Porphyrias are defined as either inborn or acquired diseases related to enzymatic deficiencies in the heme biosynthetic pathway. Lead poisoning, hereditary tyrosinemia, and acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) are characterized by the absence of photosensitivity and the accumulation of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) together with its increased urinary excretion. The main clinical manifestations of AIP are intermittent attacks of abdominal pain, neuromuscular weaknesses and neuropsychiatry alterations, and also an association with primary liver cancer, in which may be involved the oxidative potential of ALA which is able to cause DNA damage. The use of antioxidants in the treatment of ALA-induced oxidative stress is not well established. In the current work, we show the antioxidant efficacy of several compounds including melatonin, quercetin, resveratrol and N 1 -acetyl-N 2 - formyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AFMK), a melatonin oxidation product, in terms of their ability to limit DNA damage induced by ALA/Fe 2+ in an in vitro system. Damage was measured by plasmid DNA strand breaks and detection of 8-oxo, 7-8-dihydro,2¢-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodGuo) by high- performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrochemical detection. All compounds tested showed a dose-dependent protective action against free radical damage. These results could be the first step toward studies of the possible use of these antioxidants in oxidative stress promoted by ALA or other pro-oxidants. 1 -acetyl- N 2 -formyl-5-methoxykynuramine, quercetin,


In upstream reaches of the Tama River, musty odor substance (2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB)) began to be detected in 2008 and the concentration has been increasing thereafter. Then, in 2012, 2-MIB in raw water of a water treatment plant reached 210 ng/L. It was suspected that cause of musty odor was benthic cyanobacteria ( Phormidium ) which attached to stones on the riverbed. However, identification of the benthic Phormidium by microscopic observation had been difficult, thus genetic analysis was carried out. In genetic analysis, almost full-length 16S ribosomal DNA and internal transcribed spacer region gene of benthic Phormidium strains, which include the strain isolated from the Tama River, a strain in the Yoshino River (350 km away from the Tama River) and standard strains, were sequenced and compared. From homology search of these sequences, 2-MIB producing Phormidium in the Tama River was classified into Phormidium autumnale . Furthermore, it was found that P . autumnale in the Tama River was the same species in the Yoshino River. In addition, the result of in vitro cultivation shows that the P . autumnale inhabiting the Tama River thrives and produces more 2-MIB at high temperature, but it can grow and produce 2-MIB even at low temperature.


This study aimed to explore the effect of using mobile learning on improving adult learners' listening skills in Oman, to investigate their attitudes, and to explore the factors that stand as barriers to its implementation. The study is quasi-experimental consisted of two groups, an experimental group (n=15) and a control group (n=16) from a foundation program at a military educational institute. The research data included the results of two sets of listening tests and learners' responses on an attitude questionnaire. The students in the experimental group outperformed their counterparts in the control group as a result of the mobile learning strategy. There was a statically significant improvement in the experimental group students' listening ability. Also, the participants had positive attitudes towards using mobile learning in improving their listening comprehension skills. The participants found that mobile learning enhanced their motivation, increased their exposure, expanded their vocabulary repertoire, and provided easy access to "anytime" and "everywhere" learning. However, they emphasized some challenges that were related to mobile software design, screen sizes of mobile phones, network connections, and the appropriateness of the listening content. Based on the findings, the study suggested some educational implications and recommendations. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.8.2


Sensing systems embedded in the homes of elders have the potential to monitor individuals for early signs of functional and cognitive decline. However, it is not clear how the data collected from these embedded assessment systems can be useful for elders to support awareness and for their doctors to make better diagnoses. We conduct a concept validation of embedded assessment sensing concepts with elders, family caregivers, and clinicians. We describe their reactions to the sensing concepts, their different information needs, how they would use the information, and what limits its usefulness and provide recommendations for designers of embedded assessment systems.


Marion Fourcade, Professor of Sociology at Berkley California University and the Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po), was interviewed by Olessia Kirtchik, Senior Lecturer at National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE), during the conference "Embeddedness and Beyond: Do Sociological Theories meet Economic Realities?" in Moscow (October, 25-28, 2012), where Fourcade presented her research entitled "The Economy as Morality Play" as a plenary speaker.In her interview, Fourcade addresses such topics as comparative methods in sociology, performativity of economic knowledge, and social production of classification. The Professor's arguments are based on comparative research on environmental evaluation, books digitization and wine classification in France and the United States. The discussed research is aimed at comparing classification processes in these three areas (nature, wine classification and books digitization) and revealing the points of their intersection. Analyzing the recent cases of oil spill near Alaska and France, Fourcade comes to the conclusion that the performativity of knowledge is a social product itself, and it does not allow people to reconstruct the social world on their own way. Reflecting on the issue of classifications, the professor raises a question: how digitized books are catalogued on the Internet in the U.S. and France? Fourcade also shows that logics of book classification in the two countries were not identical because of differences in their relation to the hierarchy of knowledge, in digitization policy priorities and in political culture. Based on the ideas of Durkheim and Bourdieu, Fourcade argues that there is no universal method of hierarchy production in any society, and what is called "conflict of classifications" results from variety of social positions and differences between them. Fourcade wound up her interview talking about reasons why economic sociology should pay attention to categories and classifications. In her opinion, they produce not only significant economic impacts, but also reflect a special way of understanding and arranging the world in order, penetrating market structures.


We consider a geometric combinatorial problem naturally associated to the geometric topology of certain spherical space forms. Given a collection of $m$ mass distributions on $\mathbb{R}^n$, the existence of $k$ affinely independent regular $q$-fans, each of which equipartitions each of the measures, can in many cases be deduced from the existence of a $\mathbb{Z}_q$-equivariant section of the Stiefel bundle $V_k(\mathbb{F}^n)$ over $S(\mathbb{F}^n)$, where $V_k(\mathbb{F}^n)$ is the Stiefel manifold of all orthonormal $k$-frames in $\mathbb{F}^n,\, \mathbb{F} = \mathbb{R}$ or $\mathbb{C}$, and $S(\mathbb{F}^n)$ is the corresponding unit sphere. For example, the parallelizability of $\mathbb{R}P^n$ when $n = 2,4$, or $8$ implies that any two masses on $\mathbb{R}^n$ can be simultaneously bisected by each of $(n-1)$ pairwise-orthogonal hyperplanes, while when $q=3$ or 4, the triviality of the circle bundle $V_2(\mathbb{C}^2)/\mathbb{Z}_q$ over the standard Lens Spaces $L^3(q)$ yields that for any mass on $\mathbb{R}^4$, there exist a pair of complex orthogonal regular $q$-fans, each of which equipartitions the mass.


The paper analyses possibilities and barriers to promoting sustainable companies through company legislation in Lithuania with specific focus on environmental protection and climate change. The authors start by overviewing the framework of Lithuanian company law, including types of companies, their purpose, functions of the bodies formed, as well as certain issues relating to regulation of groups of companies in Lithuania. In addition, data on the ownership structure in Lithuanian listed companies is presented, which indicates that ownership concentration is high and follows the trend of other states in the Continental Europe. It is stated in the paper that Lithuanian company law is mainly centred on the protection of the shareholders' interests (with certain exceptions, for example, the insolvency situation when the interests of the creditors prevail). Furthermore, environmental protection laws, civil, criminal and administrative liability issues in context of environmental protection and climate change are addressed. The paper also presents environmental reporting standards and practices in Lithuania. The authors conclude that Lithuanian company law does not contain any environmental obligations applicable to the bodies of the company. Moreover, laws establish only few incentives for the companies to voluntarily engage in more sustainable and environmentally-conscious activities. Case law and practice of the companies do not show any significant indications in this respect as well. This paper is one of a series of international mapping papers in the Sustainable Companies Project at the Faculty of Law in Oslo addressing the barriers and possibilities for environmentally sustainable companies.


The last four decades have witnessed developmental changes in pharmacy education in Nigeria. The paradigm change in the role of the pharmacist from a product-oriented to patient-oriented focus requires that the overall education of pharmacists be reorganized to meet the increasing changing roles. Curricular of schools of pharmacy in Nigeria are continually reviewed with the aim of attaining the dynamic competency required to reflect the paradigm shift in service focus and the development of the necessary clinical skills that will enable pharmacists to identify and meet the increasingly complex medication needs of patients. This review focuses on the historical development of pharmacy education from one school of pharmacy in the 1920s to about twenty schools 40 years later. The study looked at the continuous efforts made to produce the pharmacist with the requisite competency for the ever-changing roles in meeting the dynamic and varied needs of patients.


Purpose
This research aims to address the cost-oriented stochastic assembly line balancing problem (ALBP) and propose a chance-constrained programming model.

Design/methodology/approach
The cost-oriented stochastic ALBP is solved for small- to medium-sized problems. Owing to the non-deterministic polynomial-time (NP)-hardness problem, a multiple rule-based genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed for large-scale problems.

Findings
The experimental results show that the proposed GA has superior performance and efficiency compared to the global optimum solutions obtained by the IBM ILOG CPLEX optimization software.

Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, only one study has discussed the cost-oriented stochastic ALBP using the new concept of cost. Owing to the NP-hard nature of the problem, it was necessary to develop a heuristic or meta-heuristic algorithm for large data sets; this research paper contributes to filling this gap.


This paper discusses an experiment designed to determine the effects of a problem-solving approach to instruction (PSAI) on eighth grade Algebra I students. Comparisons were made of the scores from the 1991 and 1993 Subject Area Testing Program--Algebra I of skills taught via PSAI and skills taught traditionally. In 1991 (n-56) eighth grade Algebra I students were taught seven skills traditionally and four skills via PSAI. Additional students (n=18) were taught all skills traditionally. Mean scores on the four PSAI skills were significantly higher than the mean scores on the seven skills taught traditionally. In 1993, eighth grade students (n=51) were taught all skills via PSAI and (n=44) students were taught traditionally. Mean scores showed no significant difference between performance on the four skills and the seven skills for either the PSAI or control groups. However, mean scores on the seven skills taught traditionally in 1991 but via PSAI in 1993 increased significantly. It can be concluded that utilizing a problem-solving approach to teaching Algebra I students resulted in higher mean scores. The paper includes additional evidence that the problem-solving technique helps increase retention and provides better transferability for higher level mathematics classes. (Author/MKR) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************


ABSTRACT A fundamental difference exists between the textures of chromite crystals in chromitites in layered complexes and ophiolites. Those in layered complexes generally have euhedral octahedral shapes except where sintered, whereas those in ophiolites generally have rounded shapes accompanied commonly by nodular and more rarely dendritic chromite. Here we describe another texture characteristic of ophiolitic chromitite. The analysis of high-resolution X-ray computed tomography images of chromitite from Harold's Grave in the Shetland ophiolite has revealed 3D hopper structures on chromite grains. In 2D, these hopper structures appear at the surface of the chromite grain as stepped inward facing edges. A study of chromitites in 2D from ten ophiolite complexes has shown that all commonly contain chromite grains displaying these stepped edges. They occur mainly in protected enclaves surrounded by chromite grains that otherwise have rounded edges. The hopper crystals and the often associated clusters of inclusions represent periods of chromite crystal growth in a chromite supersaturated magma due to the presence of a more supercooled and more volatile-rich magma than that present in most layered complexes. Subsequent exposure of chromite crystals to chromite-undersaturated magma caused corrosion, resulting in the characteristic rounded shape of the ophiolitic chromite grains.


In R v Sharpe, the Supreme Court of Canada read in a "private use exception" to the offence of possessing child pornography. The Court reasoned that youths' self-created expressive material and private recordings of lawful sexual activity—created by, or depicting the accused and held by the accused exclusively for private use—would pose little or no risk to children and may in fact be of significance to adolescent self-fulfillment, self-actualization, sexual exploration, and identity. Fundamental changes in the technological, social, sexual, and legal landscape since Sharpe have resulted in a lack of clarity regarding the exception's scope. Federal and provincial police and federally funded child protection agencies now regularly inform young people that they do not have the legal right to consensually create and share their digital sexual images with an intimate partner. Scholarly opinion on the exception's application to teenage sexting is under-considered and varied, and subsequent judicial interpretations of the exception have extended the boundaries of private use while also circumscribing the protection by requiring youth to retain the ability to "maintain control" of their images. Via a mapping of our new technological and legal landscape, as well as a consideration of shifting privacy, communication, and sexual norms, this article examines and clarifies the application of the private use exception to teenagers' contemporary digital sexual expression practices. This article argues that the private use exception as set out in Sharpe is inclusive of consensual teenage sexting in private yet is too narrow to adequately protect the sexual speech of teens. While subsequent judicial interpretations of the exception have extended the boundaries of private use, these analyses have also potentially and paradoxically circumscribed the protection by requiring youth to retain the ability to "maintain control" their own images. A key goal of this article is thus to interrogate the relationship between privacy and control as it relates to youths' consensual sexual expression. Finally, this article argues that future considerations of the parameters of the private use exception incorporate an analysis of the benefits of sexual expression for young people as well as a positive sexual rights framework that recognizes the autonomy of youth who are of legal age to consent to sexual relations. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. This article is available in Osgoode Hall Law Journal: https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/ohlj/vol56/iss2/3


MIPS-X-MP is a research project whose end goal is to build a small (workstation-sized) multiprocessor with a total throughput of 100-200 mips. The architectural approach uses a small number (tens) of high performance RISC-based microprocessors (10-20 mips each) The multiprocessor architecture uses software-controlled cache coherency to allow cooperation among processors without sacrificing performance of the processors. Software technology for automatically decomposing problems to allow the entire machine to be concentrated on a single problem is a key component of the research. This report surveys the four key components of the project: high performance VLSI processor architecture and design, multiprocessor architectural studies, multiprocessor programming systems, and optimizing compiler technology.


Once solely the province of ivory tower professors and university classrooms, contemporary philosophy was emancipated from its academic closet in 2010, when The Stone was launched in The New York Times. First appearing online, the column has attracted millions of readers through its accessible examination of topics like the nature of science, consciousness and morality, while also probing more contemporary issues such as the morality of drones, gun control and the gender divide. Collected for the first time, The Stone Reader presents 133 influential pieces, placing nearly the entirety of modern philosophical discourse at a reader's grasp. With an introduction that details the column's founding and editorial process, this collection is an intellectual landmark.


Over the last decades, fusion of lumbar spinal motion segments has represented the mainstay of treatment of lumbar degenerative conditions which failed to respond adequately to conservative therapy. Increasing demands and expectations from patients as well as the necessity to avoid fusion related negative side effects such as adjacent level disc degeneration, considerable complication and reoperation rates, cranial facet joint violations, pseudarthrosis and others led to the development of motion preserving technologies such as total lumbar disc replacement (TDR). The first and rudimentary attempts to preserve motion of lumbar motion segments can be dated back to the early 1950s. Over the past two to three decades, a variety of new implants with different motion characteristics have been developed and introduced into the market. Despite of the extensive knowledge which has been gained in this field of research, insurers in the United States have refused to reimburse surgeons due to fear of late complications and reoperations as well as unknown secondary costs, which led to a global decline in the numbers of TDR procedures. The current literature review intends to provide a concise summary of the adequate indications for TDR as well as outcome determining factors and delineate the role of TDR in the currently available armamentarium for the treatment of low back pain (LBP) resulting from degenerative disc disease (DDD) without instabilities or deformities.


Melanoma growth is driven by malignant melanoma-initiating cells (MMIC) identified by expression of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) member ABCB5. ABCB5(+) melanoma subpopulations have been shown to overexpress the vasculogenic differentiation markers CD144 (VE-cadherin) and TIE1 and are associated with CD31(-) vasculogenic mimicry (VM), an established biomarker associated with increased patient mortality. Here we identify a critical role for VEGFR-1 signaling in ABCB5(+) MMIC-dependent VM and tumor growth. Global gene expression analyses, validated by mRNA and protein determinations, revealed preferential expression of VEGFR-1 on ABCB5(+) tumor cells purified from clinical melanomas and established melanoma lines. In vitro, VEGF induced the expression of CD144 in ABCB5(+) subpopulations that constitutively expressed VEGFR-1 but not in ABCB5(-) bulk populations that were predominantly VEGFR-1(-). In vivo, melanoma-specific shRNA-mediated knockdown of VEGFR-1 blocked the development of ABCB5(+) VM morphology and inhibited ABCB5(+) VM-associated production of the secreted melanoma mitogen laminin. Moreover, melanoma-specific VEGFR-1 knockdown markedly inhibited tumor growth (by > 90%). Our results show that VEGFR-1 function in MMIC regulates VM and associated laminin production and show that this function represents one mechanism through which MMICs promote tumor growth.


The image of a falcon in "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" and ancient Chinese literature is analyzed. The material for the study was the original text of "The Tale", its translations and comments to them by Chinese literary scholars Wei Huangnu and Li Xiyin, as well as famous ancient Chinese works. One of the main motives of the artistic and pictorial ornithology of "The Tale" is examined in detail — the individual and personal images of the falcons-Russian princes, opposing the spontaneity, chaos of the bird flock as an enemy horde. In ancient Chinese literature, the ornithological figurative complex serves as a symbol, firstly, of elite divisions, strong troops; secondly, a person filled with high motives, both heroic and career ambitious; thirdly, the authority of the monarch or some other important person in power. The novelty of the research is seen in the fact that for the first time the mythologeme falcon of "The Tale" is considered in intertextual comparison with the works of ancient Chinese literature. It is concluded that the symbolic connotations of the falcon both in ancient Chinese literature and in "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" are closely related to the real qualities of this bird's behavior in its natural environment: bravery, courage, dexterity.


The paper reports the suitability and stability of the NHPP and trend curve software reliability growth models. For evaluating these characteristics, we applied these models to our actual software development projects. The study shows that NHPP model fits our projects well. Furthermore, it also suggests quality control limit curves for more effective application of these models.


The extraction of negative ions inevitably leads to the destruction of the original plasma state. To understand the effect of extraction on a plasma sheath under a weak magnetic filter field, the time-dependent behavior of H− ion extraction from a negative ion source has been studied by particle-in-cell simulation in the collisionless limit. The simulation results have shown that the plasma sheath would undergo a transient process, in which there exists an edge electrostatic wave that propagates counterclockwise along the wall with a velocity of 4 mm/ns until it reaches the other side of extraction aperture. The thickness of the plasma sheath and the plasma potential both increase greatly at the final quasi-steady-state. For comparison, the results of extracting positive ions are also given.


Pure scientists do not only invent new methods to solve given problems. They also invent new problems. The recent POWERPLAY framework formalizes this type of curiosity and creativity in a new, general, yet practical way. To acquire problem solving prowess through playing, POWERPLAY-based artificial explorers by design continually come up with the fastest to find, initially novel, but eventually solvable problems. They also continually simplify or speed up solutions to previous problems. We report on results of first experiments with POWERPLAY. A self-delimiting recurrent neural network (SLIM RNN) is used as a general computational architecture to implement the system's solver. Its weights can encode arbitrary, self-delimiting, halting or non-halting programs affecting both environment (through effectors) and internal states encoding abstractions of event sequences. In open-ended fashion, our POWERPLAY-driven RNNs learn to become increasingly general problem solvers, continually adding new problem solving procedures to the growing repertoire, exhibiting interesting developmental stages.


OBJECTIVE
The serotonin (5-HT) transporter (5-HTT) is thought to play a key role in the onset of alcohol use, with potential behavioral and biological mechanisms mediated by the level of 5-HT in the synapse and in cerebral spinal fluid. Although 5-HT dysregulation has been related to poor impulse control, the biological mechanism is unknown, although functional control of the serotonergic system has been shown to be regulated in part by differential expression of the 5-HTT. The gene responsible for encoding 5-HTT has a functional polymorphism at the 5'-regulatory promoter region, which results in two forms: long (L) and short (S). The LL genotype is hypothesized to play a key role in the early onset of alcohol use and may be related to poor impulse control. The objective of this pilot study is to determine whether adolescents with a current alcohol-use disorder (AUD) (N = 21) have platelet measures of the 5-HTT functioning that are related to 5-HTT genotype and poor impulse control. Specifically, we wanted to examine the relationships between the following: platelet 5-HTT and 5-HTT genotype; platelet 5-HTT parameters and age at onset, as well as duration of drinking; and 5-HTT genotype and impulse control.

METHOD
Adolescents with current AUD were recruited from the community to participate in a cross-section pilot study.

RESULTS
Our main findings showed significantly higher paroxetine binding (density of 5-HTT) in LL genotype versus S carriers (SS or SL genotypes); also, the LL group had a significantly earlier age at onset of drinking and longer duration of drinking, and poorer impulse control.

CONCLUSIONS
These findings provide partial support for the hypothesis that, among currently drinking adolescents with an AUD, differential expression of 5-HTT may play an important role in the onset of adolescent AUD.


: Purification of fractions of tea leaves peroxidase is described. During ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE- and CM-cellulose peroxidase is eluted into six fractions, differing in their electrophoretic properties. The enzyme showed optimal activity at pH 4.1-5.0, when the enzyme fractions of guaiacol adsorbed on DEAE-cellulose were used as a substrate; in case of enzyme fractions adsorbed on CM-cellulose it was observed within pH range of 5.4-6.2. The dependence curves of the initial rate of the reaction on the substrate concentration were S-shaped in case of the latter fractions. Peroxidase is shown to catalyze the oxidation of tea catechins; its activity is inhibited by the products of their condensation. The catalytic effect of the enzyme on the oxidation of phenolic acids, e.g. chlorogenic, caffeic and gallic, was far stronger than on that of tea catechins, pyrogallol and pyrocatechin. It was established that two fractions of the enzyme possess predominantly the phloroglucinol oxidase activity, whereas the other fractions do not catalyze the oxidation of phloroglucin. The molecular weights of some peroxidase fractions estimated by polyacryl amide gel electrophoresis are 26.000+/-1.100, 45.00+/-1.200 and 50.000+/-1.500.


Wong Kar-wai's films are analyzed and assessed according to their use of narrative film and how much of Time is appropriated and valorized in order to show its importance to Hong Kong as site of transnational capital exchange. This, in turn, is comparatively read against the background of Philippine cinema's increasing use of social realism in films that implicate the country's status as a neocolonial state and the people's continuing struggle for greater opportunities. This essay argues that the use of editing and camera techniques and their implicative notion of time, speed, and progress are heavily anchored on the vicissitudes of a filmmaker's economic and political "time."


Postgraduate medical training in the United States has evolved from a broad program of education to a highly specialized type of training. Approximately 80% to 85% of the more than 12,000 annual American medical school graduates currently take additional training to become medical specialists. This trend toward specialization has occurred largely as a result of the rapid progress and proliferation of medical knowledge and technology, and because physicians desire to keep up with the times. Postgraduate surgical training in most university-based training programs in the United States is given by surgical specialists; consequently, the residents trained usually become surgical specialists in community hospitals. 1 A recent panel discussion by committee directors of the Survey of Surgical Services in the United States (SOSSUS) indicates that many large communities are already adequately staffed with surgical specialists in many fields and that few communities with populations of greater than 200,000 require significant numbers


Ongoing urban densification and the resultant stress on socio-ecological systems necessitate the development of innovative strategies for safeguarding green and blue infrastructure (GBI) and the benefits it provides. Yet, while GBI is increasingly recognised as an effective tool to respond to urban challenges, outcomes are often less than ideal. The capacity of multifunctional natural areas to simultaneously address user preferences, answer municipal needs, and fulfil wider political obligations is far from being fully realised. The present article responds to this situation and highlights the Q-method as an effective approach for assessing and integrating user viewpoints on urban GBI and its benefits in urban decision-making and planning processes. The application of the Q-method with 227 participants in two case study sites – Halle, Germany and Stockholm, Sweden – forms the basis for our analysis and conclusions. Results indicate that four main stakeholder groups are present in each city, with each group having clear preferences for specific green and blue characteristics, such as areas shaded by trees, access to water for swimming, "wild" nature, and manicured grass fields. By establishing which features are shared across groups, urban planning processes can successfully integrate public subjectivity into decision-making processes and respond to user preferences. The Q-method can thereby support an optimised use of public funds in urban planning to ensure that user needs are met and public acceptance is high, while safeguarding critical GBI benefits. This research was carried out as part of the ENABLE project, funded through the BiodivERsA COFUND call for research proposals.


Microblogging and lifestreaming applications like Twitter, Tumblr, and Friend Feed are all around you and your users in everyday life. In "Microblogging and Lifestreaming in Libraries", author Robin M. Hastings presents a practical primer to help any library transform these cutting-edge, budget-friendly services into highly effective professional tools. Written specifically for LIS professionals, Hastings' start-to-finish guide explores the ins and outs of the most popular microblogging applications, and covers everything from selection to implementation to evaluation. You'll find easy-to-follow technical tips for setting up feeds, linking to other sites and services, and searching, as well as best practices for community building, marketing, and promotion. Hastings provides a complete glossary for using important 'Twitter Lingo', as well as a guide to recommended print and web resources for further related reading. As you'll find with each of the other nine "Tech Set" guides, the discussion is accessible to the novice who wants to learn the technology and how to implement it, as well as the seasoned pro charged with translating 'best practice' examples to the local setting and quantifying the results.


Due to the high critical field in 4H-SiC, the drain charge and switching loss densities in a SiC power device are approximately 10X higher than that of a silicon device. However, for the same voltage and resistance ratings, the device area is much smaller for the 4H-SiC device. Therefore, the total drain charge and switching losses are much lower for the 4H-SiC power device. A 2.3 kV, 13.5 mW-cm2 4H-SiC power DMOSFET with a device area of 2.1 mm x 2.1 mm has been demonstrated. The device showed a stable avalanche at a drain bias of 2.3 kV, and an on-current of 5 A with a VGS of 20 V and a VDS of 2.6 V. Approximately an order of magnitude lower parasitic capacitance values, as compared to those of commercially available silicon power MOSFETs, were measured for the 4H-SiC power DMOSFET. This suggests that the 4H-SiC DMOSFET can provide an order of magnitude improvement in switching performance in high speed switching applications.


The way media depict women and men can reinforce or diminish gender stereotyping. Which part does language play in this context? Are roles perceived as more gender-balanced when feminine role nouns are used in addition to masculine ones? Research on gender-inclusive language shows that the use of feminine-masculine word pairs tends to increase the visibility of women in various social roles. For example, when speakers of German were asked to name their favorite "heroine or hero in a novel," they listed more female characters than when asked to name their favorite "hero in a novel." The research reported in this article examines how the use of gender-inclusive language in news reports affects readers' own usage of such forms as well as their mental representation of women and men in the respective roles. In the main experiment, German participants (N = 256) read short reports about heroes or murderers which contained either masculine generics or gender-inclusive forms (feminine-masculine word pairs). Gender-inclusive forms enhanced participants' own usage of gender-inclusive language and this resulted in more gender-balanced mental representations of these roles. Reading about "heroines and heroes" made participants assume a higher percentage of women among persons performing heroic acts than reading about "heroes" only, but there was no such effect for murderers. A post-test suggested that this might be due to a higher accessibility of female exemplars in the category heroes than in the category murderers. Importantly, the influence of gender-inclusive language on the perceived percentage of women in a role was mediated by speakers' own usage of inclusive forms. This suggests that people who encounter gender-inclusive forms and are given an opportunity to use them, use them more themselves and in turn have more gender-balanced mental representations of social roles.


Since the first description of COVID-19 in December 2019, more than 63,000 publications have described its virology, clinical course, management, treatment and prevention. Most physicians are now encountering, or will soon encounter, patients with COVID-19 and must attempt to simultaneously assimilate this avalanche of information while managing an entirely novel disease with few guiding precedents. It is increasingly clear that, although primarily a respiratory illness, COVID-19 is associated with cardiovascular complications. However, the true incidence of direct cardiac complications remains unclear, as all complications thus far reported can also occur in patients without COVID-19. In this review, we briefly summarise and critically appraise the data on cardiac complications associated with COVID-19 and describe some cases from our own experience. We identify unresolved questions and highlight the many uncertainties in this developing field.


We study loss functions that measure the accuracy of a prediction based on multiple data points simultaneously. To our knowledge, such loss functions have not been studied before in the area of property elicitation or in machine learning more broadly. As compared to traditional loss functions that take only a single data point, these multi-observation loss functions can in some cases drastically reduce the dimensionality of the hypothesis required. In elicitation, this corresponds to requiring many fewer reports; in empirical risk minimization, it corresponds to algorithms on a hypothesis space of much smaller dimension. We explore some examples of the tradeoff between dimensionality and number of observations, give some geometric characterizations and intuition for relating loss functions and the properties that they elicit, and discuss some implications for both elicitation and machine-learning contexts.


Married life is very likely to occur a misunderstanding between husband and wife. The situation can sometimes be overcome peacefully, but sometimes the efforts for peace that actually lead to hatred and lead to disputes between the two, even between the two sides of the family. If the marriage continues, then the basic goals of the household will not be achieved. In Islam, divorce is an act that is hated by Allah, but it is permissible. Purwodadi Religious Court is a class IA court. Grobokan Regency occupies the second place in terms of divorce in Central Java, with the number of divorces reaching three thousand. The stereotype of "virgin kasep" from the community towards unmarried eighteen-year-old girls, hopes to escape the snares of poverty make parents hasten to marry their children. With a psychic that is not yet very mature, not a few of the young couples bring their family conflicts to the front of the court, Purwodadi Religious Court.
Keywords: Purwodadi Religious Court, factors causing divorce, legislation


Despite contemporary social activities changing drastically at the turn of the twenty-first century, residential layouts have not changed. This thesis takes the position that dwellings should be designed to facilitate movement efficiency and be moulded around our daily routine. This study seeks to investigate how the contemporary dwelling can adopt Taylorism's principals from the commercial industry, to facilitate movement efficiency in the home. The research will further look at micro architecture as a contemporary manifestation of Taylorism and use it as an architectural precedent. From the investigation, this research helped formulate a brief for a contemporary method of designing, in which the architect views the individual's routine as a production process to be refined and optimized. The study preformed ethnographic studies on a three individuals whom wanted their home to be an instrument for their living. One study was chosen to analyze. From the study of the individual's inhabitation, a prototype was designed around the ecology of objects used in their routine. This became a fundamental step in the brief. Once the prototype is created it was revealed that the architect would have an excellent understanding of how their individual dwelled, and therefore could use the prototype to design an efficient routine. Through the method of interrogating and stripping back the individual's inhabitation, this process helped redefine the architect's role and approach to designing contemporary dwelling. The dwelling created using the brief was entirely customized and facilitates every aspect of the client's contemporary routine.


The electrical behavior of organic solar cell (OSC) has been analyzed using a simple circuital model consisting on an ideal diode together with a series and parallel resistances (RS and RP respectively). Applying Kirchhoff's Laws to the circuit leads to a transcendental equation that can be solved numerically without approximations using the Lambert W function. Theoretical expression has been fitted to experimental current-voltage (I-V) curves under forward bias, obtaining fairly accurate values for the electrical parameters. This model has been validated comparing the extracted parameters for dark and illumination conditions of different devices. Results show good agreement for RS, and ideality factor (η). Electrical parameters obtained in this work are also compared to those ones extracted using an approximated method often employed by other authors 1. We conclude that approximated method leads to reasonable good values for RS, RP and η. However, in the case of Rp the voltage range chosen to fit the data with the exact method must be constrained to the fourth quadrant, where the role of parallel resistance is more critical. To validate the model, a bunch of organic solar cells with structure ITO/ poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly (4-styrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS)/ poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT): 1-(3-methoxycarbonyl)-propyl-1-1-phenyl-(6,6)C61 (PCBM)/Al has been fabricated in inert atmosphere. Different active layers were deposited varying the P3HT:PCBM ratio (1:0.64, 1:1, 1:1.55) and the active layer thickness (ranging from 100 to 280 nm). Devices are encapsulated inside the glove-box prior its characterization outside the glove-box. Electro optical characterization has been performed with a halogen lamp. Values extracted for RS range from 142 Ω to 273 Ω, values for RP range from 25 kΩ to 331 kΩ. Ideality factor ranges from 5 to 17.


Automatic unloading valve is the critical pressure control element of emulsion pump station, the unloading pressure and the recovery pressure after unloading of the pump are two important technical parameters of the emulsion pump station. The working performance of the unloading valve can be improved by research and simulation of the two parameters, making clear the state of the unloading valve for emulsion pump station when working, calculating the electromagnetic thrust when the pilot valve and main valve core act as well as the response speed of the unloading pressure, checking and correcting the original spring force. The variation range of pump station pressure can be controlled within ±0.5MPa through the effective control on the unloading pressure and recovery pressure of the automatic unloading valve for emulsion pump station, which ensures the stability, reliability and sensitivity of the pump station when working. The improvement of the automatic unloading valve technology of internal unloading type is adaptable to the development needs of high-yield and high-efficiency modern mine for high pressure and super larger flow pump station.


"Coaching for Character" provides coaches with a valuable tool to help them understand the basic principles of sportsmanship, the justification of these principles, and how to teach their players to understand and apply them. By applying the understanding of sportsmanship explained in the book, coaches will create more disciplined and coachable individual athletes and teams. And, more important, they will help young athletes develop the character and perspective that will serve them well throughout their lives.Combining years of coaching and teaching experience, Clifford and Feezell provide clear guidelines to help coaches teach their players respect for- opponents, - teammates and team, - officials, - coaches, and - the rules and traditions of the game.With proper respect, athletes are more likely to compete fairly and fully, to sacrifice in order to achieve individual and team goals, and to develop attitudes that make them enjoyable to coach.Coaches' responsibilities as models and educators are brought to life through real situations that confront them on and off the field. The authors provide numerous questions that help readers to become more reflective about sport. The book also urges coaches and athletes to strive for a healthy balance between the playful side of sport and the seriousness of competition.By using "Coaching for Character"'s special suggestions for teaching sportsmanship, coaches will find new ways to reach their athletes--without preaching or sacrificing practice time that could be spent on developing the physical skills, conditioning, and mental strategies that are also essential to athletic success.Clifford and Feezell demonstrate that sportsmanship doesn't get in the way of genuine competition--that a commitment to sportmanship comes from an understanding of the nature of competition.


Behavior of traders including investors and speculators in commodity future markets are studied before and after the subprime mortgage crisis. We put our attention on quantity of traders hold positions instead of price volatility or capital return rate of commodity future markets. By standardize correlation coefficients of net positions we try to quantify the impact of speculative funds on behalf of international hot money in international commodity futures markets in the subprime mortgage crisis. Parametric and non-parametric tests are used in this paper. The empirical results reveal that investment directions of speculators do change in crisis and they connect more tightly with markets compared with investors for that their find more opportunities and higher return rate during the Subprime mortgage crisis.


In May 1900 Buschke 1 presented to the Berlin Dermatological Society a man aged 44 in whom a peculiar hardness of the skin had developed after an attack of influenza. The process began on the neck and spread rapidly upward to the face and down the chest and back. Buschke suspected that it was acute scleroderma, but he noted that the involvement seemed much deeper than the usual scleroderma. In the discussion of the case various opinions were expressed: Senator suggested a diagnosis of myxedema; Lesser was reminded of a process similar to sclerema neonatorum, which, however, had not been observed in adults; Blaschko stated that he had seen two patients with the identical condition, which appeared in one patient after scarlet fever and in the other after exposure to cold. Buschke 2 presented a second example of the disease to the same society in 1901, and first formally discussed


The exercise of quantifying the energy consumption data assembled through household surveys, either by the recall-based approach or the meter-based approach, remains a challenging task, especially in rural areas of developing countries. In this article, we propose a device-based bottom-up accounting method for estimating household energy consumption. This method provides microlevel disaggregated estimates at the intensive margin and documents other difficult-to-measure energy consumption such as biomass at the extensive margin. Even though measurement errors of the household survey might still exist, the structured questionnaire of daily routine behavior questions should greatly alleviate the problem. The new method supplements the existing household energy statistical system, improves its flexibility, and is particularly applicable in developing countries and/or rural areas. We apply the method to a Chinese rural household survey and discuss its differences and similarities with the conventional methods.


The leishmaniases are a complex of parasitic diseases which cause approximately 30,000 deaths annually. In Brazil, leishmaniasis is a significant burden (Bezerra et al., 2018). Dogs are the main reservoir host for Leishmania (Le.) infantum parasites and are the source of infection for the human population. Le. infantum is transmitted to people via the bite of an infected Lutzomyia (Lu.) longipalpis sandfly. To disrupt this transmission cycle, it is important to identify Leishmania infected dogs and remove them from the population. However, current diagnostic methods are complex, can be inaccurate and therefore limit effective reservoir control. The aim of this study was to determine whether Leishmania infantum infected dogs could be discriminated from uninfected dogs using three different methodologies; a VOC Analyser, behavioural bioassay and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Previous studies have shown that animals (e.g. dogs, hamsters) infected with Leishmania parasites produce odours that are different to those produced by uninfected animals (De Oliveira et al., 2008; Magalhaes-Junior et al., 2014b). In this study the VOC analyser demonstrated the ability to reliably discriminate between Leishmania infected and uninfected dogs, with high sensitivity (97-100%) and specificity (95-100%). The accuracy demonstrated of this diagnostic is an improvement on the current in-field DPP test used for cVL diagnosis, with a sensitivity of 75-89% and specificity of 56-70% having been recently reported (Figueiredo et al., 2018). This result suggests the potential for this approach for the rapid, non-invasive POC diagnosis of dogs infected with leishmaniasis. Studies on the behavioural response of male and female to the odour of infected and uninfected dogs showed that female Lu. longipalpis were significantly more attracted to infected odour whereas males were not. This result may suggest that Leishmania could be manipulating canine host odour in order to aid its own transmission. Increased attractiveness of infected dog odour suggests the potential of whole dog odour baited traps as a novel vector control methodology. Further GC/MS analysis confirmed the differences observed between the odour profiles of infected and uninfected dogs through both the VOC Analyser and behavioural bioassays. This analysis also allowed for the identification of the chemical structure and composition of compounds present in infected dogs which have the potential to not only enhance the VOC Analyser as a cVL specific diagnostic, but also could be investigated as artificial compounds for odour baited sandfly traps.


In this paper, an error concealment algorithm for lost macroblock (MB), named motion consistence and textural coherence based error concealment algorithm (MCTC), is proposed to meet the requirement of video transmission over error-prone channels. A directional predicted motion vector (MV) set is setup by using the motion consistence between MV co-located in reference frame and the neighboring MVs of the lost MB. To find out an optimal MV from this candidate MV set, a textural coherence based boundary matching (TCBM) criterion is proposed. The experiment results show that the MCTC outperforms the state-of-the-art video error concealment methods in both objective and subjective visual quality.


The oxygen solutions in the titanium-containing Fe–Ni melts have been thermodynamically analyzed. When the nickel content rises to 40%, the deoxidation ability of titanium decreases but then it sharply rises with increasing nickel concentration in melt. This can be explained by the fact that although the bond strength of titanium in nickel is considerably stronger in comparison with iron (γ°Ti(s)(Fe)=0.0083; γ°Ti(s)(Ni)=0.00019), but the bond strength of oxygen in nickel is appreciably weaker that in iron (γ°O(Fe)=0.0105; γ°O(Ni)=0.357). The oxygen solubility curves pass through a minimum whose position shifts to the higher titanium concentrations with an increase in the nickel content from 0.564% Ti for pure iron to 0.633% Ti for pure nickel. The further addition of titanium causes an increase in the oxygen content in melt. Equilibrium points of oxide phases TiO2, Ti3O5 and Ti2O3 for different alloy compositions at 1873 K were determined. The published results devoted to the oxide phases in iron and nickel deoxidized with titanium are summarized. Deoxidation of Fe–40%Ni melts with titanium was experimentally studied. The experimental and calculated results are in good agreement. The deoxidation abilities of titanium, chromium, manganese, vanadium, silicon, carbon, and aluminum in different Fe–Ni alloys are compared.


In this talk, I will discuss several reduced-order transport modeling studies motivated by energy and environmental processes: (i) Inspired by CO2 geological storage, we study fluid (CO2) injection into a confined porous reservoir initially saturated with another fluid (brine), and characterize the time evolution of the fluid-fluid (CO2-brine) interface. Because of the effect of confinement, we identify a transition from an early-time self-similar solution to three branches of late-time self-similar solutions for the interface shape. (ii) Inspired by shale gas recovery, we study the fluid-driven cracks in an elastic matrix and characterize the evolution of the crack shape; we also study the elasticity-driven backflow process following fluid injection, and obtain a simple scaling law to derive a universal crack shape and for the backflow rate of the fracking fluids. (iii) I will also introduce our fundamental study on the viscous fingering instability, which is related to enhanced oil recovery, and report a series of timedependent strategies for the stabilization of the viscous fingering instability at fluid-fluid (e.g., water-oil, gas-oil) interfaces. I will close the talk by discussing ideas for future exploration and collaboration.


: The characteristic and the critical review of the data on clinical and biological importance of apoptosis, necrosis, autophagy, mitotic catastrophe, autophagocytosis and senescence are presented here.


The problem of designing adaptive filters subject to output envelope constraints in the presence of bounded noise at the input channel is investigated. The bound on the noise is used to form the input mask that contains all possible input signals corrupted by noise. The optimal envelope-constrained filter is designed with respect to the entire input mask. A cubic smoothing function is applied to implement the constraint approximation, which paves the way for establishing adaptive algorithms. The adaptive envelope-constrained filter thus designed achieves guaranteed satisfaction of the output envelope constraints as long as it has converged. Computer simulations that support the theoretical findings are given.


In this paper, we study meta learning for support (i.e., the set of non-zero entries) recovery in high-dimensional precision matrix estimation where we reduce the sufficient sample complexity in a novel task with the information learned from other auxiliary tasks. In our setup, each task has a different random true precision matrix, each with a possibly different support. We assume that the union of the supports of all the true precision matrices (i.e., the true support union) is small in size. We propose to pool all the samples from different tasks, and \emph{improperly} estimate a single precision matrix by minimizing the $\ell_1$-regularized log-determinant Bregman divergence. We show that with high probability, the support of the \emph{improperly} estimated single precision matrix is equal to the true support union, provided a sufficient number of samples per task $n \in O((\log N)/K)$, for $N$-dimensional vectors and $K$ tasks. That is, one requires less samples per task when more tasks are available. We prove a matching information-theoretic lower bound for the necessary number of samples, which is $n \in \Omega((\log N)/K)$, and thus, our algorithm is minimax optimal. Then for the novel task, we prove that the minimization of the $\ell_1$-regularized log-determinant Bregman divergence with the additional constraint that the support is a subset of the estimated support union could reduce the sufficient sample complexity of successful support recovery to $O(\log(|S_{\text{off}}|))$ where $|S_{\text{off}}|$ is the number of off-diagonal elements in the support union and is much less than $N$ for sparse matrices. We also prove a matching information-theoretic lower bound of $\Omega(\log(|S_{\text{off}}|))$ for the necessary number of samples. Synthetic experiments validate our theory.


This is the epic story of the brutal occupation of Rome by the Germans after the fall of Mussolini in July 1943 up to the capture of the city by General Mark Clark in June 1944. Swelling to nearly twice its usual size with more than a million refugees from the countryside, Rome became a city of spies, double agents, informers, torturers, escaped Allied war prisoners, hunted Jews and hungry people. The city was the focus for four groups, each anathema to the others: the Allies, trying to capture Rome as their first shining prize of the war but discovering impregnable armour instead; the Germans, trying to throw the intruders back into the sea, holding Rome hostage and using it rapaciously as a supply line to the front; the Pope, trying to bring the West and the Germans to terms and save the world from Communism and the Vatican City from destruction; and the partisans, trying to redeem Italy's honour by making Rome untenable for the occupiers.


The draft Western Cape Community Safety Bill, introduced in the provincial legislature in February 2012, is part of a broader provincial government initiative to tackle issues of safety in the province. The Bill sets out to concretise the powers allocated to provincial governments by the Constitution. Specific provisions reflect the wish to give effect to Section 206(1) of the Constitution in terms of which provinces are to be consulted in the formulation of national policing policy. But the main focus of the Bill is on provincial policing oversight powers. In line with the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service Act, the Bill aims to formalise the role of the provincial Department of Community Safety as distinct from the provincial secretariat. The Bill provides for inspections to be carried out at police stations by Community Policing Forums (CPF). This aspect of the initiative has the potential to redefine the relationship between CPFs and the police. It is also envisaged that a provincial ombud's office will be created, in line with provisions of the Constitution, authorising provinces to investigate complaints against police. The Bill is of interest as it provides a model for fuller engagement by provincial governments in policing matters. At the same time the introduction of the draft Bill raises questions about potential political interference that the Bill does not address.


Baseline data abollt freshwater fish and other sources of animal protein in the diet were collected by means of structured interviews with inhabitants of 24 villages in the Sepik-Ramu catchment area and among people fishing at a high altitude reservoir. The survey revealed that 35 38% of the respondents staying at high(> 1000 m above sea level) and middle altitude level (200 1000 m) had no animal protein in the meals eaten the day before the interviews took place. At these higher altitude levels, where in general freshwater fish is scarce, tinned fish and frozen meat were the most commonly eaten sources of aninzal protein. Of the respondents staying ·at low altitude ( < 200 m above sea level) 23% reported not to have eaten any animal protein the day before the interview took place. Freshwater fish was the most commonly eaten source of animal protein for respondents who had access to water bodies with more abundant fish resources such as lakes and reservoirs. Keyword: Sepik-Ramu, catchment area, animal protein, freshwater fISh, introduced species.


ABSTRACT The Outer Hebrides Coastal Community Marine Archaeology Pilot Project (OHCCMAPP) was developed to test practical approaches to intertidal and marine archaeological site investigation by incorporating coastal, geoarchaeological, and aerial and underwater archaeological specialists with a strong focus on community engagement and public outreach. The OHCCMAPP's thematic objectives were not temporally constrained, but sought information on submerged prehistoric landscapes, marine resource exploitation, and maritime transportation related to the Outer Hebrides Maritime Historic Environment. The project was designed to start broadly with the entire archipelago under consideration, before study areas were narrowed down to medium-scale, and eventually, following an evidence-based approach, investigations undertaken at the site level. Consideration was given to working within optimal tidal conditions to ensure a maximum area of coverage in the intertidal zones. A phased approach was taken over two field seasons, with desk-based assessments of landscapes and previously recorded material forming the foundations from which to build original field surveys in under-represented areas, mainly centered around the coasts of sea lochs (fjords) around the Outer Hebrides. This article presents a simplified methodology and results of the 2011–2012 field campaigns with associated discussion and a more detailed case study site.


Technology has been long understood to play a central role in limiting the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Evolving nuclear technology, increased access to information, and systematic improvements in design and manufacturing tools, however, should in time ease the proliferation challenge. Eventually, even developing countries could possess a sufficient technical ability. There is evidence that this transition has already occurred. The basic uranium-enrichment gas centrifuge, developed in the 1960s, has technical characteristics that are within reach of nearly all states, without foreign assistance or access to export-controllable materials. The history of centrifuge development in twenty countries supports this perspective, as do previously secret studies carried out by the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom. Complicating matters, centrifuges also have properties that make the detection of a clandestine program enormously difficult. If conditions for the clandestine and indigenous production of weapons have emerged, then nonproliferation institutions focused on technology will be inadequate. Although it would represent a near-foundational shift in nuclear security policy, the changed technology landscape may now necessitate a return to institutions focused instead on motivations.


ABSTRACT It is now possible, through electrical, hydraulic or mechanical means, to power the front wheel of a motorcycle. The aim of this is often to improve performance in limit-handling scenarios including off-road low-traction conditions and on-road high-speed cornering. Following on from research into active torque distribution in 4-wheeled vehicles, the possibility exists for efficiency improvements to be realised by reducing the total amount of energy dissipated as slip at the wheel–road contact. This paper presents the results of an investigation into the effect that varying the torque distribution ratio has on the energy consumption of the two-wheeled vehicle. A 13-degree of freedom multibody model was created, which includes the effects of suspension, aerodynamics and gyroscopic bodies. SimMechanics, from the MathWorks, is used for automatic generation of equations of motion and time-domain simulation, in conjunction with MATLAB and Simulink. A simple driver model is used to control the speed and yaw rate of the motorcycle. The handling characteristics of the motorcycle are quantitatively analysed, and the impact of torque distribution on energy consumption is considered during straight line and cornering situations. The investigation has shown that only a small improvement in efficiency can be made by transferring a portion of the drive torque to the front wheel. Tyre longevity could be improved by reduced slip energy dissipation.


With this study we seek to provide an understanding of the discourse and agenda setting practices of an online issue based political group, "Join the Coffee Party Movement" (JCPM) in the United States. The stated goals of JCPM are to establish a place for individuals who identify themselves as disenfranchised to discuss and take action on issues of social and economic policy in the US. JCPM is one example of hundreds of issue-based organizations emerging on Facebook worldwide. Since its inception in January 2010, over 344,000 Facebook members have become followers of the JCPM page. Our analysis of the text of the discourse and the social networks, which emerge on the JCPM page, show three surprising results. First, in contrast to prior studies, significant deliberative discourse among members emerges in this open, public space without prompting. Second, the discourse practices and structure that emerge on the JCPM Facebook page show two types of leadership: Centralized, organizational leadership, and decentralized leadership from participants. Third, we identify two structural characteristics of this virtual political organization using social network analysis of trace data: a) Organizational leaders are not central to discussions of controversial topics; b) Advocacy and dissent behavior in the discussions are reflected in the social network structure. Our findings have implications for the practices and technology designs used to engage citizens through social and participatory media.


This paper reports the content in macronutrients, free sugars, polyphenols, and inorganic ions, known to exert any positive or negative action on microbial oral disease such as caries and gingivitis, of seven food/beverages (red chicory, mushroom, raspberry, green and black tea, cranberry juice, dark beer). Tea leaves resulted the richest material in all the detected ions, anyway tea beverages resulted the richest just in fluoride. The highest content in zinc was in chicory, raspberry and mushroom. Raspberry is the richest food in strontium and boron, beer in selenium, raspberry and mushroom in copper. Beer, cranberry juice and, especially green and black tea are very rich in polyphenols, confirming these beverages as important sources of such healthy substances. The fractionation, carried out on the basis of the molecular mass (MM), of the water soluble components occurring in raspberry, chicory, and mushroom extracts (which in microbiological assays revealed the highest potential action against oral pathogens), showed that both the high and low MM fractions are active, with the low MM fractions displaying the highest potential action for all the fractionated extracts. Our findings show that more compounds that can play a different active role occur in these foods.


Hedgerows have the potential to influence ecosystem function in livestock‐grazed pasture. Despite this, they are often ignored when quantifying farmland ecosystem service delivery. In this study, we assess the contribution of hedgerows to the ecosystem function of carbon (C) storage, with a particular emphasis on soil organic carbon (SOC). We measured SOC stock (kg C m−2), on an equivalent soil mass basis, at 0–0.15 m depth in pasture adjacent to 38 hedgerows (biotic) and 16 stone walls or fences (abiotic controls) across ten farms in the county of Conwy, Wales, UK. Pasture SOC stock (~7 kg C m−2) was similar adjacent to biotic and abiotic field boundaries, positively associated with soil moisture and negatively with soil bulk density (BD). For biotic boundaries, two further variables were significantly associated with SOC stock, distance from hedgerow (decrease in SOC stock) and slope orientation (upslope SOC stock greater than downslope). For pasture adjacent to hedgerows, a model combining the aforementioned variables (BD, soil moisture, distance from hedgerow, slope orientation) explained 78% of variation in SOC stock. This study demonstrates that whilst hedgerows do have subtle positive effects on SOC stock in adjacent pasture, SOC storage adjacent to field boundaries is influenced more by soil moisture content and BD than field boundary type.


1. The movements of the pleopods and of the epipodites of the maxillipedes of the stomatopod Squilla mantis are quickened by lack of oxygen and excess of carbon dioxide.

2. The rate of beat of the scaphognathite of the prawn Pandalus borealis is increased by oxygen lack and carbon dioxide excess.

3. The rate of movement of the scaphognathite of the shore crab Carcinus maenas is very irregular and is apparently independent of the gas content of the medium.

4. The rate of respiratory movements of the pleopods of the isopod Cirolana borealis is increased in low oxygen and high carbon dioxide tensions.

5. Both carbon dioxide excess and oxygen lack increase the rate of pleopod movement of the isopod Idotea neglecta , but the effect is not always permanent. Great individual variation is shown both in the threshold of response, and the extent of recovery. Carbon dioxide excess at first inhibits respiratory movements.

6. The isopods Anilocra physodes and Nerocila bivittata show no significant response to changes in the gas content of the medium.


This study focuses on creating sustainable supply chain through green procurement. The aims of this study are to identify the relationship between regulations, customer pressures, social responsibility and expected business benefits with green procurement adoption, to determine if there is any difference in terms of green procurement adoption among Stesen Janaelektrik Sultan Ismail (SJSI) Paka, Stesen Janaelektrik Sultan Azlan Shah (SJAS) Manjung, Stesen Janakuasa Kapar (SJK) and Stesen Janaelektrik Sultan Iskandar Shah (SJSIS) Pasir Gudang, to discover the strength of predictors in explaining the variance in green procurement adoption and to identify the significant predictor(s) that influence(s) the green procurement adoption. A questionnaire was the instrument used in getting the data with 50 samples from each station. The Correlation of coefficient was adapted and for this exploratory study, it was found that all identified independent variables have significant relationship with green procurement adoption. Apart from that, there is a difference in terms of green procurement adoption between SJSI Paka and SJK Kapar. Whilst the strength of predictors in explaining the variance in green procurement adoption is 59.3%. Of the four variables, customer pressures were found to be the strongest predictor of the adoption of green procurement. This was followed by regulations, social responsibility and expected business benefits. With increasing awareness of environmental protection worldwide, the green trend towards conserving the Earth's resources and protecting the environment is overwhelming, exerting pressure on corporations in Thailand. The pressure accompanying globalization has prompted enterprises to improve their environmental performance (Zhu and Sarkis 2006)


Differences in the lithology and chemistry of mid-ocean ridge basalts generated at Pacific and Atlantic spreading axes reflect a simple correlation to the spreading rate. On the basis of experimental data and thermal models, these differences are attributed to variation in the nature of magma supply and fractionation processes as a function of spreading rate, rather than to processess in the upper mantle. Thermal and kinematic models for ocean ridges predict stable steady-state magma reservoirs at faster-spreading axes (>5 cm/yr) and more restricted, transient systems at slower-spreading (<5 cm/yr) axes. The chemical and lithological character of basalts confirms this pattern and suggests that slow-spreading axes(e.g. the Mid-Atlantic Ridge) are characterized by polybaric magma fractionation in complex reservoir systems, reflected by the widespread accumulation of calcic plagioclase in low viscosity melt, phenocryst reaction morphologies and pyroxene-dominated fractionation 'extracts'. Fast-spreading axes (e.g. East Pacific Rise) show low-pressure basaltic fractionation trends to iron-rich compositions with little evidence for plagioclase accumulation or crystal-liquid reaction, in comparatively stable shallow-level chambers. Spreading rates of 5–6 cm/yr in the Gulf of California may be reflected by 'intermediate' fractionation regimes influenced by some magma crystallization at depth with incipient accumulation of plagioclase followed by further fractionation at low pressure. The major effect of spreading rate differences appears to be on the lithological and chemical patterns of basalts induced after partial melting, with minimal influence on the composition of primary melts.


Maintenance of software is risky, potentially expensive – and inevitable. The main objective of this study is to examine the relationship of code change, referred to as maintenance effort, with source-level software metrics. This approach varies from the typical approach of evaluating software metrics against failure data and provides a different angle on the validation of software metrics. The goal of this study is to show through exhaustive data mining that a relation between software metrics and code change exists. Once this connection is established, a set of software metrics is identified, which will be used in further studies to predict code change in problematic modules identified by the software metrics at an early development stage.


In this paper we present a new class of loop optimizing transformations called valid transformations. This class of transformations are different from existing ones in that valid transformations can be illegal and can result in incorrect non-pipelined designs. Nevertheless, valid transformations have feasible pipeline schedules which is important for scheduling loops. We present an example valid transformation called loop expansion which can help explore a larger design space and helps in producing cost-performance efficient designs. Several examples are used to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed transformations.


OBJECTIVE
Both environmental and genetic factors are known to contribute to the development of anorexia nervosa (AN), but the exact etiology remains poorly understood. Herein, we studied the transcriptional regulation of the endocannabinoid system, an interesting target for body weight maintenance and the control of food intake and energy balance.

METHOD
We used two well-characterized animal models of AN: (a) the activity-based anorexia (ABA) model in which rats, housed with running wheels and subjected to daily food restriction, show reductions in body weight and increase in physical activity; (b) the genetic anx/anx mouse displaying the core features of AN: low food intake and emaciation.

RESULTS
Among the evaluated endocannabinoid system components, we observed a selective and significant down-regulation of the gene encoding for the type 1 cannabinoid receptor (Cnr1) in ABA rats' hypothalamus and nucleus accumbens and, in the latter area, a consistent, significant and correlated increase in DNA methylation at the gene promoter. No changes were evident in the anx/anx mice except for a down-regulation of Cnr1, in the prefrontal cortex.

DISCUSSION
Our findings support a possible role for Cnr1 in the ABA animal model of AN. In particular, its regulation in the nucleus accumbens appears to be triggered by environmental cues due to the consistent epigenetic modulation of the promoter. These data warrant further studies on Cnr1 regulation as a possible target for treatment of AN.


The influence of harvest method on proximate composition, protein oxidation, and texture profile of beef from Nellore cattle were investigated. Longissimus lumborum (LL) muscles were obtained from twelve grain-fed Nellore carcasses. The animals were slaughtered after stunning (STU; n=6) or without stunning (WST; n=6) and after 24 hours postmortem, the LL was sliced into 2.54-cm steaks, packed under aerobic conditions, and stored at 4°C for nine days. Proximate composition was analyzed on day 0, whereas protein oxidation (carbonyl content) and texture profile (hardness, chewiness, cohesiveness, and springiness) were evaluated on days 0, 3, 6, and 9. STU and WST steaks exhibited similar proximate composition, hardness, and chewiness (p > 0.05). WST steaks exhibited greater protein oxidation and lower cohesiveness than their STU counterparts on day 0 (p < 0.05). Concerning the storage period, WST steaks demonstrated a decrease in springiness and a more pronounced increase in cohesiveness than their STU counterparts (p < 0.05). These results indicated that the harvest method influenced LL protein oxidation and texture profile from Bos indicus cattle.


Aim
To evaluate the emerging nurse internship programme developed by the Waikato Regional Diabetes Centre, Hamilton.
Objectives
To provide information on the emerging processes and the preliminary outcomes of the programme to the stakeholders of the Waikato Regional Diabetes Centre for planning and development.
Methods
The evaluation used a constructivist evaluation framework. Key stakeholders were interviewed individually or as a group at the beginning of the programme and at the end of the first rotation. The interns also completed self-assessment questionnaires at the beginning and at the end of their first rotation. Clients of the service completed a satisfaction questionnaire after receiving care from one of the interns.
Results and conclusions
The internship is a complex programme in that it has a number of parts, however the complexity makes the programme comprehensive. Two of the key factors that contributed to the programme's early success, and which were valued by the interns, were the cohesive team environment and the inclusion in the programme of external professional supervision. At the end of the first rotation three of the interns had gained confidence in their knowledge and skills related to diabetes care while the fourth intern had lost confidence in her skills and knowledge. The programme added to the workload of the Clinical Nurse Specialists who provided clinical supervision but who were committed to providing supervision. One intern was positioned in a general practice so did not rotate around the other placements. The practice felt they had experienced gains from her being in the programme because she was able to take on patients with greater complexity in her clinics. Additionally, the other practice nurses increased their knowledge about diabetes as a result of the intern's engagement in the programme and the relationship with the Waikato Regional Diabetes Centre.


In this paper we consider high dimensional ergodic diffusion models in nonparametric setting on the basis of discrete data, when the diffusion coefficients are unknown. For this problem, by using efficient sequential point-wise estimators we construct a model selection procedure and then we show sharp oracle inequalities, i.e. the inequalities in which the main term coefficient is closed to one. This means that the proposed sequential model selection procedure is optimal in this sense. Particularly, we show that the constructed procedure is the best in the class of weighted least square estimators with the Pinsker coefficients which provide the efficient estimation in the minimal asymptotical quadratic risk sense.


This paper describes an indoors, mobile mixed reality guide system: Chloe@University. With a see-through head-mounted display (HMD) connected to a hidden small computing device, Chloe@University provides users with an efficient way of guiding in a building. Augmented 3D virtual character in front of a user guides him/her to destination so that he/she can just follow the virtual guide after the user gives a voice command with desired destination to it. The most suitable virtual character is selected depending on a user's preference for personalized service. For adapting to different indoor environments, the proposed system integrates various localization approaches. In addition, it supports different access right to a building map based on user profiles and security level.


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Carbon nanofibers have been grown at room temperature using a combination of radio frequency and microwave assisted plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The nanofibers were grown, using Ni powder catalyst, onto substrates kept at room temperature by using a purposely designed water-cooled sample holder. Branched carbon nanofiber growth was obtained without using a template resulting in interconnected carbon nanofiber network formation on substrates held at room temperature. This method would allow room-temperature direct synthesized nanofiber networks over relatively large areas, for a range of temperature sensitive substrates, such as organic materials, plastics, and other polymers of interest for nanoelectronic two-dimensional networks, nanoelectromechanical devices, nanoactuators, and composite materials.


E.atroseptica 36A cells were transformed by the recombinant plasmids p27-1 and pEA364 (derivatives of the vector plasmid pUC19) containing pectate lyase genes of E.carotovora 17A and E.atroseptica 36A, respectively. The synthesis of pectate lyases determined by the cloned genes of bacteria of both subspecies, as well as the synthesis of the native enzymes, were induced by sodium poly pectate. Increase of the dose of pectate lyase genes did not result in alteration of pectate lyase secretion by E.atroseptica 36ApEA364 cells. At the same time, the efficiency of secretion of heterologous pectate lyases by E.atroseptica 36Ap27-1 cells was lower. The synthesis and secretion of the resident isoenzymes are as efficient as those of the parental cells. The results indicate a high specificity of the pectinase secretory system in Erwinia of different species and, moreover, subspecies.


Background/Context The traditional stance on teacher political disclosure within K–12 education is that neutrality is the only morally appropriate approach for teachers to take when broaching political or social issues in their classes due to their role as state employees who serve a particular community. A number of recent high-profile cases of teachers intolerantly disclosing their political beliefs in their classrooms have only served to reinforce the belief among the general public that teachers too often use their positions of authority to proselytize to their students. However, both theoretical arguments made by scholars and empirical data from K–12 classrooms suggest that disclosure may be beneficial to students' learning experiences and civic development. Purpose This article seeks to better understand the benefits and limitations of teacher political disclosure by framing disclosure around Foucault's conceptualization of parrhēsia, which can loosely be defined as the ability to speak the truth in spite of danger or fear. Research Design This is an analytic essay/theoretical argument. As a way of scaffolding the discussion, I incorporate vignettes of data collected from my research in high school civics classrooms. Of particular interest to this argument is Mr. Monroe, a teacher I studied during the 2012 Presidential Election. Conclusions/Recommendations An analysis of teacher political disclosure using a parrhēsia framework suggests that educators should rethink the conventional wisdom that supports non-disclosure. Although disclosure carries inherent risk, it also offers democratic and interpersonal benefits for students. Both in-service and pre-service professional development, then, should present teachers with a complete picture of the risks and benefits of disclosure, and teachers should determine whether to engage in parrhēsiastic acts by strategically balancing those risks against the potential of disclosure to support their pedagogical goals.


Two tests were conducted to detect the fungal mycelia of Ustilago scitaminea Syd. in apical meristems of sugarcane ( Saccharum officinarum L.) buds. In the first test six varieties were selected from infected sugarcane fields, and in the second test three varieties obtained from a nursery field were artificially inoculated with the fungus. Sugarcane plants artificially inoculated with U. scitaminea were used as checks in the first test. Growing points were removed from the plant cane and stained for 4 to 18 h by using Sinha's technique. Microscopic observations indicated the absence and presence of smut mycelia in the apical meristem buds of healthy and infected sugarcane varieties. The staining method of growing point nodal buds can be useful for indicating fungicide efficacy in controlling sugarcane smut, and for sugarcane seed certification programs.


Abstract The Campanian Hatfield Member of the Haystack Mountains Formation is composed of two well-exposed marine sandstone tongues that extend up to 35 km basinward from their earliest shoreline position into the Western Interior Seaway. Each tongue (H1 and H2) is comprised of two parts that have characteristic architecture, external geometry and facies assemblages. Together, the tongues form a stratigraphic sequence that is formed of four systems tracts and bounded by erosional unconformities. The sequence is interpreted to have been generated over an interval of less than 1 Ma during a fall-to-rise cycle of relative sea level. The earliest and latest systems tracts of the sequence, interpreted as lowstand prograding deltaic wedge and forced regressive shoreface respectively, are distinguished on the basis of their position with respect to the sequence-bounding unconformities, reconstructed shoreline trajectories, and by their component facies that indicate that dominant depositional regime. The mapped basinward shift of the Hatfield 1 lowstand prograding wedge from the previous shoreline deposits and erosional relief on the sequence boundary, indicates a relative sea-level fall prior to its deposition. The lowstand prograding wedge consists of parasequences that are dominated by tidally influenced cross-stratified sandstones and step for more than 30 km basinward, and are readily distinguished from the underlying highstand shoreface facies. Distal aggradational stacking of the lowstand produced a slightly rising shoreline trajectory that in combination with proximal onlap against the underlying erosional unconformity indicates accumulation under conditions of rising relative sea-level with abundant sediment supply. The domination of tidally influenced facies and an estimated relief of at least 20 m in proximal reaches of the underlying sequence boundary suggests that the lowstand wedge was a tidally dominated deltaic system localized and fed through an incised valley. This systems tract resembles other cross-stratified Mancos-type sandstone bodies of the Western Interior Seaway which have been under debate. However, unlike most of these, the Hatfield 1 has great outcrop extent and the updip relationship of the lowstand wedge with the older shoreline deposits can be traced. The overlying retrogradational Hatfield 1 transgressive systems tract has comparable facies to the lowstand wedge and also shows proximal onlap of the sequence boundary, suggesting that it developed within a tidally influenced estuary. As such, the lowstand and transgressive systems tracts form a distinctive cross-bedded tidally influenced lithosome that is readily distinguished from the wave-dominated lithosomes of the preceding Hatfield 1 highstand systems tract and the overlying Hatfield 2 highstand and forced regressive systems tracts. The Hatfield 2 forced regressive systems tract is a wave-dominated shoreface that like the preceding Hatfield 2 highstand shoreface is strongly progradational. However, in contrast to the highstand shoreface from which it builds, the forced regressive shoreface is relatively thin, lacks shaley offshore transitional facies at its base, and displays a downstepping trajectory relative to the underlying MFS. The basal surface of the forced regressive shoreline also has an enrichment of coarse glauconitic grains derived from erosion of the underlying condensed section whereas the upper bounding surface of the systems tract is an erosional unconformity, documenting the maximum fall in relative sea level. There is a clear sedimentological distinction of the lowstand and forced regressive systems tracts because whereas the former has a tidally influenced facies association, forced regressive facies tend to be wave-dominated. Such facies partitioning and style contrast are thought to reflect the less-confined nature of the highstand and forced regressive shorelines in comparison to the incised or embayed nature of the lowstand and transgressive shorelines.


Stepping beyond the association to clothes that typically springs to mind when talking about women and textiles, in this lecture Dr. Delia Cortese (Middlesex University, London UK) charters the varied ways in which social interaction with textiles and their production informed the fabric of life of women in medieval Cairo. The Fāṭimids, the dynasty that ruled over Egypt from 969 to 1171, famously intensified and perfected the production of textiles, the ṭirāz style in particular. During their reign Egypt became the most important centre for the export of this precious commodity across the Mediterranean and beyond. This 'industrial revolution' had a life-changing impact on most men and women, be they of royal lineage or common folks. Women became not just consumers of textiles, but also producers, traders and investors. As ladies-in-waiting in charge of the wardrobe of the royal household, they acquired prestige and visibility. Women belonging to the upper echelon of society could display publicly their status and authority through what they wore but also through the fabrics they gave as gifts. In furnishing their houses with silks or wools women from all strands of life could assert their styles and aspirations. In death, lavish shrouds or simple wraps served as the ultimate mark of respect to accompany women in their final journey. Extant material evidence dating to the time under discussion provides us with a colourful visual 'catalogue' of styles that were popular among women of medieval Egypt. The variety of patterns and uses of the textiles shown in artefacts ranging from ivories to pottery places their wearers at the centre of a rich, cosmopolitan cultural universe that was to remain unrivalled for some 250 years.


In emulsions, lipid oxidation is expected to be initiated at the oil-water interface. The properties of the emulsifier used and the composition at the interface is therefore expected to be of great importance for the resulting oxidation. Previous studies have shown that individual whey protein components (α-lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin) adsorb differently to the interface depending on pH. In addition, differences has been shown to exists between the oxidative stability provided by α-lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin. The hypothesis is that pH influences the oxidative stability of emulsions by affecting the preferential adsorption of whey protein components at the interface. The aim of the study was to compare lipid oxidation in 10% fish oil-in-water emulsions prepared with 1% whey protein having either a high concentration of α-lactalbumin, a high concentration of β-lactoglobulin or equal amounts of the two. Emulsions were prepared at pH4 and pH7. Emulsions were characterized by their droplet sizes, viscosities, and contents of proteins in the water phase. Lipid oxidation was assessed by PV and secondary volatile oxidation products. Results showed that pH greatly influenced the oxidative stability of emulsions. At high pH β-lactoglobulin emulsions were more stable than α-lactalbumin emulsions, whereas at low pH the opposite was the case.


Stem rust (Puccinia graminis f.sp.tritici) is a major disease of wheat that occurs more in the main wheat growing regions of Kenya. The objective of this study was to assess the incidence and severity of wheat stem rust during the 2015 growing season. A survey was conducted in Mau-Narok, Njoro and Kabatini regions. During the survey work, 149 small scale wheat growers' fields were assessed. The results revealed that stem rust incidence of the three surveyed areas ranged from 11.3 to 77.8% and severity 20 to 60%. The survey confirmed that the incidence and severity were associated with the farming practices such as chemical control, varieties grown, use of certified or uncertified seed and cropping systems. The survey showed that high to moderate incidence and severity levels were found on fields with one or two sprays with a fungicide. The use of fungicide was the major practice by growers for stem rust control reporting Mau-Narok with 43.2%, Kabatini 38.9% and Njoro 17.8%. The varieties grown had a relationship to disease incidence and severity percent levels. The use of uncertified seed by farmers contributed to high disease incidence. About 50.6% growers preferred old varieties mainly Robin and NjoroBWII. About 97.8% of the farmers practiced crop rotation of wheat with legumes. A multi-tactic disease management approach mainly two fungicide sprays per growing season, use at recommended rates, planting of certified seed of resistant varieties and crop rotation of legumes with wheat are required as stem rust effective management strategies.


INTRODUCTION MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small (~22 nucleotides in length) RNA molecules that regulate turnover or translational efficiency of target mRNAs through base-pairing with their 3ЈUTR. The miRNAs are crucial for a multitude of cellular functions (Bartel, 2004) and for vertebrate development, as improper miRNA processing leads to embryonic lethality in mice (Bernstein et al., 2003; Liu et al., 2004). In addition, miRNAs are vital for normal spermatogenesis, and male mice lacking Dicer, which is required for miRNA biogenesis, have abnormal morphology and motility of sperm and hence acquire male infertility (He et al., 2009; Maatouk et al., 2008). Oncomir-1, also called the miR-17~92 cluster, comprises six miRNAs (miR-17,-18a,-19a,-20a,-19b,-92a) and is transcribed as a polycistron that is subsequently processed to form individual miRNAs (Mendell, 2008; Tanzer and Stadler, 2004). Deletion of the cluster in mouse leads to neonatal lethality as well as defects in lung, heart and B-cell development (Ventura et al., 2008). The miR-17~92 cluster is an oncogene and frequently overexpressed in different types of tumours, including B-cell lymphomas, lung and colorectal carcinomas (Dews et al. The oncogenic potential of the cluster is associated with its ability to enhance cell cycle progression and to inhibit apoptosis, e.g. by regulating the expression of E2F1 (Novotny et al., 2007; O'Donnell et al., 2005). miR-18 is a member of the miR-17~92 cluster and has been shown to participate in tumour progression in a mouse model


Although Kenya's fertility rate has declined from 6.7 births per woman in the mid-1980s to 5.4 births per woman in 1993 (NCPD, 1994), population growth is still high, yielding a doubling time of 35 years. This study uses the 1993 Kenya Demographic Health Survey data collected from 1257 couples to examine the socioeconomic and sociodemographic characteristics of married men and women and their communication with their spouses over fertility and family planning decision-making practices. The logistic regression analysis shows that education for both men and women, discussion of fertility and family planning between spouses, male approval of use of contraception and male family size desires are important factors that influence ever-use of family planning.


Purpose: This study was conducted to establish the new model of human resource management in order to support and manage the emotional labor during emergencies in Jordanian public hospitals. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study performs along with burnout and intention to leave, where, high-performance work system (HPWS) acts as a mediator. In addition, the study uses correlational and cross-sectional surveys. The survey questionnaire was distributed among the nurses and midwives of a public hospital in Jordan. Findings: The study concluded that the emotional labor (EL) is positively connected with intention to leave (ITL) and burnout. The factor of HPWS negatively moderates EL and burnout. The study concluded that designing effective Human Resource practices can help in lessening the burnout which is linked with EL. This can influence the organizations to cope with the ITL among nurses and midwives. Practical Implications: The proposed model will prove to be the effort made in the way of HRM policies and behavior regarding emotional labor throughout the emergency situation. The study will be useful for firms in designing their policies and strategies that support emotional labor in emergencies. Originality/Value: The new model of human resource management which has been established in this study to support and manage emotional labor in the presence of a high-performance work system that acts as a mediator.


The Azores bullfinch is endemic to the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores archipelago and the sister species to the Eurasian bullfinch. Here we show that the spermatozoa of the two species have similar ultrastructure and gross morphology. Thus, the unusual and supposedly neotenous sperm morphology previously described for the Eurasian bullfinch appears to be an ancestral trait that evolved before the two taxa diverged. In addition, the coefficients of variation in total sperm length, both within and among males, were high in both species and exceed any previously published values for free-living passerines. Such high sperm-size variation is typically found in species with relaxed sperm competition. However, the high variance in mean sperm length among Azores bullfinches is surprising, because the trait has high heritability and this small, insular population shows clear signs of reduced genetic diversity at neutral loci. A possible explanation for this apparent contradiction is that the Azores bullfinch has retained more diversity at functional and fitness-related loci than at more neutral parts of the genome. Finally, we also present data on relative testis size and sperm swimming speed for the Eurasian bullfinch, and discuss the hypothesis that the small and putatively neotenous sperm in bullfinches has evolved in response to lack of sperm competition. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London