Kand roomtemperature. The humpis suppressed by dissolved carbon, and also absent in impure iron. Hydrogencauses softening at the temperature range of the humpand hardening outside the temperature range. Hardening due to hydrogen often reported previously is an effect in impure iron. Thesoftening and hardening due to carbon


Individuals have been shown to adaptively select decision strategies depending on the environment structure. Two experiments extended this research to the group level. Subjects (N = 240) worked either individually or in two-person groups, or dyads, on a multi-attribute paired-comparison task. They were randomly assigned to two different environments that favored one of two prototypical decision strategies—weighted additive or take-the-best (between-subjects design in Experiment 1 and within-subject design in Experiment 2). Performance measures revealed that both individuals and dyads learned to adapt over time. A higher starting and overall performance rate in the environment in which weighted additive performed best led to the conclusion that weighted additive served as a default strategy. When this default strategy had to be replaced, because the environment structure favored take-the-best, the superior adaptive capacity of dyads became observable in the form of a steeper learning rate. Analyses of nominal dyads indicate that real dyads performed at the level of the best individuals. Fine-grained analyses of information-search data are presented. Results thus point to the strong moderating role of the environment structure when comparing individual with group performance and are discussed within the framework of adaptive strategy selection.


Glycosylated peptides and proteins are ubiquitous in nature and display a wide range of biological functions including mediation of recognition events, protection from proteases, and lubrication in eyes and joints. Similarly, synthetic glycopolypeptides are also expected to show great potential as biomedical materials (e.g. scaffolds for tissue repair and drug carriers), as well as serve as valuable tools for probing carbohydrate–protein interactions. Although block copolypeptides and other complex polypeptide architectures have been known for some time, the synthesis of complex and well-defined glycopolypeptide materials, until recently, has been challenging. This article reviews the many advances and accomplishments made in the past few years toward development of strategies and methods for the preparation of synthetic glycopolypeptides via ring opening polymerization.


In this position paper we propose a framework for proactive SLA negotiation that integrates this process with dynamic service discovery and, hence, can provide integrated runtime support for both these key activities which are necessary in order to achieve the runtime operation of service based systems with minimised interruptions. More specifically, our framework discovers candidate constituent services for a composite service, establishes an agreed but not enforced SLA and a period during which this preagreement can be activated should this become necessary


Heteroatom doping can effectively tune the structure and properties of graphene. Theoretical calculations indicate that sulfur doping can effectively modify the band structure and further modulate the carrier transport properties of graphene. However, it is still a big challenge to synthesize large-area sulfur-doped graphene (SG) films with a high sulfur doping concentration and reasonable electrical properties since sulfur has a much larger atomic radius than carbon. In this study, the solid organic source thianthrene (C12H8S2) is employed as both a carbon source and sulfur dopant to grow large-area, few-layered SG films via chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The results show that the doping concentration, doping configuration and electrical properties can be effectively tuned via the hydrogen flux. The sulfur doping concentration is as high as 4.01 at% and the maximal mobility of SG can reach up to 270 cm2 V−1 s−1, which are the highest ever reported for sulfur-doped graphene.


Covid-19 has triggered a resurgence of interest in Albert Camus' book, The Plague. The novel is a complex narrative of an epidemic, stressing the human factor in addressing a social crisis as well as how individuals experience the personal drama of quarantine, isolation and death. These existentialist tropes have powerful resonance in the age of Covid-19. However, Covid's interlocking with structural violence worldwide requires a different engagement with The Plague beyond an aesthetics of suffering and hope. Both Camus' book and Covid-19 intersect with structural violence and suffering which are mediated differentially. Covid-19 intensifies other social catastrophes feeding on the ruins of structural inequality and the racism that condemns the marginalised to loss of agency, social apartheid and disposability. It also lays bare the necropolitics of neoliberalism – its power to dictate life and death undergirded by racialised, class, gendered and neocolonial logics. We witness emerging cartographies of power combined with virulent nationalism, authoritarianism and xenophobia. The Covid crisis is also likely to expand disaster capitalism, digital imperialism and algorithmic surveillance, further entrenching racial, class and gender hierarchies. If humanity is to avoid the pitfalls of these myriad fields of disaster intervention, what is needed is reflective analysis that has to aim at major societal change, at decolonisation that ends systemic abandon and racist structural violence. Camus' book fails to assist this.


The prayer life of Reformed people is "decent and in order" since it is based on the Bible and tradition. Yet, on close examination, it reveals great depth and variety. Spiritual history can be glimpsed through journals, prayer books, sermons, and other documents. From the Reformation to the present, the Reformed have worshiped in four distinct groupings: public assembly in churches or other places, with families, with spouses, and as individuals in union with Christ and the church. From the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, many churches assembled for early morning and late afternoon/early evening services. Among the devout, families worshiped together two or three times a day, often at mealtimes; spouses shared devotions on rising and/or before retiring for the day; and individuals prayed morning and evening, if not often more often. A married person with children in a town with weekday church services might have worshiped eight stated times a day. This is not counting Lord's Day observances or informal prayer. Because these communities have been discussed in detail elsewhere, this study focuses on private prayer life.


This study presents a two-stage power allocation for the amplify-and-forward (AF) cooperative networks with distributed generalised ABBA (GABBA) space–time codes. The new power allocation scheme first determines the transmit power between the source node and the relay nodes by maximising the instantaneous rate, and thereafter optimises the power distribution among the relay nodes via the water-filling. Also, a maximum-likelihood detection, which makes use of the encoding structure of the distributed GABBA space–time codes, is addressed to alleviate the computational overhead. Moreover, a performance analysis including the array gain and the diversity gain is also scrutinised to provide further insights into the cooperative networks considered, where the destination is equipped with multiple antennas. Conducted simulations show that the GABBA coded AF cooperative networks incorporated with the proposed two-stage power allocation can attain close or even superior performance compared with previous works but with substantially reduced computational complexity.


Due to their large diversity with respect to post-translational modifications (PTMs), the family of histones provides a major analytical challenge in current proteomics research. Their function has a large impact on the transcription of DNA, and as a result, on the expression of proteins. The variation in PTMs regulates transcription, and, as a result, many methods are being employed for the in-depth analysis of histones. In this paper, we present a separation strategy for histones based on free-flow electrophoresis (FFE) followed by an RP separation on capillary monolithic PS-DVB columns. The capillary columns are directly interfaced with an FT-ICR MS providing an online system for the detection and accurate molecular weight analysis of intact histones.


Natural evolution of ATP cognitive systems is to meet AI peer review standards. ATP process of axiom selection from Mizar to prove a conjecture would be further refined, as in all human and machine learning, by solving the real world problem of the proposed AI peer review challenge: Determine which conjecture forms the higher confidence level constructive proof between Standard Model of Physics SU(n) lattice gauge group operation vs. present nonstandard 4D GEM EOS SU(n) lattice gauge group spatially extended operation in which the photon and electron are the first two trace angular momentum invariants of a gravitoelectromagnetic (GEM) energy momentum density tensor wavetrain integration spin-stress pressure-volume equation of state (EOS), initiated via 32 lines of Mathematica code. Resulting gravitoelectromagnetic spectrum ranges from compressive through rarefactive of the central cosmological constant vacuum energy density in units of pascals. Said self-adjoint group operation exclusively operates on the stress energy momentum tensor of the Einstein field equations, introducing quantization directly on the 4D spacetime level, essentially reformulating the compounded, and still diverging, Yang-Mills virtual superpositioned particle lattice gauge groups quantization of the vacuum—into an optimized single hyper-complex multi-valued GEM U(1)×SO(3) lattice gauge group Planck spacetime mesh quantization of the vacuum. Thus the Mizar corpus already contains all of the axioms required for relevant DeepMath premise selection and unambiguous formal natural language parsing in context deep learning. Keywords—artificial intelligence, automated theorem proving, constructive quantum field theory, lattice gauge theory, complex systems


The authors theoretically develop and empirically estimate a preference model determining foreign aid donor behavior. Aid access and levels are separately determined by endogenous budgetary allocations, the international economic environment, the distribution of income between countries, basic human needs, the small country effect, and regional bias. The authors find fungibility of aid in recipient budgets is due to donor and recipient preferences. Despite the importance of other economic influences, they find a significant pro-poor country bias in aid allocations, although little aggregate influence of basic human needs or regional bias. The small country effect is significant for two (of six) donors. Copyright 1997 by Oxford University Press.


One important application of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods involves the classification of the types of defects present in materials based on the measured response of those defects to different types of interrogating energy. This classification process typically involves 1) the transformation of the "raw" NDE measurements into domains more suitable for classification purposes, 2) the extraction of features in those domains that are distinguishing characteristics of different flaw types, and 3) the application of a particular classification method for making a decision on the type of flaw present (based on the strength of the features). Here, we describe the elements of a software system, CLASS, that performs the entire classification process for those NDE methods where the underlying NDE measurements are essentially one-dimensional (such as ultrasonics). This research effort is concerned with the design and implementation of code which comprises the CLASS software package. Some of the important features of CLASS are described, including its extensive use of a user-friendly graphical interface, its use of classification algorithms that are primarily data driven (i.e. they require little user expertise in building the classifiers) and the ability to easily extend CLASS by adding new features and classification methods.


This study emphasizes the contribution of sources of finance to the export participation and export intensity of Thai manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and manufacturing firms in aggregate. It also elaborates on other key factors contributing to SME manufacturing firm export activity. The empirical results presented confirm that the Export–Import Bank of Thailand (EXIM Bank) and the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) both play a significant role in enhancing Thai SME and all manufacturing firm export participation and export intensity. Local and foreign commercial banks, however, are not found to have a significant correlation with their export participation and export intensity. In addition, SMEs and all manufacturing firms receiving funds from friends and family are found to participate less in foreign markets compared to those SMEs and all manufacturing firms in aggregate which do not receive any funds from their friends and family. With respect to the importance of type of ownership for export activity, foreign ownership can help promote the export participation and intensity of Thai manufacturing SMEs and all manufacturing enterprises. Technological innovation activity also helps them to participate in foreign markets. The empirical evidence also points out that financial institutions in Thailand remain reliant on collateral-based lending and financial transparency. A key finding from this paper is that manufacturing SMEs are likely to perform worse in terms of export participation, export intensity, and access to finance compared to large manufacturing enterprises.


Abstract Foraminifer tests are prone to diagenetic recrystallization on a micron scale that can affect their geochemical composition, hence it is important to identify fossil material that is well-preserved. Here we illustrate the textures of tests from several high-latitude Eocene sites using a combination of Reflected Light Microscopy and high-resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy. The sites are Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 647 in the Labrador Sea (53°N), ODP Site 689 at Maud Rise in the Weddell Sea (64°S), ODP Site 1135 (Kerguelen Plateau c. 59°S) and outcrop samples from Hampden Beach, New Zealand (palaeolatitude c. 55°S). The foraminifera studied from Site 647 and Hampden Beach have glassy, transparent tests that show only minor signs of diagenetic alteration, whereas the foraminifera from Sites 690 and 1135 are opaque and recrystallized. We associate the better state of foraminifer preservation at the former sites with the high clay content of the sediments. Our observations suggest that Site 647 and Hampden Beach may be useful for the establishment of high-latitude sea-surface temperatures and hence global temperature gradients in the Eocene.


Pneumonia in swine has been studied mainly at slaughter or necropsy. However, when performing slaughter or postmortem examinations, assessment of the true prevalence or lifetime extent of pneumonia is at best speculative. Radiography was used to evaluate lungs from pigs 21 to 150 days old. Follow-up slaughter examination was performed on pigs 180 days old. Individual percentage of pneumonia observed over the life of each pig and at slaughter were added to yield lifetime pneumonia scores. A significant (P = 0.0001) negative effect of lifetime pneumonia on growth rate was found. By comparison, slaughter examination proved to be a poor indicator of lifetime pneumonia; lesions were found to progress and regress dynamically throughout the life of pigs.


This study aims at identifying the causes for deviations between actual and theoretical weld weight. Previous performed studies have shown examples of up to 40% extra weld consumables used in some cases. One consequence is of course higher production cost but it can also give increased weight leading to higher fuel consumption and decreased payload. An interesting aspect is that generous margins on specific production measures dilute important feedback of process variation information preventing and prolonging structural root cause analysis. The causes for the observed deviations can heritage from several areas, both technical and within the information handling. The investigation shows that single components of the information structure and system, such as unsuitable demands as well as incapable evaluation methods, significantly influences the reliability of the entire manufacturing process. The common factor concerning when problems occur, seems to be the ability of correct information transfer between different functions in the organisation preventing the mismatch to appear in the interface. Suggestions for improving this situation include cross functional agreements as well as new measuring methods.


The fault pattern of the 2003 M w 6.2 Leucas (Lefkada, Lefkas) earthquake at the northwest edge of the Aegean arc, an area of very high seismicity rates, was modeled using Global Positioning System (GPS) data. The rupture process of this earthquake is a matter of debate because of the complexities in the aftershock distribution and in the waveforms of the mainshock, as well as the kinematics of the area are not well understood, especially the characteristics of the Cephalonia (Kefalonia, Keffalinia) transform fault and its relationship with major, discordant active thrusts representing the tectonic fabric of western Greece.

Our analysis was based on the TOPological INVersion (TOPINV) algorithm, which uses a deterministic hypergrid search to identify one or more clusters of n ‐dimensional points around the true solution of the system of observation equations. From these clusters, optimal estimators of the variables defining Okada‐type faults and their variance–covariance matrices are computed as statistical moments, and results are validated by minimum mean misfits.

Faulting of the 2003 seismic sequence was approximated by two stepping, essentially strike‐slip segments with a separation of ∼10  km. This pattern is in agreement with fault rupture models based on inversion of seismological data, and their main difference is a thrust component in the major segment, well constrained by Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar and GPS observations of uplift. This thrust component may reflect either postseismic, evaporite/salt‐controlled slip, or uncertainties in the inversion models. The 2003 and other seismic sequences, among them the 1953 M  7.2 Cephalonia catastrophic earthquakes that were associated with major uplift, seem to confirm previous views for an ∼100‐km‐wide shear zone superimposed on compression along the edges of the Aegean arc.

Online Material: Description of analytical inversion methodology (the TOPological INVersion algorithm [TOPINV]), including a figure showing projection of hypergrids on planes.


2-Chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine triphosphate, a purine nucleotide analogue and potent antileukaemic agent, was incorporated into double-stranded 36-mers in place of dATP to investigate the effects of 2-chloroadenine (ClAde) on DNA polymerase-associated 3'-->5' exonuclease activity. ClAde residues within one strand of duplex DNA did not inhibit exonuclease activity; on the contrary, ClAde-containing minus strands were digested to a greater extent than was control DNA in the absence of deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates by Escherichia coli Klenow fragment, yeast DNA polymerase II and T4 DNA polymerase. After a 30 min incubation with 5 units of Klenow fragment, approximately 65% of control DNA remained in DNA fragments of 26 bases or larger compared with only approximately 25% of ClAde-substituted substrates. Unsubstituted plus strands opposite a ClAde-containing strand were likewise digested more quickly by 3'-->5' exonuclease, but only in the vicinity of the ClAde sites. Approx. 63% of the plus strands from ClAde-containing oligomers were less than 24 bases in length after a 25 min digestion period with Klenow fragment compared with only approximately 32% of control DNA. Such results indicate that, unlike other base modifications such as pyrimidine dimers, methoxy psoralen adducts and certain nucleoside analogues, all of which inhibit or decrease the rate of strand degradation by 3'-->5' exonucleases, incorporated ClAde enhances strand degradation of duplex DNA.


This paper addresses an important but so far neglected episode in the post-1949 history of China – the impact of the so-called 'Cultural Revolution' on the country's ethnic minority populations. Specifically, it attempts to deal with the movement as it unfolded in the province of Yunnan where, at one stage, it became an attempt by a political leadership in the provincial capital, dominated by military officers and supported by members of the central authorities in Beijing, to alter the landscape of the ethnic minority populations along the frontier. Using information culled from local histories and contemporary sources, the paper traces the history of what even by the standards of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) came to be regarded as an exceptionally flawed and counterproductive policy. It foregrounds the human cost of its implementation and, for the first time, goes some way towards explaining – in more than simply general terms of labels like 'excesses' and 'ultra-leftism' – the trauma of those who survived it, a trauma that to this day still lingers in popular memory.


Decisions are made based on the subjective value that the brain assigns to options. However, subjective value is a mathematical construct that cannot be measured directly, but rather inferred from choices. Recent results have demonstrated that reaction time, amplitude, and velocity of movements are modulated by reward, raising the possibility that there is a link between how the brain evaluates an option, and how it controls movements toward that option. Here, we asked people to choose among risky options represented by abstract stimuli, some associated with gain (points in a game), and others with loss. From their choices we estimated the subjective value that they assigned to each stimulus. In probe trials, a single stimulus appeared at center, instructing subjects to make a saccade to a peripheral target. We found that the reaction time, peak velocity, and amplitude of the peripherally directed saccade varied roughly linearly with the subjective value that the participant had assigned to the central stimulus: reaction time was shorter, velocity was higher, and amplitude was larger for stimuli that the participant valued more. Naturally, participants differed in how much they valued a given stimulus. Remarkably, those who valued a stimulus more, as evidenced by their choices in decision trials, tended to move with shorter reaction time and greater velocity in response to that stimulus in probe trials. Overall, the reaction time of the saccade in response to a stimulus partly predicted the subjective value that the brain assigned to that stimulus.


By means of the reductive perturbation method, three types of generalized (2+1)-dimensional Kadomtsev– Petviashvili (KP) equations are derived from the baroclinic potential vorticity (BPV) equation, including the modified KP (mKP) equation, standard KP equation and cylindrical KP (cKP) equation. Then some solutions of generalized cKP and KP equations with certain conditions are given directly and a relationship between the generalized mKP equation and the mKP equation is established by the symmetry group direct method proposed by Lou et al. From the relationship and the solutions of the mKP equation, some solutions of the generalized mKP equation can be obtained. Furthermore, some approximate solutions of the baroclinic potential vorticity equation are derived from three types of generalized KP equations.


Hypophosphatasia (HP) is an inherited disorder characterized by defective bone and teeth mineralization and deficiency of serum and bone alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity. For severe forms, disease frequency has been estimated at 1/100,000. Symptoms of the disease are highly variable in their clinical expression ranging from stillbirth with unmineralized bone to early loss of tooth without any bone symptoms. The transmission of severe form is autosomal recessive while milder forms get transmitted as dominant or recessive autosomal traits. The diagnosis can be done by performing serum AP assay and molecular analysis of the tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP) gene.


The present report on experimental hepatic injury is based on observations amassed during the last 9 years, comprising 1922 rats. It has been shown that there are several dietary factors which may intervene, singly or in combination, in the development of massive or zonal hepatic necrosis. Deficiency of sulfur-containing amino acids is only one of them. From the present studies, tocopherol emerges as an additional protective dietary factor. With regard to the development of massive hepatic necrosis tocopherol may compensate for the absence of sulfur-containing amino acids (cystine, methionine) and vice versa. As a further factor, the quality of dietary fat should be taken into consideration. Fats, like lard and cod liver oil, with a high content of unsaturated fatty acids enhance, whereas fats low in unsaturated fatty acids, such as crisco and butter, retard or prevent the development of massive hepatic necrosis. It is questionable whether with all these dietary factors the etiology of massive hepatic necrosis is completely defined. The interchangeability of sulfur-containing amino acids (cystine, methionine) and vitamin E as leading etiologic factors makes it difficult to accept pure deficiency as the basis of massive hepatic necrosis. The rôle of possible endogenous hepatotoxic substances and their neutralization by cystine (methionine) or tocopherol are discussed. Diffuse hepatic fibrosis is a regular occurrence in rats kept for 100 to 150 days on a diet low in lipotropic factors. Cystine, and, among the fats, lard and especially cod liver oil, have an enhancing effect on the production of hepatic cirrhosis. In rats fed rations free from cod liver oil, and with vegetable shortening such as crisco as source of fat, the incidence and severity of cirrhosis are reduced. Ceroid deposit accompanies cirrhosis only in rats which have been kept on a cirrhosis-producing diet containing fats with a high content of unsaturated fatty acids (cod liver oil, lard). Tocopherol, even when given in excessively large doses (30 mg. daily) will not prevent the formation of ceroid, and will reduce only slightly its total quantity. Under the same treatment the incidence and intensity of cirrhosis remain uninfluenced. Cellular injury in the form of degenerated or necrotic hepatic parenchymal cells, found singly or in small groups in and around the fibrous bands in the cirrhotic liver of rats, is a common occurrence. The fibrotic changes seem to begin, not in the portal spaces, but close to the central vein, although they are not as distinctly and exclusively pericentral as, for instance, in cardiac cirrhosis. Thus, experimental dietary cirrhosis is non-portal. The role of fat infiltration is discussed with special reference to the other microscopic changes found in hepatic cirrhosis. Acute necrotizing nephrosis or various stages of healing of this process are often found with great frequency in rats kept on a cirrhosis-producing diet.


In this paper, we study a practical space-time video super-resolution (STVSR) problem which aims at generating a high-framerate high-resolution sharp video from a low-framerate low-resolution blurry video. Such problem often occurs when recording a fast dynamic event with a low-framerate and low-resolution camera, and the captured video would suffer from three typical issues: i) motion blur occurs due to object/camera motions during exposure time; ii) motion aliasing is unavoidable when the event temporal frequency exceeds the Nyquist limit of temporal sampling; iii) high-frequency details are lost because of the low spatial sampling rate. These issues can be alleviated by a cascade of three separate sub-tasks, including video deblurring, frame interpolation, and super-resolution, which, however, would fail to capture the spatial and temporal correlations among video sequences. To address this, we propose an interpretable STVSR framework by leveraging both model-based and learning-based methods. Specifically, we formulate STVSR as a joint video deblurring, frame interpolation, and super-resolution problem, and solve it as two sub-problems in an alternate way. For the first sub-problem, we derive an interpretable analytical solution and use it as a Fourier data transform layer. Then, we propose a recurrent video enhancement layer for the second sub-problem to further recover high-frequency details. Extensive experiments demonstrate the superiority of our method in terms of quantitative metrics and visual quality.


In this paper, the liquid–liquid equilibrium of twenty two ternary and quaternary systems relevant for food industry was modeled using the NRTL and UNIQUAC equations and the Flower Pollination Algorithm (FPA). FPA is an emerging natureinspired stochastic global optimization method and it has been used for LLE parameter identification of local composition models in multicomponent mixtures. FPA and its modified version (MFPA) were assessed for solving LLE parameter estimation problems in several systems relevant for food industry. Thenumerical performance of these stochastic methods has been analyzed at different numerical scenarios with and without the application of closure equations. Results showed that MFPA outperformed FPA and other metaheuristics (e.g., Simulated Annealing, Genetic Algorithm and Harmony Search) for LLE parameter identification in local compositions models. MFPA with closure equations is a reliable approach for determining the best interaction parameter of NRTL and UNIQUAC models in the LLE data processing of food-related thermodynamic systems.


Family law, and the systems with which families interact, and child law or children's rights, are typically viewed as separate legal subjects or categories. This essay challenges that separation and its consequences for family issues, arguing that family law and the systems with which families interact would benefit from a stronger infusion of children's perspectives, interests and rights. One benefit would be a stronger structural or systemic focus to family law, reflecting the responsibilities of the State for children in the form of positive socio-economic supports for systems of health, education, housing and employment that are critical to children's development. Through the example of immigrant children and their families, the essay explores the potential structural impact of children's rights and perspectives in order to illustrate how a child rights perspective would affect the content and implementation of law and policy.


Abstract. This study is embedded into a wider project named "Tackle deficiencies in Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (QPF)'' in the framework of the COSMO ( CO nsortium for S mall-scale MO delling) community. In fact QPF is an important purpose of a numerical weather prediction model, for forecasters and customers. Unfortunately, precipitation is also a very difficult parameter to forecast quantitatively. This priority project aims at looking into the COSMO Model deficiencies concerning QPF by running different numerical simulations of various events not correctly predicted by the model. In particular, this work refers to a severe event (moist convection) happened in Piemonte region during summer 2006. On one side the results suggest that details in orography representation have a strong influence on accuracy of QPF. On the other side COSMO Model exhibits a poor sensitivity on changes in numerical and physical settings when measured in terms of QPF improvements. The conclusions, although not too general, give some hint towards the behaviour of the COSMO Model in a typical convective situation.


This paper presents a CMOS impulse radio ultrawideband (IR-UWB) pulse generator with low power, high peak amplitude and high frequency. A high order derivative Gaussian pulse using LC-Tank oscillator generates a pulse for the 6-10 GHz IR-UWB transceivers. This pulse PSD fully complies with the FCC spectrum mask. The pulse generator was designed and fabricated using 90 nm CMOS technology. Measurement results show the die area of only 0.074 mm2, a pulse width of 785 ps and a peak-to-peak amplitude of 324 mV. The average power consumption is approximately 6.7 mW for a pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 25 MHz and 1.0 V supply voltage.


We are investigating change detection techniques to automatically detect mass movements at the steep north polar scarps of Mars, in order to improve our understanding of these dynamic processes. Here we focus on movements of blocks specifically. The precise detection of such small changes requires an accurate co-registration of the images, which is achieved by ortho-rectifying them using High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) Digital Terrain Models (DTMs). Moreover, we deal with the challenge of deriving the true shape of the moved blocks. In a next step, these results are combined with findings based on HiRISE DTMs from different points in time in order to estimate the volume of mass movements.


Based on the mathematical similarity of the eigenvalue problem of the Reddy's third-order plate theory (RPT) and the classical plate theory (CPT), relationships between the solutions of axisymmetric vibration or buckling of functionally graded material (FGM) circular plates based on RPT and those of isotropic homogeneous circular plates based on CPT are presented, from which one can easily obtain the RPT solutions of axisymmetric vibration or buckling of FGM circular plates expressed in terms of the well-known CPT solutions of isotropic circular plates without much tedious mathematics. Effects of rotary inertia are not considered in the present analysis. The relationships obtained from the present analysis may be used to check the validity, convergence and accuracy of numerical results of FGM plates based on RPT, and also show clearly the intrinsic features of the effect of transverse shear deformation on the classical solutions.


Regression problems on massive data sets are ubiquitous in many application domains including the Internet, earth and space sciences, and finances. Gaussian Process regression (GPR) is a popular technique for modeling the input–output relations of a set of variables under the assumption that the weight vector has a Gaussian prior. However, it is challenging to apply GPR to large data sets since prediction based on the learned model requires inversion of an order n kernel matrix. Approximate solutions for sparse Gaussian Processes have been proposed for sparse problems. However, in almost all cases, these solution techniques are agnostic to the input domain and do not preserve the similarity structure in the data. As a result, although these solutions sometimes provide excellent accuracy, the models do not have interpretability. Such interpretable sparsity patterns are very important for many applications. We propose a new technique for sparse GPR that allows us to compute a parsimonious model while preserving the interpretability of the sparsity structure in the data. We discuss how the inverse kernel matrix used in Gaussian Process prediction gives valuable domain information and then adapt the inverse covariance estimation from Gaussian graphical models to estimate the Gaussian kernel. We solve the optimization problem using the alternating direction method of multipliers that is amenable to parallel computation. We compare the performance of this algorithm to different existing methods for sparse covariance regression in terms of both speed and accuracy. We demonstrate the performance of our method in terms of accuracy, scalability, and interpretability on two different satellite data sets from the climate domain. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Statistical Analysis and Data Mining 6: 205–220, 2013


Radical polymerization of 2-ethyl-2-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propanediol triacrylate (TMPTA), photoinduced with redox system: electron donor-absorber, has been presented. Xanthene dyes: Rose bengal ditetrabutyl-ammonium salt [RBTBAS - Formula (I)] and 5,7-diiodo-3-pentoxy-6--fluorone [DIPF - Formula (II)] were used as absorbers. Electron donors in the system investigated were: (phenylthio)acetic acid (PTAA), (phenylthio)acetic acid tetrabutylammonium salt (PTAA AS), ethyl (phenylthio)acetate (PTAA EE) or n-butyltriphenyl borate (BuPh 3 B + ). Photopolymerization mechanism has been investigated using laser flash photolysis method. It has been found that photoreduction with PTAA or PTAA AS goes with electron transfer from sulfur atom to dye in triplet state (Schemes A and B). In case when RBTBAS is used as electron acceptor the anionic radicals of the dye [RB_ 3 - -Formula (III) and RB_ 2 - Formula (IV)] are obtained. The presence of these anionic radicals shows that after electron transfer the carboxylic group exists in an ionic form what let intramolecular electron transfer from carboxylate group to sulfur cationic radical, followed with rapid decarboxylation. As a result of decarboxylation the neutral thiomethylene radicals (Ph-S-CH 2 _) are formed which, after escape from solvent cage, take part in photoinitiation of the polymerization. It has been stated that transformation of sulfur(II) containing carboxylic acids into their tetrabutylammonium salts significantly increases the sensitivity of the photoinitiating system (Fig. 6 and 7). It also increases photopolymerization rate (R p ) (Table 1, Fig. 10), which is a function of square root of the quantum yield of decarboxylation process (Φ c o ) (Fig. 9).


This chapter is concerned with the statutory provisions governing abortion and prenatal harm. It considers the offence of abortion under sections 58 and 59 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 and section 1(1) of the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 and the defences available prior to the Abortion Act 1967. It discusses the ethical debates concerning abortion, exploring 'right-to-life' arguments and rights of parties such as the foetus and the father. It also looks at the court's approach towards adult women who lack capacity, before concluding with an analysis of actions for prenatal harm, namely, wrongful birth, wrongful conception, prenatal injury, and wrongful life. Relevant cases are cited.


Changes in the activity of neurotransmitters in dementia were studied by measuring the activities of each of choline acetyltransferase (CAT), dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH) and hydroxylase cofactor (tetrahydrobiopterine; BPH4), and the concentrations of homovanillic acid (HVA) and vasopressin. CAT activity was low in the cerebral cortex of patients with senile dementia of Alzheimer's type (SDAT). The CAT activity was high in the nucleus basalis, which correlated well with the CAT activity in the cerebral cortex, Brodmann areas 22 and 17. DBH activity was lower in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of SDAT and multi-infarct dementia (MID) patients than in that of control subjects. No age-related change was observed in control subjects. Serum DBH activity was decreased in patients with SDAT but not in patients with MID. DBH activity was especially low in the serum of SDAT patients with a low dementia rating score and/or severe brain atrophy shown on computed tomography (CT) scan. Serum DBH activity was also decreased in older normal subjects (greater than or equal to 80 years). The concentration of HVA in the CSF of control subjects decreased with the advance of age, but the decrease in HVA concentration was more pronounced in the CSF of SDAT patients, which would reflect the lowered dopaminergic activity in SDAT. BPH4 activity was also decreased in the CSF of SDAT patients. Arginine-vasopressin was widely demonstrated in the cerebral cortex of control subjects but could not be detected in many areas of the cerebral cortices of demented patients. These results suggest that a deficit of dopamine, noradrenaline or vasopressin as well as acetylcholine may occur in the brain of SDAT patients. The evidence presented points toward areas for consideration in the search for methods of therapy or prevention of SDAT.


were unpopular with most patients because of pain.2 More recently Brook and colleagues at the Middlesex Hospital have described their experience of compliance to subcutaneous growth hormone injections with disappointing results.3 We have recently reviewed the treatment of 107 (56 boys, 51 girls) consecutive children receiving daily subcutaneous growth hormone injections at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street (n=85) and associated peripatetic clinics (n=22). Mean age was 10-5 years. All patients were interviewed in the presence of a growth research nurse (LM or MM) during the first three months of 1992. Interestingly only 68% accurately knew their diagnosis, mainly because of the understandable confusion of patients receiving growth hormone treatment, believing they were growth hormone insufficient; 32% of our patient group had low birthweight syndromes, skeletal dysplasias, or Turner's syndrome and


The concepts of OFDM and MC-CDMA are not new but the new technologies to improve their functioning is an emerging area of research. In general, most mobile communication systems transmit bits of information in the radio space to the receiver. The radio channels in mobile radio systems are usually multipath fading channels, which cause inter-symbol interference (ISI) in the received signal. To remove ISI from the signal, there is a need of strong equalizer.

In this thesis we have focused on simulating the OFDM and MC-CDMA systems in MATLAB and designed the channel estimation for them.


Compliance describes the goal that organizations aim to achieve with their efforts to ensure that the personnel is aware of and takes steps to comply with the relevant laws and regulations as well as with standards, guidelines and contracts. Due the increasing number of regulations and the need for operational transparency, organizations have to establish a compliance management system and compliance controls. In the Austrian insurance industry a special compliance management used to mainly concentrate on the regulations against improper use of insider information. Solvency II, the new framework for the European insurance industry, becoming effective with delay on January 1 2016, includes not only effective quantitative solvency requirements, but also an effective system of governance. The system of governance includes the risk management function, the compliance function as a part of the internal control system, the internal audit function and the actuarial function. These tasks are key functions of insurance companies and the persons in charge of these functions have to fulfill the proper requirements. In autumn 2013 the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) presented 'Guidelines on System of Governance.' Following EIOPA, early preparation is essential in order to ensure that, if Solvency II is fully applicable, organizations will be well prepared and able to apply the new system. Therefore, the national insurance supervisory authorities and regulators are expected to put the guidelines on System of Governance in place, starting January 1 2014. In Austria the implementation in the insurance supervisory law is scheduled for July 1 2014. Three special parts of regulations by law are discussed in this paper: unauthorized use of insider information, money laundering and corruption. Insider information is intimate knowledge or non-public (privileged) information about the affairs, operations or financial position of a corporation that will affect the market price of its publicly traded stock. Insurance Companies are requested by the Austrian stock exchange law to inform the employees and install procedures to avoid improper use of insider information. The Austrian insurance supervisory law requests all life insurance companies certain regulations and procedures to avoid money laundering and terrorism financing. They must have a special officer responsible for regulations and controls, reporting directly to the top management. Corruption is the abuse of power, office or resources for personal gain by politicians, public officers, judges and also responsible managers in private companies. Bribery is the improper use of gift s and favours in exchange for personal gain or a gain for an organization. The Austrian criminal law knows a lot of offences concerning corruption and white collar crime. The Austrian insurance companies have to introduce effective Compliance Management Systems (CMS) immediately. Based on COSO Internal Control - Integrated Framework, the German Institute of statutory auditors developed an audit standard for auditing CMS. In this standard the integrating parts of an effective CMS are Compliance Culture and Environment, Compliance Objectives, Assessment of Compliance Risks, Compliance Program and Processes, Compliance Organization, Compliance Communication and Information and Compliance Monitoring and Improvement. Prerequisite for an effective and helpful Compliance Management System is the readiness of all members of the organization on all levels in the chain of command to act according to the common rules in the organization. .


The structure of organic monolayers on liquid surfaces depends sensitively on the details of the molecular interactions. The structure of a stearic acid film on a mercury surface was measured as a function of coverage with angstrom resolution. Unlike monolayers on water, the molecules were found here to undergo a transition from surface-parallel to surface-normal orientation with increasing coverage. At high coverage, two condensed hexatic phases of standing-up molecules were found. At low coverage, a two-dimensional (2D) gas phase and condensed single- and double-layered phases of flat-lying molecular dimers were revealed, exhibiting a 1D longitudinal positional order. This system should provide a broader tunability range for nanostructure construction than solid-supported self-assembled monolayers.


With the electricity market liberalisation in Indonesia, the electricity companies will have the right to develop tariff rates independently. Thus, precise knowledge of load profile classifications of customers will become essential for designing a variety of tariff options, in which the tariff rates are in line with efficient revenue generation and will encourage optimum take up of the available electricity supplies, by various types of customers. Since the early days of the liberalisation of the Electricity Supply Industries (ESI) considerable efforts have been made to investigate methodologies to form optimal tariffs based on customer classes, derived from various clustering and classification techniques. Clustering techniques are analytical processes which are used to develop groups (classes) of customers based on their behaviour and to derive representative sets of load profiles and help build models for daily load shapes. Whereas classification techniques are processes that start by analysing load demand data (LDD) from various customers and then identify the groups that these customers' LDD fall into. In this paper we will review some of the popular clustering algorithms, explain the difference between each method.


Small-molecule kinase inhibitors, especially the two Food and Drug Administration-approved agents idelalisib and ibrutinib, have changed the treatment landscape for patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). However, with these positive changes comes the new challenge of managing patients who relapse after these agents. The number of patients who have relapsed after taking idelalisib and ibrutinib is low, but as the drugs gain wider use and patients are treated for longer, this number is likely to grow. Because these patients can be challenging to manage effectively, coordinated efforts now to determine how and why patients relapse along with optimal treatment strategies are required to better serve our patients in the future. As well, identification of mechanisms of resistance is crucial to develop rational strategies for management. Current work has identified mechanisms of resistance to ibrutinib, and resistance to idelalisib is also under active investigation. In this review, we will discuss these mechanisms of resistance, as well as current and potential strategies for the management of kinase inhibitor-resistant CLL.


BLAST at 100: A Modernist Magazine Reconsidered provides an original and rich re-contextualisation of a major modernist magazine and some of its most influential contributors.


A patient who had been treated with insertion of an aorto-iliac bifurcation dacron prosthesis for atherosclerosis 6 years previously, developed a fistulous communication between a false aneurysm at the distal anastomosis to the left iliac artery and an ileal loop. Intestinal haemorrhage and signs of infection were the main symptoms. Successful surgical treatment consisted of suturing the intestinal defect, removal of the left limb of the graft and vascular reconstruction by means of a subcutaneous femorofemoral vein bypass.


Information on alcohol use was collected during a survey of dietary intake and energy expenditure of fifteen year olds. Drinking habits of children from solo parent families were little different from those in two parent families. Thirty-two percent of the girls and 26% of the boys said they never drank. Mothers of non-drinkers were twice as likely to be full-time homemakers than mothers of drinkers. Blood alcohol levels were calculated from reported alcohol consumption. While most subjects drank sensibly, a group did not. Most weekends 7% of all girls and 22% of all boys drank sufficient liquor to give them blood alcohol levels over the legal limit. Boys in this group had a mean energy intake and expenditure 30% higher than the rest.


In the reinsurance industry different probabilistic models are currently used for seismic risk analysis. A credible loss estimation of the insured values depends on seismic hazard analysis and on the vulnerability functions of the given structures. Besides attenuation and local soil amplification, the earthquake occurrence model (often represented by the Gutenberg and Richter relation) is a key element in the analysis. However, earthquake catalogues are usually incomplete, the time of observation is too short and the data themselves contain errors. Therefore, a and b values can only be estimated with uncertainties. The knowledge of their variation provides a valuable input for earthquake risk analysis, because they allow the probability distribution of expected losses (expressed by Average Annual Loss (AAL)) to be modelled. The variations of a and b have a direct effect on the estimated exceeding probability and consequently on the calculated loss level. This effect is best illustrated by exceeding probability versus loss level and AAL versus magnitude graphs. The sensitivity of average annual losses due to different a to b ratios and magnitudes is obvious. The estimation of the variation of a and b and the quantification of the sensitivity of calculated losses are fundamental for optimal earthquake risk management. Ignoring these uncertainties means that risk management decisions neglect possible variations of the earthquake loss estimations.


The use of central venous catheters (CVC) for hemodialysis (HD) is associated with higher mortality compared to arteriovenous access (AV). However, studies analyzing the influence of the type of vascular access on the survival of very elderly patients (≥75 years) initiating HD are few and involve only a limited number of patients. We studied a cohort of 5,466 incident patients who started HD; of these, 1,841 were aged ≥75. Types of vascular access for HD were classified as either CVC, which included both tunneled and non-tunneled catheters, or AV, which included AV fistula and grafts. The outcome of the study was all-cause mortality during the follow-up period. In the whole cohort, AV use was associated with a survival advantage over CVC use (88 and 63% at 2 and 5 years, respectively, in patients with an AV as compared to 75 and 48% in patients with a CVC) (p < 0.0001). Among patients ≥75, CVC use was associated with a higher number of deaths compared to AV use. Patients ≥75 with an AV showed a greater survival as compared to patients ≥75 with a CVC (80 and 53% at 2 and 5 years, respectively, vs. 68 and 43%; p < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis revealed that CVC use and the presence of arrhythmia were independent risk factors of death in patients ≥75, whereas obesity was associated with greater survival. In conclusion, the type of vascular access has a significant influence on the survival of very elderly patients (≥75) initiating HD. CVC use was associated with poorer survival compared to AV access.


Talent management has been regarded as a key component to organizations' success recently. With the scope of this paper, talent management performance evaluation indices system was constructed. Analytic network process (ANP) has been adopted to model a multi-criteria talent management performance evaluation feedback system. Theoretical foundations and application processes of ANP were discussed and dependence and feedback among indices were analyzed. The result of ANP model for the indices system was obtained with Super Decisions software solution. ANP can solve problems with dependent indices effectively rather than analytic hierarchy process (AHP).


apparent efficiency of screening while failing to locate those who are being missed. Other methods of improving lists of patients' addresses that we have used in our research studies include periodic mailings to patients, recording an alternative contact address, using Post Office returns (which identified 40% of inaccurate addresses in one mailing in our experience), examining general practices' manual and computerised records, and using local telephone books. The relative cost effectiveness of these methods depends on the extent of automation that can be achieved. Direct linkage of computerised records of practices and family health services authorities, with a formal protocol for checking and updating a practice's address records at each contact with a patient, probably holds out the best hope of achieving a register with minimal errors in addresses to optimise uptake of screening. The technology to achieve this has already been adopted in other European countries.3


Three spontaneous tumors of the C3H mouse have been used in a comparison of their transplantability and radiation response (local control) in syngeneic C3Hf/Sed mice and in allogeneic athymic NCr/Sed-nu/nu nu nude mice. The tumors were: MCaIV, a moderately well-differentiated mammary carcinoma; FSaII, a poorly differentiated fibrosarcoma; and SCCVII, a moderately well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. The tumors were studied as fourth to seventh generation transplants. Assays to determine the number of tumor cells that, on the average, transplant the tumor to half of the recipients or transplant sites (TD50) demonstrated that these 3 tumors transplanted into the s.c. tissue of the NCr/Sed-nu/nu as readily as of C3Hf/Sed mice. The TD50 for MCaIV was slightly but significantly lower in 4-week-old NCr/Sed-nu/nu mice which had received 6 Gy whole body irradiation (WBI) 24 h before transplantation, namely, 5.8 x 10(4) (95% confidence limits, 4.5-7.6) versus 7.8 x 10(4) (6.0-10.0). The 6-Gy WBI did not affect the TD50 for 8- to 10-week-old mice. Similarly, the TD50 for SCCVII was lower in 6-Gy WBI NCr/Sed-nu/nu recipients (1.5 x 10(4) versus 3.9 x 10(4)). The TD50 for FSaII was not affected by 6-Gy WBI. Further, the TD50 for FSaII following i.v. injection of tumor cells (transplant to lung) was the same for C3Hf/Sed and NCr/Sed-nu/nu mice (this obtained for normal or 6-Gy WBI-treated subjects). The radiation doses which on the average achieve control of half of the MCaIV, FSaII, and SCCVII tumors were lower, higher, and the same in NCr/Sed-nu/nu than in C3Hf/Sed mice, respectively. The radiation doses which achieve control of half of the MCaIV and SCCVII tumors were not affected by 6-Gy WBI before transplantation.


The Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) is an X-linked recessive disorder described as a clinical triad of thrombocytopenia, eczema, and immunodeficiency. The gene responsible for WAS encodes a 502-amino acid proline-rich protein (WASp) that is likely to play a role in the cytoskeleton reorganization and/or in signal transduction of hematopoietic cells. However, the function and the regulation of the WAS gene (WASP) have not yet been clearly defined. We have studied WASP expression at the transcriptional level in freshly isolated mature peripheral blood cells and during hematopoietic development. For this purpose, we have isolated CD34+ hematopoietic precursor cells from cord blood. These cells were cultured in vitro with various growth factors to generate committed or mature cells belonging to different hematopoietic differentiation pathways, such as granulocytic (CD15+) cells, monocytic (CD14+) cells, dendritic (CD1a+) cells, erythroid lineage (glycophorin A+) cells, and megakaryocytic cells (CD41+). We have shown by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis that the WASP transcript is ubiquitously detectable throughout differentiation from early hematopoietic progenitors, including CD34+CD45RA- and CD34+CD45RA+ cells, to cells belonging to different hematopoietic lineages, including erythroid-committed and dendritic cells. In addition, Northern blot analysis showed that peripheral blood circulating lymphocytes (CD3+ and CD19+ cells) and monocytes express WASP mRNA. Several hematopoietic cell lines were tested and higher levels of expression were consistently detected in myelomonocytic cell types. By contrast, primary nonhematopoietic cells, including fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and keratinocytes, were consistently negative for WASP mRNA.


This study examines interactions surrounding the transmission, enforcement, and assessment of compliance with feeling rules. Using ethnographic data, I investigate how actors within an organization that prepares low-income black and Latino students to attend elite boarding schools serve as both emotional socializers, transmitting particular feeling rules, and emotional gatekeepers, enforcing and assessing compliance with those rules. I find that it was the interactional process surrounding rule reminders—rather than differences in students' behavioral infractions or in the feeling rules themselves—that was most consequential in shaping evaluations of students' compliance with the program's feeling rules. Gendered patterns in these interactions often resulted in male students being treated as behaviorally deviant and female students being treated as emotionally deviant.


The purpose of this study was to determine variables that predict performance when virtual manipulatives are used for mathematics instruction. This study used a quasiexperimental design. This design was used to determine variables that predict student performance on tests of fraction knowledge for thirdand fourth-grade students in two treatment groups: classroom instruction using texts and physical manipulatives (CI), and computer lab instruction using virtual fraction applets (VM). The Pre-test, Post-test 1, and Post-test 2 measured learning and retention of fraction concepts. Observation ethograms documented representation use. The results revealed that fewer demographic predictors of student performance (e.g., socio-economic status, English language learner status, and gender) exist during fraction instruction when virtual manipulatives were used. When instructors used virtual manipulatives, there was an equalizing effect on achievement in third and fourth grade classrooms, in that fewer demographic factors were influential for VM groups compared to CI groups.


The characteristics of cockpit voices (sounds) recorded by Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) are key evidences in investigating accident causes for wrecked airplane. In order to analyzing and diagnosing wrecked airplane causes through cockpit voices in CVR, some researchers are made as followings in this paper: Firstly, some typical background sounds of cockpit voices, such as wind shear audio, near-earth audio warning, take-off form of audio warning, fire alarm and so on, are obtained and classified through listening and distinguishing by adobe audition audio software in laboratory. Then, the characteristics of these background sounds are extracted by signal analyses methods such as Fourier Transform (FT), Wavelet Transform (WT), and so on. Through these methods, the special characteristics are depurated, such as frequency value, spectral density, and frequency line numbers. Thirdly, as the key part of the paper, conditional rules and fault trees principles focuses on and applied in order to distinguish and diagnose these special characteristics for approximate or different background sounds of cockpit voices. And some available results are obtained finally. Through all these above researches, new analyzing and diagnosing approaches are put forward, which are suitable for accurate grasping the cause of flight accident and analyses and diagnose flight accident. All the researches and conclusions have a certain reference for analysis and diagnosis of flight accidents, and protect flight security.


Both Meloidogyne incognita and Pratylenchus zeae, acting separately, reduced significantly the height of the primary shoots, fresh and dry weight of shoots and leaves, and fresh weight of roots of sugarcane cultivar PR 980. The combined action of both nematode species also caused a significant reduction of the height of the primary shoots, weight of shoots and dry weight of leaves, but the reduction was less than that produced in plants inoculated with only one species alone. Also, when both species of nematodes were present simultaneously, the number of internodes was significantly reduced, as compared to the control, but there was no difference in the reduction caused by both species when they were applied together or each one alone. Pythium graminicola reduced significantly the height of primary shoots. The combination of each nematode species with the fungus produced a highly significant reduction of the height of the primary shoots. The reduction was lower than that produced by each nematode species acting separately, but higher than that induced by the fungus alone. No significant reduction was caused by the three microorganisms acting in combination. The data suggested a possible acute antagonism among the two nematode species and the fungus. It also indicated that M. incognita, P. zeae and P. graminicola are pathogenic to sugarcane.


Many argue that offshoring is an inexorable trend since IT skills have become a global commodity and they are vastly cheaper in other parts of the world. According to this view, most IT work would be drained from the US to overseas locations. However, opposing factors exist. The loss of jobs to offshoring has raised pressure for political action. On the supply side, as developing nations get wealthier, they become less attractive for offshoring. In short, there are multiple factors - some enhancing, others inhibiting - that interact to drive offshoring. In this paper, we use the system dynamics methodology to build a two-country simulation model of offshoring growth that captures the interaction among its major drivers. The model will help us understand the offshoring phenomenon, by identifying the main feedback effects that intensify or temper the growth in offshoring. It can also be used for policy analysis and business planning.


This paper describes the integration of robotics education into an undergraduate Computer Science curriculum. The proposed approach delivers mobile robotics as well as covering the closely related field of Computer Vision and is directly linked to the research conducted at the authors' institution. The paper describes the most relevant details of the module content and assessment strategy, paying particular attention to the practical sessions using Rovio mobile robots. The specific choices are discussed that were made with regard to the mobile platform, software libraries, and lab environment. The paper also presents a detailed qualitative and quantitative analysis of student results, including the correlation between student engagement and performance, and discusses the outcomes of this experience.


The aquarium fishery in Calatagan, Batangas is one of many that participate in the global enterprise. This study looked at the aquarium trade from a ground-scale and personal perspective. A mixed methods approach was used to incorporate both literature and fishers' knowledge to determine the sustainability of this particular fishery. Over 180 species of fish (97,635 individuals) were identified as being collected for the aquarium trade from 2013-July 2017 due to fishers' receipts. One species, the fire dartfish (Nemateleotris magnifica), comprised 41.3% of the total number of fish collected. Twenty of these species underwent a productivity susceptibility analysis (PSA) to determine their vulnerability to being locally overharvested using life history traits. Out of the twenty species selected for analysis, 18 were categorized as least vulnerable and two species, the zebra lionfish (Dendrochirus zebra) and palette surgeonfish (Paracanthurus hepatus), were categorized as moderately vulnerable. While the fish collected for the trade do not appear highly vulnerable, the aquarium fishers themselves seem to be. Aquarium fishers need to contend with monsoons, local conflicts, and even long distances in order to provide for their families. According to the fishers, the fire dartfish, the most heavily collected species, cannot be found anywhere in Calatagan and so they must travel to nearby islands such as Mindoro. In spite of using greater exertion to collect, 100% of aquarium fishers stated that they enjoy their job. However, 76.7% of fishers said they would discourage younger people from entering the aquarium trade, primarily because of the difficulty associated with it. The aquarium trade in Calatagan is a family enterprise. Fishers learn how to fish from family members both in Calatagan and other areas of the Philippines. Recruitment of younger fishers for the trade appears to be declining, as most fishers are over 40 years old. Therefore, the future of this livelihood is questionable. Results from this study not only have direct applications for local policymakers, but also identify sizeable gaps in the aquarium trade at the global scale.


This paper brings together information from the 1986 Census of Population and Dwellings and the 1986 Income Distribution Survey to estimate poverty rates for Aboriginal families and other families. It also describes the factors associated with income poverty among Aboriginal families. The analysis in this paper is primarily descriptive and is limited to measuring income poverty using the Henderson poverty line. The main objective is to provide the fIrst estimates of poverty among Aboriginal families with children since the early 1970s. The results confIrm that in 1986, the common perception that income poverty rates are much higher among the Aboriginal population than among the non-Aboriginal population, although the gap is less dramatic for sole parent families than it is for two parent families. The major factor associated with this poverty is joblessness, with over half of all Aboriginal families with children having no employed adults. However, poverty is still higher among those Aboriginal families with children in which there is at least one employed adult than it is among comparable non-Aboriginal families with children.


A brief review of economic experiments in Russian health-protection service is carried out. It is demonstrated that their ineffectiveness is stipulated by the absence of the analysis of the causes of low surgical activity. The experiment in intensification of surgical activity, which has been carried out in Moscow hospital N 40, shous the ways for correction of present situation. An additional financing source such as CMI may substantially improve the state of surgical clinics, provided that optimal conditions for surgeons' work were created.