The existing body of knowledge within the Dynamic Capabilities View (DCV) assumes risk minimisation via establishment of extensive monitoring activities of external changes in combination with capability optimisation through renewal efforts. This proposal challenges the main DCV principles through in-depth industry application culminating in an alternative framework for dynamic capability building processes within the Russian steel industry. The discussion leads to the development of a tentative framework for fluctuation control of resource value and the impact of exogenous dynamics in combination with determination of contemporary valid time frames for future forecasts. Managerial insight into the almost byzantine maze of capability building activities is highly reliant on establishment of specific action, directly associated with unique optimisation processes, decision-making speed and monitoring of ever-changing definitions of threshold capability standards within the industry.


Electronic health record (EHR) technologies have improved the ease of access to structured clinical data. The standard means by which data are collected continues to be manual chart review. The authors compared the accuracy of manual chart review against modern electronic data warehouse queries. A manual chart review of the EHR was performed with medical record numbers and surgical admission dates for the 100 most recent inpatient venous thromboembolic events after total joint arthroplasty. A separate data query was performed with the authors' electronic data warehouse. Data sets were then algorithmically compared to check for matches. Discrepancies between data sets were evaluated to categorize errors as random vs systematic. From 100 unique patient encounters, 27 variables were retrieved. The average transcription error rate was 9.19% (SD, ±5.74%) per patient encounter and 11.04% (SD, ±21.40%) per data variable. The systematic error rate was 7.41% (2 of 27). When systematic errors were excluded, the random error rate was 5.79% (SD, ±7.04%) per patient encounter and 5.44% (SD, ±5.63%) per data variable. Total time and average time for manual data collection per patient were 915 minutes and 10.3±3.89 minutes, respectively. Data collection time for the entire electronic query was 58 seconds. With an error rate of 10%, manual chart review studies may be more prone to type I and II errors. Computer-based data queries can improve the speed, reliability, reproducibility, and scalability of data retrieval and allow hospitals to make more data-driven decisions. [Orthopedics. 2020;43(x):xx-xx.].


In the preparation for polarimetric radar data assimilation, it is essential to examine the accuracy of forward operators based on different formulations. For this purpose, four forward operators that focus on warm rain conditions are compared both with each other and actual observations with respect to their performance for C-band dual polarimetric radars. These operators mutually consider radar beam broadening and climatological beam bending. The first operator derives polarimetric parameters assuming an exponential raindrop size distribution obtained by the models and is based on fitting functions against scattering amplitudes. The other three converters estimate the mixing ratio of rainwater from the measured polarimetric parameters. The second converter uses both the horizontal reflectivity (ZH) and the differential reflectivity (ZDR), the third uses the specific differential phase (KDP), and the fourth uses both KDP and ZDR, respectively. Comparisons with modeled measurements show that the accuracy of the third converter is superior to the other two. Another evaluation with actual observations shows that the first converter has slightly higher fractions skill scores than the other three. Considering the attenuation effect, the fitting function and the operator only with KDP are found to be the most suitable for data assimilation at C-band.


We report an analysis of charmless hadronic decays of neutral B mesons to the final state K 0 S K (cid:1) (cid:1) (cid:2) , using a data sample of ð 465 (cid:1) 5 Þ (cid:3) 10 6 B (cid:1) B events collected with the BABAR detector at the (cid:2) ð 4 S Þ resonance. We observe an excess of signal events with a significance of 5.2 standard deviations including systematic uncertainties and measure the branching fraction to be B ð B 0 ! K 0 S K (cid:1) (cid:1) (cid:2) Þ ¼ ð 3 : 2 (cid:1) 0 : 5 (cid:1) 0 : 3 Þ (cid:3) 10 (cid:4) 6 , where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.


Like other Latin American countries, Ecuador has undergone major political and economic transformations in the last decade. Science, technology and innovation policies were at the core of some of these transformations. Despite the economic recession since 2015, the local techno-scientific landscape has experienced quantitative and qualitative transformations that need to be analyzed. This paper aims to shed light on these changes and on the Ecuadorian techno-scientific system, which so far remains under-researched. To do so, we first carry out a bibliometric analysis of more than 25,000 records with Ecuadorian affiliation from the Scopus database, published between 1920 and 2019. This allows us to reconstruct the growing complexity of local techno-scientific networks and their connections both inside and outside the country. This analysis shows a strong process of internationalization of local scientific production during the last decade, as well as a shift in research topics from publications focused mainly on health and environmental issues to research with a strong component on data and systems analysis. In a second level of analysis, we explore the relationship between these transformations in techno-scientific production and a postgraduate scholarship policy program which has sponsored Ecuadorians to study abroad over the past two decades. This analysis shows a significant correlation between the number of international scholarships granted and the number of indexed publications. The paper concludes that local transformations in techno-scientific networks are highly correlated with the internationalization process driven by this postgraduate scholarship program and in general by international scientific research training.


This paper gives the structure and principle, design method, function characteristics and transformer test platform of a new automatic instrument transformer calibrator based on the conception of virtual instrument. The design project of the errors testing and the optimizing automatic voltage regulation controlling are proposed in details, introducing several applications of anti-jamming technology as well. This optimized design makes the transformer testing and measuring resolution fast, steady and accurate.


Trade fairs and exhibitions have been around for centuries. They provide an important meeting point for sellers and potential buyers, be it for cars or clothes. Some fair organizers partition the exhibition space into predefined units, which may limit the flexibility. A free layout of the space allows for any shape or size of the stands and gives the exhibitor a better chance at creating something spectacular that will attract attention. Providing full flexibility, and thus a free layout, means that every new fair will be different. In addition to each individual stand having a varying size, the shape is not constrained to be rectangular, but might be, e.g., triangular or elliptic. All of this puts high demands on the production of the fairs. For example, the location and outline of every stand has to be determined and marked on the floor before the construction phase. This article gives a real world example of how robot technology can be used to automate the marking process for exhibitions and fairs in a way that both reduces the marking time and improves the working conditions. A mobile robot system equipped with a laser scanner and an ink jet printer is presented. The focus of the article is the description of the marking process and the system design. In addition, the requirements for such a system are outlined as well as results from over three years of operation and an analysis for commercialization.


The 'Arbeitskreis Volkswirtschaftliche Gesamtrechnung der Lander' now publishes figures concerning the value added in Germany. Formerly the Statistische Bundesamt had this assignment. Some corporations have plant locations in the new Lander as well as in the old Lander. The employed method for splitting-up the value added produce by these corporations might lead to an underestimation of the overall value added produced in the new Lander. However, an estimation using the firm panel of the IAB shows that the East German productivity gap for manufacturing is overestimated by maximally two percentage points. Still in sectors that are dominated by multi plant corporations this effect is stronger. All in all the East German productivity gab is overestimated by maximally three percentage points.


Subject
 Political outlook ahead of 2020 elections.

 Significance
 The June 22 assassinations of Amhara region's president and the nation's military chief of staff sent shockwaves through Ethiopia. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's reform drive since 2018 has taken some significant steps towards liberalisation but has also provided opportunities for populist politicians to mobilise on the basis of polarising narratives. The June attacks brought these threats into stark relief and raises difficult questions about the next phase of the reform project, particularly elections scheduled for May 2020.

 Impacts
 The political crisis will interfere with proposed economic reforms, notably partial privatisation of key state-owned enterprises.
 Preoccupation with domestic crises may limit Abiy's attention to regional peace efforts, in which he has until now had a central role.
 Increasing political mobilisation along pan-Ethiopian versus local identity lines threatens to undermine centrist, moderate politics.
 Frustrations will grow over what many see as slow progress, particularly in terms of job growth.


The kinetic parameters of liver and erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutatione peroxidase (GP) have been investigated in rats kept under conditions of low protein diet (8%) and during addition of organic compounds containing Cu, Zn, Mn, Se. There were differences in kinetic parameters of hepatic and erythrocyte enzymes. After 2 and 4 weeks of maintenance of rats at a semi-synthetic diet there was an increase of Km value of liver and erythrocyte GP for tert-butyl hydroperoxide. After two weeks there was a decrease in Km of SOD for NADH-O2*- generating system. The low protein diet and consumption of Cu, Zn, Mn, Se caused a decrease of Km value of liver and erythrocytes GP and development of oxidative stress in liver as a result dietary administration Cu and Mn.


Engineering design and dimensional measurement tend to occur at opposite ends of the product creation process. As a result, the dialogue may sometimes be poor, and can lead to the production of features that are difficult to measure, adding unnecessary cost and risk to the business. In response, the EngD research aims to identify ways in which the relationship between these activities can be strengthened. An emphasis was placed on product lifecycle management (PLM), due to the sponsor's desire to maximise the value of their existing investments in this area. Since the problem is complex, and seemingly intractable, a mixed methods approach was adopted in which laboratory experiments were interwoven with small-scale interventions within industry. The research began with the development of a theoretical framework, labelled 'PLM-integrated dimensional measurement' (PiDM). The framework builds on existing literature, whilst incorporating issues identified by stakeholders. Test cases were structured and executed against the framework in order to identify technology gaps; key amongst which was the need to improve measurement planning for coordinate measuring machines by incorporating uncertainty evaluation techniques. Four interconnected investigations were then carried out in an industrial setting to explore measurement capability in practice. The findings from these investigations informed subsequent development of an uncertainty-based measurement planning system. The system brings together commercially available simulation software and measurement programming software into a PLM environment. It allows features to be categorised according to their 'measurability', providing quantitative data for verification planning and engineering design. The EngD concludes with an industrial case study, investigating potential routes to deployment. This case study provided the data needed to commission a further two year programme of research into the topic, formally engaging the sponsor organisation's strategic metrology and PLM solution providers. This new research programme is structured around the PiDM framework.


This guide is designed to help students enrolled in Political Science with Dr. de Vries-Jordan with the research for their assignments and papers.


The radiation and transport characteristics of ASDEX Upgrade discharges with a neon-driven radiative mantle are modelled using a one-dimensional radial impurity transport code that has been coupled to a simple divertor model describing particle recycling and pumping. The code is well suited to describing the measured impurity line radiation, total, soft x-ray and bremsstrahlung radiation in regions of the plasma that are not dominated by two-dimensional effects. The recycling and pumping behaviour of neon as well as the bulk transport of neon for radiative boundary scenarios are discussed.


Background: Autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type-1 (APS-1) is a rare, childhood onset disease caused by mutations in the Autoimmune Regulator gene. The phenotypic expression is highly variable and includes disease manifestations in the oral cavity, including mucocutaneous candidiasis. Increasing evidence suggests a potential role of the skin, oral and gut microbiotas in the pathogenesis of autoimmunity. To date, no information exists regarding the oral microbiota in APS-1. Objective: To assess the bacterial microbiota of whole saliva in APS-1 patients by using high throughput sequencing. Design: Whole unstimulated saliva was collected from 10 APS-1 patients and 17 healthy controls and examined by high throughput sequencing of the hypervariable region V1-V2 of 16S rRNA using the 454 GS Junior system. Metastats (http://cbcb.umd.edu/software/meta stats) was used to analyse the pyrosequencing reads. Results: A reduction in the total number of bacterial genera and species was detected in APS1 compared to healthy controls. The proportion of the major phyla Firmicutes was higher (60% vs 41%, p = 0.002) and Bacteroidetes lower (15% vs 28%, p = 0.007) in APS-1 compared to healthy controls. On the genus level, Streptococcus and Gemella were prevalent in APS-1. Conclusion: Our findings indicate a significantly altered oral microbiota in APS-1. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 24 October 2017 Accepted 15 February 2018


The varieties of financial services and innovation in financial products have an increasing impact on households across global and local markets. Individuals need to make personal finance decisions upon choices of pension, savings and pure investment plans. At the same time, they may need a mortgage portfolio to fund a real estate purchase domestically or overseas, as well as a personal scheme to supplement life-long consumption. These are essentially dynamic portfolio optimization problems. Much has been accomplished in solving these from the corporate perspective. In particular, one of the approaches is asset liability modeling - a key instrument used in the financial services industry. However, the research effort of similar problems from the household standpoint is rather new, hence close study by means of mathematical modeling and risk management methodology could prove lucrative.
 The main goal of this research is to achieve a high level of integration between pension and mortgage portfolio problems typical to an average household that have traditionally been solved separately. Such integration should yield portfolio strategies that perform effectively in terms of household objectives and are highly robust in the ever-changing markets. Hence, the desired model should optimize household utility whilst managing the risk exposure and fulfilling policy requirements.


An objective measure (Lesion Signal-to-Noise Ratio) quantifying the detectability of lesions in echographic images was employed. This measure was used to determine the performance of digital speckle reduction filters, which were applied to computer simulated ultrasound B-mode images. One linear (mean filter) and two nonlinear filters (median and &-mean filters) have been investigated. A comparison was made between fixed and adaptive versions of these filters. The influence of the size of the filter window on the Lesion Signal-to-Noise Ratio was systematically investigated. Also, the effect of the shape of the filter window is illustrated. The difference in performance of the linear and nonlinear filters was found to be small. Adaptive filters did not perform significantly better than fixed filters. The maximum improvement of lesion detectability was in the order of 40 percent. The choice of a correct window size was critical. For all types of filters, an optimum window size appeared to be present in the curves relating the Lesion Signal-to-Noise Ratio to this size.


Objectives A subset of idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH) patients respond to VP shunt insertion temporarily. Adjustable anti-gravity devices are designed to control position-induced CSF drainage changes; we aim to assess to effect of using these devices to achieve controlled overdrainage in temporary shunt responders. Design A single-centre retrospective study of patients undergoing VP shunt valve revision from an adjustable differential pressure valve with fixed anti-siphon (ProGAV +Shuntassistant) to a system incorporating an adjustable anti-siphon valve (ProGAV +ProSA) (April 2013-April 2018). Subjects 21 patients diagnosed with temporary shunt-responsive NPH who improved on high volume shunt reservoir tap (10M: 11F). Mean age at first VP shunt insertion was 74.5±7.87 years. Methods Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for demographics, interventions and clinical outcomes. Results Mean duration until revision with a ProSA valve was 31.5±16.8 months (mean ±SD). Mean follow up was 31.4±15.9 months. Of 20 patients with sufficient follow-up, 12 made objective improvements in walking and/or neuropsychological test outcome. 15 patients made subjective improvements in mobility or cognitive impairment. Conclusions VP shunting with adjustable differential pressure valves and fixed antigravity devices may not drain sufficient CSF for optimum management of low pressure hydrocephalus. Addition of adjustable anti-gravity devices at lower shunt settings in temporary shunt responders may improve outcome.


The true extent of human T-lymphotropic virus type I and II (HTLV-I/II) infection in European countries and its pathogenetic potential are still unknown. To find out more about HTLV-I/II incidence in our area we studied a group of 160 outpatients attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic over a six-month period. All patients were screened for the presence of specific antibody by means of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblotting (IB) analysis, using commercially available reagents. A surprisingly high percentage of patients showed an antibody reactivity to HTLV-I/II antigens by ELISA (9.3%) and IB (6.8%), although none of the samples satisfied the internationally accepted criteria of serological positivity. All subjects, irrespective of doubtful and inconclusive serological results, were further analyzed for the presence of proviral DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells by polymerase chain reaction using different pairs of primers and probes. A clear cut positive result for the presence of HTLV-I provirus-related DNA sequences was obtained in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of only one patient, a 26 years old female presenting genital condylomatosis, with no history of blood transfusion and/or intravenous drug abuse. Her serum showed a borderline result at ELISA and an IB reactivity only against p21. These data are open to various possible interpretations and, among others, may represent a hint for the presence of divergent antigenic variants of HTLV-I in the geographical area investigated.


In this work, we present a memory-augmented approach for image-goal navigation. Earlier attempts, including RL-based and SLAM-based approaches have either shown poor generalization performance, or are heavily-reliant on pose/depth sensors. Our method is based on an attention-based end-to-end model that leverages an episodic memory to learn to navigate. First, we train a state-embedding network in a self-supervised fashion, and then use it to embed previously-visited states into the agent's memory. Our navigation policy takes advantage of this information through an attention mechanism. We validate our approach with extensive evaluations, and show that our model establishes a new state of the art on the challenging Gibson dataset. Furthermore, we achieve this impressive performance from RGB input alone, without access to additional information such as position or depth, in stark contrast to related work.


Abstract Background The rapid multiplex PCR (rmPCR)-based FilmArray® blood culture identification (BCID) assay reduces time from positive blood culture to organism identification. Polymicrobial bacteremia is a known area of reduced diagnostic fidelity for BCID and remains incompletely characterized. Methods All cases of clinically confirmed polymicrobial bacteremia at a large academic single center from a 23-month period were evaluated in a retrospective cohort analysis (figure 1). Samples were assorted into BCID/blood culture concordant and BCID/blood culture discordant groups. Clinical characteristics of the two groups were compared, missed organisms were characterized, and changes in antimicrobial regimen in response to BCID results were characterized. Figure 1. Screening and exclusion process. 207 cultures were included in final analysis from a number screened of 2750 (constituting all positive blood cultures over a 23-month period from February 2019 to January 2021). Microbiologic inclusion criteria were as follows: evidence on final phenotypic culture of at least two separate microorganisms from the same blood culture specimen as long as both organisms were species other than coagulase negative staphylococci. Results A total of 207 samples were identified and studied. Overall, 49.3% (N=102) of polymicrobial cultures were incompletely identified by FilmArray® result. There were no significant group differences in comorbidity status, length of stay, mortality, or source between patients with polymicrobial bacteremia who had complete versus incomplete BCID identification (see table 1). Some 29.9% (38 of 127 total) of species identified corresponded to an organism potentially requiring time-sensitive treatment (relative numbers of each shown in table 2). De-escalation from adequate empiric to inadequate step-down antibiotic coverage following incomplete BCID result occurred in only 8.8% (N=9) of cases (shown in table 3). Table 1. Comparison of the characteristics of the BCID/blood culture (BCx) concordant and BCID/BCx discordant groups. Abbreviations: BCx, blood culture; IQR, interquartile range; ICU, intensive care unit; ER, emergency room; TPN, total parenteral nutrition. Table 2. Discrepant organisms typically requiring timely treatment identified on blood culture phenotyping but not on BCID. A complete list can be found in supplemental table S1. Table 3. Among patients with inaccurate BCIDs, antimicrobial changes and outcomes following return of BCID result are shown below. P-values comparing the four groups are shown. There was no significant association that could be seen in mortality and time to discharge and patient's empiric therapy and de-escalation therapy status. Abbreviations: IQR, interquartile range; N/A, not applicable. Conclusion BCID frequently results in incomplete identification of blood culture results in patients with polymicrobial bacteremia, but clinical characteristics and outcomes were similar to those of patients with accurate BCID identification. Clinical team de-escalation to inappropriate antibiotic coverage following return the BCID assay was uncommon and was not clearly associated with inferior outcomes. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures.


We explain how exclusive OR and NOR circuits (XOR/XNOR) are used to realize a general full adder circuit based on pass transistors. A six-transistor CMOS XOR circuit that also produces a complementary XNOR output is introduced in the general full adder. The resulting full adder circuit is realized using only 14 MOSFETs, while having full voltage-swing in all circuit nodes. Layouts have been made in a 0.35 /spl mu/m process for both the proposed full adder circuit and another 16-transistor full adder circuit based on pass transistors. The performance of the proposed full adder is evaluated by comparison of the simulation results obtained from HSPICE for both layouts. The two adders yield similar performance in terms of power consumption, power delay product, and propagation delay. The area is somewhat lower for the proposed adder due to the reduced device count. However, due to two feedback MOSFETs in the proposed adder that need to be ratioed, there is a higher cost in terms of design effort for the proposed adder.


The reconstruction of the chromosomal organization of ancient genomes has many applications in comparative and evolutionary genomics. Here we propose a novel, methodological, use for these predicted ancestral syntenies, directly focused on phylogenomics. It is a way to assess the accuracy of gene trees and species trees. We use a method that reconstructs, from gene trees and extant gene orders, ancestral adjacencies, i.e. the immediate neighborhood between pairs of genes, independently for each pair. This independence allows to split the computations into many independent problems that can each be solved exactly using efficient algorithms, but might result in sets of ancestral adjacencies that are incompatible with the expected linear or circular structure of chromosomes. We show here that this drawback can actually be turned into a useful 1 This work benefited from the support of ComputeCanada.


ABSTRACT Properly manipulated residuals resulting from "status predicting status" regressions constitute a precise and unique measurement of status inconsistency without the definitional and methodological problems and limitations of simple and simultaneous cross-classification techniques associated with the typical "dummy variable regression" approach. Residuals entered as independent variables in multiple regression models including usual status variables allow determination of "inconsistency effects" separate from main effects of status dimensions without sacrificing variability and predictability and precluding analyses of higher-order interaction terms. Several theoretically-based, nonlinear, and modified dummy-variable transformations of residuals pre suggested which avoid linear determinancy while measuring the relative influence of status and degrees of directional and nondirectional status inconsistency. Several residual regression models are discussed and empirically compared: 2-variable and multivariable status-inconsistent types and full regression models of statuses and residual inconsistents. Results of tests with selected models predicting political attitude empirically demonstrated the practical and theoretical utility of the residual regression method of measuring status inconsistency effects relative to those of status. Implications for future mobility and status inconsistency research are outlined. (Author)


The ground substance of the testis of the albino mouse is PAS-positive but not metachromatic, and probably highly aggregated. The basement of the seminiferous tubules is intensely PAS-positive, metachromatic, and possibly not so highly aggregated. The reactivity of the ground substance to the PAS reaction and toluidine blue is tentatively ascribed to the presence of chondroitin sulphate C: this compound, previously known to contain N acetyl-galactosamine, glucuronic acid, tyrosine and tryptophane, is associated with arginine. The genesis of the basement membrane of the seminiferous tubule is shown to include the formation of a sheath of atypical elongated fibroblasts, the secretion of a PAS positive, metachromatic substance associated with arginine between this sheath and the seminiferous tubule, the appearance of mitochondria in the cells of the sheath, and lastly, the acquisition of alkaline phosphatase by these fibroblasts and its spread to the intervening ground substance. These changes are thought to be related to the structural and nutritional requirements of the seminiferous tubules. In its intense positive reaction to PAS and in its metachromasy, the basement membrane of the seminiferous tubule agrees with the ground substance adjacent to sites of active protein metabolism, such as growing tumours, embryonic organs, hair follicles, and skin.


The recent financial crisis has provoked a raft of contending claims as to whether the cause of the crisis is better attributed to market failure or political failure. Such claims are predicated on a presumption that markets and polities are meaningfully separate entities. To the contrary, we argue that contemporary arrangements create an entangled political economy that renders theorizing based on separation often misleading. Within this alternative framework of entangled political economy, we illuminate both the recent Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) and the New Deal's National Recovery Administration (NRA).


Since the late 1970s the Management Advisory Services (MAS) has expanded, establishing itself as an important and separate function within many CPA firms. MAS usually performs diversified, management consulting services such as information systems, employee compensation, control systems, and computer applications. Audit and MAS, as two separate units within one accounting firm, are perceived as having both a competitive and cooperative relationship. They are fundamentally different in employees' task orientation, services provided and professional background. Consequently, the structural orientations and operating mechanisms in these two functional departments are expected to be different. This creates a serious adaptation problem for predominantly Audit-oriented organzations in terms of power distribution, differentiation, and motivational approaches. This study focuses on the influence of stress and task characteristics on an organizationally desirable outcome such as job satisfaction in audit and MAS functions in large accounting firms. Most of the literature on the subject has been limited to examining these phenomena separately (Zeist, 1983; Kerr et al., 1974; Zanzi, 1987; Bedeian and Armenakis, 1981; House and Rizzo, 1972) with little or no attention to the aggregate impact of structure on stress and job satisfaction. Tasks performed in Audit and MAS are very different. In Audit, the auditing process is subjected to public accountability and stringent external controls through FASB, SEC, and other regulating agencies. In contrast, MAS tasks are controlled through private contracts and self-regulation. Rule orientation and associated task predictability in Audit dictate a different "structural fit" than in MAS. Differences in structural orientations in various functional areas within a business unit were studied by scholars in the past. Burns and Stalker (1961), Lawrence and Lorsch (1967) and Pugh et al. (1963, 1969) observed that production, marketing, and research functions within the same manufacturing organization have different structural orientations. It was observed that production was relatively more mechanistic while research was more organic. Public accounting, however, differs from manufacturing. In manufacturing, the functional units are interrelated and are dependent on each other. In public accounting, both Audit and MAS are independent revenue generators and, in most cases, are functionally independent. This suggests that structural orientations in these two functional units have a varying degree of tolerance for ambiguity as stress generators. Ultimately, the impact of structural orientation on job satisfaction can be expected to differ due to the varying degrees of stress associated with MAS and Audit. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND The literature in strategy and structure suggests that Audit and MAS are likely to differ in their organizational structures since they are exposed to different product and market strategies. MAS needs continual product and market development, and it encourages managers to become aware of potential market opportunities. In Audit, product development is limited and market expansion does not hinge on product innovation. In general, we can postulate that MAS assumes a "prospector" type strategic orientation whereas Audit traditionally acts as a "defender" type (Miles and Snow, 1978).(1) This difference in strategic posture between Audit and MAS should produce different organizational structures within them. It may be noted that the relation between structure and strategy is well established in the literature (Galbraith and Nathanson, 1979; Rumelt, 1974; Chandler, 1962). Zanzi (1987), in a study of CPA firms, confirmed the organic orientation of MAS compared to a more mechanistic tendency in Audit. Studies in organizational behavior support the position that organizational structure affects performance, employee satisfaction, and job related stress. …


Local and wide area network information assurance analysts need current and precise knowledge about their systems activities in order to address the challenges of critical infrastructure protection. In particular, the analyst needs to know in real-time that an intrusion has occurred so that an active response and recovery thread can be created rapidly. Existing intrusion detection solutions are basically after-the-fact, thereby offering very little in terms of damage confinement and restoration of service. Quick recovery is only possible if the assessment scheme has low latency and it occurs in real-time. The objective of this paper is to develop a reasoning framework to aid in the real-time detection and assessment task that is based on a novel idea of encapsulation of owner's intent. The theoretical framework developed here will help resolve dubious circumstances that may arise while inferring the premises of operations (encapsulated from owner's intent) by way of examining the observed conclusions resulting from the actual operations of the owner. This reasoning is significant in view of the fact that intrusion signaling is not a binary decision unlike error detection in traditional fault tolerance. Our reasoning framework has been developed by leveraging the concepts of cost analysis and pricing under uncertainty found in economics and finance. Our main result is the modeling of user activity on a computing system as a martingale and the subsequent quantification of the cost of performing a job to enable decision making.


US$ 160.000.000.000. One hundred and sixty billion dollars. Eight times the GNP. Ten times the national external debt. If Santiago is worth that much, if an appraisal exercise of the capital city leads to that conclusion, then the capital city is itself the main capital resource. This resource being the most scarce one in less developed countries, shares the space with another one that is relatively abundant: labor force. This article does not embody an apology of a centralist administration. But it does emphasize that Santiago represents a forty percent of GNP -percentage which is higher than that of any other economic sector- and by far the largest national "enterprise". Chile may count on Santiago as being the main installed capacity, the most strategic economic resource, and the more complex and important administration challenge. The question is what to do with Santiago. Does it need a mayor or a city manager?


BACKGROUND
Endorsed by the Outcome MEasures in Rheumatoid Arthritis in Clinical Trials (OMERACT) group, The Effective Consumer Scale (EC-17) was developed in English for patients with musculoskeletal diseases to assess the skills and perceptions important for participating in and managing health care. The objective of this study was culturally to adapt the questionnaire into Swedish and to study its psychometric properties.

METHODS
After translation of the questionnaire into Swedish, two different groups of outpatients from two specialist rheumatology departments participated in the study. Face validity was assessed, together with internal consistency, test-retest and responsiveness of the questionnaire. Construct validity was assessed using the Arthritis Self-Efficacy Scale (ASES), and responsiveness to a five day educational intervention was analysed using the standardized response mean (SRM).

RESULTS
Analyses were based on 124 patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases, of whom 50 attended the intervention. Data quality met the requirements, with missing values <5%, and floor and ceiling effects <15%. Item total correlations were all >0.4, ranging from 0.49 to 0.88. Cronbach's alpha was 0.93 and 0.95 for the two groups. The test-retest correlation (ICC₂.₁) was 0.94, and there was a significant improvement as a result of the intervention, with an SRM of 0.43. However, the questionnaire had a higher construct validity with the ASES subscale 'other symptoms' than hypothesized a priori (r(s) 0.75).

CONCLUSION
The Swedish version of the EC-17 met the required recommendations for face validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and responsiveness. Its construct validity needs to be further established, and the questionnaire needs further testing in different groups of patients and in different interventions.


The study investigates translation in politically sensitive contexts. It explores the transference of staged expository narrative discourse from English into Arabic in the Palestinian context. The researchers selected a news report from the Jerusalem Post that about the Israeli incursion into Gaza in 2006. The news report was given as a translation assignment to fifteen Palestinian students enrolled in the MA Program of Applied Linguistics and Translation at An-Najah University with the assumption that the translated report is to appear in Al-Quds newspaper. The results of the study show that the majority of the translators resorted to dynamic renderings of the ST due to the high political sensitivity of the context that marks the news text. Faithfulness became irrelevant and the reality and truth of the ST were questioned and often subverted in the translation. The paper describes the nature and degree of translator interventions and outlines the strategies used to neutralize the ideological load invested in the original text. 1.


Background and Objectives: Because of hypoxemia, different organ systems of the body are affected in perinatal asphyxia. This study was carried out to see the status of Serum bilirubin, Serum Proteins and Prothrombin time in asphyxiated babies and to know any correlation existing between hepatic dysfunction and the severity of perinatal asphyxia. Methods: A total of 70 full-term asphyxiated newborns (study group) were studied during January '2008 to December '2008 in the department of Paediatrics, Mymensingh Medical College Hospital. After enrolment these babies were grouped according to Sarnat & Sarnat stages of HIE as stage I, II & III (Sarnat & Sarnat' 1976). Babies who are small for gestational age, having severe jaundice, sepsis or congenital anomalies of the hepatobiliary system were excluded from the study. A total of 50 healthy newborns were also studied as reference group. Two c.c. of venous blood were taken both from asphyxiated and healthy babies between 2nd and 5th day of life to estimate Total serum bilirubin (TSB), Serum Total protein (STP), Serum Albumin and Prothrombin time (PT). Data were analyzed by computer software SPSS version 15. Unpaired student's 't' test was used to measure the level of significance and Spearman's rank correlation was done to see the correlation and at P < 0.05 the results were considered significant. Results: The mean TSB, STP & S. Albumin of asphyxiated babies were 5.52 ± 2.01mg/dl, 55.74 ± 8.84 & 32.60 ± 5.48 g/L respectively and those of normal babies were 4.51 ± 1.19 mg/dl, 66.30 ± 10.36 & 40.90 ± 6.45 g/L respectively and these differences were statistically significant (P < 0.001). On the other hand no significant changes were noted in prothrombin time. The rise of PT showed a significant positive correlation with the severity of perinatal asphyxia. On the other hand STP, S. Albumin & TSB showed no significant correlation. Conclusion: This study concludes that TSB, STP & S. Albumin significantly elevated and this elevation was proportional to the severity of perinatal asphyxia. On the other hand no significant changes were noted in prothrombin time. Recommendation: A large scale multi-centre study is recommended to establish this finding. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jdnmch.v18i2.16022 J. Dhaka National Med. Coll. Hos. 2012; 18 (02): 43-46


ABSTRACT In recent years religion has come to occupy an increasingly central place in both popular and scholarly debates concerning citizenship in Québec. In order to understand and begin to contend with the challenges that religion poses for citizenship both conceptually and practically, it is necessary to engage with discourses and practices of secularisation in their historical specificity. To facilitate this, this article proceeds on two fronts. First, it distinguishes between what it refers to as three moments of secularisation in the history of Québec, arguing that we are presently witnessing a distinct third moment of secularisation. Second, the article offers an alternative approach to questions of citizenship and religion that is not grounded in the notion of secularisation as a singular transhistorical process. Such a perspective provides an opening for rethinking the possible forms of mediation between citizenship and religion.


Mallet's test was used to evaluate shoulder and elbow functional results following conservative treatment, neurolysis, and nerve transfer and grafting in 31 patients with obstetrical brachial plexus palsy, who had no recovery of biceps contraction by 3 months of age. Twelve of them had been treated conservatively for 3 to 4 years. Nine patients with upper trunk conducting neuromas underwent neurolysis at the age of 4 to 6 months. Nerve transfer and grafting were performed in 10 patients at the age of 3 to 6 months. Upper trunk conducting neuromas were found in six of them. The follow-up period was, on average, 44.3 and 51.5 months in the nerve transfer and grafting group and in the neurolysis group, respectively. Excellent and good results in shoulder abduction, external rotation, and elbow flexion were found in 70 percent of patients in the nerve transfer and grafting group. However, none of the conservative treat-ment and neurolysis groups had a good result. The authors conclude that when there is no recovery of bi-ceps contraction by 3 months of age, surgical intervention is indicated. Neuroma should be managed by nerve transfer and grafting, even though intraoperative electrophysiologic studies show that the neuroma is a conducting one.


The thesis focuses on a sports timing system aimed at the equestrian show jumping community. Such a system has been successfully designed and developed with respect to both hardware and firmware, which started in 2009. Technology implementations never before utilised in other commercially available sports timing systems have been introduced, such as two-way radio communications between chronograph and photocells, wireless firmware bootloading and photocell activation procedures. All features have been designed solely with the equestrian sport in mind, as apposed to competitor multipurpose sport designs. This is author's company business concept. The main objectives have been commercial and educational. A brief introductory explanation of the equestrian sport is presented. Signal integrity and electro magnetic interference phenomena are described. A thorough technical description of the timing device is presented, and likewise of the photocell and scoreboard transceiver. Some important firmware related algorithms are explained. The user manual describes all system features. Finally a brief comparative analysis of other commercially available systems is discussed.


Halogenated organic compounds are naturally produced in the ocean and emitted to the atmosphere. The halogenated very short-lived substances (VSLS), such as bromoform, have atmospheric lifetimes of less than half a year. When VSLS reach the stratosphere, they enhance ozone depletion and thus impact the climate. During boreal summer, the Asian monsoon circulation transfers air masses from the Asian troposphere to the global stratosphere. Still, the extent to which VSLS from the Indian Ocean contribute to the stratospheric halogen burden and their exact origin is unclear. Here we show that the monsoon circulation transports VSLS from the Indian Ocean to the stratosphere. During the research cruises SO234-2 and SO235 in July-August 2014 onboard RV SONNE, we measured oceanic and atmospheric concentrations of bromoform (tropical lifetime at 10 km = 17 days), dibromomethane (150 days) and methyl iodide (3.5 days) in the subtropical and tropical West Indian Ocean and calculated their emission strengths. We use the Langrangian transport model FLEXPART driven by ERA-Interim meteorological fields to investigate the transport of oceanic emissions in the atmosphere. We analyze the direct contribution of observed bromoform emissions to the stratospheric halogen budget with forward trajectories. Furthermore, we investigate the connection between the Asian monsoon anticyclone and the oceanic source regions using backward trajectories. The West Indian Ocean is a strong source region of VSLS to the atmosphere and the monsoon transport is fast enough for bromoform to reach the stratosphere. However, the main source regions for the entrainment of oceanic air masses through the Asian monsoon anticyclone are the West Pacific and Bay of Bengal as well as the Arabian Sea. Our findings indicate that changes in emission or circulation in this area due to climate change can directly affect the stratospheric halogen burden and thus the ozone layer.


Objective Over recent years, a variety of energy sources, including bipolar radiofrequency, have been used to replace the traditional incisions of the Cox-Maze procedure for the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a novel dual-electrode bipolar radiofrequency ablation device Synergy (Atricure, Inc., Cincinnati, OH USA) for AF in a chronic porcine model. Methods Six domestic pigs underwent a modified Cox-Maze IV procedure without cardiopulmonary bypass using the Synergy device. Animals survived for 30 days. Each pig then underwent induction of AF and was killed to remove the heart en bloc for histologic assessment. Each ablation line was dissected perpendicularly at 5-mm intervals to assess the lesion width, depth, and transmurality. Results All animals survived the operation. Electrical isolation of the left atrial appendage and the pulmonary veins were documented by pacing acutely and at 30 days after the operation in all six animals. All animals failed to be induced in AF at 30 days. There was no gross evidence of intra-atrial thrombus formation or stricture of the pulmonary veins. All ablations (n = 209) examined were discrete, linear, and transmural, with a mean lesion width of 3.0 ± 0.7 mm and a mean lesion depth of 5.4 ± 3.3 mm. The mean ablation time was 16.3 ± 4.4 seconds, with a mean total energy delivery of 238 ± 170 J. Conclusions The Atricure Synergy was able to create reliable chronic transmural lesions of the modified Cox-Maze IV procedure on a porcine beating heart without cardiopulmonary bypass. The ablation lines were significantly wider when compared with its predecessor, the Isolator II.


We have constructed two new promoter probe vectors which carry a polylinker derived from plasmid pUC19 proximal to the 5' end of a promoter-less galactokinase gene. Using these two vectors we have demonstrated that the ColE3imm gene and the ColE8imm gene present on the ColE3-CA38 plasmid have their own promoters, independent of the SOS promoter of the colicin E3 structural gene. The activity of two terminators, one located proximal to the 5' end of the ColE8imm gene, the other located proximal to the 5' end of the lys gene, were shown by a comparison of the galactokinase activity conferred by several of the recombinant plasmids.


A study has been made of the local effects following intramuscular injection of various neurotropic viruses. Early massive necrosis of muscle fibers accompanied by edema and acute inflammatory reaction is produced by Jungeblut's SK virus even in low concentrations. Similar but more slowly developing lesions follow the introduction of mouse encephalomyelitis GD-VII and FA strains. Strain 4727 (TO type) produces inflammatory changes with fibrosis in the intermuscular septa and necrosis of scattered individual fibers. The relatively avirulent FV strain (TO type) was not pathogenic for skeletal muscle. The Mitchell strain of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus gives rise to a profuse lymphocytic and monocytic infiltration of the fat and connective tissue but does not cause necrosis of muscle fibers. No significant lesions resulted from intramuscular injection of the murine-adapted human poliomyelitis Lansing virus, the HF strain of herpes, a strain of Eastern equine encephalitis virus, or a still unidentified demyelinating mouse virus. Evidence is presented that the mouse encephalomyelitis virus GD-VII and Jungeblut's SK virus multiply locally in the injected limb. The GD-VII virus has been passed through four muscle to muscle passages and muscle lesions have been elicited at the same time. Specific and complete protection against myositis was obtained by anti-GD-VII and anti-SK rabbit sera.


Presently, world agricultural production finds itself in full development with the objective of supplying both human and animal food necessities. This way, technological advance in fertilizers and chemical fertilizers production is in full expansion and were identified, through studies about natural resources sustainability, problems for today's and future generations, caused by the contamination of food, water resources and soil. Nowadays, a change in humanity's food matrix is gradually occurring, which consists in the exchange of food proceeding from a conventional technologic model with the usage of agrochemicals (pesticides and chemical fertilizers) to a kind of agriculture based on organic management, in which stands out the usage of naturally originated fertilizers (manure, ashes, leaves, etc) and ecological management of plagues, diseases and others. The present work had the objective of making a multiobjective comparative analysis between a production system that utilizes conventional management (using agrochemicals) and a production system that utilizes organic management, based on the irrigated perimeter of Epitacio Pessoa Reservoir, that is geographically located between the coordinates 07°28'4" and 07°33'32" of south latitude, 36°08'23" and 36°16'51" of west longitude, on a 420m altitude, in the city of Boqueirao, State of Paraiba, Brazil. However, was utilized a multiobjective optimization model for optimal allocation of water for irrigated agriculture, developed by GOTA (Grupo de Otimizacao Total da Agua - Water Total Optimization Group) from UFCG. Two scenarios were elaborated, one for conventional agriculture and other for organic agriculture, taking as objectives the net budget maximization, the labour usage maximization and the minimization of defensives and fertilizers, to a 10 climatic years series. According to the study, it can be noticed that occurred economical and social gains referring to the sustainable usage of organic food, principally in the rising of labour used in organic agriculture, as well as environmental gains.


In this paper, we investigate the temperature dependence of a silicon-on-insulator-based silicon nanophotonic ring resonator covered with a polymeric overlayer. Temperature-dependent wavelength shift is measured to be as low as 5 pm/degC for the TM mode in a silicon ring resonator composed of a 500 times 220 nm2 channel waveguide. We also show through simulations and experiments that the temperature dependence can be reduced for the TE mode or for both the TE and TM modes by adjusting the mode volume of a silicon nanophotonic waveguide.


Introduction: Malocclusion can be defined as an imbalance between the masticatory system and neuromuscular Temporomandibular joint. It is considered as a result of the sum of genetic, environmental and postural elements therefore of multifactorial origin. Objective: To review the existing literature if malocclusion influence in posture and balance of the subject. Methods: This is a systematic review, which searched up clinical studies, published between 2009 and 2014 in English, Portuguese and Spanish, in the databases SciELO, PubMed, Lilacs and Sience Direct, using the keywords malocclusion/posture and malocclusion/body balance. Studies were included that had to evaluate the posture and/or balance in patients with malocclusion, were excluded systematic reviews and studies that did not correspond to the proposed theme. Results: In addition to the articles found in all databases, the corpus generated by the literature consisted of 828 records; 13 of them responded to the proposed theme. About the selected literature, eight studies showed significant results regarding the relationship between malocclusion and posture, and two as malocclusion and body balance. Conclusion: it was concluded that malocclusion is associated with the posture of the changes, since the balance, only two studies presented this outcome and was in a considered positive for the worsening of static equilibrium, but with no clinical application, and another positive for improves dynamic balance.


All-optical platforms for recurrent neural networks can offer higher computational speed and energy efficiency. To produce a major advance in comparison with currently available digital signal processing methods, the new system would need to have high bandwidth and operate both signal quadratures (power and phase). Here we propose a fiber echo state network analogue (FESNA) - the first optical technology that provides both high (beyond previous limits) bandwidth and dual-quadrature signal processing. We demonstrate applicability of the designed system for prediction tasks and for the mitigation of distortions in optical communication systems with multilevel dual-quadrature encoded signals.


The study aimed to analyze the prevalence of self-reported limitation of functional mobility and associated factors from 2000 to 2015 in elderly residing in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The analyses used data from the four waves (2000, 2006, 2010, and 2015) in the Health, Well-Being, and Aging Study (SABE). Regression models were conducted to analyze the demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral, and health-related characteristics of individuals associated with limitations of mobility in each wave of the study, and multilevel analysis was performed for comparison between the four waves. The results showed an increase in the prevalence of self-reported limitations in mobility, most evident in the year 2006. There was also an association between chronic health conditions such as history of stroke (PR = 1.43; 95%CI: 1.29; 1.58, in 2000), presence of osteoarticular diseases (PR = 1.35; 95%CI: 1.23; 1.49, in 2015), and complaint of "backache" (PR = 1.33; 95%CI: 1.22; 1.45, in 2006), as well as with socioeconomic aspects such as insufficient income (PR = 1.17; 95%CI: 1.07; 1.28, in 2010). In a context of rapid population aging, these results provide relevant information for promoting public policies to prevent the decline in mobility in the elderly.


Abstract The aim of this study was to encapsulate, L-ascorbic acid, in biopolymers in order to obtain (i) enhancing its encapsulation efficiency (ii) increasing drug release ratio using different pH mediums. Microparticles based on polycaprolactone, polyethylene glycol and casein are prepared by spray drying technique. Microparticles are in vitro characterized in terms of yield of production, particle size, morphology, encapsulation efficiency, and drug release. In this manner, the importance of the study is producing of a stable and effective drug encapsulation system by PCL-PEG-CS polymer mixture by spray dryer. We achieved minimum 27.540±0.656 μm particle size with 0.512 m2/g surface area, 84.05% maximum drug loading, and 68.92% drug release ratio at pH 9.6. Release profiles are fitted to previously developed kinetic models to differentiate possible release mechanisms. The Korsmeyer–Peppas model is the best described each release scenario, and the drug release is governed by non-Fickian diffusion at pH 9.6. Our study proposed as an alternative or adjuvants for controlling release of L-ascorbic acid.


The early modern political philosopher Benedict de Spinoza is often viewed as the father of the historical critical method for studying the Bible. Building upon the work of contemporaries, Spinoza constructed the methodological foundation upon which later historical criticism would build. This paper examines the political background of Spinoza's biblical criticism, thereby placing Spinoza's work in its sociohistorical context. The Thirty Years' War and the political turmoil in the Dutch Republic provide the proximate backdrop for Spinoza's political theory, and upon his biblical criticism.


A hierarchical model for the growth of planar arch structures for RNA secondary structures is presented, and shown to be equivalent to a treegrowth model. Both models can be solved analytically, giving access to scaling functions for large molecules, and corrections to scaling, checked by numerical simulations of up to 6500 bases. The equivalence of both models should be helpful in understanding more general tree-growth processes.


Three families live in the seaside village of Frip the Romos, the Ronsens, and a little girl named Capable and her widowed father. The townspeople of Frip make their living raising goats, but they must fight off a daily invasion of gappers, bright orange, many-eyed creatures that cover goats and stop them from giving milk. When the gappers target Capable's goats, the Romos and the Ronsens turn their backs on the gapper-ridden Capable. What will Capable do about her gapper plague? An imaginative tale by acclaimed author George Saunders accented with haunting illustrations by award-winning illustrator Lane Smith, "The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip" is an adult story for children, a children's story for adults, an oceanside fable for the landlocked, a fish story for loaves, and a fable about the true meaning of community."


This study aimed to obtain characteristics of Na-alginate from brown seaweeds. The characteristics studied include chemical, physical parameters and its functional group by FTIR. The brown seaweeds were S. crassifolium, S. polycystum, Padina australis, S. echinocarpum, S. duplicatum, S. binderi, T. conoides, T. decurrens, growing on the coral coast of Gunung Kidul Yogyakarta. Thewater content, ash content, purity, and also Pb and Hg were 12.50-13.43%; 18.20-28.59%; 15.86-28.80%; 0.083±0.01-0.36±0.04 ppm and 0.002±0.01-0.3±0.,05 ppm respectively. Physical properties of the alginate, i.e viscosity and lightness were 25-39 cps and 46.2-52.3 (yellow to light brown), respectively the average yield was 16.93-30.50%. The FTIR analysis showed that Na-alginate of the samples and standard had the same functional group.


The study aims to determine the influence of frying (shallow and deep) with olive, canola and sunflower oil on fatty acid composition of silver carp. Frying by olive oil and canola oil increased the monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) significantly (p<0.05) that consequently decreased saturated fatty acids (SFA), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and ω-3 fatty acids. Frying by sunflower oil increased PUFA significantly (p<0.05), which caused to decrease in SFA and MUFA. The ω-6/ω-3 ratio of control samples (0.224) after shallow fat frying and deep frying, increased to 1.287 and 0.615; to 2.290 and 1.538; and to 9.381 and 5.950 by olive oil, canola oil and sunflower oil, respectively. Results suggest that frying oil can change the fatty acid composition of fish. The changes are depending to the kind of frying oil and method of frying which used.


Effective state-business relations (SBRs) have been lacking in industrial policy thinking despite the strong theoretical case for SBRs. The empirical study of state-business relations in developing countries has emerged only recently, with notable contributions starting in the mid-1990s, developing further in the 2000s and gaining more general acceptance in the 2010s. The evidence suggests that effective SBRs can matter for economic performance. The case studies suggest that SBRs can be effective (Mauritius) but also ineffective (Malawi). The quantitative evidence further suggests that high scores on SBRs measures are related to higher economic growth and firm level productivity.


The lithosphere is the rigid outer layer of the Earth, but its composition, and by implication its origins, are different in terrains of different ages. The continental lithosphere is typically weaker, although often much thicker, than the oceanic lithosphere. Oceanic mantle lithosphere accretes new material at its base as it cools (thermal accretion), and so it is compositionally similar to the underlying asthenosphere. Much of the continental mantle lithosphere, and particularly that beneath Archaean cratons, is relatively depleted in major elements. Thus, continental mantle lithosphere is less dense than the oceanic lithosphere, and its thickness depends on the compositional difference between it and the underlying asthenosphere, as well as on the geothermal gradient. The errors and accuracy of the mineral thermobarometry of peridotite samples are briefly reviewed, and both mineral thermobarometry and heat–flow studies consistently suggest minimum thicknesses of 150–200 km for the lithosphere beneath Archaean cratons. Os isotopes reflect the age of major–element depletion, and, hence, the stabilization of the mantle lithosphere. They confirm that in many cases the continental crust and uppermost mantle stabilized at about the same time, and have remained as a coherent unit ever since. In general, areas of Archaean lithosphere appear not to have thickened significantly since they were formed, whereas the lithosphere beneath Proterozoic and younger areas has been more prone to subsequent magmatic and tectonic events.


Abstract
 Corallina L. is the type genus of the subfamily Corallinoideae (Aresch.) Foslie and Corallina officinalis L. is the type species of the genus. This name has been applied worldwide, particularly in temperate waters. An attempt to obtain sequence data from the lectotype specimen was not successful. In order to establish a species concept for C. officinalis based on molecular sequence data as well as morphology, an epitype was selected from Devon, England within the vague type locality 'in O [Oceano] Europaeo', and from which mitochondrial (cox1) and plastid (rbcL) data were obtained. A second species, Corallina elongata Ellis et Solander (type locality Cornwall, England), was shown previously to include at least two species based on DNA sequences. The lectotype of C. elongata is an illustration and therefore an epitype was selected to provide molecular sequence data, using the same markers as for C. officinalis. These molecular sequences for C. officinalis and C. elongata are compared with those of a third, recently described species from Great Britain, Corallina caespitosa R.H. Walker, J. Brodie et L.M. Irvine: these data provide an example for studying Corallina species taxonomy and diversity in other parts of the world. The implications of this work are discussed in relation to concepts of species distribution.


Abstract We consider Prandtl's boundary layer problem for incompressible laminar flow past a three dimensional yawed wedge. When the Reynolds number is large the solution of this problem has a parabolic boundary layer. We construct a direct numerical method for computing approximations to the solution of this problem using a compound piecewise-uniform mesh appropriately fitted to the parabolic boundary layer. Using this numerical method we approximate the self– similar solution of Prandtl's problem in a finite rectangle excluding the leading edge of the wedge, which is the source of an additional singularity caused by incompatibility of the problem data. By means of extensive numerical experiments, for ranges of values of the Reynolds number, wedge angle and number of mesh points, we verify that the constructed numerical method is Reynolds and angle uniform, in the sense that the computed errors and orders of convergence for the velocity components and their derivatives in the discrete maximum norm are Reynolds and angle uniform. We use a special numerical method related to the Blasius technique to compute a semi–analytic reference solution with required accuracy for use in the error analysis.


Most people living with HIV in low- and middle-income countries are treated with generic antiretroviral (ARV) drugs produced by manufacturers in India – the "pharmacy of the developing world". India's nationwide lockdown in March 2020 in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic therefore prompted concerns about disruption to this essential supply. A preliminary assessment of ARV drug manufacturers in India in March 2020 indicated a range of concerns. This prompted a rapid questionnaire-based survey in May 2020 of eight manufacturers that account for most of India's ARV drug exports. The greatest challenges reported were in international shipping, including delays, increased lead times and rising costs. Contrary to expectations, lack of access to the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) required for ARV drug manufacture was not a major hindrance, as manufacturers reported that their reliance on China for API supplies had reduced in recent years. However, their reliance on overseas markets for the raw materials required for local API synthesis was a major challenge. The findings from this survey have implications for addressing some of the immediate and medium-term concerns about the production and supply of generic ARV drugs. Long-term orders to support multi-month dispensing and buffer stocks need to be in place, together with computerized inventory management systems with real-time information from the lowest-level dispensation unit. Manufacturers and industry associations should have regular, formal interaction with the key ministries of the Government of India regarding these issues. Measures to improve the resilience of the generic ARV drug supply system are essential to minimize ongoing supply shocks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and to prepare for future emergencies.


Four new non-porous CuI-coordination polymers [Cu2(μ3-I)2(μ-bpb)]n (1a), [Cu(μ2-I)(μ-bpb)]n (1b), [Cu4(μ2-I)4(μ-bpmb)4]n (2), and [CuI(μ-bdb)]n (3) (bpb = 1,4-bis(pyrazolyl)butane; bpmb = 1,4-bis[(pyrazolyl)methyl]benzene; bdb = 1,4-bis[(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)methyl]benzene) have been successfully prepared and their structures fully characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, FT-IR spectroscopy, PXRD and elemental analysis. Crystallographic investigation revealed that 1a, 1b, and 2 exhibit two-dimensional (2D) structures; in 1a parallel [Cu2I2]n staircase motifs are cross-linked into two-dimensional sheets by bpb linkers with a fully extended conformation, while in the structures of 1b and 2 Cu2I2 rhomboid dimers are linked by bpb and pbmb ligands, respectively, into two-dimensional sheets with a 44-sql net. Differently, compound 3 shows a one-dimensional (1D) zigzag chain structure with monomeric CuI units. All the four non-porous coordination polymers show the ability to capture volatile iodine in the gas phase. The solid-state photoluminescence properties of 1a, 1b, and 2 have also been investigated. The iodine-adsorbed samples 1a-I2, 1b-I2, and 2-I2 show no fluorescence behavior.


In nature, nuclear polyhedrosis viruses (NPV) are transmitted when susceptible insect larvae ingest viral occlusion bodies (OB). These dissociate in the alkaline environment of the midgut and release encapsulated virions (PDV) which bind to midgut epithelial cells and initiate an infection. A previous study showed that expression of the Autographa californica NPV (AcMNPV) p74 gene during replication is essential for the production of infectious OB. A set of p74 deletion and overexpression recombinants was used for the production and screening of monoclonal antibodies, and for an investigation of gross cytopathology and localization of p74. No differences in virus structure or morphogenesis were observed in infected cells when the p74 gene of AcMNPV was deleted, even though the infectivity of OB harvested from the cells was abolished when they were fed to Trichoplusia ni larvae. Mutant OB released virus particles and degraded insect peritrophic membrane as in infections with wild-type virus; in addition, virions purified from mutant OB were infectious when injected into the haemocoel of T. ni larvae. Western blot analysis confirmed that p74 was associated with the PDV and could not be detected in the budded form virion phenotype. The polypeptide was readily degraded by treatment of purified PDV with proteinase K, in the presence and absence of detergent, and could be extracted from PDV by a non-ionic detergent treatment. The data are consistent with p74 being a structural polypeptide of the PDV phenotype, most probably as a component associated with the outside surface of the virion envelope. Its presence is shown to be essential for primary infection of midgut cells of insect larvae.


In this article the last findings of composites with polymer, metal and ceramic matrices containing carbon fibers and their applications in internal combustion engines in the world beside their advantages and superiorities in comparison with common industrial materials are investigated. Afterwards, the position of these materials in automotive engines in Iran is analyzed. Researches show that carbon fibers-reinforced composites due to unique properties (including high specific strength and specific modulus, low thermal expansion coefficient, high fatigue strength, and high thermal stability) can replace common structural materials in different engine parts (such as, casing, different components, cylinder lining, and etc.). Applying these composites will result in weight reduction and consequently fuel consumption reduction, less pollution, better function and efficiency, and more lifetimes. Of course one should consider that there is a vast potential for application and development of composites in automotive engine, which will become in practice by complementary researches through time. Due to novelty of this technology in the world and also the lack of carbon fibers production and insufficient knowledge of production and application of carbon fiber composites in Iran, this issue has not been seriously investigated.


A measurement of the mass of the W boson is presented which is based on a sample of 5982 W → eνv decays observed in pp collisions at √s=1.8 TeV with the D∅ detector during the 1992-1993 run. From a fit to the transverse mass spectrum, combined with measurements of the Z boson mass, the W boson mass is measured to be MW=80.350±0.140(stat)±0.165(syst)±0.160(scale) GeV/c 2 . Detailed discussions of the determination of the absolute energy scale, the measured efficiencies, and all systematic uncertainties are presented.


Background: Few changes to healthcare delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic altered pre-pandemic diagnostic testing as much as those made to cancer screening. Several studies show that screening volumes decreased by as much as 80% across multiple modalities and cancer types in the spring of 2020. These studies examined large hospital systems in the American East and West, but communities with predominantly Black populations like Gary, Indiana, have been absent from this research.
Methods: Our study captures how the COVID-19 pandemic affected access to diagnostic screening for cancerous and precancerous breast lesions through mammography using patient-level data. "Hospital A" provided data from 17,973 mammography encounters that occurred between March 2019 and June 2021. Screening volumes from the eight-week period from March 23rd and May 17th in 2020, the period elective procedures were suspended, was compared to three other distinct periods: the previous 8-week period, the next 8-week period, and the same 8-week period from 2019.
Results: From the 17,973 encounters, the average patient age was 61.7 (SD 11.4) years, 61.0% of patients paid with Medicare or Medicaid, and 66.0% of patients identified as Black. Despite performing a weekly average of 190 (12.3) mammograms during the 2019 baseline period and 158 (16.1) mammograms in the eight weeks preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, the weekly average fell to 13 (22.4) mammograms during the study period with zero occurring in a four-week stretch. Fortunately, volume returned sharply to near pre-pandemic levels in the eight weeks following the study period with 139 (18.9) average weekly mammograms.
Conclusion: Despite a 93% year-over-year decrease in mammography during the height of the pandemic, volume returned in the summer of 2020. Concerning, however, is that average monthly volume (582 (88.5) mammograms) in the first six months of 2021 remains 22.1% lower than 2019 numbers (747 (66.7) mammograms).


The transition from silicon technologies to alternative ones has been touted as an inevitable development that will affect the architectural research agenda for computing. Henceforth, the computing scenario beyond silicon-based electronics is grounded as a technical grand challenge of enormous impact on society, not just as a research topic in Computer Science and Engineering. This paper is a contribution to the establishment of a Grand Challenge research agenda that addresses fundamental challenges in the field of nanoand microelectronics that definitely will impact Computing. This work proposes a likely scenario for hardware technology evolution and challenges for the next 20 years, which were not at all dealt with in the document of the Grand Challenges by Brazilian Computer Science, 2006. In that time frame both radically new and evolutionary technologies will emerge, evolve and will be gradually selected. This paper contends that such selection will occur to make those technologies compatible with nano-scaled CMOS in silicon, not to replace it entirely. We propose that transitional technologies will rather co-exist and be built upon a basic CMOS technology platform. Radically new devices at the 1-10 nm scale will most likely be built on a silicon substrate with the same technical requirements (such as cleanness, lithographic resolution, etc) of current CMOS industry. The authors propose a more concrete scenario for architectural challenges, which dismisses the belief that multidisciplinary research on very diverse technologies (from materials to abstract computing systems) will lead the computer engineering into a post-silicon era. Such multidisciplinary research is even more important today, but it is far from leading to a non-silicon scenario. The grand challenges from the Computer Science point of view are refined into a more realistic transition: total replacement of CMOS will not occur for at least 20 years, instead new forms of integration, hierarchically ordered from the micron-level, to sub-micron level (500nm to 100nm), down to nano-scaled transistors in silicon (further down to 10 nm). In this hierarchy, at the bottom, it is highly possible that disruptive molecular-level devices (self-assembled in the scale of 2 to 10 nanometers) will eventually be production-worthy for Gigaand Terascale devices integration. Structures like graphene-based carbon tubes or planes are the most viable candidates for molecular devices. There is little assurance that overcoming the major technology barriers will happen in the next 10 years for carbon electronics. In this paper the computer-systems relevant issues of systems power dissipation, hardware design complexity, resilience to systems failures and fraud are dealt with as the overwhelming, challenging computing research topics that will guide future research in computing architectures at the giga-scale integration beyond 2020.


An investigation of parents' perspectives on family life with a child with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) in Negara Brunei Darussalam (Brunei) and the sociocultural context in which these families function was conducted. It has been suggested that the impact of a child with a developmental disability, like autism spectrum disorder, on the family appears to be related to demographic; child and parent characteristics (Dur-Vila, Dein, & Hodes, 2010). Thirty sets of Bruneian parents with children with ASD aged between 4 – 12 years were surveyed regarding the impact of having a child with autism on family functioning. The investigator found that based on the results from the Impact on Family Scale (Stein & Reissman, 2004) that the financial situation, social interaction within and outside the home, and the subjective distress felt by the parents were found to be high on impact. Content analyses of the narrative data indicated that parents' Islamic faith influenced their coping with rearing a child with ASD in Brunei. This study highlights the need for further investigation of parent adjustment in terms of Islamic cultural influence, the context, help seeking and support service uptake.


ABSTRACT The Kerrouchen basin, on the southern end of the Middle Atlas Mountains of central Morocco, is an elongated asymmetric basin underlain by metamorphosed Paleozoic basement. With the onset of rifting of Africa from North America in Triassic time, the basin was downfaulted in the southeast against Hercynian granites, which shed 180 meters of alluvial fan conglomerates and sandstones into the basin. Forty kilometers across the basin to the northeast, a Paleozoic meta-sedimentary source terrain contributed sediments to a smaller and separate fluvial sequence, filling in that gently downwarped limb of the basin. Between these two coarser sequences, a mudflat existed which increased in size as tectonic activity diminished. The mudflat deposits eventually transgressed over the coarse sediment and the granites, covering them with red mudstones and localized evaporites. Thickest observable Triassic deposits, in the center of the basin, total approximately 600 meters of section; 275 meters of mudstone covered by 225 meters of basalt, and underlain by 80 meters of fluvial sandstone resting on basement. The basalts, averaging 100 meters thick, are intercalated with the uppermost mudstones. They covered the entire area as a series of flows of varying thickness, samples of which have been radiometrically dated as Triassic. The sequence is conformably covered by Jurassic carbonates consisting of limestones and dolomites deposited with the transgression of Jurassic seas.


Nano-electronic applications have benefited enormously from the great advancement in the emerging Nano-technology industry. The tremendous downscaling of the transistors' dimensions has enabled the placement of over 100 million transistors on a single chip thus reduced cost, increased functionality and enhanced performance of integrated circuits (ICs). However, reducing size of the conventional planar transistors would be exceptionally challenging due to leakages electrostatics and other fabrication issues. Fin Field Effect Transistor (FinFET) shows a great potential in scalability and manufacturability as a promising candidate and a successor to conventional planar devices in nanoscale technologies. The structure of FinFET provides superior electrical control over the channel conduction, thus it has attracted widespread interest of researchers in both academia and industry. However, aggressively scaling down of channel dimensions, will degrade the overall performance due to detrimental short channel effects. In this paper, we investigate the impact of downscaling of nano-channel dimensions of Germanium Fin Feld Effect Transistor (Ge-FinFET) on electrical characteristics of the transistor, namely; ION/IOFF ratio, Subthreshold Swing (SS), Threshold voltage (VT), and Drain-induced barrier lowering (DIBL). MuGFET simulation tool was utilized to conduct a simulation study to achieve optimal channel dimensions by considering channel length (L), width (W), and oxide thickness (TOX) individually. In addition, the effects of simultaneous consideration of all dimensions by exploiting a scaling factor, K was evaluated. According to the obtained simulation results, the best performance of Ge-FinFET was achieved at a minimal scaling factor, K = 0.25 with 5 nm channel length, 2.5 nm width, and 0.625 nm oxide thickness.


There is a growing body of work in HCI on the design of communication technologies to help support long distance relationships. We build upon this work by presenting three different prototypes based on hand holding. This distinguishes itself by basing distance communication metaphors on elements of co-located hand-holding actions. We then present an evaluation of the prototypes based on a three-phase interview process with 12 participants. We conclude by discussing the combined evocative power of unique physical metaphors and memories in fostering romantic connections at a distance.


Standard blue-green ratio algorithms do not usually work well in turbid productive waters because of the contamination of the blue and green bands by CDOM absorption and scattering by non-algal particles. One of the alternative approaches is based on the two- or three band ratio algorithms in the red/NIR part of the spectrum, which require 665, 708, 753 nm bands (or similar) and which work well in various waters all over the world. The critical 708 nm band for these algorithms is not available on MODIS and VIIRS sensors, which limits applications of this approach. We report on another approach where a combination of the 745nm band with blue-green-red bands was the basis for the new algorithms. A multi-band algorithm which includes ratios Rrs(488)/Rrs(551)and Rrs(671)/Rrs(745) and two band algorithm based on Rrs671/Rrs745 ratio were developed with the main focus on the Chesapeake Bay (USA) waters. These algorithms were tested on the specially developed synthetic datasets, well representing the main relationships between water parameters in the Bay taken from the NASA NOMAD database and available literature, on the field data collected by our group during a 2013 campaign in the Bay, as well as NASA SeaBASS data from the other group and on matchups between satellite imagery and water parameters measured by the Chesapeake Bay program. Our results demonstrate that the coefficient of determination can be as high as R2 > 0.90 for the new algorithms in comparison with R2 = 0.6 for the standard OC3V algorithm on the same field dataset. Substantial improvement was also achieved by applying a similar approach (inclusion of Rrs(667)/Rrs(753) ratio) for MODIS matchups. Results for VIIRS are not yet conclusive.


In this paper, an analytic solution to the flow equations inside blood vessels is proposed in a particular case. The solution is based on bringing together the initial set of Bloch equations and a recently established homogenous equation for the Boubaker-Turki polynomials, which was proposed as a support to canonical applied physics investigations. The main restriction, besides experimental constraints, was the imposition of a spatial uniformrotating field rF. The representative function of the magnetization response is compared to an experimental set of points. The mean error was less then 18%.


We compare a relativistic covariant model for proton-proton bremsstrahlung with high-quality data from KVI. The agreement in large parts of phase space is satisfactory. However, remarkably large discrepancies are observed for specific kinematic regions. These failures are shown to occur primarily when the final two-nucleon system has energies less than about 15 MeV. Typeset using REVTEX


The 13th edition of "Ballenger" introduces the 76th year of continuous publication for this classic otolaryngic textbook. The addition of "Head and Neck" to the title is symbolic of the expanded scope of this work. The more than 1,400 pages are filled with the work of 34 contributors. There are 69 chapters, divided into six sections as follows: (1) "The Nose and Accessory Sinuses," (2) "Neck, Oropharynx, and Nasopharynx," (3) "Diseases of the Larynx," (4) "Radiology of the Head and Neck," (5) "The Ear," and (6) "Bronchoesophagology." Among the new or expanded topics covered are allergy, immunology, surgery of the thyroid gland, laser surgery, computed tomography of the head and neck, skull base surgery, and several otologic subjects. Most of the sections are well written and comprehensive. Illustrations are numerous and of good to excellent quality. The subject matter is logically organized, and the index is adequate. The selection of


We show how to design touchscreen widgets that respond to a finger's contact area. In standard touchscreen systems a finger often appears to touch several screen objects, but the system responds as though only a single pixel is touched. In contact area interaction all objects under the finger respond to the touch. Users activate control widgets by sliding a movable element, as though flipping a switch. These Sliding Widgets resolve selection ambiguity and provide designers with a rich vocabulary of self-disclosing interaction mechanism. We showcase the design of several types of Sliding Widgets, and report study results showing that the simplest of these widgets, the Sliding Button, performs on-par with medium-sized pushbuttons and offers greater accuracy for small-sized buttons.


CARMENES (Calar Alto high-Resolution search for M dwarfs with Exo-earths with Near-infrared and optical Echelle Spectrographs) is a next-generation instrument to be built for the 3.5m telescope at the Calar Alto Observatory by a consortium of Spanish and German institutions. Conducting a five-year exoplanet survey targeting ~ 300 M stars with the completed instrument is an integral part of the project. The CARMENES instrument consists of two separate spectrographs covering the wavelength range from 0.52 to 1.7 μm at a spectral resolution of R = 85, 000, fed by fibers from the Cassegrain focus of the telescope. The spectrographs are housed in a temperature-stabilized environment in vacuum tanks, to enable a 1m/s radial velocity precision employing a simultaneous ThAr calibration.


We present a Euclidean quantum gravity model in which random graphs dynamically self-assemble into discrete manifold structures. Concretely, we consider a statistical model driven by a discretisation of the Euclidean Einstein–Hilbert action; contrary to previous approaches based on simplicial complexes and Regge calculus our discretisation is based on the Ollivier curvature, a coarse analogue of the manifold Ricci curvature defined for generic graphs. The Ollivier curvature is generally difficult to evaluate due to its definition in terms of optimal transport theory, but we present a new exact expression for the Ollivier curvature in a wide class of relevant graphs purely in terms of the numbers of short cycles at an edge. This result should be of independent intrinsic interest to network theorists. Action minimising configurations prove to be cubic complexes up to defects; there are indications that such defects are dynamically suppressed in the macroscopic limit. Closer examination of a defect free model shows that certain classical configurations have a geometric interpretation and discretely approximate vacuum solutions to the Euclidean Einstein–Hilbert action. Working in a configuration space where the geometric configurations are stable vacua of the theory, we obtain direct numerical evidence for the existence of a continuous phase transition; this makes the model a UV completion of Euclidean Einstein gravity. Notably, this phase transition implies an area-law for the entropy of emerging geometric space. Certain vacua of the theory can be interpreted as baby universes; we find that these configurations appear as stable vacua in a mean field approximation of our model, but are excluded dynamically whenever the action is exact indicating the dynamical stability of geometric space. The model is intended as a setting for subsequent studies of emergent time mechanisms.


Nanotechnology is a standout amongst the most imperative tool in modern agriculture, and agri-food nanotechnology is anticipated to become driving monetary power in near future. Agri-food topics concentrate on maintainability and assurance of agronomically created nourishments, including products for human utilization and animal feeding. Nanotechnology gives new agrochemical specialists and new conveyance systems to enhance crop efficiency, and it guarantees to lessen pesticide use. Nanotechnology can increse agricultural production, and its applications include: 1) nanoformulations of agrochemicals for applying pesticides and manures for harvest change; 2) the use of nanosensors/nanobiosensors in yield assurance for the ID of sicknesses and buildups of agrochemicals; 3) nanodevices for the hereditary control of plants; 4) plant disease detection; 5) animal wellbeing, animal reproducing, poultry production; and 6) post-harvest administration. Nanotechnology uses nanoparticle mediated gene or DNA transfer in plants for the advancement of insectresistant varieties, food production, nanofeed added substances, and expanded time span of usability of the generated or produced item. Nanotechnology guarantees to quicken the advancement of biomass-to-fuels production innovations. Researchers feel that the potential advantages of nanotechnology for farming, food, fisheries, and aquaculture should be adjusted against attentiveness toward the dirt, water, and environment and the health of workers. Bringing issues to light of nanotechnology in the agri-food area, including food and food fixings, smart packaging systems , is one of the keys to influencing consumer acceptance. The rise of nanotechnology improvements utilizing nanodevices/nanomaterials opens up potential novel applications in agriculture and food division. Smart delivery systems, biosensors and nanoarrays are being intended to take care of the issue confronted in agriculture sector. Additionally food sector is likewise profited using smart biosensors, packaging materials, and nanonutraceuticals. Regardless of the immense utilization of nanotechnology in agri-food area, individuals are vague about use in food applications due to suspected potential health dangers and natural concerns. In this paper we have made an attempt to give outline of nanotechnology improvements in agri-food division.


In this presentation stress has been laid upon the concept that the treatment, as well as the prognosis of chronic cor pulmonale depend upon the underlying pulmonary disease. It has long been known that the chief causes of chronic cor pulmonale are chronic obstructive pulmonary emphysema and various forms of fibrosis, particularly the pneumoconioses. An understanding of the difference between these diseases, both as to their pulmonary dysfunction and their circulatory complications, is crucial to success in therapy. Management of the patient with chronic pulmonary emphysema and (or pulmoniale is quite different from that of the subject with fibrosis and right heart involxemenit. Unfortuniately, little as yet is known about the circulation in the pulmonary fibroses. In patients with pulmonary fibrosis as well as those with granulomas of the lung it would appear that the anatomic pulmonary lesion is chiefly responsible for the pulmonary hypertension, in contradistinction to the patients with emphysema. Inasmuch as the anatomic lesions are for the most part irreversible, so is the pulmonary hypertension. This has limited our therapeutic approach in this form of chronic cor pulmonale to rigorous restriction of physical activity directed at minimizing exacerbations of pulmonary hypertension. While emphasis has been placed upon the difference in management of the patient with emphysema or fibrosis and cor pulmonale, nonetheless it should be remembered that in any individual patient these two conditions may coexist. In that event, intensive therapy directed at the sequellae of emphysema may be very rewarding.


Summary E-learning technology is currently pushed by several factors. Among these, the advantage of computer-based courses of sharing and reusing existing teacher materials, in addition to the possibility of personalizing courses according to students needs, preferences and capabilities. To provide such features, in this paper we introduce an architecture organized into four layers: a database layer to store, share and reuse courses and teaching materials, an adaption layer which allow personalized courses generation, a presentation layer that arrange personalized courses into learning paths, and an interface layer to develop several learning interfaces (e.g. for use via web or mobile devices). The architecture is presented, then we focus on its personalization capabilities by presenting details of how courses are actually tailored and attended


We examine the nature of consumer demand for government-controlled online news outlets in Russia, testing whether such demand reflects a preference for progovernment ideological coverage or other factors unrelated to outlets' ideological positions. We detect government-sensitive topics and measure outlets' news-reporting decisions from news article texts, and we estimate a structural model of demand for news, using detailed browsing data that traces individual-level consumption. The average consumer has a distaste for progovernment ideology but a strong, persistent taste for state-owned outlets, primarily driven by third-party referrals and nonsensitive news content. We discuss implications for online media control and media power.


At birth, Edmund Gosse was dedicated to 'the Service of the Lord'. His parents were Plymouth Brethren. After his mother's death, Gosse was brought up in stifling isolation by his father, a marine biologist whose faith overcame his reason when confronted by Darwin's theory of evolution. "Father and Son" is also the record of Gosse's struggle to 'fashion his inner life for himself' - a record of whose full and subversive implications the author was unaware, as Peter Abbs notes in his introduction. First published anonymously in 1907, "Father and Son" was immediately acclaimed for its courage in flouting the conventions of Victorian autobiography and is still a moving account of self-discovery.


Author(s): Schock, Christine Helen | Advisor(s): Kia-Keating, Maryam | Abstract: Economic stressors put parents and children at risk for changes and disturbances in personal relationships. Fathers' employment and other factors related to work such as job security and working conditions impact the way in which they behave as parents. Some research has found that fathers who endured heavy financial loss became more irritable, tense, and explosive, which increased their tendency to interact negatively with their children. This often leads to an inability for parents to fulfill their parenting role, placing children at a great risk to be victims of maltreatment. The purpose of the present study was to contribute to our understanding of family functioning and coping through economic hardship with a specific focus on the father experience. Twelve fathers of children and adolescents facing economic hardship were recruited to participate in an in-person semi-structured interview to reflect on their experiences, including how the economic stress has impacted their self-identity, interpersonal relationships, and overall functioning within their fathering role. Fathers were recruited from two regions in the United States: Western and Southern. Participants had a mean age of 31.54 and were 41% White/European American, 23% Black/African American, 23% Hispanic, and 13% Other. Participants received $20 incentives in the form of grocery stores gift certificates for their participation. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and checked for accuracy. Transcripts were analyzed for content using a combination of Applied Thematic Analysis and grounded theory. A model of risk and resilience pathways in response to economic stress emerged from the data. The resilience pathway was characterized by the utilization of various positive coping responses such as problem solving, emotional expression, emotional regulation, and perseverance with children serving as motivation. This pathway appeared to facilitate emotional closeness between fathers and their families. As a result, the participant discussed the ability to maintain a positive sense of self within their fathering role. This pathway ultimately resulted in the maintenance of overall adaptive functioning for fathers and their families. The risk pathway was characterized by an increase in problems in various areas of functioning. Specifically, fathers more closely following this pathway typically described an increase in withdrawal or avoidance, or an increase in emotional arousal or difficulty regulating emotions. As a result, fathers reported experiencing distancing within important relationships, such as the father-child relationship. These findings are important because they may provide potential implications for clinical interventions to help fathers facing economic stress. Specifically, the findings contribute further to our understanding of how families may function adaptively through economic stress.