Purpose
Agency involves dynamic socio-cultural processes that facilitate development. This paper is written in three parts. In Part 1, there are two purposes, the first purpose is to intimately connect agency and institutional theory, and the second purpose is to explore the relationship between agency development and growth and globalisation. In Part 2, the purpose will be to explore development with respect to the political context by explaining in terms of culture under what conditions political groups may come to power. Using political frames intended to define their nature and realities, political groups seek to attract agents in their political sphere to gain administrative power. In Part 3, the purpose will be to model, using cybernetic agency theory, the nature of development and its reduction to instrumentality.

Design/methodology/approach
In this part of the three-part paper, development theory is explained as a multidisciplinary field in which research and theories are clustered together and set within an adaptive institutional activity system framework. An adaptive activity system has a plural membership of agents represented by agency. Agency represents an activity system that will be argued to operate through its institutional metasystem. This enables activity system development to be explained as a process of institutional evolution. In Part 1, the problem will be addressed of how the relationship between agency and institution enables institutional change. To resolve this agency will be shown to be institutional in nature, and agency development as a process of institutional evolution. To distinguish between development and growth/globalisation, agency will be taken to have an internal and external context. Distinction will then be made between development as an internal attribute of agency and its consequences, which may include the external attributes of growth/globalisation. It will also be explained that development may have a less desirable condition when it becomes liquid.

Findings
The three-part paper develops a political development theory that identifies the conditions under which formal political groups are able to promote frames of policy to attract support from autonomous agents that constitute the membership of the activity system, and hence gain agency status. Furthermore, Bauman's theory of liquid modernity is connected to Sorokin's theory of socio-cultural dynamics and cultural stability. One result is the notion of liquid development, an unstable condition of development in adaptive activity systems.

Research limitations/implications
The implication of this research is that, given additional appropriate measurement criteria, it will allow conceptual and empirical methods to be used that will potentially enable political outcomes in complex socio-political environments to be anticipated.

Social implications
The implication of this research is that it will allow empirical methods to be used that potentially enables political outcomes in complex socio-political environments to be anticipated, given additional appropriate measurement criteria.

Originality/value
The synergy of agency and institutional theories to explain the process of development is new, as well as its application to the political development process in a political landscape. As part of this synergistic process, Bauman's concept of liquidity is shown to relate to Sorokin's ideas of socio-cultural change.


January 21, 1970 Industrial Training — Industrial training levy — Hotel and catering industry — Statutory Order including in scope of activities "supply … of food and drink to persons for immediate consumption" — Food and drink supplied to intermediary for consumption by other persons — Company supplying prepared meals to airlines — Consumed by passengers at mealtimes — Whether "immediate consumption" — Whether company engaged in "activity" within scope of Order — Whether levy properly imposed — Industrial Training Act, 1964 (c.16), s.4(1) — Industrial Training (Hotel and Catering Board) Order, 1966 (S.I. 1966, No. 1347), Sch. 1, para. 1(a) — Industrial Training Levy (Hotel and Catering) Order, 1968 (S.I. 1968, No. 921), para. 2(1) (h) (i).


The histone-like nucleoid structuring protein H-NS acts as a global repressor of genes that are expressed in response to environmental stimuli and stress conditions. Repression by H-NS is presumably mediated by binding of H NS to primary "nucleation sites" close to promoters, and the formation of extended nucleoprotein complex from these nucleation sites to inhibit transcription initiation. Modulation of H-NS mediated repression is a complex process involving specific transcription factors and physiology dependent structural alterations. The E. coli bgl and proU operons are model systems that are repressed by H-NS with exceptional specificity. Both of these systems possess upstream and downstream regulatory elements (URE and DRE) bound by H-NS for efficient repression. The present study demonstrates that repression by H-NS binding upstream and downstream is synergistic in proU (as shown in a parallel study for bgl), and that H-NS when bound within the transcription unit represses transcription initiation at the bgl promoter, as reported before for proU. Repression by binding of H-NS downstream is known to be modulated. Common to both proU and bgl is that an increase in the promoter activity abrogates repression. For bgl it is known, that the H-NS mediated repression of the promoter is counteracted by transcription factors BglJ and LeuO. Further, termination factor Rho and the protease Lon are known to modulate repression by H-NS through the DRE, and as shown here the DnaKJ chaperone system is essential for this repression. In case of proU, the promoter is osmoregulated; the RNA polymerase is poised at the promoter at low osmolarity, while it clears the promoter with better efficiency at high osmolarity. Furthermore, the proU operon is subject to post-transcriptional osmoregulation. The proU mRNA is processed by RNAse III within a stretch of highly conserved sequence, suggesting a common mechanism of regulation among Enterobacteria. In summary, the present study demonstrates that the mechanism of H-NS mediated repression of the bgl and proU operons is very similar. However, its modulation is complex involving numerous additional factors specific to the two systems, and thus is achieved in a context specific manner.


INTRODUCTION Over the next 50 years, the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) have a potential to become a leading force in the global economy, according to the Economic Research report presented in 2003 by Goldman Sachs. While India and China can become the dominant global suppliers of the manufactured goods, Brazil and Russia can develop into the dominant global suppliers of natural resources and raw materials. However, this development is possible only if BRIC countries maintain and support policies conducive to growth and economic development (O'Neill, 2003 and Cheng, et al, 2007). The creation and development of small and medium size enterprises (SME) is one of the main elements of successful economic development. It in turn requires access to borrowed capital for start-up and growth. This paper gives an overview of the small business lending environment in two of the BRIC countries, Brazil and Russia, and compares the recent trends in business credit granting practices. Due to the variations in lending policies in commercial lending across the countries and regions, this review concentrates on the credit granting practices to SME by the government sponsored financial institutions in Brazil and Russia. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) lending policies and credit granting practices were used for comparison purposes in this review. WHY BRAZIL AND RUSSIA? Despite vastly different geo-political, economic, historical and cultural backgrounds, Brazil and Russia have similarities in some aspects of their recent economic development. Both countries were isolated from the rest of the world in the course of several decades in the 20th century. During the last two decades both Russia and Brazil went through political unrest, periods of high inflation and economic decline. The political changes in both countries in the mid-1980s eventually led to economic reforms (White, 2005). Presently, both Brazil's and Russia's economies are on the path of recovery and growth. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) ranks the economies of Brazil and Russia as the world's 9th and 10th largest (Figure 1). According to the 2007 Doing Business Survey conducted by the World Bank, Russia ranks 112th and Brazil ranks 113th on ease of doing business out of 178 countries included in the survey. The United States is ranked 3rd, after Singapore and New Zealand. This ranking is a simple average of the percentile rankings on each of the ten topics which include the ease of starting and closing a business, getting business credit, dealing with licenses, employing workers, protecting investors, registering property, enforcing contracts, and trading across the borders. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Some of these rankings will be discussed in more detail throughout this paper. Such proximity in overall "ease of doing business" rankings for Brazil and Russia suggests that there is a basis for comparison of the small business lending and credit granting practices in these two countries. BRAZIL AND RUSSIA: ECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC DATA After a long history of hyperinflation and fiscal indebtedness, Brazil now follows tight fiscal policies with strong economic growth and real wage increases. Current political reforms in Brazil emphasize building a more welcoming climate for domestic and foreign investment. Agriculture remains a major sector of the Brazilian economy accounting for 30% of GDP. Likewise, the Russian economy weathered the shock of the transition from a socialist to market economy in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Russian economy was and remains mostly industrial with manufacturing as the prevalent sector. It still depends largely on oil and gas revenues. Russian exports consist mostly of petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, chemicals, wood and wood products. Brazil and Russia have similar size populations. …


This paper addresses the relationship between the theoretical and practical methods and goals of feminists and postmodernists. It specifically addresses whether the foundational ideas of postmodernist philosophy undermine the emancipatory concerns of women. Through evaluating two of the defining theses of postmodernist philosophy, namely, the "Death of Man" and the "Death of History," I argue that the strong version of the postmodernist critique of the concepts of subjectivity and history is incompatible with the social criticism central to feminism. In opposition to the view that deems these concepts as necessarily androcentric and in need of thorough abandonment, I show that what is required is a re-appropriation that takes into account the situatedness of the subject and the often non-unitary nature of historical narrative.


We prove the convergence of $ \nN $-particle systems of Brownian particles with logarithmic interaction potentials onto a system described by the infinite-dimensional stochastic differential equation (ISDE). % For this proof we present two general theorems on the finite-particle approximations of interacting Brownian motions. % In the first general theorem, we present a sufficient condition for a kind of tightness of solutions of stochastic differential equations (SDE) describing finite-particle systems, and prove that the limit points solve the corresponding ISDE. This implies, if in addition the limit ISDE enjoy a uniqueness of solutions, then the full sequence converges. We treat non-reversible case in the first main theorem. % In the second general theorem, we restrict to the case of reversible particle systems and simplify the sufficient condition. We deduce the second theorem from the first. % We apply the second general theorem to Airy$ _{\beta }$ interacting Brownian motion with $ \beta = 1,2,4$, and the Ginibre interacting Brownian motion. The former appears in the soft-edge limit of Gaussian (orthogonal/unitary/symplectic) ensembles in one spatial dimension, and the latter in the bulk limit of Ginibre ensemble in two spatial dimensions, corresponding to a quantum statistical system for which the eigen-value spectra belong to non-Hermitian Gaussian random matrices. The passage from the finite-particle stochastic differential equation (SDE) to the limit ISDE is a sensitive problem because the logarithmic potentials are long range and unbounded at infinity. Indeed, the limit ISDEs are not easily detectable from those of finite dimensions. Our general theorems can be applied straightforwardly to the grand canonical Gibbs measures with Ruelle-class potentials such as Lennard-Jones 6-12 potentials and and Riesz potentials.


The vibration of strings in musical instruments depends not only on their geometry and material but also on their fixing at the ends of the string. In physical terms it is described by impedance boundary conditions. This contribution presents a functional transformation model for a vibrating string which is coupled to an external boundary circuit. Delay-free loops in the synthesis algorithm are avoided by a state-space formulation. The value of the boundary impedance can be adjusted without altering the core synthesis algorithm.


Developing eggs of the polychete Ophryotrocha labronica were analyzed for polyamines during the first 6 days after fertilization. The spermine content dominated initially, but gradually decreased. It was surpassed by putrescine, which rapidly increased to a maximum on the 3rd day, i.e., at the in- ception of gastrulation. The spermidine content was low during the entire period. Treatment of eggs with the putrescine syn- thesis inhibitor a-methylornithine from the onset of develop- ment led to developmental arrest at gastrulation and to an ab- normally low content of putrescine in the treated embryos. Methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone), an inhibitor of spermine and spermidine synthesis, had no visible effect on development. Our observations strongly suggest that putrescine synthesis is indispensable in early embryonic development of Ophryotro- cha.


The ecological relevance of fungi in freshwater ecosystems is becoming increasingly evident, particularly in processing the extensive amounts of polymeric organic carbon such as cellulose, chitin, and humic substances (HS). We isolated several fungal strains from oligo‐mesotrophic Lake Stechlin, Brandenburg, Germany, and analyzed their ability to degrade polymeric‐like substrates. Using liquid chromatography‐organic carbon detection, we determined the byproducts of HS transformation by the freshwater fungus Cladosporium sp. KR14. We demonstrate the ability of this fungus to degrade and simultaneously synthesize HS, and that transformation processes were intensified when iron, as indicator of the occurrence of Fenton reactions, was present in the medium. Furthermore, we showed that structural complexity of the HS produced changed with the availability of other polymeric substances in the medium. Our study highlights the contribution of freshwater Ascomycetes to the transformation of complex organic compounds. As such, it has important implications for understanding the ecological contribution of fungi to aquatic food webs and related biogeochemical cycles.


In this article, we propose a novel form of kidney swap, which we label "Reverse Transplant Tourism." This proposal has the potential to increase the number of successful transplants in the US at a time of great need, while reducing costs. It also will provide benefits to impoverished international patients with willing, compatible donors who otherwise would have no access to transplantation. Instead of non-US kidney donors being offered money through a black market middleman in exchange for one of their kidneys, Reverse Transplant Tourism would provide a legal and ethical exchange of living donor kidneys through kidney-paired donation. In this way, the donors will not receive money for their kidneys, but rather will receive a transplant for someone they love, while also helping a US pair who would otherwise be unable to transplant due to biological incompatibility.


Mg-containing bronzes have received little attention in general technological applications due to their relatively complex processing conditions. However, Mg is one of the few metallic elements which may exhibit good tribological compatibility with iron and steel and as such is a possible candidate to replace lead in sliding bearing materials. This work describes the casting of such alloys in the form of thin ingots to produce cold rolled strip, as is done for commercial Al-Sn-based ductile triboalloys. Sound ingots could be produced with simple laboratory equipment, yielding slabs in the compositional range of Cu1Mg1Sn, Cu1Mg5Sn, Cu5Mg1Sn and Cu5Mg5Sn. Cooling curves were monitored by embedded thermocouples. Invariant points could be identified after appropriate filtering of the signal but did not correspond to the ternary equilibrium. Segregation and non-equilibrium phases were confirmed by metallography.


Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) must cope with exogenous oxidative stress imposed by the host. Unlike other antioxidant enzymes, Mtb's thioredoxin reductase TrxB2 has been predicted to be essential not only to fight host defenses but also for in vitro growth. However, the specific physiological role of TrxB2 and its importance for Mtb pathogenesis remain undefined. Here we show that genetic inactivation of thioredoxin reductase perturbed several growth-essential processes, including sulfur and DNA metabolism and rapidly killed and lysed Mtb. Death was due to cidal thiol-specific oxidizing stress and prevented by a disulfide reductant. In contrast, thioredoxin reductase deficiency did not significantly increase susceptibility to oxidative and nitrosative stress. In vivo targeting TrxB2 eradicated Mtb during both acute and chronic phases of mouse infection. Deliberately leaky knockdown mutants identified the specificity of TrxB2 inhibitors and showed that partial inactivation of TrxB2 increased Mtb's susceptibility to rifampicin. These studies reveal TrxB2 as essential thiol-reducing enzyme in Mtb in vitro and during infection, establish the value of targeting TrxB2, and provide tools to accelerate the development of TrxB2 inhibitors.


Our results are relevant to HIV vaccine development efforts because they suggest that increasing the number of booster immunizations or delivering additional viral antigens may not necessarily improve vaccine efficacy against immunodeficiency virus infection. ABSTRACT Given the complex biology of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and its remarkable capacity to evade host immune responses, HIV vaccine efficacy may benefit from the induction of both humoral and cellular immune responses of maximal breadth, potency, and longevity. Guided by this rationale, we set out to develop an immunization protocol aimed at maximizing the induction of anti-Envelope (anti-Env) antibodies and CD8+ T cells targeting non-Env epitopes in rhesus macaques (RMs). Our approach was to deliver the entire simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) proteome by serial vaccinations. To that end, 12 RMs were vaccinated over 81 weeks with DNA, modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA), vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), adenovirus type 5 (Ad5), rhesus monkey rhadinovirus (RRV), and DNA again. Both the RRV and the final DNA boosters delivered a near-full-length SIVmac239 genome capable of assembling noninfectious SIV particles and inducing T-cell responses against all nine SIV proteins. Compared to previous SIV vaccine trials, the present DNA-MVA-VSV-Ad5-RRV-DNA regimen resulted in comparable levels of Env-binding antibodies and SIV-specific CD8+ T-cells. Interestingly, one vaccinee developed low titers of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) against SIVmac239, a tier 3 virus. Following repeated intrarectal marginal-dose challenges with SIVmac239, vaccinees were not protected from SIV acquisition but manifested partial control of viremia. Strikingly, the animal with the low-titer vaccine-induced anti-SIVmac239 NAb response acquired infection after the first SIVmac239 exposure. Collectively, these results highlight the difficulties in eliciting protective immunity against immunodeficiency virus infection. IMPORTANCE Our results are relevant to HIV vaccine development efforts because they suggest that increasing the number of booster immunizations or delivering additional viral antigens may not necessarily improve vaccine efficacy against immunodeficiency virus infection.


Perivascular epithelioid cell tumours (PEComas) are a family of rare mesenchymal tumours arising in various anatomic locations. PEComas are defined by the presence of perivascular epithelioid cells that coexpress muscle and melanotic markers, especially HMB-45. They have unpredictable biological behaviour and are mostly benign, but some tumours can become unresectable or metastatic. Surgical resection, when possible, is the best treatment option. Radiation therapy, cytotoxic chemotherapy or immunotherapy have been reported as treatment options, either alone or in combination therapy. Prostatic PEComa is extremely rare, with only 1 malignant case reported. We report the first case of prostatic PEComa, which was benign and treated with transurethral resection.


AIMS
To assess the correlation between the histological response to preoperative chemotherapy and event-free survival (EFS) or overall survival (OS) in patients with high-grade localized osteosarcoma.

METHODS
Out of 625 patients aged ≤ 40 years treated for primary high-grade osteosarcoma between 1997 and 2016, 232 patients without clinically detectable metastases at the time of diagnosis and treated with preoperative high-dose methotrexate, adriamycin and cisplatin (MAP) chemotherapy and surgery were included. Associations of chemotherapy-induced necrosis in the resected specimen and EFS or OS were assessed using Cox model and the Pearson's correlation coefficients (r). Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic analysis was applied to determine the optimal cut-off value of chemotherapy-induced necrosis for EFS and OS.

RESULTS
OS was 74% (95% confidence interval (CI) 67 to 79) at five years. Median chemotherapy-induced necrosis was 85% (interquartile range (IQR) 50% to 97%). In multivariate Cox model, chemotherapy-induced necrosis was significantly associated with EFS and OS (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.99 (95% CI 0.98 to 0.99); p < 0.001 and HR = 0.98 (95% CI 0.97 to 0.99); p < 0.001, respectively). Positive correlation was observed between chemotherapy-induced necrosis and five-year EFS and five-year OS (r = 0.91; p < 0.001, and r = 0.85; p < 0.001, respectively). The optimal cut-off value of chemotherapy-induced necrosis for five-year EFS and five-year OS was 85% and 72%, respectively.

CONCLUSION
Chemotherapy-induced necrosis in the resected specimen showed positive correlation with EFS and OS in patients with high-grade localized osteosarcoma after MAP chemotherapy. In our analysis, optimal cut-off values of MAP chemotherapy-induced necrosis in EFS and OS were lower than the commonly used 90%, suggesting the need for re-evaluation of the optimal cut-off value through larger, international collaborative research. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2020;102-B(6):795-803.


BACKGROUND
The elderly patients are characterized by the high degree of polymedication. This factor is the most important in the appearance of adverse effects (EAD). The study of the medicaments helps to establish which are inappropriate and therefore they must move back, diminishing of this form EAD's possibility.

PATIENTS AND METHOD
Prospective and observacional Study. Criterion of incorporation: patients of > 64 years old, hospitalized in an Internal Medicine Service. There were defined as inappropriate medicament the medicines of low therapeutic utility, them not indicated, and the inadequate ones for the elder. By means of the SPSS 11.5 program the possible variables related with the consumption were analyzed.

RESULTS
172 elders were included in the study. The average of medicines for person and day belonged to 5.34 (0-15). 52.5% was consuming an inappropriate medicament (36.6% inadequate for the elder, 15% not indicated, and 12% UTBs). The analysis multivariant associates the consumption of these medicaments with a major number of diseases (p < 0.012), to a major consumption of medicines (p < 0.001) and to the origin of the nursing residences (p < 0.001). Only the consumption of medicaments not adapted for the elder is associated with increase of EAD.

CONCLUSION
The half of the elders takes at least a medicament of unnecessary form, and the majority of these medicaments favors appearance of EAD.


Many distributed databases provide only weak consistency guarantees to reduce synchronization overhead and remain available under network partitions. However, this leads to behaviors not possible under stronger guarantees. Such behaviors can easily defy programmer intuition and lead to errors that are notoriously hard to detect. In this paper, we propose a static analysis for detecting non-serializable behaviors of applications running on top of causally-consistent databases. Our technique is based on a novel, local serializability criterion and combines a generalization of graph-based techniques from the database literature with another, complementary analysis technique that encodes our serializability criterion into first-order logic formulas to be checked by an SMT solver. This analysis is more expensive yet more precise and produces concrete counter-examples. We implemented our methods and evaluated them on a number of applications from two different domains: cloud-backed mobile applications and clients of a distributed database. Our experiments demonstrate that our analysis is able to detect harmful serializability violations while producing only a small number of false alarms.


Solvents play an important role in organic chemistry. Most reactions must be carried out in organic solvents, thus chemists have to deal with large volumes of solvents everyday. Solvents are highly damaging chemicals for two main reasons; (a) they are used on a large scale and (b) they are volatile which makes storage and handling difficult. For environmental protection and reduction of damage to humans, clean technologies have become a major concern throughout both industry and academia. Therefore, the search for the replacement of damaging solvents has become a high priority.

Based on such an idea, reactions involving the room temperature and moisture stable 1,3- dialkylimidazolium ionic liquids, have been carried out in an effort to replace the common bench solvents. They are a new type of solvent with attractive properties allowing for their use as both solvent and catalyst in some cases.

Therefore, throughout this project the ambient temperature 1,3-dialkylimidazolium ionic liquid was employed firstly for the reduction of simple aldehydes and ketones. In the exploration of these ionic liquids as possible replacements for classical organic solvents, we discovered that the reduction of aldehydes and ketones with sodium borohydride in [bmim]PF6 can be achieved. The ionic liquid can be recycled, and in some cases the product alcohol may be distilled directly from the ionic liquid eliminating classical organic solvents entirely.

Secondly, free radical addition reactions using tributyltin hydride, a variety of alkenes and alkyl halides were carried out in the ionic liquids [bmim]BF4 and [bmim]PF6. The reactions using tributyltin hydride were carried out under a number of experimental conditions but the toxicity of the tin by-products produced was a major concern. The ionic liquid was capable of dissolving all reactants and extraction of the products was efficient but the tin by-products proved extremely difficult to remove. (Tris)trimethylsilylsilane was then used in an effort to remove the toxicity and by-product problems. The hydrosilylated product was formed but the target compound was not synthesised. The use of the ionic liquid in these radical reactions, although not a complete success, the hydrosilylated product was formed which suggests that the ionic liquid did stabilise radicals formed.

Finally, a novel type of ionic liquid was synthesised and investigated. These compounds were based on 1-vinylimidazole and the synthesis was very efficient and easily carried out. A series of 1-vinyl-3-alkyl-imidazolium bromide, tetrafluoroborate and hexafluorophosphate compounds were synthesised. It was hoped that the vinyl group of these ionic liquids could be used in a Diels-Alder synthesis using a variety of dienes.


Milk is an important food for children. Although camel is the dominant animal in the U.A.E., camel milk is not commerically available. The objectives of the study were to investigate:1) consumption of milk and dairy products among elementary school students, 2) hedonic rating for sensory characteristics and overall acceptance of camel milk, and 3) effect of flavor on acceptability of camel milk. A questionnaire was designed to provide information on milk and dairy products consumption, milk flavor preference and willingness to participate on a milk tasting test. The questionnaire was distributed to 470 students (boys and girls, grades 4, 5 and 6) at elementary schools (public and private) in Al Ain. Most of the students (93.2%) drink cow milk and only few (9.6%) drink camel milk. Most of the participants drink chocolate (43%) and strawberry-flavored (38.3%) milk. Besides milk, most of the participants consume other diary products (yogurt, liquid yogurt, cheeses and ice-cream). A panel of 173 students was selected to evaluate the milk samples (fresh cow milk , dried cow milk, fresh camel milk and chocolate-flavored camel milk). Sevenpointhedonic scale (smiling faces) was used for rating the color, aroma, taste, texture, and overall acceptance of the milk. Camel milk had the lowest ratings for taste (3.2), aroma (4.1), and overall acceptance (3.8) compared to the fresh cow milk (5.8, 5.9, and 5.8, respectively) and dried cow milk (5.3, 5.7 and 5.5, respectively). Flavoring camel milk with chocolate enhanced all the attributes of the milk specially the taste (6.4), aroma (6.3) and overall acceptance (6.2).


The plate embedded with acoustic black hole (ABH) indentations is potential for structural vibration and noise control. This work focuses on the mid- and low-frequency performance of plates embedded with the array of ABH for energy focalization and vibration & noise suppression. Plates embedded with two-dimensional ABHs are modelled with detailed Finite Element (FE) models, and the power flow method is introduced to analyze the energy propagation characteristics arising from ABH effect. Then the distribution of average vibration power density along ABH radius is studied. Next, the energy dissipation effects of the plate model embedded with ABH array with two types of damping layers are investigated. Finally, the sound pressure levels of the ABH structure are calculated and discussed. This work is helpful to understand the characteristics of plates embedded with ABH array in reducing vibration and noise radiation. Results show the tremendous potential of ABH array for vibration and noise control.


Objective: The aim of this study was to determine optimal cut-off points for fasting and post-glucose stimulus surrogates of insulin resistance to predict metabolic syndrome in adolescents according to several definitions. Methods: One hundred fifty-five adolescents living in Mexico City were enrolled during 2011 and 2012. Waist circumference and blood pressure were recorded. Subjects received an oral glucose load of 1.75 g per kg up to a maximum dose of 75 g. Blood samples were drawn at baseline and 120 minutes. Concentrations of plasma glucose, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and insulin were determined. Results: The frequency of metabolic syndrome showed a large variability when using a variety of published definitions; in contrast, the optimal cut-off points for fasting insulin, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance and two-hour oral glucose tolerance test insulin were very similar in almost all the definitions considered and had adequate diagnostic performance: area under the curve >0.869, sensitivity >0.835 and specificity >0.755. Insulin resistance surrogates had substantial agreements with Ford, Cook and Salas definitions (Kappa~0.62; agreement~82%); moderate agreement was observed for International Diabetes Federation, Cruz and Ferranti definitions (Kappa~0.41–0.59; agreement~77%). Conclusions: Insulin resistance surrogates may be a better approach for metabolic syndrome assessment in an adolescent population because of reduced variability and a higher predictive value.


Sea level changes during the Upper Holocene submerged the coasts of Kea in three different phases about 5.50m, 3.90m and 1.50m respectively below the contemporary sea level thus causing sea transgression along the shores of Kea, which varied from 8m to 78m depending on the coastal morphology. These changes caused the alteration of the earlier morphology at coastal archaeological sites of the Island, as the prehistoric settlement of Ayia Irini and Classical period port of Karthaia, as well as, submerged under the sea areas of coastal human activity during antiquity, as the ancient schist quarry at Spathi bay. The study of historical, geomorphological and sedimentological data indicative of previous sea levels allow the paleogeographical reconstruction of the coasts during the period of human activities in these areas.


Svenja Wachsmuth, 2014. Athlete Leadership Behavior How it relates to perceived team cohesion and players' satisfaction in elite sport teams. Master's Thesis in Sport and Exercise Psychology. Department of Sport Science. University of Jyväskylä. 68 p. So far only little is known about athlete leadership. Instead, previous research in sports leadership focused on the role a coach plays within sport teams. Yet, first studies could raise awareness for the importance of athlete leaders who occupy a formal or informal role in a team. Initial research results showed a significant impact of athlete leadership behavior on perceived team cohesion and the satisfaction of team members. Additionally, the concept of motivational leadership was recently introduced and claimed to be one of the most important functions leaders may overtake. Thus, this study aimed to confirm former findings and extent the knowledge by taking a new behavior pattern of motivational leadership into account. More specifically, the purpose was to further examine perceived and preferred leadership behaviors of key players in elite sport teams, just as to investigate their impact on perceived team cohesion and individual athlete satisfaction. Finally, mediation models were expected to clarify the complex interaction between leadership behavior, team cohesion and satisfaction. Six semi-/ professional sport teams were included in the study. Participants were asked to fill in a survey battery which included a modified version of the Leadership Scale in Sports, the Group Environment Questionnaire and ten subscales of the Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire and took approximately 20 minutes. Team members were asked to fill in the LSS twice, thus assessing perceived and preferred leadership behaviors. In contrast to former studies, athlete leaders were supposed to complete a self-perceived rating of their behavior patterns, instead of only focusing on the evaluation of other team members. The collected data was then analyzed using SPSS. Ttests showed significant differences between the perceptions and preferences of athlete leaders and their team mates. Moreover, linear regression revealed significant effects of athlete leadership behavior on several dimensions of cohesion and satisfaction. Finally mediation models confirmed former findings by suggesting that Group Integration either fully or partly determine the effects of leadership behavior on satisfaction. The current results extent the knowledge about athlete leadership. It was found that Positive Feedback and Motivational Leadership were the most valued behaviors and also had the greatest influence on the outcome variables. Thus, the present study could confirm earlier findings suggesting an impact of leadership behavior on team cohesion. Interestingly, the higher salience of social cohesion was associated with athlete leadership. Moreover, cohesion seemed to be determinant when predicting athlete satisfaction based on leadership behavior. Practical implications may be considered for the development of leadership trainings and for the selection process of team leaders.


We present an approach for unusual event detection, based on a tree of trackers. At lower levels, the trackers are trained on broad classes of targets. At higher levels, they aim at more specific targets. For instance, at the root, a general blob tracker could operate which may track any object. The next level could already use information about human appearance to better track people. A further level could go after specific types of actions like walking, running, or sitting. Yet another level up, several walking trackers can be tuned to the gait of a particular person each. Thus, at each layer, one or more families of more specific trackers are available. As long as the target behaves according to expectations, a member of a higher up such family will be better tuned to the data than its parent tracker at a lower level. Typically, a better informed tracker performs more robustly. But in cases where unusual events occur and the normal assumptions about the world no longer hold, they loose their reliability. In such cases, a less informed tracker, not relying on what has now become false information, has a good chance of performing better. Such performance inversion signals an unusual event. Inversions between levels higher up represent deviations that are semantically more subtle than inversions lower down: for instance an unknown intruder entering a house rather than seeing a non-human target.


AbstractShip scheduling optimization is one of the most effective ways to eliminate the bottlenecks of waterway transportation, especially in restricted one-way waterways. In this study, a novel scheduling model called self-organizing grouping is proposed to minimize
 two types of delay time, which are the waiting time and the extra navigation time caused by speed reduction. The proposed model schedules ships in an iterative way based on the distributed scheduling mode. To alleviate the impact of local scheduling on the overall traffic efficiency, a grouping
 method is proposed, in which the ships are divided into different groups based on their arrival time interval. Moreover, the ships in the same group are scheduled to minimize the interferences among them by incorporating a grouping improvement strategy. The strategy is used to deal with the
 influence of ships with very small speed. Experiments are carried out by comparing the proposed model with the first-come-first-serve model and the ship self-organizing cooperation model. Simulation results show that the delay time is reduced by 25%‐30% and approximately by 5% compared
 with that from the two models, respectively. Such advantage also exists for different combinations of ship traffic parameters. In addition, long-distance sailing with limited speed can be avoided using the proposed method, which is beneficial to relieve waterway traffic congestion.


Background Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are three important prevalent infections all over the world. The aim of this study was to determine seroprevalence of HIV, HBV and HCV infections and high risk behaviors in persons who referred to the behavioral counseling center of Hamadan, west of Iran. Methods This was a cross-sectional study which was done on 379 persons who referred to the behavioral counseling center of Hamadan. All persons after obtaining the informed consent were tested for serologic markers including HBs Ag, HCV-Ab and HIV-Ab by ELISA and western blot methods. Results Of the 379 persons, 71.5 % (271 cases) were male and 28.5% (108 cases) were female. HIV infection was reported in 4% (15) of persons. HBV and HCV infections were reported in 2.9% (11 cases) and 35.6% (135 cases), respectively. The most common high risk behaviors were injection drug user and history of prison with 52.5% (199 cases) and 40.4% (153 cases), respectively. Conclusion According to the results, injection drug users and prisoners are at the highest risk for HCV, HIV and HBV infections.


OBJECTIVE The surgical outcome of idiopathic tarsal tunnel syndrome (TTS) is reported to be worse than that attributable to ganglion, tarsal coalition, or tumour, and therefore further development in the surgical treatment for idiopathic TTS is considered to be necessary. Here the efficacy of neurovascular decompression for patients with idiopathic TTS is evaluated. METHODS Twelve feet from nine patients with idiopathic TTS were treated. The patients were aged 52–78 years (mean 64.6 years), and all of them complained of pain or dysaesthesia of the sole of the foot. The posterior tibial nerve was freed from the attached arteriovenous complex (posterior tibial artery and veins). The dissected nerve had a flattened appearance in all of the patients, suggesting nerve compression by the adjacent arteriovenous complex and superficially by the flexor retinaculum. A graft of fat was inserted as both a cushion and an antiadhesive between the vessels and the nerve to achieve neurovascular decompression. RESULTS Patients on whom neurovascular decompression was performed had resolution or lessening of symptoms in their feet. Neither wound infection nor recurrence of symptoms was found during the follow up period (mean 26.8 months). CONCLUSION Neurovascular compression syndrome plays a part in idiopathic TTS, and adding neurovascular decompression to resection of the flexor retinaculum is effective.


This paper describes a quality system for programme evaluation (standard 12) focusing on its roles and artefacts. The system has been in use for three years and has during this time been proven useful for systematically developing the ten different engineering programmes at our institute. The quality system has components both to ensure an increase in education quality and a quality assurance of the engineering education. One interesting feature of the system is that it has components that adjust the quality system itself, allowing it to evolve over time. It is claimed that the quality system shifts the focus of the quality discussion from an isolated course-oriented one to one focused on aligning course aims with programme aims. The cost of the quality system, expressed in full-time positions, is also discussed.


Retirement housing is a form of sheltered housing, being exclusively for older people and consisting of groups of independent accommodation, usually flats with communal facilities, linked to a resident warden by an alarm system. Various studies have consistently shown that nearly three quarters of older people living within such accommodation are female single persons, leading some researchers to argue that sheltered housing is essentially a gender related issue, which can be explained demographically. But, any suggestion that it is widows' accommodation seems both dismissive and pejorative; particularly if it has not been established whether differences in gender and marital status have a significant effect on the decision process when buying retirement housing. If men and women or single people and married couples do differ in their behaviour, then approaches adopted by not-for-profit agencies to improve the decision-making process may need to differentiate between the sexes and marital states. This paper, therefore, comments on the differences in the process that are determined by gender or marital status and contrasts some of the results of the research. Data were collected principally by questionnaire, to which there were 189 respondents, from a sample of all purchasers of retirement housing in the West Midlands region of the UK. The findings demonstrate that differences exist in respect of less than a fifth of the matters explored in the study.


Fluidized bed reactor systems are widely used due to excellent heat and mass transfer characteristics followed by uniform temperature distribution throughout the reactor volume. The importance of fluidized beds is further demonstrated in high exothermic reactions such as combustion and gasification where fluidization avoids the hot spot and cold spot generation. A bed material, such as sand or catalyst, is normally involved in fluidized bed combustion and gasification of biomass. Therefore, it is vital to analyze the hydrodynamics of bed material, especially the minimum fluidization velocity, as it governs the fluid flowrate into the reactor system. There are limitations in experimental investigations of fluidized beds such as observing the bed interior hydrodynamics, where CFD simulations has become a meaningful way with the high computer power. However, due to the large differences in scales from the particle to the reactor geometry, complex interface momentum transfer and particle collisions, CFD modeling and simulation of particle systems are rather difficult. Multiphase particle-in-cell method is an efficient version of Eulerian-Lagrangian modeling and Barracuda VR commercial package was used in this work to analyze the minimum fluidization velocity of particles depending on size, density and size distribution. Wen-YU-Ergun drag model was used to model the interface momentum transfer where default equations and constants were used for other models. The effect of the particle size was analyzed using monodispersed Silica particles with diameters from 400 to 800 microns. Minimum fluidization velocity was increased with particle diameter, where it was 0.225 m/s for the 600 microns particles. The density effect was analyzed for 600 microns particles with seven different density values and the minimum fluidization velocity again showed proportionality to the density. The effect of the particle size distribution was analyzed using Silica. Particles with different diameters were mixed together according to pre-determined proportions as the final mixture gives a mean diameter of 600 microns. The 600 microns monodispersed particle bed showed the highest minimum fluidization velocity. However, some particle mixtures were composed with larger particles up to 1000 micron, but with a fraction of smaller particles down to 200 microns at the same time. This shows the effect of strong drag from early fluidizing smaller particles. The only variability for pressure drop during packed bed is the particle size and it was clearly observed in all three cases.


Abrasive Flow Machining (AFM) is the method of finishing complex surfaces and internal channels with the help of extrusion pressure and abrasive-laden viscoelastic polymer media. This paper is based on developing a new AFM media using a natural waste polymer as a base material. In the article, a natural polymer media viz. rice husk ash-based media has been developed, and subsequently, rheological analysis has been done, and experimentation has been performed on Anton-paar® rheometer to optimize the viscosity of these newly developed AFM media. In this research study, the hollow elliptical shape of ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) material was manufactured using the FDM technique and then finished with a one-way AFM machine. This paper examined the parametric dependencies of AFM process parameters on finishing FDM printed hollow elliptical parts. The improved surface roughness of the FDM printed hollow elliptical parts has been investigated relating to the AFM process parameters. The maximum surface roughness has been achieved by 95.98%.


Abstract Water deficit in the soil leads to osmotic stress in plants. The type of stress affects plant water relations, osmolyte accumulation and oxidative stress balance. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of osmotic stress on the Croatian perennial species Fibigia triquetra (DC.) Boiss, adapted to a hot and dry habitat. Plants grown in culture conditions were subjected to isoosmotic concentrations of mannitol and polyethylene glycol (PEG) and certain physiological and oxidative stress parameters were analyzed during a period of 14 days. Dry weight and proline content in Fibigia triquetra shoots increased in response to osmotic stress while the relative water content decreased. After an initial rise, chlorophyll and carotenoid levels in treated plants dropped to untreated plant levels. Oxidative damage to proteins and especially to lipids was evident upon PEG-induced osmotic stress. Superoxide dismutase and ascorbate peroxidase appear to play an essential protective role in stressed plants. Regardless of the osmotic agent, accumulation of heat-shock proteins of 70 kDa was noticed under osmotic stress. The tolerance of the plant species to osmotic stress seems to be associated with increased capacity of the antioxidative system and efficient photoprotective system.


One of the most common diseases occurring in old age groups is dementia. Caring for a relative with dementia poses many challenges for family caregivers and they bear the main responsibility for the persons with dementia living at home. The overall aim of this thesis, which consists of five community-based studies, was to explore experiences of burden and satisfaction among family caregivers (FC) looking after persons with dementia. Implicit in this aim was the assumption that the result of this research would support development of education programs for caregivers of individuals with dementia in the community.

FC of persons with dementia living in either group living care or nursing home still expressed feelings of burden several years after relocation. The caregivers also reported insufficient information and support, and the grown-up children who are low-income earners are those who are affected most ? especially with regard to strain and disappointment.

FC with a higher sense of coherence and fewer symptoms reported significantly less burden. Sense of coherence seems to modify the extent of burden reported among FCs, irrespectively of their health. Stressors as measured on the caregiver burden scale and satisfaction can co-exist and allow assessment of different aspects of the caregiver's situation.

Psychosocial intervention with a clearly defined aim, which combines giving information and holding conversation groups, can have significant positive effects on the burden experienced by FCs of persons with dementia. The best effect of intervention on caregivers in a controlled study design was found early in the progression of dementia. These findings emphasize the importance of identifying FCs early in the caring process, to maximize their well-being.


This paper proposes a solid freefrom fabrication (SFF) technology for fabricating hydroxyapatite(HA)-silica ceramics, which can generate porous three-dimensional physical objects. The HA powder and the silica are mixed with water into slurries form as raw materials. The slurries are paved by a scraper to from a thin layer which is selective scanned by a laser beam according to the cross-section of a 3D model. The HA particles are embeded in the sintered silica matrix to form green parts via a suitable range of process parameters. The benefits of this process are: bio-ceramic parts can be built by lower laser energy and faster fabricating speed. Following a subsequence heat treatment process has been developed to optimize the crystallization process and to increase the strength of the sintered parts. The parts were analyzed by an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) to determine the surface roughness. The results obtained indicate that the proposed process was possible to generate multilayer, overhanging, and porous structure with brittle property but sufficient integrity for handling prior to post-processing. It was possible to produce the porous structure from the proposed hydroxyapatite-silica ceramics, which had a greater potential for possible bone scaffolds fabrication.


In this paper, we examine the similarity between friends with respect to experiences with crime among a sample of Dutch individuals. We investigate the extent to which offenders, victims and victim-offenders (de)select friends differently and, subsequently, who (de)selects whom and why. We use data from the annual Dutch panel survey CrimeNL, which includes ego-centered network measures at each wave for more than 500 participants, ranging from 16 to 45 years old. Results show that offenders terminate friendships more often than non-offenders, and they have a higher likelihood of selecting new friends, regardless of prior victimization experiences. Furthermore, homophily with respect to crime involvement exists; both offenders and victims are more likely to select new friends who are similarly involved in crime. Risky lifestyles to a large extent explain why people select offenders as friends, whereas third parties (that is, parents and the pre-existing network of individuals) influence people's decision to engage in friendships with victims of crime. Nevertheless, after taking individual preferences, meeting opportunities and third parties into account, offenders and victims are still more likely to select friends with similar crime experiences.


The signals driving the adaptation of type-2 dendritic cells (DC2s) to diverse peripheral environments are not well understood. We show that the development of CD11blow migratory DC2s, a DC2 population unique to the dermis, requires STAT6- and KLF4-dependent IL-13 signaling, whereas DC2s in lung and small intestine are STAT6-independent. Dermal IL-13 is mostly derived from innate lymphoid cells expressing a resting ICOS+ KLRG1-ST2-phenotype. Analysis of public datasets indicates that human skin DC2s also express an IL-4/IL-13 gene signature compared to blood or spleen, suggesting a similar developmental pathway in mice and humans. In the absence of IL-13 signaling, dermal DC2s are stable in number but remain CD11bhi and show defective activation in response to allergen with diminished ability to support IL-4+ GATA3+ Th development, whereas anti-fungal IL-17+ RORγt+ responses are increased. Thus, steady-state IL-13 fosters a non-inflammatory and pro-allergic environment in healthy skin via conditioning of local DC2s.


The title of Nicholas Piercey's book is honest with regard to some of its ambitions: namely, this is not a history of Dutch football previous to 1920. Its aim is very different to providing a linear history of the early years of the sport in the Netherlands: instead, it is to give historians of sport a primer on both the challenges of archival research in the history of sport, and the limitations of long-form history. Piercey's conversational tone is accordingly very different from that used in typical historical monographs, one which he would say attempts too hard to create some kind of objective reality to fit a narrative which might not have existed in the first place. If his aim was to write a book (based on a PhD thesis) which is provocative and forces readers to think about many of the issues raised by having to make sense out of archival research, then he has largely succeeded. And, as UCL Press's price for the paperback edition is fairly cheap (not counting an open-access PDF of the text, which can be accessed from some universities), there is no reason why those scholars wanting to examine these issues should not get themselves a copy of Piercey's volume. Whether or not it will be to everyone's tastes is another matter. There are some fairly sizeable qualifiers with Piercey's work, namely with regard to the other major aim of his book: seeking to engage both historians and a wider audience with the potential postmodern approaches to history have to offer. On the contrary, some of Piercey's approaches towards that end here might actually discourage that.


The success of a nanomaterial designed for biomedical applications depends strongly on its "biological identity" meaning the physicochemical properties the material adopts after contact with a physiological medium e.g. blood. Critical issues are here the size stability of the nanomaterial against aggregation in blood induced by blood proteins and the composition of the protein corona. These factors further determine the particles' fate in vivo and in vitro. While this has been seen to occur inevitably we demonstrate here that a preformed and hereby predetermined protein corona steers the nanomaterials behavior concerning aggregation in human blood plasma and uptake behavior in macrophages. Fractionation of human blood plasma was applied to enrich human serum albumin (HSA), immunoglobulin G (IgG) as well as various low abundant protein mixtures. The exact composition of these protein fractions was analyzed via quantitative, label-free liquid-chromatography mass-spectrometry (LC-MS). The protein fractions were further applied to form a predetermined protein corona on differently functionalized polystyrene nanoparticles. The change of the nanoparticles' physicochemical properties after incubation with the defined protein fractions or whole human plasma was studied by dynamic light scattering (DLS) to determine size changes. DLS was also used to investigate the stability of the protein-coated nanoparticles when reintroduced in human plasma. In addition, we found that cellular uptake of nanomaterials was strongly influenced by the artificially created protein corona.


BACKGROUND
Serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) procalcitonin levels were assessed and compared for different groups of patients with Lyme borreliosis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
50 adult patients with Lyme borreliosis, referred to our department from March to June 2001, were included in this prospective study. Patients were divided into three groups. The first group consisted of 20 consecutive patients with typical solitary erythema migrans, representing early localised Lyme borreliosis, the second group comprised 20 patients with early disseminated Lyme borreliosis (10 with multiple erythema migrans and 10 with neuroborreliosis), and 10 patients with acrodermatitis chronica athrophicans represented the group with chronic Lyme borreliosis. Blood specimens were taken from all patients included in the study, but CSF samples were restricted to those with disseminated and chronic Lyme borreliosis. The serum and CSF procalcitonin levels were determined utilizing the LUMI PCT (an immunoluminometric assay using two antigen-specific monoclonal antibodies).

RESULTS
Serum and CSF procalcitonin levels were in normal range in the large majority of patients. The levels of serum procalcitonin did not differ in the three groups of patients with Lyme borreliosis (p = 0.5006). The corresponding values for patients with solitary erythema migrans (early localised Lyme borreliosis), early disseminated Lyme borreliosis, and chronic Lyme borreliosis were 0.26 (0.11-0.43), 0.22 (0.10-0.67), and 0.28 (0.13-0.66) microgram/ml, respectively. Moreover, procalcitonin levels in CSF were also low and comparable for patients with multiple erythema migrans (median 0.38, range 0.24-0.54 microgram/ml), neuroborreliosis (median 0.16, range 0.10-0.47 microgram/ml), and acrodermatitis chronica athrophicans (median 0.30, range 0.15-0.45 microgram/ml). The differences were not statistically significant (p = 0.7579).

CONCLUSIONS
In the large majority of patients with Lyme borreliosis procalcitonin values are within normal range. Serum and CSF procalcitonin levels are of no value for differentiation between early localised, early disseminated and chronic Lyme borreliosis.


General practice services in England are to receive a multibillion pound cash injection as part of a radical plan to redress years of underinvestment in primary care.

In a move hailed by GP leaders as "a turning point" for the profession, NHS England will invest extra money in general practice each year, rising to an extra £2.4bn (€3bn; $3.5bn) by 2020-21. The extra funding means that investment in primary care will rise from £9.6bn in 2016-17 to over £12bn by 2021, representing a 14% increase in real terms.

The funding includes a £500m national "turnaround" package to help struggling practices ease workload pressures, develop their workforce, and redesign care.

NHS England said the overall proportion of NHS investment going into general practice would exceed 10% by 2020-21 and would rise further with new additional investment from local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs).

The plans were unveiled on 21 April by NHS England's chief executive, Simon Stevens, in the General Practice Forward View , a new blueprint …


Throughout his career A.M. Klein was concerned primarily with his relationship to his community, seeing himself, and all serious artists, as necessarily shaping and being shaped by the community in which they are rooted. Yet Klein's vision of this relationship was profoundly ambivalent, and this ambivalence is reflected most clearly in his troubled attitude to the two dominant strains in his work, Jewishness and modernism.In this study of A.M. Klein's work, Zailig Pollock focuses on 'the story of the poet,' which Klein retells again and again at major turning points in his career. Pollock argues that the story reflects Klein's attempt to mediate between his dual Jewish and modernist ambitions. While Klein's Jewishness gave him a sense of rootedness and vocation, it placed constraints on his personal and artistic freedom. Modernism offered Klein freedom for personal exploration and artistic expression, but the rootlessness implicit in modernism repelled him.The story of the poet who engages in a strategic inner retreat from a hostile or, at best, indifferent society, eventually returning as a redeemer of the society which spurned him, was first formulated in 'Out of the Pulver and the Polished Lens. ' It was most fully articulated in 'Portrait of the Poet as Landscape' and The Second Scroll, and abandoned only in the despairing works which immediately preceded Klein's final breakdown and silence.This is the first book to survey all of Klein's poetry, prose, and journalism, published and unpublished, and place it in the context of its times.


Using the example of an unconsented mouth swab I criticise the view that an action of this kind taken in itself is wrongful in respect of its being a violation of autonomy. This is so much inasmuch as autonomy merits respect only with regard to 'critical life choices'. I consider the view that such an action is nevertheless harmful or risks serious harm. I also respond to two possible suggestions: that the action is of a kind that violates autonomy; and, that the class of such actions violates autonomy. I suggest that the action is wrongful in as much as it is a bodily trespass. I consider, and criticise, two ways of understanding how morally I stand to my own body: as owner and as sovereign. In respect of the latter I consider Arthur Ripstein's recent defence of a sovereignty principle. Finally I criticise an attempt by Joel Feinberg to explain bodily trespass in terms of personal autonomy.


Background and Aim: Extrahepatic portal vein obstruction (EHPVO) is an important cause of portal hypertension in children. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical presentation, possible risk factors, upper gastrointestinal endoscopic findings, and treatment modalities of children with EHPVO. Methods: After ethical approval of our study protocol by our institution review board, we analyzed available data from medical records of patients with EHPVO presenting to the Pediatric Hepatology Unit, Cairo University Pediatric Hospital, Egypt, for a period of 15 years from January 1996 to December 2010. Results: The study included 169 patients. Their ages at presentation ranged from 1 month to 12 years (median 2.5 years, interquartile range 5); 101 were boys. Hematemesis was a presenting symptom in 58%, splenomegaly was present in 87%, esophageal varices were present in 94%, and fundal varices were present in 23%. Possible risk factors, in the form of umbilical catheterization, umbilical sepsis, and exchange transfusion, were elicited in 18%. Propranolol was associated with reduction in bleeding episodes (P < 0.001), but was associated with increased chest symptoms (P < 0.01). Both injection sclerotherapy and band ligation were effective in the management of bleeding varices and for primary and secondary prophylaxis; however, injection sclerotherapy was associated with the development of secondary gastric varices (P = 0.03). Conclusions: This large study of children with EHPVO demonstrates the efficacy of propranolol in the reduction of gastrointestinal bleeding in children with EHPVO. Both injection sclerotherapy and band ligation were effective in the management of esophageal varices, although the former was associated with the development of secondary gastric varices. Randomized clinical trials to choose the best modalities for the management of portal hypertension in children are still lacking.


Ensuring smooth operation of an airport is a complex task with many stakeholders involved that have to work together closely in order to achieve optimal results. In particular, the field of security control harbors diverging interests of different entities that share responsibility for secure and timely flights. These entities usually comprise governmental organizations (e.g., legislative authorities, police) and private companies (e.g., airport operators, private security companies). Due to conflicting interests between these entities, managers might perceive each other as adversaries rather than as partners for collaboration. To our knowledge, the present report is the first one to relate procedure and results of a fruitful collaboration on management level between representatives of these different entities at an airport, including a governmental organization as the executive, i.e., carrying out the security control, and a private company (the airport operator). In the setting of the security control at a large European airport, the Productivity Measurement and Enhancement System (ProMES) methodology [1] was chosen to identify stakeholders in the security control process as a first step in order to be able to define their interests, demands, and needs in a second step. Subsequently, justified demands were grouped and categorized into six goal domains. For each goal domain, key performance indicators were developed. Last but not least, the indicators were prioritized by weighing their relevance against each other in order to resolve conflicting interests. This process can be rather quick and efficient provided it is well prepared and monitored. It is further suggested to have an independent facilitator supervise and moderate the process. This study highlights the importance of bringing together high level managers of different organizational entities with a systematical approach in order to pave the way for good cooperation in complex work domains. As a result, stakeholders and demands can be identified, conflicting demands can be discussed, and priorities set. Subsequently, those guidelines can be handed over to the next lower level in the organizational hierarchy. Supervisors on this next level can then define goals for their respective domains using the guidelines provided by the management.


While there is increasing interest in reducing obesity, relatively few of these efforts focus on rural communities. A multi-tiered model to reduce obesity risk factors was developed and implemented to change food behavior and health awareness in a rural West Texas community over a one year period. This paper evaluates the project outcomes based on mean comparison of self-reported health behavior and attitude response before and after the intervention. Findings show a significant increase in, a) obesity as cancer risk awareness and b) food nutrition awareness. Also, increased food nutrition awareness should lead to reduced obesity over time as suggested by a regression analysis of obesity risk factors on BMI.


On 22 May 1918, twenty armed military and South Australian state police converged on the small Australian town of Broken Hill and arrested in excess of forty Italian men of military age living and working in the mining town. These men were escorted to Adelaide for processing and deportation to Italy to serve with the Italian Army. As Mr. Finlayson, the Federal Member for Brisbane who witnessed the armed escort, later reported to the Australian Federal Parliament, this was "a sight that might be expected in Prussia". But this was not Prussia; it was Australia, and these Italians, though allies in the war against Germany had proven reluctant to answer their country's 'call to arms'. The ensuing forced repatriation by the Australian Government of over five hundred Italian men in the last months of the War was a significant event for a country that had eschewed the conscription of its own citizens. By contrast, in Canada, from the time of Italy's declaration of war, Italians volunteered in their hundreds to either return to Italy or to fight in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces (CEF). As early as August 1915, over five hundred had come forward in Ontario alone and they would continue to do so at the rate of thirty to thirty five a day. This paper analyses why Italian immigrants, living either in Australia or British speaking Canada during World War One, responded so differently to their country's calls to arms, and why the respective governments treated their allies in such a contrasting manner.


This article investigates the period before Sri Lanka was engulfed by civil war and ethnic strife and how things changed so rapidly following colonial rule. Sri Lanka's independence was seen as a model to be followed in the decolonisation of the British Empire due to the island's peace, prosperity, indigenous leadership and its preference for British institutions. However, behind this facade the years surrounding Sri Lankan independence also saw the foundations for the vicious civil war that has dominated all recent coverage of this Indian Ocean state. This article assesses how warning signs were misread or ignored and how early political decisions in this era forged the beginnings of the future problems ahead


The study set out to explore prospects of using digital libraries to enhance access to academic materials to library users in the Higher Learning Institutions (HLIs) in Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania. Interviews, questionnaires and focus group discussions were methodological underpinnings adopted to explore the case using cross-sectional type of designs. Study findings revealed that despite the fact that each HLI had a library, but sitting pattern did not keep pace with the increasing number of students enrolled each year. Opening and closing hours were also observed to be an obstacle for many library users to access learning materials, lack of variety and updated books in various study disciplines, and involvement of a lot of mechanical books searching was also observed to be challenges facing readers in the existing libraries. The turning point for the above mentioned challenges is to establish digital library. However, digital library implementation fall into doldrums because of the following identified factors; shortage of fund, low technology, power rationing, inadequate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools to the libraries, shortage of skilled personnel who can start and run digital library, unstable network infrastructures, and high cost for internet bandwidth. The study calls for deliberate action to implement digital libraries especially in HLIs in order to harvest the prospects of digital libraries in enhancing access to learning materials and consequently improving students' academic performance.


The paper presents the most important results from a study in argumentative communication skills, developed in three engineering undergraduate programs from year 2012 until 2014. The work was performed by a multidisciplinary group in two Colombian regions.

During year 2012, professors noted that senior students had problems in both oral and written communication. Therefore, engineering professors decided to join expert faculty in communication skills and to design a long-term project to help students. The project was meant to improve these skills, and it included four phases. Phase one diagnosed basic communication skills. Phase two employed an academic intervention. Phase three developed a new diagnosis in argumentative writing skills. Finally, phase four developed a different intervention for argumentation.

The first two phases included students from the first cohort as the reference group and students from a different cohort as the experimental group. The research evaluated data by means of one rubric and one student opinion survey. Both tools were validated by experts. Results show performance improvement in the second cohort after the intervention. The outcome agrees with related work reported in the literature.

During phase three, professors performed a diagnosis through the curriculum, specifically in argumentation. The study encompasses students enrolled in different courses and semesters from Electrical, Electronics and Systems Engineering at Universidad del Norte (Barranquilla, Colombia), and a course from Electrical Engineering at Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Medell?n Campus). Results show students achievement in argumentation, which was used to design a pedagogical intervention to improve student performance. Phase 4 assessed the same skill in the new cohort, executed the intervention and finally evaluated the results.

The academic intervention was carefully planned in every phase. During the intervention, the group used multimedia tools as video and Academic Blackboard in order to make a homogeneous strategy in all engineering programs in different places in the country. Additionally, the professors employed a Google Docs form in order to speed up evaluation process.

The students wrote argumentative essays before and after the intervention, employing the "Five Paragraph Essay" technique. Statistical analysis shows improvement; therefore, we can conclude that it was possible to enhance argumentation skills of the students.


Hydrogel application feasibility is still limited mainly due to their low mechanical strength and fragile nature. Therefore, several physical and chemical cross-linking modifications are being used to improve their properties. In this research, methacrylated Kefiran was synthesized by reacting Kefiran with methacrylic anhydride (MA). The developed MA-Kefiran was physicochemically characterized, and its biological properties evaluated by different techniques. Chemical modification of MA-Kefiran was confirmed by 1H-NMR and FTIR and GPC-SEC showed an average Mw of 793 kDa (PDI 1.3). The mechanical data obtained revealed MA-Kefiran to be a pseudoplastic fluid with an extrusion force of 11.21 ± 2.87 N. Moreover, MA-Kefiran 3D cryogels were successfully developed and fully characterized. Through micro-CT and SEM, the scaffolds revealed high porosity (85.53 ± 0.15%) and pore size (33.67 ± 3.13 μm), thick pore walls (11.92 ± 0.44 μm) and a homogeneous structure. Finally, MA-Kefiran revealed to be biocompatible by presenting no hemolytic activity and an improved cellular function of L929 cells observed through the AlamarBlue® assay. By incorporating methacrylate groups in the Kefiran polysaccharide chain, a MA-Kefiran product was developed with remarkable physical, mechanical, and biological properties, resulting in a promising hydrogel to be used in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications.


Background/Aims: The rising prevalence of human obesity worldwide has focused research on a variety of interventions that result in highly varied degrees of weight loss (WL). The advent of genomic testing has quantified estimates of both the contribution of genetic factors to the development of obesity as well as racial/ethnic variation of risk alleles across subpopulations. More recent studies have examined genetic associations with effectiveness of WL interventions, but to date are unable to explain a large proportion of the variance observed. Methods: We describe and provide two illustrations of statistical methods to estimate upper and lower bounds of WL treatment response heterogeneity (TRH) in the absence of genotypic data, using published summary statistics and a raw data set from WL studies. Results: Thirty-two studies had some evidence of a positive mean treatment effect with respect to the control intervention. Twelve of these 32 studies reported WL TRH. Of these 12, 3 demonstrated an estimated proportion of >5% of the sampled population having an outcome opposite the mean effect. In the raw data set, bounds estimations for change in waist circumference revealed tighter ranges in men than women. Conclusion: Future studies may be able to take advantage of multiple approaches, including the method we describe, to identify and quantify the presence of TRH in studies of WL or related outcomes.


Even though the nonlinear optical effects of solution processed organic-inorganic perovskite films have been studied, the nonlinear optical properties in two-dimensional (2D) perovskites, especially their applications for ultrafast photonics, are largely unexplored. In comparison to bulk perovskite films, 2D perovskite nanosheets with small thicknesses of a few unit cells are more suitable for investigating the intrinsic nonlinear optical properties because bulk recombination of photocarriers and the nonlinear scattering are relatively small. In this research, we systematically investigated the nonlinear optical properties of 2D perovskite nanosheets derived from a combined solution process and vapor phase conversion method. It was found that 2D perovskite nanosheets have stronger saturable absorption properties with large modulation depth and very low saturation intensity compared with those of bulk perovskite films. Using an all dry transfer method, we constructed a new type of saturable absorber device based on single piece 2D perovskite nanosheet. Stable soliton state mode-locking was achieved, and ultrafast picosecond pulses were generated at 1064 nm. This work is likely to pave the way for ultrafast photonic and optoelectronic applications based on 2D perovskites.


Monospecific polyclonal rabbit antibodies to a purified form of haem oxygenase of chick liver, showing sequence similarity to mammalian haem oxygenase-1, were raised and used to study characteristics of the oxygenase. The antibodies inhibited activity of the purified oxygenase, but not other enzyme components (NADPH:cytochrome reductase and biliverdin reductase) of the standard assay mixture of haem oxygenase. In addition, the antibodies inhibited activity of haem oxygenase in microsomes (microsomal fractions) from Cd(2+)-treated chick liver, spleen, testis and brain. Western (immuno-) blots of microsomal proteins of selected organs from chick, rat and man, and homogenates of chick-embryo liver-cell cultures, probed with the antibodies, showed a major protein with a molecular mass of 33-34 kDa and a lower-molecular-mass protein (28-29 kDa) of variable intensity. Studies with trypsin and selected proteinase inhibitors established that the smaller peptide was a proteolytic product of the larger. Treatment of chick-embryo liver-cell cultures with CdCl2, a potent inducer of haem oxygenase, increased the degree of proteinase-mediated cleavage of the 33 kDa protein to the lower-molecular-mass form. These results indicate that, under at least some conditions, such cultures should be homogenized in the presence of trypsin inhibitor to prevent proteolytic degradation of the enzyme and allow maximal expression of haem oxygenase activity. The antibodies also reacted with haem oxygenase from spleen, testis and brain of both chicks and rats, and the spleen of humans. A method for quantifying the amount of haem oxygenase protein was developed with use of slot-blots and laser densitometry; linearity was observed from 0 to 5 ng of haem oxygenase protein per slot, and the method was applied to sonicated cultured chick-embryo liver cells treated with Cd2+ (0.3 mM) or iron plus glutethimide. In both cases, increases in enzyme activity were of similar magnitude to increases in amounts of enzyme protein. Approximate amounts of haem oxygenase protein in microsomes of several organs from intact animals could also be estimated by the use of slot-blot-laser densitometry, and the amounts measured were increased by the addition of purified haem oxygenase to the microsomal preparations. Results of these studies indicated that haem oxygenase-1 could be detected in microsomes from all chick or rat organs studied, including testis and brain.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


We investigated the expression and localization of the receptor activator nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL) in cartilage from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) of relevance to cartilage degeneration. We also examined the role of exogenous lymphotoxin (LT)-α on RANKL expression in human chondrocytes and its effect on in vitro osteoclast differentiation. Cartilage and synovial fluid samples were obtained from 45 patients undergoing total joint replacement surgery or joint puncture, including 24 patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and 21 patients with RA. RANKL expression in articular cartilage was examined by immunohistochemistry. LT-α concentrations in synovial fluid were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Normal human chondrocytes were stimulated with LT-α, and the relative mRNA levels of RANKL, osteoprotegerin (OPG), matrix metalloproteinase-9, and vascular endothelial growth factor were examined by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Soluble RANKL protein in culture media was measured using ELISA, and membrane-bound RANKL protein in cells was examined by western blotting. Co-cultures of human chondrocytes with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were stimulated with macrophage-colony stimulating factor and LT-α, and osteoclast differentiation was evaluated by staining for tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase. LT-α concentrations were higher in RA synovial fluid than in OA samples. The population of RANKL-positive chondrocytes of RA cartilage was higher than that of OA cartilage, and correlated with cartilage degeneration. Stimulation of cultured human chondrocytes by LT-α increased RANKL expression, the RANKL/OPG ratio, and angiogenic factors. Membrane-bound RANKL in chondrocytes was up-regulated after stimulation of LT-α, whereas soluble RANKL in culture medium did not increase. Co-cultures of human chondrocytes and PBMCs demonstrated that LT-α stimulated human chondrocytes to produce RANKL and induced osteoclastic differentiation of PBMCs. RANKL produced by chondrocytes may contribute to cartilage destruction during RA and LT-α could promote the expression of RANKL in human chondrocytes.


Developing student's critical skills is one of the major concerns of foreign language teachers. Professional teachers and novice ones try to find ways to motivate their students. Developing communicative competence requires students to develop learning strategies and focus on language function and context. In every course assignments, learners understand and realize better that communication is not an easy thing. Developing accuracy and fluency in foreign language classes enhance students critical thinking too. However, What is critical thinking? What is the perception of learners about it? What communicative activities can foreign language teachers use in the classroom to enhance student's critical thinking? These are some research questions that this paper brings in focus, from theory to practice. The study is based on observations in EFL classes. From observations, it was found that developing critical thinking skills help learners to enhance their communication, enlarge their vocabulary, and help them to learn how to use language for different purposes in a variety of contexts. Foreign language teachers can help learners develop critical thinking skills. In this paper, some suggestions for foreign language teachers to use practical activities to foster critical thinking will be presented. Thus, in English language learning and teaching contexts, critical thinking becomes more dynamic.


The rise in global temperatures and extreme weather events has affected agricultural trends throughout the world and threatened the livelihoods of entire communities. Although not a determinant on its own, environmental degradation constitutes one of the overlooked causes of mass displacement in the 21st century. This paper critically examines the notion of 'environmental refugees' and its linkages with the formation of new forms of precarious labor in the Global South. The aim of this paper is to survey the available literature on environmental migration in order to explore some of the humanitarian consequences of anthropogenic climate change. More specifically, this paper works with the myth of 'invasion' by environmental refugees in order to understand the systemic nature and demographic characteristics of population displacements related to the erasure of the means of survival, land and work for communities en masse, compelling members of these communities to take severe risks for survival. Drawing on the available literature on climate change and migration patterns, this paper will consider the debate on international recognition for environmentally displaced persons (EDPs). Finally, the ways in which the international community can begin to respond to anthropogenic climate change and the associated ecological crises will be considered. The paper concludes that existing binaries in refugee law fail to capture the intricate relationship between social, economic, political and environmental factors in human mobility, leaving many environmentally displaced people without protection. In order to overcome this oversight, we must critically analyze existing categories and prioritize the voices and lived experiences of those impacted by environmental change.


Because of different characteristics, the research performance comparison of different fields is not possible, but research and technology policy makers need to compare researchers and institutions and evaluate them from various aspects, including capability, performance, efficiency, productivity, and so on. The present work aimed to consider the differences between research performances of various fields and weighting and valuating of scientific production (publications) of that field, justify and normalize them. The method of research is scientometrics and performed with using literature review, content analysis and descriptive-survey techniques. A sample (n=106) of the productive researchers in the years 2008 to 2011 introduced by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology in four areas: engineering, basic sciences, social sciences and humanities, and medical sciences. According to the questions of research, researchers' CV (by researcher made checklist) was collected and analyzed. To determine the weight and ratio of publications, Shannon Entropy and AHP * Corresponding author: email@example.com methods were used. According to the research findings in the field of engineering, inventions (0.142); in basic sciences , international papers (0.074); in humanities, books (0.174); and also in medical sciences, international papers (0.111) had the most weights rather than other formats. According to the amount and importance of formats in various fields, the weight of publications is different. The value of each format rather than the others, calculated with matrix and by division of obtained weights. With attention to the previous literatures and approved hypothesis of this research about differences between indicators of various field it is necessary to results of the research and weighted publication indicators use for evaluation, monitoring of research performance and assessing the productivity and efficiency of comparison of fields and related disciplines to achieve real results which is based on policy making. According to the changes of publication practices over time and changes in covering of evaluated databases, it is necessary to revise the values and the ratios constantly.


This article explores the range of experiences and meanings of Black life in suburban space. Drawing from educational, historical, and sociological literatures, I argue that an underconsideration of suburban space has left many portraits of educational inequality incomplete. The article outlines the emergence of American suburbs and the formation of the city suburb divide which governs much framing of educational inequality and why this frame has limited thinking about what suburbs are and who lies within them. I follow with a discussion of the contemporary state of the suburbs which are now often more racially, ethnically, and economically diverse than their proximal central cities. There are a variety of suburb types, and this article explores three: majority–minority suburbs, exclusive enclaves, and gateway communities. Each suburb type leads to unique challenges such as demographic mismatch between leadership and school population to considering how ethnicity and race interact with Afro-Latino communities. A discussion of how racialized poverty in suburbia shapes the school and social experiences of Black youth is offered. The article closes with the consideration of the directions researchers should consider and areas of policy that are ripe for reengagement given the diversity of Black experiences in suburban schools.


This article is about the political nature of moral truth. It has been a common practice to deal separately with morals and politics. However, according to Saint Thomas Aquinas thinking, the nature of every human action is political when it reaches its maximum perfection. Thus, politics would be the last and culminating chapter of ethics.. The most perfect action is that that achieves the highest end. That end, according to Saint Thomas' doctrine, can be either perfect happiness or imperfect happiness. The first is obtained by the direct contemplation of God and cannot be achieved during this life. The other one, imperfect happiness, which is a participation of the first and is therefore defined by reference to it, can be achieved according to the measure in which the action is ordained to the highest human good that can be achieved during this life. That good is the political common good, that can be defined as the human person'good in all that is common or participated by many and that, consequently, must be sought as such at the operative level. This implies that each person achieves human good as long as he/she ordains him/herself to the good of others. One's own perfection is achieved when one looks for the perfection of others. Political society is the natural effect of the human action that tends effectively to the highest possible human good in this life. Thus, all moral action will achieve its perfection in the same measure that it is intentionally prolonged as far as the political good.


SAC305 lead-free solder alloy is widely used in the electronic industry. However, the problems associated with the growth formation of intermetallic compounds need further research, especially at high temperatures. This study investigates the doping of Bismuth into SAC305 in the various compositions of 1, 2, and 3 wt.%. The microstructure in terms of intermetallic compound particles and mechanical properties was examined after thermal aging at temperatures of 100 °C and 200 °C for 60 h. The microstructure examination was observed using scanning electron microscopy, and the chemical composition of each alloy was confirmed with an energy dispersive X-ray. Tensile tests were performed to find the mechanical properties such as yield strength and ultimate tensile strength. The intermetallic compound's phase analysis was identified using X-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry was done to study the temperature curves for melting points. Results showed that the addition of Bismuth refined the microstructure by suppressing the growth of intermetallic compounds, which subsequently improved the mechanical properties. The thermal aging made the microstructure coarsen and degraded the mechanical properties. However, the most improved performance was observed with a Bismuth addition of 3 wt.% into SAC305. Furthermore, a decrease in the melting temperature was observed, especially at Bismuth compositions of 3 wt.%.


One of the main issues for the navigation of underwater robots consists in accurate vehicle positioning, which heavily depends on the orientation estimation phase. The systems employed to this end are affected by different noise typologies, mainly related to the sensors and to the irregular noise of the underwater environment. Filtering algorithms can reduce their effect if opportunely configured, but this process usually requires fine techniques and time. This paper presents DANAE++, an improved denoising autoencoder based on DANAE (deep Denoising AutoeNcoder for Attitude Estimation), which is able to recover Kalman Filter (KF) IMU/AHRS orientation estimations from any kind of noise, independently of its nature. This deep learning-based architecture already proved to be robust and reliable, but in its enhanced implementation significant improvements are obtained in terms of both results and performance. In fact, DANAE++ is able to denoise the three angles describing the attitude at the same time, and that is verified also using the estimations provided by an extended KF. Further tests could make this method suitable for real-time applications in navigation tasks.


Bone marrow trepanobiopsies were cultivated in the agar drop-liquid medium system. A total of 155 subjects with different diseases of the blood system and 31 controls were examined. It was shown that prolonged cultivation of trepanobiopsies makes it possible to functionally evaluate the stromal elements of the bone marrow. The whole medullary tissue is characterized by marked heterogeneity as regards its ability to synthesize humoral stimulants of granulomonocytopoiesis. The colony-stimulating ability (CSA) of this tissue combines the CSA of the hemopoietic and stromal cells. In bone marrow deficiency of varying degree, the function of the bone marrow stroma is highly activated. The trepanobiopsy areas short of the hemopoietic tissue possess a higher ability to form a monolayer on the dish surface. During AML and ALL relapses, the ability of the bone marrow stroma to synthesize the humoral stimulants is lowered, whereas the ability to form monolayers is less demonstrable. In diseases associated with the development of secondary fibrosis (CMF, CML, IP), the bone marrow stroma was discovered to be less capable of synthesizing the humoral stimulants, which provides evidence against the involvement of fibrous tissue in the formation of the total CSA of the bone marrow. It is assumed that fibroblasts and fatty cells are related histogenetically and that their proliferation is controlled by humoral factors.


Event logs have been widely used over the last three decades to analyze the failure behavior of a variety of systems. Nevertheless, the implementation of the logging mechanism lacks a systematic approach and collected logs are often inaccurate at reporting software failures: This is a threat to the validity of log-based failure analysis. This paper analyzes the limitations of current logging mechanisms and proposes a rule-based approach to make logs effective to analyze software failures. The approach leverages artifacts produced at system design time and puts forth a set of rules to formalize the placement of the logging instructions within the source code. The validity of the approach, with respect to traditional logging mechanisms, is shown by means of around 12,500 software fault injection experiments into real-world systems.


In addition to horizontal consolidation at the input, production, and processing subsectors, the US pork industry is becoming more vertically aligned. The largest hog producers and pork processors were surveyed regarding their involvement in vertical coordination arrangements and their plans for future involvement in such programs. Motivation for entering these vertical agreements was examined as was the rate of adoption. Structural and regional implications of these results for the pork industry are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


ABSTRACT Previous studies of citizenship preparation in upper secondary school, including studies on vocational programmes, have primarily focused on general subjects. Potential and actual roles of vocational subjects in this context have received little attention, so we have little knowledge of what is likely a significant part of the citizenship preparation that occurs in vocational programmes. Drawing on the work of Basil Bernstein and ethnographic data, this study presents an analysis of socialisation processes in vocational elements of three vocational programmes in Swedish upper secondary school. The analysis addresses the formation of pedagogic codes in various vocational programmes and subjects, and how these codes condition students' practice of citizenship at individual, social and political levels. The results show how different pedagogic codes have different implications for the students' practice of citizenship, and thus raise questions about factors and processes that may either constrain or strengthen, this aspect in vocational subject classes.