In Privileged Places, Gregory Squires and Charis Kubrin paint a vivid picture of the structure of inequality in metropolitan America. In a set of loosely connected chapters, they convincingly show how the strong connection between race and place serves to exacerbate racial inequality in the spheres of housing access and criminal justice. They argue that urban sprawl, concentrated poverty, and residential segregation perpetuate the links among place, race, and privilege. While the book is not without weaknesses—the chapters could stand to speak to each other more and I have some quibbles with a couple of the analyses—this volume does a very good job of bringing theoretical discussion and empirical evidence to bear on these issues. In the area of housing, chapters are devoted to discussing minority access to white neighborhoods, predatory lending, and discrimination in the property insurance industry. Among the principal findings is that in communities where a relatively larger share of mortgage loans are covered by the Community Reinvestment Act, blacks and Latinos are more likely to purchase homes in white neighborhoods. The chapter on predatory lending describes how exploitative lending practices can severely undercut revitalization efforts in vulnerable communities. The chapter on property insurance highlights how insurance redlining helps perpetuate dual metropolitan housing markets divided by race and income. In the chapters on crime, the authors look at the association between access to capital and neighborhood crime, and how one's community influences an offender's reintegration into society. They find that increased levels of mortgage lending are associated with lower crime rates, suggesting that this can be an important strategy in community reinvestment efforts. The final analytical chapter links neighborhood conditions to recidivism in low-income neighborhoods. Woven through all these chapters is commentary on policy. Squires and Kubrin argue that while many policies in the post–Civil Rights era have helped decrease racial discrimination and reduce racial inequality, policy has not done enough, and that inequality continues to thrive in new and sometimes unforeseen ways. For example, while efforts to promote minority homeownership have increased lending to low-income home seekers, some companies have taken advantage of the changing context by pushing exploitative loans that lead to financial ruin for many families.


Abstract Upper Cretaceous (Santonian to late Campanian) strata from the upper 196 m at Shivugak Bluffs along the Colville River of northern Alaska preserve a paleopolar, fluvial–deltaic succession deposited along a prograding paleo–Arctic Ocean coastline. The uppermost lower Schrader Bluff Formation is best classified as a river-dominated delta based on muddy prodelta and delta-front deposits that contain abundant hyperpycnites, subaqueous terminal distributary channels, interdistributary bays, and mouth bars. This deltaic succession is overlain by distal distributaries and a braided fluvial system of the Prince Creek Formation. Channel measurements and paleo-discharge calculations from Prince Creek Formation distributaries indicate that rivers were the appropriate size and had the appropriate discharge to regularly produce hyperpycnites. Delta front and interdistributary bays transitioned into lakes and floodbasins on the lower delta plain, alongside distributary channels during delta lobe reorganization and abandonment. These floodbasins were subsequently transgressed and are overlain by proximal shelf and prodelta muds containing Phycosiphon. Overlying strata containing delta front, interdistributary bay, terminal distributary channel, distributary mouth bar, and distributary channel deposits signaled the reactivation of the delta lobe. Ultimately, these deltaic environments were incised into and became overlain by braided channel deposits during a marked drop in relative sea level and progradation of the fluvial system. Combining ichnologic and sedimentologic observations was critical to identify eleven distinct deltaic and continental paleoenvironments. This study documents the architecture and evolution of an ancient, high-latitude, muddy, river-dominated deltaic system and highlights the autogenic and allogenic processes preserved in the system.


Human behavior is imperfect. This is notably clear during repetitive tasks in which sequences of errors or deviations from perfect performance result. These errors are not random, but show patterned fluctuations with long-range temporal correlations that are well described using power-law spectra P(f)∝1/fβ, where β is the power-law scaling exponent describing the decay in temporal correlations. The neural basis of temporal correlations in such behaviors is not known. Interestingly, long-range temporal correlations are a hallmark of amplitude fluctuations in resting-state neuronal oscillations. Here, we investigated whether the temporal dynamics in brain and behavior are related. Thirty-nine subjects' eyes-open rest EEG was measured. Next, subjects reproduced without feedback a 1 s interval by tapping with their right index finger. In line with previous reports, we found evidence for the presence of long-range temporal correlations both in the amplitude modulation of resting-state oscillations in multiple frequency bands and in the timing-error sequences. Frequency scaling exponents of finger tapping and amplitude modulation of oscillations exhibited large individual differences. Neuronal dynamics of resting-state alpha-band oscillations (9–13 Hz) recorded at precentral sites strongly predicted scaling exponents of tapping behavior. The results suggest that individual variation in resting-state brain dynamics offer a neural explanation for individual variation in the error dynamics of human behavior.


Using the CANON CG 6 60 Z wide-angle fundus camera, fluorescein angiographic examinations of the fundus periphery were performed on 90 diabetic patients presenting with exudative diabetic maculopathy. The peripheral angiogram demonstrates that perimacular hyperpermeability - the main cause of diabetic maculopathy - is preceded by extensive disturbances of capillary perfusion in the midperiphery.


Although the interaction of matrix proteins with integrins is known to initiate signaling pathways that are essential for cell survival, a role for tumor suppressors in the regulation of these pathways has not been established. We demonstrate here that p53 can inhibit the survival function of integrins by inducing the caspase-dependent cleavage and inactivation of the serine/threonine kinase AKT/PKB. Specifically, we show that the α6β4 integrin promotes the survival of p53-deficient carcinoma cells by activating AKT/PKB. In contrast, this integrin does not activate AKT/PKB in carcinoma cells that express wild-type p53 and it actually stimulates their apoptosis, in agreement with our previous findings (Bachelder, R.E., A. Marchetti, R. Falcioni, S. Soddu, and A.M. Mercurio. 1999. J. Biol. Chem. 274:20733–20737). Interestingly, we observed reduced levels of AKT/PKB protein after antibody clustering of α6β4 in carcinoma cells that express wild-type p53. In contrast, α6β4 clustering did not reduce the level of AKT/PKB in carcinoma cells that lack functional p53. The involvement of caspase 3 in AKT/PKB regulation was indicated by the ability of Z-DEVD-FMK, a caspase 3 inhibitor, to block the α6β4-associated reduction in AKT/PKB levels in vivo, and by the ability of recombinant caspase 3 to promote the cleavage of AKT/PKB in vitro. In addition, the ability of α6β4 to activate AKT/PKB could be restored in p53 wild-type carcinoma cells by inhibiting caspase 3 activity. These studies demonstrate that the p53 tumor suppressor can inhibit integrin-associated survival signaling pathways.


Clustering approach is widely used in biomedical applications particularly for brain tumor detection in abnormal magnetic resonance (MRI) images. Fuzzy clustering using fuzzy C-means (FCM) algorithm proved to be superior over the other clustering approaches in terms of segmentation efficiency. But the major drawback of the FCM algorithm is the huge computational time required for convergence. The effectiveness of the FCM algorithm in terms of computational rate is improved by modifying the cluster center and membership value updating criterion. In this paper, the application of modified FCM algorithm for MR brain tumor detection is explored. A comprehensive feature vector space is used for the segmentation technique. Comparative analysis in terms of segmentation efficiency and convergence rate is performed between the conventional FCM and the modified FCM. Experimental results show superior results for the modified FCM algorithm in terms of the performance measures.


Under agroforestry practices, inter-specific facilitation between tree rows and cultivated alleys occurs when plants increase the growth of their neighbours especially under nutrient limitation. Due to a coarse roots architecture limiting soil inorganic phosphate (Pi) uptake, walnut trees (Juglans spp.) exhibit dependency on soil-borne symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi that extend extra-radical hyphae beyond the root Pi depletion zone. To investigate the benefits of mycorrhizal walnuts in alley cropping, we experimentally simulated an agroforestry system in which walnut rootstocks RX1 (J. regia x J. microcarpa) were connected or not by a common mycelial network (CMN) to maize plants grown under two contrasting Pi levels. Mycorrhizal colonization parameters showed that the inoculum reservoir formed by inoculated walnut donor saplings allowed the mycorrhization of maize recipient roots. Relative to non-mycorrhizal plants and whatever the Pi supply, CMN enabled walnut saplings to access maize Pi fertilization residues according to significant increases in biomass, stem diameter and expression of JrPHT1;1 and JrPHT1;2, two mycorrhiza-inducible phosphate transporter candidates here identified by phylogenic inference of orthologs. In the lowest Pi supply, stem height, leaf Pi concentration and biomass of RX1 were significantly higher than in non-mycorrhizal controls, showing that mycorrhizal connections between walnut and maize roots alleviated Pi deficiency in the mycorrhizal RX1 donor plant. Under Pi limitation, maize recipient plants also benefited from mycorrhization relative to controls, as inferred from larger stem diameter and height, biomass, leaf number, N content and Pi concentration. Mycorrhization-induced Pi uptake generated a higher carbon cost for donor walnut plants than for maize plants by increasing walnut plant photosynthesis to provide the AM fungus with carbon assimilate. Here we show for the first time that CMN alleviates Pi deficiency in co-cultivated walnut and maize plants, and may therefore contribute to limit the use of chemical P fertilizers in agroforestry systems.


This paper describes the design and implementation of a realtime speaker recognition system. The system performs text independent, closed set speaker recognition with up to 30 talkers in realtime. In addition, the reference speech used to characterize the 30 talkers can be extracted from as little as 10 seconds of speech from each talker, and the actual recognition performed with less than one minute of speech from the unknown talker. Two speaker recognition algorithms previously developed by Markel and Pfeifer were investigated for use in the realtime system. The results of this investigation clearly show that Markel's technique is superior for applications using very short speech segments for both the speaker models and the recognition trials. Markel's technique was implemented in realtime in a high speed progranmable signal processor. A test of this implementation with a set of 30 male speakers resulted in recognition accuracies of 93-100% for models generated with only 10 seconds of speech, and recognition trials using only 10 seconds of unknown speech.


Crack propagation modeling in quasi-brittle materials such as concrete is essential for improving the reliability and load-bearing capacity assessment. Crack propagation explains many failure characteristics of concrete structures using the fracture mechanics approach. This approach could better explain the softening behavior of concrete structures. A great effort has been made in developing numerical models; however, some models involve complex expressions with too many parameters, and the results are in some cases inaccurate. In this investigation, a numerical approach is developed to model the fracture process zone (FPZ). Based on the modified crack closure integral (MCCI) method, a new nonlinear spring is proposed to be placed between the interfacial node pairs to model crack propagation. A new strain energy release rates for Mode I is calculated as a function of opening in the softening part. Two benchmark beams are simulated by the ABAQUS software for the accuracy of cohesive zone model. The model decreases complexity of predicting crack propagation. It is observed that the cohesive zone model is robust, accurate and able to model the crack growth in the concrete beam. The prediction of the crack path is close to the experimental results (up to 90%). The peak loads had approximately 7.7% difference compared with the previous experimental loads. The accuracy of displacement in the present study is 15.9% compared with previously model at the same load intensity.


A focused ethnographic study in an urban Latino community in the western United States describes Mexican-origin mothers' experiences obtaining and using health services for their children. Repeated interviews with mothers, participant observation, and children's medical records composed the data sources. Qualitative findings suggest access to health care begins in the household, where women negotiate a working diagnosis for the children's illness with family members and coalesce support for health care seeking. Immigrant mothers described more barriers to children's health care than more acculturated mothers. Quantitative analyses of medical records supported this finding, with children of the least acculturated mothers demonstrating fewer well-child visits, increased emergent visits, and lower levels of immunization completeness. The results suggest health care providers can better meet the needs of Latino families with children by offering better explanations about children's diagnoses and treatment plans and demonstrating personalismo, or a friendly, kind, and social approach to care.


The research of the cultural vocation is one of the most effective means for quality and typicality protection of the productions and, at the same time, to limit soil degradation. In particular, the study of "terroir", i.e. the relationships between environment and product quality, highlights a local positivity of the resources, strongly linked to the specificity of origin environments. It must be fairly protect. The valorisation of terroir is mostly considered one of the greatest prospects of success for national agriculture within global market, because very often the quality crops become also reference crops and driving imaging for a territory. Actually the term "total quality of territory" is very useful; it means the territory managed in function of crops quality, soil and ecosystem conservation, environment healthiness and landscape beauty. The reconnaissance of the territory vocation needs the research of its peculiarities witch determine the uniqueness of that production area. Therefore the uniqueness of a terroir is a value added to the quality and it may be determining for the success of a cultivation. The "zoning" technique started from the introduction of terroir concept. It is the division of a territory in function of its ecopedological and geographic characteristics and checking the qualitative result of different species and varieties. In short, the climatic, pedological and crop information interact with productivity and quality of crops.Through the zoning, the constituents of terroir and the verification


This paper reports on the automatic alignment of audiobooks in Afrikaans. An existing Afrikaans pronunciation dictionary and corpus of Afrikaans speech data are used to generate baseline acoustic models. The baseline system achieves an average duration independent overlap rate of 0.977 on the first three chapters of an audio version of "Ruiter in die Nag", an Afrikaans book by Mikro. The average duration independent overlap rate increases to 0.990 when the speech data from the audiobook is used to perform Maximum A Posteriori adaptation on the baseline models. The corresponding value for models trained on the audiobook data is 0.996. An automatic measure of alignment accuracy is also introduced and compared to accuracies measured relative to a gold standard.


Skilled human readers can readily recognize written letters and letter strings. This domain of visual recognition, known as orthographic processing, is foundational to human reading, but it is unclear how it is supported by neural populations in the human brain. Behavioral research has shown that non-human primates (baboons) can learn to distinguish written English words from pseudo-words (lexical decision), successfully generalize that behavior to novel strings, and exhibit behavioral error patterns that are consistent with humans. Thus, non-human primate models, while not capturing the entirety of human reading abilities, may provide a unique opportunity to investigate the neuronal mechanisms underlying orthographic processing. Here, we investigated the neuronal representation of letters and letter strings in the ventral visual stream of naive macaque monkeys, and asked to what extent these representations could support visual word recognition. We recorded the activity of hundreds of neurons at the top two levels of the ventral visual form processing pathway (V4 and IT) while monkeys passively viewed images of letters, English words, and non-word letter strings. Linear decoders were used to probe whether those neural responses could support a battery of orthographic processing tasks such as invariant letter identification and lexical decision. We found that IT-based decoders achieved baboon-level performance on these tasks, with a pattern of errors highly correlated to the previously reported primate behavior. This capacity to support orthographic processing tasks was also present in the high-layer units of state-of-the-art artificial neural network models of the ventral stream, but not in the low-layer representations of those models. Taken together, these results show that the IT cortex of untrained monkeys contains a reservoir of precursor features from which downstream brain regions could, with some supervised instruction, learn to support the visual recognition of written words. This suggests that the acquisition of reading in humans did not require a full rebuild of visual processing, but rather the recycling of a brain network evolved for other visual functions.


ORGAN CULTURE IN A DELTA AREA contains five casestudies on organhistorical subjects. The first study Museum organs under the care of the government has been written as a contribution to a scientific discussion whether or not the famous 1479 Peter Gerritszorgan should be restored to a playable condition again after more than a century of museum conservation. The contribution focusses on the conservation history of the organs from the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum collection, among others based on the archives of the ministry of Education, Culture and Sciences. Among five instruments, only for the Peter Gerritszorgan the conservation of the complete instrument seems to have been intended after purchase in 1885. The second study A great work is an extended written result of a lecture during conference in Stockholm, 2003, on the Orchestrion that was built for the organ virtuoso and theorist Abbe Georg Joseph Vogler (1749-1814) by the Rotterdam organ builder Johannes Pieter Kunckel (1750-1815). Since very few primary sources on this innovative transportable organ have survived, the description has mainly been derived from contemporary periodicals and a specification available in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. The third and fourth studies OF GOLDEN AND UNNECESSARY ORGANS and They did not seem to be aware of the jewel they possess are classic historic overviews of the organ history of the city of Dordrecht and the Rijnmond region. As Albert Schweitzer noticed in 1928, people of Rotterdam were unaware of the value of the organ of the Great or St. Laurens church. The typically Dutch underestimation of the meaning of proper cultural heritage and the tendency of expecting the best from far away gave reason to the idea that establishing a 'School' of organ builders hardly seems to have existed in the Rijnmond region. This seems especially to be applicable to the career of the Rotterdam organ builders Willem Hendrik Kam (1806-1863) and Hendrik van der Meulen (1810-1852). Their biographies are provided in the fifth study Accused of Mediocrity. According to independent contemporary experts as well as to more recent insights, their surviving instruments rank them among the most important Dutch organ builders of the 19th century. Yet, their career was firmly injured by the preoccupation of the Rotterdam church wardens who were wrongly informed of Kam and Van der Meulen's so-called mediocrity. An anonymous newspaper discussion from their circle on the 1845 Batz & Co. renovation of the Rotterdam Laurensorgan was not appreciated by the consultant involved. However, their surviving instruments at e.g. Zierikzee (1848), Nieuw-Lekkerland (1853), Ouderkerk aan den IJssel (1854) and Dordrecht (1859) all testify of their internationally orientated scholarly approach of organ building


Data-sharing scientific communities use storage systems as distributed data stores by replicating content. In such highly replicated environments, a particular dataset can reside at multiple locations and can thus be downloaded from any one of them. Since datasets of interest are significantly large in size, improving download speeds either by server selection or by co-allocation can offer substantial benefits. We present an architecture for co-allocating grid data transfers across multiple connections, enabling the parallel download of datasets from multiple servers. We have developed several co-allocation strategies comprising of simple brute-force, history-based and dynamic load balancing techniques as a means both to exploit rate differences among the various client-server links and to address dynamic rate fluctuations. We evaluate our approaches using the GridFTP data movement protocol in a wide-area testbed and present our results.


Facilitated transport of oxygen through hemoglobin has been studied by use of a membrane sandwich of hemoglobin, Teflon, and water. Transport is enhanced only when there is a hemoglobin-bound-02 gradient in the pigment. When passing through a fully oxygenated layer, the accelerated transport is carried by an increased diffusion gradient of oxygen pressure through the solvent. The results substantiate experimentally the diffusion gradients proposed by Zilversmit.


Background: The Medical Information Database Network (MID-NET) is a national project that promotes effective safety measures for the active surveillance of drug safety assessments through pharmacoepidemiological methods, using real-world data in Japan. The MID-NET contains the data of approximately 5.05 million patients (as of December 2019) across 10 medical institutions, including 23 hospitals. One of the most important conditions for conducting pharmacoepidemiological research using multiple medical databases is to systematically verify of data standardization.
Objectives: To evaluate the effect of improving the accuracy of standard data quality control by the development of a validation model for standard code mapping in multiple medical information databases.
Methods: We established the standard code mapping validation center at one of the cooperating medical institutions of the MID-NET that could collect and manage information about the standard code interoperability. Additionally, we used the mapping table for the four standard codes, including the Japan Laboratory Test Standard Code, 10th Revision (JLAC10) code were collected from MID-NET cooperating institutions, and the accuracy of the mapping table was evaluated.
Results: The observed four standard codes mapping ratio between institutions varied from >2,000 to <100. Moreover, the accuracies of standard codes were not standardized. We used a centralized standard code mapping validation model to provide feedback for standardizing JLAC-10 for each institution and meaningful differences between institutions were improved. Conclusions: The developed model visualized information differences and improved the data quality between multiple medical institutions.


: The fundamental pathological observations in cystic fibrosis (CF) were made over three decades ago. More recently, physiological findings have directed investigation toward a plethora of humoral substances and their possible role in disturbances of the secretory processes in CF. The application of the techniques of molecular biology and of tissue culture is beginning to increase our knowledge about the so-called CF factors and their diverse effects on epithelial and ciliated surfaces. Emphasis in current research is on the chemical characterization of the CF factors, the metabolism of cells cultured from patients with CF, and the biochemical events controlling the processes of secretion. Some current theories as to the metabolic pathogenesis of CF are considered in the context of existing findings.


During Pleistocene glacial cycles, ice sheets advanced into the drainage basins of North America, warping the lithosphere beneath them, rerouting river systems, and sending meltwater to the oceans. Here I reconstruct the history of North American rivers and drainage patterns since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), use isotopic tracers to reconstruct the volume of meltwater sent down the Mississippi River since the LGM, and combine geophysical models and subsurface field observations to show that the Upper Mississippi River incised through the forebulge of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. The river histories form a new background of knowledge on ice-sheet--fluvial-system interactions. I first present a datadriven and largely model-ignorant review and synthesis of the literature on river systems and deglaciation across North America, which is intended as reference work for communities interested in Quaternary geology, glacial and fluvial geomorphology, and related fields. This is followed by modeled drainage history of North America, computed as a result of established ice sheet and glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) models; here I retrodict North American drainage patterns, for comparison with the data-driven drainage basins, and river discharge histories, quantified and partitioned into meltwater and seasonal precipitation minus evapotranspiration. I then use these modeled drainage histories with a simple oxygen isotope mixing model and a compiled high-resolution chronology of oxygen stable isotope ratios ( δ 18 O ) in the Gulf of Mexico to show that most models of North American deglaciation -and all in our study that were not based on ice physics -overpredict net meltwater discharge down the Mississippi since the LGM. This data compilation and a reinterpretation of the sedimentary record further shows that the southern Laurentide ice sheet (LIS) was not a significant contributor to Meltwater Pulse 1A (MWP-1A), in which sea level rose 14-18 m between 14.65 and 14.31 ka. Finally, I turn my attention to the longer-term Quaternary history of the Mississippi River System, and show that subsurface data record $\sim$40 m excess alluvium thickness in the Upper Mississippi Valley that closely matches the geometry of a model of the LGM Laurentide forebulge and likely formed over one or more pre-LGM glaciations; here, Mississippi River incision kept pace with forebulge uplift, and subsequent subsidence led to deep alluviation of the river profile. Together, these show the dynamism of river systems -the threads that tie the ice sheets to the sea -and how they record and respond to Quaternary glaciation.


This paper explores the economic properties of several EC-wide monetary aggregates which are extended to include different measures of cross-border holdings (CBHs). The EC-wide aggregate obtained by simply adding national definitions of broad money is used as a benchmark, since econometric analysis confirms previous findings that it can play a useful role in the coordination of monetary policy at the European level. Cointegration analysis and error-correction modelling in fact show that the demand for it is stable and predictable, with a statistical performance which compares most favourably with national equations. And Granger-causality tests, conducted in both bivariate and multivariate settings for a wide range of specifications, indicate that it has predictive value for both nominal and real Community income. Aggregates including CBHs perform differently according to the definition. "Very broad" measures (which include EC-residents' CBHs kept outside the EC or non-ECresidents' CBHs kept within the EC but denominated in non-EC currencies) are poorly linked with EC-wide income, since they do not pass cointegration tests and do not Granger-cause Community income. In contrast, extended definitions "focused on the EC" (which hinge on the inclusion of CBHs denominated in EC-currencies andlor kept within the EC) are shown to possess the economic properties necessary for money measures to be useful for monetary policy and economic analysis. Although such extended aggregates do not yet outperform the traditional measure of EC-wide broad money, the results suggest that they may shortly become an increasingly important tool for monetary analysis at the EC level.


The 12 to 13 July 2003 andesite lava dome collapse at the Soufrière Hills volcano, Montserrat, provides the first opportunity to document comprehensively both the sub‐aerial and submarine sequence of events for an eruption. Numerous pyroclastic flows entered the ocean during the collapse, depositing approximately 90% of the total material into the submarine environment. During peak collapse conditions, as the main flow penetrated the air–ocean interface, phreatic explosions were observed and a surge cloud decoupled from the main flow body to travel 2 to 3 km over the ocean surface before settling. The bulk of the flow was submerged and rapidly mixed with sea water forming a water‐saturated mass flow. Efficient sorting and physical differentiation occurred within the flow before initial deposition at 500 m water depth. The coarsest components (∼60% of the total volume) were deposited proximally from a dense granular flow, while the finer components (∼40%) were efficiently elutriated into the overlying part of the flow, which evolved into a far‐reaching turbidity current.


We investigate whether international income-shifting aggressiveness affects local investments. Amid heightened scrutiny of international activities by tax authorities, firms can support income-shifting goals by locating investments consistent with reported income. As a consequence, we predict firms that aggressively shift income will make affiliate-level investment decisions less influenced by local investment opportunities than firms that do not aggressively shift income. We use affiliate-level data from multinational corporations to develop a firm-year proxy for the sensitivity of reported income to cross-border tax incentives. Results suggest firm-years with below-median income-shifting aggressiveness exhibit a typical responsiveness of local investments to investment opportunities, but firm-years with above-median income-shifting aggressiveness exhibit no statistical relation. Consistent with expectations, these results are stronger for firms with better governance or subject to greater tax authority scrutiny. Our tests extend the literature on investment distortions by documenting that multinational corporations' international tax considerations alter their local tangible investment decisions.


Sparse signal reconstruction algorithms have attracted research attention due to their wide applications in various fields. In this paper, we present a simple Bayesian approach that utilizes the sparsity constraint and a priori statistical information (Gaussian or otherwise) to obtain near optimal estimates. In addition, we make use of the rich structure of the sensing matrix encountered in many signal processing applications to develop a fast sparse recovery algorithm. The computational complexity of the proposed algorithm is very low compared with the widely used convex relaxation methods as well as greedy matching pursuit techniques, especially at high sparsity.


(FAPD/BPD, FLLD/BPD) and the perimeter and area for the HC (FPer/HC, FA/HC). The best curve to fit the relationships of the different variables with gestational age was identified and the changes in the absolute fontanelle size and of its relationship with the fetal head during gestation were analyzed. Results: A linear regression model fitted FLLD, FA, and all ratios, while a quadratic regression model fitted FAPD and FPer. The absolute size of the fontanelle significantly increased during the first half of pregnancy, until 26 weeks of gestation, to plateau or decrease thereafter. However, all ratios showed a significant negative correlation with advancing gestational age. Conclusions: This study suggests that the rapid growth of the fetal head, determined by the expansion of the brain, occurs faster than the ossification of the cranial bones and the anterior fontanelle. This determines an increase in the absolute size of the fontanelle despite the fact that its size relative to the whole volume of the fetal head is rapidly decreasing. It could be suggested that it is the fetal head that grows around the anterior fontanelle rather than the latter reducing in size during gestation. These data may be of help in understanding the mechanism behind an abnormal fontanelle development (delayed ossification or premature closure).


A comparison of toluene and ethanol (EtOH) induced changes in central nervous system (CNS) function and symptoms were evaluated in two studies, and when possible the effects of toluene were expressed in EtOH equivalent units. The toluene concentrations were 0, 75, and 150 ppm, bracketing the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists threshold limit value (ACGIH TLV) of 100 ppm. The socially relevant EtOH doses were 0.00, 0.33, and 0.66 g EtOH/kg body weight, equivalent to two and four 3.5% 12 ounce beers. Forty two paid college students were used in each study. In the first study, subjects were exposed to toluene and an odour masking agent menthol (0.078 ppm) for seven hours over three days. In the second study EtOH or a placebo was administered at 1530 across three days also in the presence of menthol. Verbal and visual short term memory (Sternberg, digit span, Benton, pattern memory), perception (pattern recognition), psychomotor skill (simple reaction time, continuous performance, symbol-digit, hand-eye coordination, finger tapping, and critical tracking), manual dexterity (one hole), mood (profile on mood scales (POMS), fatigue (fatigue checklist), and verbal ability were evaluated at 0800, 1200, and 1600. Voluntary symptoms and observations of sleep were collected daily. A 3 x 3 latin square design evaluated solvent effects simultaneously controlling for learning and dose sequence. An analysis of variance and test for trend were performed on am-pm differences reflecting an eight hour workday and on pm scores for each solvent, in which subjects were their own control Intersubject variation in absorbance was monitored in breath. A 5 to 10% decrement was considered meaningful if consistent with a linear trend at p less than 0.05. At 150 ppm toluene, losses in performance were 6.0% for digit span, 12.1% for pattern recognition (latency), 5% for pattern memory (number correct), 6.5% for one hole, and 3% for critical tracking. The number of headaches and eye irritation also increased in a dose-response manner. The greatest effect was found for an increasing number of observations of sleep. A range of 2 to 7% decrements suggest the ACGIH TLV of 100 ppm toluene may be a good estimate of the biological threshold supporting a re-evaluation of the TLV. At 0.66 g EtOH/kg body weight symptoms and performance decrements were 6.6% for digit span, 9.2% for pattern recognition, 4.0% for continuous performance, 7.9% for symbol-digit, 16.5% for finger tapping, 6.2% for critical tracking, and 5.2% for the one hole test. The EtOH equivalents at 150 ppm toluene for digit span (0.56g EtOH/kg/body weight), the latency for pattern recognition (0.66 g EtOH kg body weight), and the one hole element "move" (0.37 g EtOH kg body weight) show that the first two measures would be affected at or above the 50 mg% blood alcohol concentration. This concentration is recognised as the lowest alcohol concentration associated with increased numbers of automobile accidents. The results suggest that EtOH may be a useful acute standard to compare the effects of various industrial solvents and support investigating an association between exposure to solvents and increased risk to safety in industry.


This paper presents an approach of active ferromagnetic shimming for C-type permanent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) magnet. It is designed to reduce inhomogeneity of magnetostatic field of C-type permanent magnet to meet the stringent requirement for MRI applications. An optimal configuration (locations and thicknesses) of active ferromagnetic pieces is generated through calculation according to the initial field map and the demanded final homogeneity specifications. This approach uses a minimisation technique which makes the sum of squared magnetic moment minimum to restrict the amount of the active ferromagnetic material used and the maximal thickness of pieces stacked at each hole location in the shimming boards. Simulation and experimental results verify that the method is valid and efficient.


Many recent ultrasound image processing methods are based on patch comparison, such as filtering and segmentation. Identifying similar patches in noise-corrupted images is a key factor for the performance of these methods. While the Euclidean distance is ideal to handle the patch comparison under additive Gaussian noise, finding good measures to compare patches corrupted by multiplicative noise is still an open research. In this paper, we deduce several new geodesic distances, arising from parametric probabilistic spaces, and suggest them as similarity measures to process RF and log-compressed ultrasound images in patch-based methods. We provide practical examples using these measures in the fields of ultrasound image filtering and segmentation, with results that confirm the potential of the technique.


Abstract This research investigates the application of calender extrusion as a novel technique in the production of cement fiberboards. The technique is successfully used in the production of non-structural building elements. The properties of the produced composites are discussed in this paper, particularly with regards the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber used in the study. The research involves an experiment to examine the mechanical properties and microstructure of the composites, and the results indicate that calender extrusion is a promising method for the production of thin and wide cement composites. These products can be shaped into various three-dimensional forms in the green state after processing. Based on the results, the mechanical properties of cement-bonded fiberboards vary with processing direction due to the alignment of fibers. Fiber content is the most significant factor with regards the tensile and flexural properties of fiber-reinforced cementitious products processed with calender extrusion. Moreover, processed composites have adequate screw head pull-through and freeze-thaw resistance.


In this paper, we have reported birefringence manipulation in regenerated high birefringent fiber Bragg grating (RPMG) by using CO2 laser annealing method. The results indicate that the birefringence of RPMG remains unchanged after CO2 laser annealing followed by slow cooling process, but reduced after fast cooling process (~5.6×10-5). After a series of annealing procedures with different cooling rates, the obtained results show that slower the cooling rate, higher the birefringence of RPMG. The volume, thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) and glass transition temperature (Tg) change of stress applying part in RPMG during cooling process are responsible for the birefringence change. Therefore, these findings are important to the RPMG sensor in high and dynamic temperature environment. The measuring accuracy, range and sensitivity of RPMG sensor is greatly affected by its birefringence value. This work also opens up a new application of CO2 laser for fiber annealing and birefringence modification. Keywords—Birefringence, CO2 laser annealing, regenerated gratings, thermal stress.


The serum concentration of valproic acid (VPA) in epilepsy patients decreased by the administration of carbapenem antibiotics, such as meropenem, panipenem or imipenem, to a sub-therapeutic level. This review summarized several case reports of this interaction between VPA (1–4 g dose) and carbapenem antibiotics to elucidate the possible mechanisms decreasing VPA concentration by carbapenem antibiotics. Studies to explain the decrease were carried out using rats by the following sites: absorption of VPA in the intestine, glucuronidation in the liver, disposition in blood and renal excretion. In the intestinal absorption site, there are two possible mechanisms: inhibition of the intestinal transporter for VPA absorption by carbapenem antibiotics, and the decrease of β-glucuronidase supplied from enteric bacteria, which were killed by antibiotics. This is consistent with a view that the decrease of VPA originated from VPA-Glu, relating to entero-hepatic circulation. The second key site is in the liver, because of no decreased in VPA level by carbapenem antibiotics in hepatectomized rats. There are three possible mechanisms in the liver to explain the decreased phenomenon: first, decrease of the UDPGA level by carbapenem antibiotics. UDPGA is a co-factor for UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT)-mediated glucuronidation of VPA. Second, the direct activation of UGT by carbapenem antibiotics. This activation was observed after pre-incubation of human liver microsomes with carbapenem antibiotics. Third, the inhibition of β-glucuronidase in liver by carbapenem antibiotics and the decreased VPA amount liberated from VPA-Glu. The third site is the distribution of VPA in blood (erythrocytes and plasma). Plasma VPA distributed to erythrocytes by the inhibition of transporters (Mrp4), which efflux VPA from erythrocytes to plasma, by carbapenem antibiotics. The increase of renal excretion of VPA as VPA-Glu depends on the increase of VPA-Glu level by UGT. One or a combination of some factors in these mechanisms might relate to the carbapenem-mediated decrease of the plasma VPA level.


Vascular tumors of the breast, with the exception of perilobular hemangiomas, are generally considered to be malignant. The pathologic and clinical features of 40 patients with angiosarcoma of the breast and 12 with other vascular tumors of the breast were reviewed. Three general histologic patterns of growth were identified among the angiosarcomas and were found to correlate closely with prognosis. Whereas 10 of the 13 patients in histologic Group I were alive and free of disease with an average follow-up of nearly 6 years, only two of 16 Group III patients were free of disease, and 14 have died. The six Group II patients had a survival similar to those in Group I. In this series the disease-free survival at 3 years was 41% and at 5 years 33%, much better than that reported in previous reviews of mammary angiosarcoma. The data also indicated that adjuvant chemotherapy, specifically actinomycin D, is effective in some and possibly all patients with angiosarcoma of the breast. The 12 other vascular lesions had distinctly different morphologic features, a benign clinical course, and should probably not be viewed as angiosarcomas. However, total excision of all vascular lesions of the breast is essential in order to determine both the diagnosis and the appropriate therapy.


This study is an attempt to provide lucid and perhaps comprehensive information on the role of traditional media on rural development in four oil producing communities in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. It identifies types of traditional communication channels available for rural development, it examines the effectiveness of these channels of communication, and establishes how messages are packaged and presented in performance. The study employed descriptive survey design. The population of the study comprised 200 respondents sampled from the four communities. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 50 out of 200 respondents that constituted the sample for this study each from the four communitiesin Ikot Abasi Local Government, Akwa Ibom State. The result of the study among others showed that indigenous media are still being effectively used on rural development. Apparently vast majority of respondents strongly agreed that indigenous media are effective in disseminating information on rural development. The findings also showed that indigenous media facilitates communication among the rural people on community development. The study among others recommended that the government through the ministry of information and culture should improve the role of folk mediaby organizing regular workshops and seminar for the training of stakeholders in media operations.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to assess morphological features of intact adipose tissue (AT) ex vivo from both subcutaneous (s.c.) abdominal and gluteal areas using a novel approach of multiphoton autofluorescence microscopy (MPAM) combined with second harmonic generation microscopy (SHGM), and to assess the relationship between morphological features in the two AT sites and insulin resistance to peripheral glucose disposal.

METHOD
This study was a cross-sectional evaluation of AT morphology feature and peripheral insulin resistance.

SUBJECTS
Fourteen overweight/obese premenopausal women underwent body composition studies, hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps, and needle biopsy of both the s.c. abdominal and gluteal AT areas. MPAM combined with SHGM was used to measure adipocyte maximal diameter and collagen fiber bundle thickness within a sampled image volume after three-dimensional visualization.

RESULTS
Higher body mass index (BMI) was associated with larger adipocyte diameter in s.c. abdominal, but not gluteal, AT. Higher adipocyte diameter was associated with higher pericellular collagen thickness. Adipocyte diameter in s.c. abdominal, but not gluteal, AT was associated positively with leptin and negatively with adiponectin plasma levels and peripheral glucose disposal rate. The latter correlation was no longer significant after adjustment for collagen thickness.

CONCLUSION
In overweight/obese premenopausal women, larger adipocyte diameter in s.c. abdominal, but not gluteal, AT associates with low plasma adiponectin and systemic insulin resistance, and suggests that increased collagen thickness (obesity-related scarring) could contribute to these findings.


This Article is about the role the judiciary, legislatures, and law enforcement expect and encourage parents and guardians to play, as third-party advisors to juvenile suspects both prior to and during custodial interrogations. The Article examines the assumptions supporting the presence of parents at juvenile interrogations and reveals the inadequacies of assigning either a parent or guardian as the sole protector of this critical right. The expectation is that parental presence will provide juveniles with additional protections in the face of state interrogation, but data regarding parental attitudes toward a child's right to withhold information from the police, statistics concerning adult comprehension of Miranda requirements, and potential conflicts of interest challenge the assumption that parents can adequately advise juveniles regarding the waiver of their right against self-incrimination.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to see whether attitudes toward older workers by managers change over time and what might explain development over time.

Design/methodology/approach
A unique panel study of Dutch managers is used to track the development of their attitudes toward older workers over time (2010–2013) by focusing on a set of qualities of older workers aged 50 and older. A conditional change model is used to explain the variation in changes by focusing on characteristics of the manager (age, education, gender, tenure and contact with older workers) and of the firm (composition staff, type of work and sector, size).

Findings
Managers have significantly adjusted their views on the so-called "soft skills" of older workers, like reliability and loyalty. Attitudes toward "hard skills" – like physical stamina, new tech skills and willingness to train – have not changed. Important drivers behind these changes are the age of the manager – the older the manager, the more likely a positive change in attitude toward older workers can be observed – and the change in the quality of contact with older workers. A deterioration of the managers' relationship with older workers tends to correspond with a decline in their assessment of soft and hard skills.

Social implications
Attitudes are not very susceptible to change but this study shows that a significant change can be expected simply from the fact that managers age: older managers tend to have a more positive assessment of the hard and soft skills of older workers than young managers.

Originality/value
This paper offers novel insights into the question whether stereotypes of managers change over time.


We have investigated the problem of removing objects from a heap without having recourse to object models. This capability is useful for `intelligent singulation', i.e., the decomposition of a heap into isolated objects. As we are exclusively relying on geometric information, the use of range data is a natural choice. To ensure that we see opposite patches of the object surfaces, we use up to three range views from different directions. These views are triangulated using the data points as vertices. After merging the views, the resulting surface description is segmented, i.e., partitioned into large sets of contiguous triangles which correspond to objects or object components in the scene. The system then tries to detect grasping opportunities. Two heuristics guide the selection of a `focus of action' which consists of a suitable component. For this component, good grasping point pairs are found by using an intelligent search technique. If no pairs are found due to impending collisions or bad grasping quality another component is checked. Finally the robot performs the grasping. Force sensing allows the correction of inaccuracies of the vision system and the handling of collisions.


We propose an alternative model for mixtures of experts which uses a different parametric form for the gating network. The modified model is trained by the EM algorithm. In comparison with earlier models--trained by either EM or gradient ascent--there is no need to select a learning stepsize. We report simulation experiments which show that the new architecture yields faster convergence. We also apply the new model to two problem domains: piecewise nonlinear function approximation and the combination of multiple previously trained classifiers.


Weight gain increases the prevalence of obesity, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Nevertheless, unintentional weight loss can be a harbinger of health problems. The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (1987– 2009) included 15,792 US adults aged 45–64 years at baseline and was used to compare associations of long-term (30 years) and short-term (3 years) weight change with the risks of coronary heart disease (CHD) and ischemic stroke. Age-, gender-, and race-standardized incidence rates were 4.9 (95% confidence interval (CI): 4.6, 5.2) per 1,000 person-years for CHD and 2.5 (95% CI: 2.3, 2.8) per 1,000 person-years for stroke. After controlling for baseline body mass index and other covariates, long-term weight gain (since age 25 years) of more than 2.7% was associated with elevated CHD risk, and any long-term weight gain was associated with increased stroke risk. Among middle-aged adults, short-term (3-year) weight loss of more than 3% was associated with elevated immediate CHD risk (hazard ratio=1.46, 95% CI: 1.18, 1.81) and stroke risk (hazard ratio=1.45, 95% CI: 1.10, 1.92). Risk tended to be larger in adults whose weight loss did not occur through dieting. Avoidance of weight gain between early and middle adulthood can reduce risks of CHD and stroke, but short-term, unintentional weight loss in middle adulthood may be an indicator of immediate elevated risk that has not previously been well recognized. body mass index; body weight changes; coronary heart disease; ischemic stroke


Background Airways diseases comprise mainly of COPD and asthma. There is a need to develop both new models and improve methodologies of existing models these diseases. LPS challenges in smokers would be an excellent model to study the drugs directed against TLR4 mediated inflammation in COPD. In asthma allergen challenges are established models of disease and extensively used in clinical trials. Back to back reproducibility of two bolus dose allergen challenges has not been studied; this would provide intra subject standard deviations which are useful for accurate power calculations for bolus allergen challenge studies.Aims 1. To investigate Inhaled LPS Challenges in healthy smokers as a model of inflammation in COPD; study systemic and sputum biomarkers for use in such studies and use LPS challenge as a model to study corticosteroid insensitivity 2. Investigate LPS Challenges in HNS as a model to study neutrophil chemotaxis mechanisms 3. Study Reproducibility of bolus dose allergen challengeMethods 1. HNS and HS were recruited and underwent inhaled LPS challenges. Safety, airway and systemic inflammation was studied. 2. Mild atopic asthmatics underwent two bolus allergen challenges, reproducibility of EAR and LAR was studied and intrasubject SD was used for power calculationsResult LPS Challenges were safe in both HNS and HS and led to increase in sputum neutrophil% in both these populations with maximum effect at 6hours post 30�g LPS inhalation. The resulting airway neutrophilic inflammation was reproducible in HS. LPS challenge in HS also leads to increase in systemic biomarkers and upregulation of NF?B pathways in induced sputum. There was moderate corticosteroid insensitivity in airway inflammation in HS which didnot increase post LPS challenge. In HNS sputum supernatants post LPS challenge increase chemotaxis of blood neutrophils which is related to CXCL8 levels and mediated by both CXCR1 and 2 receptors. Bolus allergen challenges in mild asthmatics show good reproducibility for both EAR and LAR; I have also presented intrasubject SD which maybe used for accurate power calculations for future studies.Conclusions LPS Challenges lead to neutrophilic airway inflammation in HS which is reproducible and mediated by upregulation of TLR4 signalling making this a good model to study anti-inflammatory drugs for COPD in clinical trials. Additionally, LPS challenges in HNS provide a model to study neutrophil chemotaxis mechanisms. Bolus allergen challenges show good reproducibility and accurate power calculations are presented in this thesis.


Applying existing theories to research, in the form of a theoretical framework, is necessary to advance knowledge from what is already known toward the next steps to be taken. This article proposes a guide on how to develop a theoretical framework for complex community-based interventions using the Cardiovascular Health Awareness Program as an example. Developing a theoretical framework starts with identifying the intervention's essential elements. Subsequent steps include the following: (a) identifying and defining the different variables (independent, dependent, mediating/intervening, moderating, and control); (b) postulating mechanisms how the independent variables will lead to the dependent variables; (c) identifying existing theoretical models supporting the theoretical framework under development; (d) scripting the theoretical framework into a figure or sets of statements as a series of hypotheses, ifthen logic statements, or a visual model; (e) content and face validation of the theoretical framework; and (f) revising the theoretical framework. In our example, we combined the "diffusion of innovation theory" and the "health belief model" to develop our framework. Using the Cardiovascular Health Awareness Program as the model, we demonstrated a stepwise process of developing a theoretical framework. The challenges encountered are described, and an overview of the strategies employed to overcome these challenges is presented.


Bycatch, the incidental capture of any marine animal in fishing gear, occurs globally in nearly every type of fishing gear. This paper consolidates the existing published and unpublished information about bycatch of protected species and other species of concern in commercial fishing gear on the east coast of the United States. A total of 49 commercial fisheries were reviewed, 39 of which had documented bycatch. The study identifies documented and potential bycatch of marine mammal, sea turtle, sea bird, fish, and invertebrate species in addition to existing bycatch mitigation and management in these fisheries. This information can be used as a resource for scientists, managers, and conservation practitioners in understanding the extent of bycatch and bycatch mitigation on the US east coast.


In his insightful LJIL article Kubo Macak discusses the under-developed state of international cyber security law. He assesses that the absence of cyber security law-making has created a power vacuum that has been filled by non-state actor initiatives, such as the Tallinn Manual. He calls on states that now is the time to reclaim their central role in international lawmaking, in the short-term by articulating their opinio iuris more clearly, in the mid-term by overcoming their treaty aversion, and in the long-term by moving towards the adoption of a multilateral cyber security treaty.

While I fully agree with Macak's central argument for more state engagement I would like to highlight a problem that states seem well-advised to address in their future engagement with international law in cyberspace.


Indonesian political and strategic relations are quite good with the United States, especially since the New Order regime in Indonesia, namely in the 1960s. But economic ties the two sides have not grown enough in comparison with the United States economic relations with neighboring Indonesia, Singapore and Australia. In terms of political and strategic aspects in the relationship between the two countries produced in the United States and Indonesia are less developed the economic potential between the two. Both countries have significant potential to further enhance the bilateral relations to the mutual interest through the establishment of a comprehensive partnership (Comprehensive Partnership) is a strategic step in improving relations of cooperation in politics, economy, security, environment, energy, education and other areas of life other. Efforts to improve relations between the two sides appeared in recent years because of the encouragement of the government of Indonesia and US efforts to seek larger markets in order to restore its economic crisis. In November 2010 the leaders of both countries signed the US-Indonesia Compherensive Partnership Agreement (US-Indonesia CPA) which is a long-term commitment of both countries to enhance and deepen bilateral relations. One sector that is the focus of the cooperation is the economic sector.


Details of plant regeneration, combined with soil seedbank data, are documented for a densely grassed wet sclerophyll forest in north-eastern Australia. The following two hypotheses were tested: (1) that established individuals of rainforest pioneer species are killed by low to moderate intensity fires and (2) that seedling recruitment of these species is evenly distributed throughout the intervals between fires. Both the sclerophyll and rainforest pioneer species displayed strong regenerative abilities as a response to low or moderate intensity fires. Most of the rainforest pioneer species were not killed by two recent fires but vegetatively regenerated. Alstonia muelleriana showed fire-enhanced vegetative expansion via root suckering. Both the sclerophyll and rainforest pioneer species were found to recruit seedlings primarily as a pulse in the first year or two after a fire, with limited recruitment after longer intervals between fires. This is consistent with suggestions that grass competition may limit tree recruitment. The germinable soil seedbank was dominated by rainforest pioneers, herbs and grasses, with heat treatment of the seedbank enhancing seed germination of two rainforest pioneer species. These results demonstrate the ability of rainforest pioneers to exploit the post-fire environment and indicate the complex nature of rainforest boundary dynamics. Further research into tropical rainforest expansion is required to examine the effects of fire regimes on vegetative and seedling regeneration across a range of sites.


In order to ascertain the blood flow velocities in the intracranial arteries we evaluated 73 preterm neonates during a period ranging from June 1994 to March 1999. These preterm infants were divided in two separate groups, 18 healthy and 55 with intracranial hemorrhage. They were subjected to sequencial measurements of blood flow velocities in the intracranial arteries. The gestational age of the whole group varied from 28 to 36 weeks and birth weights between 720 and 2530 g. The diagnosis of the intracerebral hemorrhages in these preterm neonates were done using high resolution gray and color scale transfontanellar ultrasonography brain scans . The ultrasound evaluations were performed in the initial 3rd, 7th and 14th day of life. The 73 preterm infants were evaluated with sequencial measurements of blood flow velocity in the intracranial arteries using the Doppler technique through the anterior fontanelle. Doppler evaluation of the cerebral vessels were performed on days 3, 7, 30 and 90 of life. These evaluations were performed in the six intracranial arteries, meaning: right and left anterior and middle cerebral arteries and right and left internal carotid arteries. Doppler recordings were made using Duplex Color-Doppler system, pulse echo probe of 3,5; 5,0 and 7,5 MHz. Measuring the blood flow velocity in the cerebral arteries we obtained a maximum systolic velocity and end diastolic velocity with a rate in meters per second (m/s) for each cardiac cycle. After obtaining these numerical values for these velocities we obtained the resistance index (RI) or Pourcelot index. In a progressive way as the resistance index (RI) values were being obtained in each stage of this study they were also being checked in the cerebral arteries of healthy preterm infants and infants with intracranial hemorrhages. We also analyzed in a comparative method the values of the resistive index between the two groups of preterm infants observing their behaviour.The results obtained when comparing the RI values in the various arteries during the different stages of the study permitted us to conclude that the RI values of healthy pre-term infants were always larger than the RI values of pre-term infants with intracranial hemorrhage. We also conclude that the RI values in the healthy pre-term infants and in the pre-term infants with intracranial hemorrhages decreased progressively with the increasing age of neonates.


To combat hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Taiwan, a mass immunoprophylaxis program was launched on July 1, 1984, aiming first at prevention of chronic HBV carriage from perinatal mother-to-infant infection. In the first 15-month period, 352,721 (78%) of 450,585 pregnant women were screened for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg); HBsAg was present in 62,359 (18%), with 50% of them categorized as highly infectious. Infants born to HBsAg-positive women were given 5 micrograms of a plasma-derived hepatitis B vaccine at ages 1, 5, and 9 weeks, with a booster at age 12 months. Infants of highly infectious carrier mothers received an additional 0.5 mL of hepatitis B immune globulin within 24 hours after birth. The coverage rate of the hepatitis B immune globulin was 77% in 27,375 infants born to highly infectious mothers, and that of the first, second, third, and the fourth doses of vaccine was 88%, 86%, 84%, and 71%, respectively, in infants of 55,620 carrier mothers. The reported untoward reactions to immunization were negligible. We conclude that a mass hepatitis B vaccination program is feasible in hyperendemic areas such as Taiwan; this should be a significant step toward the effective control of HBV infection in these areas.


News from Europe of a new epidemic, called the Spanish influenza or Spanish flu, began appearing in Sao Paulo city newspapers in June 1918. On 15 October, the State Sanitation Service confirmed the occurrence of the first cases in the city. From among the discussions on the nature of the disease and the various treatment proposals then brought forward, I highlight two suggested treatments: the recommendations approved by the Sao Paulo Academy of Medicine, and "mercurialization." In this effort to organize knowledge about the Spanish flu and, indirectly, to instruct the population at large, proposals and debates surrounding forms of treatment demonstrated both how medical-scientific discourse was developed and how it was growing ever more arcane to the general population.


Oxidative/nitrosative stress, a pervasive condition of increased amounts of reactive and nitrogen species, is responsible for a variety of degenerative processes in some human diseases such as gastrointestinal affections. Diarrhea is one such infection that has long been recognized as one of the most important health problems in developing countries. Constipation is a delay or difficulty in evacuating the stool. In this respect, several stud - ies were performed and have shown that the diarrhea pathophysiology and constipation were accompanied by accumulation of biomarkers of oxidative/nitrosative stress as well as the depletion of antioxidant system. In this chapter, we discuss about the recent advances that propose a major role of oxidative/nitrosative stress on diarrhea pathogen- esis and constipation.


Habitat for Humanity Buffalo (HFHB) is a non-profit ecumenical Christian housing organization. It was founded in 1985 by a group of concerned citizens including Ron Talboys, who had visited the Habitat for Humanity affiliate in Americus Georgia. The Buffalo affiliate of HFHB was the 101st affiliate to be started in the United States. Over the past 26 years, HFHB has worked in all nine council districts of Buffalo and in nearby Lackawanna. The goal of HFHB, and all Habitat for Humanity affiliates, is to eliminate poverty housing in the world.


Lianas (woody vines) contribute substantially to the diversity of woody plants in Yasunı́ National Park, Eastern Ecuador. In total 606 individuals, belonging to 138 species, were found in two 20-m × 100-m plots. The liana diversity was higher than in any comparable study, but the density was relatively low. Sapindaceae and Leguminosae were the most species-rich families, whereas Leguminosae and Celastraceae were the most abundant families. The number of liana individuals as well as the number of liana species was partially explained by forest structure, but 92% of the variation in number of liana species depended on the number of liana individuals. Areas with high density of small trees had high liana density, and areas with a high number of tree saplings had a relatively high diversity of climbing lianas. The probability of trees being colonized by lianas increased with tree diameter. The presence of one liana on a tree increased its risk of being colonized by additional lianas.


A growing number of studies find that formulaic language plays an important role in language processing, production, and acquisition (Erman & Warren 2000; Conklin & Schmitt 2008; Wray 2008). Native speakers typically store and retrieve a sequence of words or word strings as a holistic unit. This study investigates advanced Korean learners' use of formulaic language through an analysis of the learners' writings. The study focuses on analyzing the learners' use of collocation, lexical bundles, and idiomatic expressions. Quantitative and qualitative analyses identify the amount, types, and accuracy of their use of formulaic language. The findings show that these learners not only make errors in using the appropriate formulaic sequences, but they also fail to consider the proper contexts. In addition, compared to native speakers, advanced learners tend to overuse a small range of high-frequency familiar formulaic sequences and lack diversity in their use of formulaic sequences. The findings further suggest ways of facilitating formulaic language acquisition.


Abstract. The Global Positioning System – Radio Occultation (GPS-RO) observations from FormoSat-3 ∕ COSMIC are used to comprehend the global distribution of equatorial plasma bubbles which are characterized by depletion regions of plasma in the F region of the ionosphere. Plasma bubbles that cause intense scintillation of the radio signals are identified based on the S4 index derived from the 1 Hz raw signal-to-noise ratio measurements between 2007 and 2017. The analyses revealed that bubbles influenced by background plasma density occurred along the geomagnetic equator and had an occurrence peak around the dip equator during high solar activity. The peak shifted between the African and American sectors, depending on different solar conditions. Plasma bubbles usually developed around 19:00 local time (LT), with maximum occurrence around 21:00 LT during solar maximum and ∼22:00 LT during solar minimum. The occurrence of bubbles showed a strong dependence on longitudes, seasons, and solar cycle with the peak occurrence rate in the African sector around the March equinox during high solar activity, which is consistent with previous studies. The GPS-RO technique allows an extended analysis of the altitudinal distribution of global equatorial plasma bubbles obtained from high vertical resolution profiles, thus making it a convenient tool which could be further used with other techniques to provide a comprehensive view of such ionospheric irregularities.


Nanoscale Ag-loaded sunflower-like In2O3 hierarchical nanostructures are developed for HCHO detection. Such unique architectures are synthesized by an ambient temperature and pressure hydrolysis reaction combined with a subsequent chemical reduction process. Morphology characterizations confirm that homodisperse nanochains assembled by nanoparticles along the same direction are radially linked to a center to construct sunflower-like hierarchical nanostructures. Novel highly porous and branched structure of the 3D hierarchical architectures and the chemical and electronic sensitization effect of Ag nanoparticles endow Ag-loaded In2O3 nanostructures-based sensors with enhanced gas sensing performances in terms of fast response time (0.9 s), recovery time (14 s), high sensitivity and good sensing selectivity for 20 ppm HCHO. A multistage reaction formation mechanism of the sunflower-like hierarchical nanostructures, and a morphology-dependent sensing mechanism are proposed.


Ab s t r Ac t Introduction: Adult intussusception is an infrequent cause of intestinal obstruction and differs from childhood intussusception in its presentation, etiology, and treatment. Almost 90% of adult intussusceptions are secondary to a pathological condition that serves as a lead point and most of them require surgical intervention. Method: Computed tomography (CT) is the most sensitive diagnostic modality which distinguishes intussusceptions with and without a lead point. This paper presents the clinical presentation and etiopathogenesis of adult intussusception as demonstrated by CT. Observation and results: Five cases of adult intussusception were evaluated and the various etiologies included an intestinal polyp, bowel wall leiomyoma, jejunal lipoma, calcified lymph and idiopathic causes. Conclusion: Adult intussusception is a rare but challenging condition for the surgeon. Diagnosis is usually missed because of nonspecific and subacute symptoms. With the advent of MDCT in imaging of acute abdominal emergency, the detection of intussusception has increased.


In the rapid change of drug scenarios, as the powerful development in the drug market, particularly in the number and the kind of the compound available, Internet plays a dominant role to become one of the major "drug market". The European Commission funded the Psychonaut Web Mapping Project (carried out in the time-frame January 2008-December 2009), with the aim to start/implement an Early Warning System (through the data/information collected from the Web virtual market), to identify and categorise novel recreational drugs/psychoactive compounds (synthetical/herbal drugs), and new trends in drug use to provide information for immediate and prevention intervention. The Psychonaut is a multi-site research project involving 8 research centres (De Sleutel, Belgium; University of Hertfordshire School of Pharmacy, St George's University of London, England; A-klinikkasäätiö, Finlandia; Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Germany; Assessorato Salute Regione Marche, Italy; Drug Abuse Unit, Spain; Centre of Competence Bergen Clinics Foundation, Norway) based in 7 European Countries (England, Italy, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Spain, Norway).


Polymorphonuclear leukocytes undergo directed movement to sites of infection, a complex process known as chemotaxis. Extension of the polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) leading edge toward a chemoattractant in association with uropod retraction must involve a coordinated increase/decrease in membrane, redistribution of cell volume, or both. Deficits in PMN phagocytosis and trans-endothelial migration, both highly motile PMN functions, suggested that the anion transporters, ClC-3 and IClswell, are involved in cell motility and shape change ( Moreland, J. G., Davis, A. P., Bailey, G., Nauseef, W. M., and Lamb, F. S. (2006) J. Biol. Chem. 281, 12277-12288 ). We hypothesized that ClC-3 and IClswell are required for normal PMN chemotaxis through regulation of cell volume and shape change. Using complementary chemotaxis assays, EZ-TAXIScan™ and dynamic imaging analysis software, we analyzed the directed cell movement and morphology of PMNs lacking normal anion transporter function. Murine Clcn3-/- PMNs and human PMNs treated with anion transporter inhibitors demonstrated impaired chemotaxis in response to formyl peptide. This included decreased cell velocity and failure to undergo normal cycles of elongation and retraction. Impaired chemotaxis was not due to a diminished number of formyl peptide receptors in either murine or human PMNs, as measured by flow cytometry. Murine Clcn3-/- and Clcn3+/+ PMNs demonstrated a similar regulatory volume decrease, indicating that the IClswell response to hypotonic challenge was intact in these cells. We further demonstrated that IClswell is essential for shape change during human PMN chemotaxis. We speculate that ClC-3 and IClswell have unique roles in regulation of PMN chemotaxis; IClswell through direct effects on PMN volume and ClC-3 through regulation of IClswell.


The proportion of Patagonian toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides, caught around South Georgia in the south-west Atlantic, with empty stomachs was much lower in fish caught in pots compared to longlines (28 and 91%, respectively, of examined individuals). It is hypothesized that pots caused reduced levels of stress on capture. Stomach content data examined from pot-caught fish will probably therefore be more comprehensive than that from fish caught using longlines. A wide range of prey items was identified in the stomachs of D. eleginoides and stomach contents of individuals caught using the two fishing methods were significantly different. The most common prey item for D. eleginoides caught using pots was the decapod prawn Nauticaris sp., which was restricted in location and depth. However, prawns were not common in the stomachs of D. eleginoides caught from the same location using longlines. Stomach contents from the two fishing methods remained significantly different when Nauticaris sp. were eliminated from the assessment, although fishes then dominated the diet of D. eleginoides caught using either fishing gear. The study confirms that D. eleginoides is an opportunistic carnivore, and indicates that feeding habits depend on the local availability of food items, as well as factors such as depth and predator size. The potential ecological impacts of fishing for D. eleginoides on the South Atlantic ecosystem are discussed.


Photofragmentation electronic spectra of isolated single-isomeric N-protonated quinoline (quinolinium) and isoquinoline (isoquinolinium) ions have been measured at a temperature of ∼40 K using a mass-selective, 10 cm-1 spectral resolution, photodissociation spectrometer. Additionally, ab initio adiabatic transition energies calculated using the RI-ADC(2) method have been employed to assist in the assignment of the spectra. Three electronic transitions having ππ* character were clearly evidenced for both protonated ions within the UV and deep-UV spectral ranges. The corresponding spectra at room temperature were previously reported by Hansen et al., together with TD-DFT calculations and a careful analysis of the possible fragmentation mechanisms. This information will be complemented in the present study by appending better resolved spectra, characteristic of cold ions, in which well-defined vibrational progressions associated with the S1 ← S0 and S3 ← S0 transitions exhibit clear 0-0 bands at hν0-0 = 27868 and 42230 cm-1, for protonated quinoline, and at hν0-0 = 28043 and 41988 cm-1, for protonated isoquinoline. Active vibrations in the spectra were assigned with the help of calculated normal modes, looking very similar to those of the structurally related protonated naphthalene. Finally, we have observed that the bandwidths associated with the deep-UV S3 ← S0 transition denote a lifetime for the S3 excited state in the subpicosecond time scale, in contrast with that of S1.


One of the biggest problems in manufacturing is the failure of machine tools due to loss of surface material in cutting operations like drilling and milling. Carrying on the process with a dull tool may damage the workpiece material fabricated. On the other hand, it is unnecessary to change the cutting tool if it is still able to continue cutting operation. Therefore, an effective diagnosis mechanism is necessary for the automation of machining processes so that production loss and downtime can be avoided. This study concerns with the development of a tool wear condition-monitoring technique based on a two-stage fuzzy logic scheme. For this, signals acquired from various sensors were processed to make a decision about the status of the tool. In the first stage of the proposed scheme, statistical parameters derived from thrust force, machine sound (acquired via a very sensitive microphone) and vibration signals were used as inputs to fuzzy process; and the crisp output values of this process were then taken as the input parameters of the second stage. Conclusively, outputs of this stage were taken into a threshold function, the output of which is used to assess the condition of the tool.


There is an extensive history of scholarship into what constitutes a "basic" color term, as well as a broadly attested acquisition sequence of basic color terms across many languages, as articulated in the seminal work of Berlin and Kay (1969). This paper employs a set of diverse measures on massively cross-linguistic data to operationalize and critique the Berlin and Kay color term hypotheses. Collectively, the 14 empirically-grounded computational linguistic metrics we design—as well as their aggregation—correlate strongly with both the Berlin and Kay basic/secondary color term partition (γ = 0.96) and their hypothesized universal acquisition sequence. The measures and result provide further empirical evidence from computational linguistics in support of their claims, as well as additional nuance: they suggest treating the partition as a spectrum instead of a dichotomy.


INTRODUCTION
The re-emergence of pneumoconiosis, particularly among coal miners (ie black lung), in the USA is a challenge for rural communities because more miners require specialized care while expertise is scarce. The Miners' Wellness TeleECHO (Extension for Community Health Outcomes) Clinic, jointly held by the University of New Mexico and a community hospital in New Mexico, provides structured telementoring to professionals caring for miners, including clinicians, respiratory therapists, home health professionals, benefits counselors, lawyers/attorneys and others, forming a virtual 'community of practice'. This approach has not been utilized and evaluated previously.

METHODS
The study's bimonthly program uses the ECHO telementoring model, which uses technology to leverage scarce mentoring resources; uses a disease-management model that is proven to improve outcomes in other disease states, by reducing variation in processes of care and sharing best practices; uses the principle of case-based learning with highly contextualized discussions, which fulfils key learning theory principles; creates a virtual community of practice; and uses an internet-based database to monitor outcomes. This 1-year cross-sectional study from September 2018 to September 2019 used geographical mapping of all attendee locations, web-based continuing medical education surveys completed by attendees using iECHO software, and a Research Electronic Data Capture-based survey of a convenience sample of participants, which obtained detailed information on demographics, knowledge, self-efficacy and collective efficacy. Knowledge sharing among participants was examined using insights and methods from social network analysis. Subgroup analysis involved comparisons between clinical and non-clinical professional groups, and between new and existing participants. Groups were compared using Fisher's exact test for categorical variables, and non-parametric Wilcoxon ranked sum test or student's t-test for continuous variables.

RESULTS
Participants were largely located in pneumoconiosis mortality hotspots of the USA. In a convenience sample of 70 participants, clinical professional groups such as clinicians (29%), home health professionals (20%) and respiratory therapists (17%) constituted the majority of the stakeholders. Participants demonstrated the lowest knowledge score on 'legal pneumoconiosis' among the knowledge areas questioned; reported low self-efficacy with respect to managing miners' conditions and interpreting test results; and rated the learning community highly in terms of trust (86%), willingness to help each other (93%) and being closely knit (87%). Analysis of knowledge sources indicated that participants receive substantial proportions of knowledge from individuals outside of their stakeholder and professional groups, but proportions differ among clinical and non-clinical professional groups, as well as among 'fresh' and existing participants.

CONCLUSION
The present study demonstrates the successful creation of a virtual multidisciplinary community of practice in pneumoconiosis mortality hotspot rural regions of the USA, with participants reporting multidisciplinary knowledge transfer. The community is regarded highly by participants in relation to trust, willingness to help and being closely knit. This innovative educational approach may help ensure the delivery of high-quality interdisciplinary care to rural miners in pneumoconiosis mortality hotspots in the USA.


A series of 3d–3d′–4f heterotrimetallic compounds originating from (n-Bu4N)[(Tp*)Fe(CN)3] (Bu4N+ = tetrabutylammonium cation, Tp* = hydridotris(3,5-dimethylpyrazol-1-yl) borate) and [Cu((R,R)- or (S,S)-3-MeO-salcy)Ln(NO3)3(H2O)] (salcy = N,N′-(1,2-cyclohexanediylethylene)bis(salicylideneiminato) dianion), namely [(Tp*)Fe(CN)3Cu((R,R)- or (S,S)-3-MeO-salcy)Ln(NO3)3(H2O)3][(Tp*)Fe(CN)3]·2MeOH·5H2O (Ln = Gd for 1-RR and 1-SS, Tb for 2-RR and 2-SS, and Dy for 3-RR and 3-SS), were synthesized. Structural analyses demonstrate that all complexes are made up of a cyanide- and phenolate-bridged heterotrimetallic entity with [(Tp*)Fe(CN)3Cu((R,R)- or (S,S)-3-MeO-salcy)Ln(NO3)3(H2O)3] as cation and another [(Tp*)Fe(CN)3]− unit as anion. Circular dichroism spectra confirm the enantiomeric nature of the optically active complexes. Magnetic studies show that overall ferromagnetic couplings are operative in all complexes. Ac susceptibility measurements under a 1000 Oe dc field demonstrate the Dy and Tb derivatives exhibit frequency-dependent χ′′ signals below 4 K.


The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Palliative Care recommend screening all patients for palliative care (PC) needs and to call a PC consult when referral criteria are met. The goal of this pilot project was to evaluate the feasibility of implementing the screening and referral components of the NCCN Guidelines for Palliative Care in patients admitted to the Gastrointestinal Oncology Service (GIOS) at a comprehensive cancer center (CCC). Floor nurses performed the initial screening of all patients admitted to the 2 teams-Team A and Team B-of the GIOS on one floor of Memorial Hospital for 3 months. In addition, only the patients admitted to Team A were evaluated according to the referral criteria, triggering a PC consult if results were positive. Nurses were surveyed regarding satisfaction with and the acceptability of screening. During the study period, 229 (90%) total admissions were screened, with 169 (73%) having positive results. Of the Team A admissions, 72 (64%) met the referral criteria. More consults occurred for patients in Team A (47 vs 15; P=.001). In 30% of the referral criteria-triggered consults, the PC needs were manageable by the primary team. Nurses reported screening to be easy and quick (<5 minutes per patient) but only somewhat helpful. Being unfamiliar with many patients and families, floor nurses often felt unable to screen them accurately for some issues. In conclusion, screening was feasible, increasing access to PC, but accuracy and usefulness are concerns. With a consult indicated in 64% patients, yet with 30% being manageable by the primary team, the current criteria may be too sensitive for the inpatient environment of a CCC. More evaluation is needed before widespread implementation can be recommended.


Abstract We describe a variation of the conventional vermilionectomy consisting of incisions using the W-plasty technique, which allows a more distensible scar with better cosmetic and functional results. Its primary indications are actinic cheilitis and leukoplakia of the lower lip. It is a more complicated technique than the classic one, and requires a larger loss of skin, but the benefits largely outweigh the drawbacks.


Everyday objects are usually visually designed to imply that they belong to men or women. They are, thereby, tools for people to represent their gender identities. However, even though gendered design is a common topic in academic research, the representation of gender diversity remains relatively marginal. This study aims to organize people's life experiences with different gender identities to explore visual design strategies that change the original gender implication of everyday objects, thus representing gender diversity and promoting social inclusion of sexual minorities. To do so, a participatory design game workshop has been created and conducted. Three game characters with diverse gender identities were developed, and design materials that implied gender binary or diversity were provided, such as everyday objects and visual elements. During the workshop, six participants imagined themselves as admirers of the game characters and used the prepared materials to design gifts for them that fit their gender identities. The results of the workshop show that the gender implication of objects can be changed through reorganizing visual elements of color, shape, decoration, and cultural symbols. In addition, cisgender heterosexual participants preferred to represent diverse gender identities through innovative arrangements of gender-stereotypical visual elements, while participants that belong to sexual minorities preferred to adopt personalized design strategies to "de-genderize" everyday objects. This variation may be caused by the tendency of cisgender heterosexual people to confirm their gender identity through gender stereotypes, while sexual minority people escape the binary gender system through individualized representation. Therefore, the study concludes that design process representing gender diversity not only needs critique and innovation, but that de-genderdizing strategies cultivated by sexual minorities from their practices are also essential design resources.


This second edition includes revised and updated versions of three earlier publications: Understanding Maya Inscriptions: A Hieroglyph Handbook; New and Recent Maya Hieroglyph Readings; and A Resource Bibliography for the Decipherment of Maya Hieroglyphs and New Maya Hieroglyph Readings. This volume is designed to function as a self-teaching tool to help the neophyte, and yet be of value to scholars. It introduces the latest methods of analysis, illustrates techniques for computing Maya calendrics, uses the currently accepted orthography, provides syllabary and syntax, suggests new glyph readings, and presents various interpretations.


Chronic lymphocytic leukemia of B cell type (B-CLL) is the most commonform of leukemia in the Western countries. The signals regulating theexpansion of the B-CLL clone in vivo is yet far from being fully understood. Inthis thesis the regulation of proliferation, differentiation and survival bycell-cell interactions, cytokines and thioredoxin (Trx) has been investigatedin B-CLL cells in vitro. IL-4-induced homotypic adhesion did not influence theTPA-induced proliferation and differentiation of B-CLL cells. B-CLL cellswere found to differ from normal B cells in their requirement for Trx and in theresponse to CD40-stimulation. IL-2 and IL-15, in combination with Trx,induced proliferation of B-CLL cells from some patients with an advanceddisease in the absence of Ig-cross-linking by Staphylococcus aureus Cowanstrain 1 (SAC) particles. Further, the IL-2/IL-15+Trx or SAC+IL-2/IL-15+Trx-induced proliferation of B-CLL cells was inhibited by CD40-stimulation. Bythe sequential use of two protocols for induction of proliferation (i.e. SAC+IL-2+Trx and CD40-stimulation+IL-4+IL-10+Trx) B-CLL cells could be expandedand maintained in culture for more than one month in the absence of Epstein-Barr virus infection. Trx was found to inhibit apoptosis of in vitro cultured B-CLL cells, and the kinetics of survival correlated with an inhibition of Bcl-2down-regulation.


Public Libraries play a vital role in the creation and bridging Social Capital. They offer a space for education, socialization and debate, which are open to the members of the society. This paper presents an overview of public libraries in Nigeria and their role, the challenges associated with the activities and programs of Nigerian Public Libraries in the creation of Social Capital. A total of 59 Public Libraries working in 12 State of Library Boards of Northern Nigeria and Federal Capital Abuja has been considered for the pilot study. The analysis has been done by frequency distribution, percentage and cluster analysis. Based on the results of the study, a few suggestions and solutions to overcome the problems in the creation of Social Capital have been listed. This paper is a pilot study of the Doctoral programme by the first author.


A combined neutron imaging and diffraction facility, IMAT (Imaging and Materials Science & Engineering) is developed at ISIS (Target Station 2).

One subject of this thesis was focused on the design and optimization of the imaging part of IMAT, using the Monte Carlo calculation software package McStas. Hence, the neutron guide dimensions, the effects of the gaps in the neutron guide on imaging detectors, gravitation effects in the neutron guide and also the influence of the pinhole size on the image were studied. All these investigations were made taking into account the most important design criteria: to maximise the neutron flux, to obtain a good energy resolution whilst retaining a large neutron bandwidth and a long flight path and to minimize the artefacts obtained in the neutron radiographies.

After a compromise between imaging, diffraction and engineering requirements had been reached, the results from simulations specific to the current IMAT design were studied: wavelength distribution, beam profiles at different points along the beamline, beam divergence, neutron intensity distribution and flux depending on the pinhole size and the wavelength bands. Moreover, generation of IMAT imaging data with a sample led to full tomographic simulations and modelling wavelength effects.

Another objective of the thesis was to study the complementarity between neutron imaging and neutron diffraction experiments. For this, a new instrument control concept that exploits tomography data to guide diffraction experiments on samples with complex structures and shapes named "tomography driven diffraction" (henceforth, TDD) was developed. The method has been proved to be viable using combinations of individual tomography and diffraction instruments: NEUTRA (PSI) and ENGIN-X (ISIS) for different samples drawn from the engineering and heritage sciences. On IMAT it will be possible to perform tomography, mark the measurement points and proceed to the diffraction measurements as one continuous process.


Africa's first FIFA World Cup sparked a series of scholarly work mostly conducted prior to this event. This phenomena is still relevant today with many unanswered questions. This research therefore investigates and examines literature on how the 2010 FIFA World Cup is perceived almost a decade later. A qualitative approach was adopted based on secondary data sources and grey literature. Contextual information was gathered from popular data bases that include Science direct, Ebsco host, Emerald and Google scholar. A total of 20 studies on both tourism in South Africa and the 2010 FIFA World Cup published between 2004 and 2019 were examined and systematically presented and discussed. Recurring trends based on review of literature were identified. The destination image theory and the destination concept were used to comprehend international visitors' attitudes and their interpretation of South Africa as a travel destination. One of key findings was that the crime in South Africa, before, during after the World Cup ranks highest in terms of tourism deterrence. However, the event was generally perceived positive as a fairly positive success with room for socio-economic improvement. Implications were provided and possible areas of further were suggested with additional questions presented.


A global trend towards the criminalisation of cartel activity can be detected at present. What was once primarily a US phenomenon has become an international one, with countries as diverse as Israel, Brazil, and Australia pursuing a policy of cartel criminalization. The existence of criminal cartel sanctions in such countries is invariably justified as a necessity to ensure an effective competition policy. This paper aims to explain the primary (theoretical) justification for the use of criminal cartel sanctions (namely, economic deterrence) and to evaluate some of the inherent, challenging problems associated with such sanctions when used to achieve the aim of deterrence of anticompetitive behaviour in practice. In doing so it seeks to provide some insights into how best to ensure that cartel criminalisation improves the effectiveness of a criminalised regime's competition policy. The paper is divided into two substantive sections. The first part outlines in detail the deterrence-based theoretical justification for criminal cartel sanctions, thereby providing essential context to the discussion that follows it. The second part of the paper critically analyses two important inherent problems that arise when criminal sanctions (i.e., custodial sentences) are used in order to deter cartel activity: the difficulty of securing efficient competition law enforcement when criminal cartel sanctions are employed; and the need for connecting the criminalised cartel activity to morally wrongful behaviour. Following the analysis of these problems, some concise observations are offered on the intersection of competition law and criminal justice.