Algorithmic fairness (AF) has been framed as a newly emerging technology that mitigates systemic discrimination in automated decision‐making, providing opportunities to improve fairness in information systems (IS). However, based on a state‐of‐the‐art literature review, we argue that fairness is an inherently social concept and that technologies for AF should therefore be approached through a sociotechnical lens. We advance the discourse on AF as a sociotechnical phenomenon. Our research objective is to embed AF in the sociotechnical view of IS. Specifically, we elaborate on why outcomes of a system that uses algorithmic means to assure fairness depend on mutual influences between technical and social structures. This perspective can generate new insights that integrate knowledge from both technical fields and social studies. Further, it spurs new directions for IS debates. We contribute as follows: First, we problematize fundamental assumptions in the current discourse on AF based on a systematic analysis of 310 articles. Second, we respond to these assumptions by theorizing AF as a sociotechnical construct. Third, we propose directions for IS researchers to enhance their impacts by pursuing a unique understanding of sociotechnical AF. We call for and undertake a holistic approach to AF. A sociotechnical perspective on AF can yield holistic solutions to systemic biases and discrimination.


The life cycle model shows that saving for the future requires people to limit consumption during their working years and save so they will have a ?nest egg? to draw on during retirement. Recent changes in how people save for retirement have shifted some responsibility from firms to individuals.


In the 20+ years of Doppler observations of stars, scientists have uncovered a diverse population of extrasolar multi-planet systems. A common technique for characterizing the orbital elements of these planets is the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC), using a Keplerian model with random walk proposals and paired with the Metropolis–Hastings algorithm. For approximately a couple of dozen planetary systems with Doppler observations, there are strong planet–planet interactions due to the system being in or near a mean-motion resonance (MMR). An N-body model is often required to accurately describe these systems. Further computational difficulties arise from exploring a high-dimensional parameter space (∼7 × number of planets) that can have complex parameter correlations, particularly for systems near a MMR. To surmount these challenges, we introduce a differential evolution MCMC (DEMCMC) algorithm applied to radial velocity data while incorporating self-consistent N-body integrations. Our Radial velocity Using N-body DEMCMC (RUN DMC) algorithm improves upon the random walk proposal distribution of the traditional MCMC by using an ensemble of Markov chains to adaptively improve the proposal distribution. RUN DMC can sample more efficiently from high-dimensional parameter spaces that have strong correlations between model parameters. We describe the methodology behind the algorithm, along with results of tests for accuracy and performance. We find that most algorithm parameters have a modest effect on the rate of convergence. However, the size of the ensemble can have a strong effect on performance. We show that the optimal choice depends on the number of planets in a system, as well as the computer architecture used and the resulting extent of parallelization. While the exact choices of optimal algorithm parameters will inevitably vary due to the details of individual planetary systems (e.g., number of planets, number of observations, orbital periods, and signal-to-noise of each planet), we offer recommendations for choosing the DEMCMC algorithm's algorithmic parameters that result in excellent performance for a wide variety of planetary systems.


Essay 1: Objective Scale Anchoring in Sequential Judgments We explore the scope and boundary conditions for anchoring when respondents render sequential judgments in the absence of an explicit comparative standard. We show that previous judgments can anchor subsequent ones, even when these are not explicitly compared. We then demonstrate that the effect is caused by the reinterpretation of objective response scales. Much like the use of the label 'very heavy' will depend on its context, we show that the use of labels such as '1000 pounds' will also depend on context. Even though the pounds scale is objectively defined, psychologically it still must be interpreted, and is subject to similar effects as those that influence subjective scales. Essay 2: The Impact of Regular Activities on Well-being Because of people's tendency to adapt, few events in life have a lasting impact on subjective well-being. We suggest that while major events may not provide lasting increases in well-being, certain seemingly minor events such as attending religious services or exercising may do so by providing small but frequent boosts. In two studies we demonstrate the existence of such boosts to well-being, and provide evidence that these boosts may be cumulative. We suggest that shifting focus from the impact of major life changes on well-being to the impact of seemingly minor repeated behaviors is crucial for understanding how best to improve well-being. Essay 3: The Doomsday Device: A Mechanism for Avoiding Conflict Arms races are a common occurrence in the business world. In the current paper, we propose that such arms races can be avoided by the use of commitment to an extreme response, and we test this idea experimentally. Our findings suggest that actual commitment is an effective but underused tool for avoiding the escalation of conflict. We also find that while cheap talk is not effective in the short run, it is useful for establishing a reputation for future interactions.


A number of coronary heart disease risk factors have been identified that often cluster together to increase the risk of macrovascular disease. This cluster is referred to as the insulin resistance syndrome, and the risk factors commonly include dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, an android pattern of body fat distribution, and glucose intolerance. Whether hyperinsulinemia or insulin resistance per se provides a common pathway for these metabolic abnormalities is unclear. The authors studied 50 nondiabetic persons who had completed a euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp protocol in addition to a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test and other measures of the coronary risk profile. Using principal-component analysis, we reduced nine coronary risk factors to two uncorrelated factors that explained 54.5% of the variance. Factor 1 consisted of positive loadings for uric acid, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, triglyceride concentration, and waist girth and negative loadings for HDL cholesterol and the rate of insulin-mediated glucose disposal (M, in milligrams per kilogram of body weight per minute). M also loaded on factor 2, along with fasting insulin and glucose concentrations, diastolic blood pressure, and waist girth. The observation that M loaded on both factors suggests that a resistance to insulin action may provide the mechanism uniting the features of the insulin resistance syndrome. Hyperinsulinemia with concomitant insulin resistance may be necessary to produce this metabolic derangement, as well as the increased risk of macrovascular complications.


: A transtrabecular iridectomy was performed in 17 eyes with narrow angle glaucoma, and in 3 eyes in which the trabecular meshwork was gonioscopically not visible. Postoperatively, the conjunctive lied directly on the sclera in 14 cases; in 6 cases a circumscribed conjunctival bleb developed in the operation field. After a follow-up of 12 or 24 months, the intraocular pressure was normalized without miotics in 15 of 17 eyes. The mechanism of transtrabecular iridectomy is discussed.


Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), i.e. drones, have been commercially successful in both the consumer and industrial sectors in part due to the wide variety of applications they benefit. In environmental monitoring and precision agriculture, UASs can be utilized for data collection from rural IoT sensor networks. These networks frequently operate over some variant of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, taking advantage of the standard's low power usage. Consumer 802.15.4 radios are widely available in compact form factors, making them ideal for application in environmental and agricultural sensor networks. Unlike other wireless standards, 802.15.4 is well studied on the ground but has not received rigorous evaluation in three dimensional aerial communication, which introduces new challenges, such as antenna radiation patterns and extreme ranges. This paper provides an initial look at the performance of 2.4GHz 802.15.4 for data collection from a UAS. We provide experimental performance measurements using an outdoor aerial testbed, examining how factors, such as antenna orientation, altitude, antenna placement, and obstruction affect signal strength and reception rate of packets. We find that these parameters play a significant role in reception rate, but have a much weaker impact on received signal strength. We conclude by discussing some takeaways on sensor network configuration for aerial data collection.


We present BilVideo-7, an MPEG-7 compatible, video indexing and retrieval system that supports complex multimodal queries in a unified framework. An MPEG-7 profile is developed to represent the videos by decomposing them into Shots, Keyframes, Still Regions and Moving Regions. The MPEG-7 compatible XML representations of videos according to this profile are obtained by the MPEG-7 compatible video feature extraction and annotation tool of BilVideo-7, and stored in a native XML database. Users can formulate text-based semantic, color, texture, shape, location, motion and spatio-temporal queries on an intuitive, easy-to-use Visual Query Interface, whose Composite Query Interface can be used to specify very complex queries containing any type and number of video segments with their descriptors. The multi-threaded Query Processing Server parses incoming queries into subqueries and executes each subquery in a separate thread. Then, it fuses subquery results in a bottom-up manner to obtain the final query result. The whole system is unique in that it provides very powerful querying capabilities with a wide range of descriptors and multimodal query processing in an MPEG-7 compatible interoperable environment. We present sample queries to demonstrate the capabilities of the system.


Wireless communications play a significant role in facilitating several mobile applications like unmanned aerial vehicles, high-speed railway, and vehicular communications. Particularly, the concept of connected vehicles brings a new level of connectivity to vehicles. Along with novel on-board computing and sensing technologies, vehicular networks serve as a key enabler of intelligent transportation systems and smart cities. However, in such environments, the propagation medium between the network nodes is highly time-varying leading to considerable reliability challenges. Ensuring communication reliability by the means of accurate channel estimation in such environments is very important. Initially, vehicular communications standards apply the basic least square (LS) estimation that is not enough for the dynamic vehicular environment. Moreover, the frame structure has low pilot density, making channel tracking a difficult task to achieve, especially in high mobility scenarios. Conventional estimators either employ data subcarriers besides pilots in the estimation process, or the estimated channel and noise statistics. Therefore they suffer from significant performance degradation due to high error probability resulting from hard symbol demapping and the sensitivity against the change in the employed channel statistics. The motivation behind this paper is to overcome this challenge by proposing a low complex and robust channel estimation scheme based on truncated discrete Fourier transform (T-DFT) that updates the channel estimates using DFT interpolation without the need for data subcarriers decisions and the estimated channel statistics. Moreover, further performance improvement can be achieved by considering temporal averaging on top of T-DFT estimation. Analytical and simulation results carried out using different vehicular channel models reveal the performance superiority of the proposed schemes compared to conventional estimators while recording a significant decrease in computational complexity and execution time.


It is proposed to introduce a system of differential supplementary payments in view of the results achieved by the medical officers in detecting and treating the patients with varying severity of a tuberculous process and at the same time the deductions from those payments for late detection, ineffective treatment and the deterioration of tuberculosis epidemiological situation. The system entails a mutual control of work carried out by the medical officers responsible for the detection and treatment of the patients, including regular officers and heads of the antituberculosis institutions.


Delaunay simplexes were used for structure analysis of hard sphere packings of different density. A special attention was paid to the simplexes of tetrahedral shape. Clusters of the tetrahedra adjacent by faces represent relatively dense aggregates of spheres atypical for crystalline structures. Such "polytetrahedral" aggregates reveal a characteristic feature of the dense disordered packings. The tetrahedra in point are not completely perfect. They coincide with the class of "quasi-regular tetrahedra" introduced by Hales in his proof of the Kepler conjecture. In this work we discuss a meaning of these tetrahedra and their role in formation of the dense disordered packings. Polytetrahedral principle of a spatial organization seems to be preferable from the statistical viewpoint, as in this case a variety of dense local configurations can be realized. However it has its limit and further increase in density can be provided by formation of crystalline nuclei.


IL-1 (cid:1) expression in the distal lung epithelium disrupts lung morphogenesis and epithelial cell differentiation in fetal mice. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol L23–L34, 2014. 2013; inflammation and the inflammatory cytokine IL-1 can modify lung morphogenesis. To examine the effects of antenatal expression of IL-1 (cid:1) in the distal airway epithelium on fetal lung morphogenesis, we studied lung development and surfactant expression in fetal mice expressing human IL-1 (cid:1) under the control of the surfactant protein (SP)-C promoter. IL-1 (cid:1) -expressing pups suffered respiratory failure and died shortly after birth. IL-1 (cid:1) caused fetal lung inflammation and enhanced the expression of keratinocyte-derived chemokine (KC/CXCL1) and monocyte chemoattractant protein 3 (MCP-3/CCL7), the calgranulins S100A8 and S100A9, the acute-phase protein serum amyloid A3, the chitinase-like proteins Ym1 and Ym2, and pendrin. IL-1 (cid:1) decreased the percentage of the total distal lung area made up of air saccules and the number of air saccules in the lungs of fetal mice. IL-1 (cid:1) inhibited the expression of VEGF-A and its receptors VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2. The percentage of the cellular area of the distal lung made up of capillaries was decreased in IL-1 (cid:1) -expressing fetal mice. IL-1 (cid:1) suppressed the production of SP-B and pro-SP-C and decreased the amount of phosphatidylcholine and the percentage of palmitic acid in the phosphatidylcholine fraction of lung phospholipids, indicating that IL-1 (cid:1) prevented the differentiation of type II epithelial cells. The production of Clara cell secretory protein in the nonciliated bronchiolar (Clara) cells was likewise suppressed by IL-1 (cid:1) . In conclusion, expression of IL-1 (cid:1) in the epithelium of the distal airways disrupted the development of the airspaces and capillaries in the fetal lung and caused fatal respiratory failure at birth. transgene driven by the to produce litters of both bitransgenic and single-trans- mice. To specifically study the effects of hIL-1


We develop a Bayesian Iterated Learning Model (BILM) that models the cultural evolution of language as it is transmitted over generations of learners. We study the outcome of iterated learning in relation to the behavior of individual agents (their biases) and the social structure through which they transmit their behavior. BILM makes individual learning biases explicit and offers a direct comparison of how individual biases relate to the outcome of iterated learning. Most earlier BILMs use simple one parent to one child (monadic) chains of homogeneous learners to study the outcome of iterated learning in terms of bias manipulations. Here, we develop a BILM to study two novel manipulations in social parameters: population size and population heterogeneity, to determine more precisely what the transmission process itself can add to the outcome of iterated learning. Our monadic model replicates the existing BILM results, however our manipulations show that the outcome of iterated learning is sensitive to more factors than are explicitly encoded in the prior. This calls into question the appropriateness of assuming strong Bayesian inference in the iterated learning framework and has important implications for the study of language evolution in general.


An estimate of the risk, adjusted for confounders, can be obtained from a fitted logistic regression model, but it substantially over‐estimates when the outcome is not rare. The log binomial model, binomial errors and log link, is increasingly being used for this purpose. However this model's performance, goodness of fit tests and case‐wise diagnostics have not been studied. Extensive simulations are used to compare the performance of the log binomial, a logistic regression based method proposed by Schouten et al. (1993) and a Poisson regression approach proposed by Zou (2004) and Carter, Lipsitz, and Tilley (2005). Log binomial regression resulted in "failure" rates (non‐convergence, out‐of‐bounds predicted probabilities) as high as 59%. Estimates by the method of Schouten et al. (1993) produced fitted log binomial probabilities greater than unity in up to 19% of samples to which a log binomial model had been successfully fit and in up to 78% of samples when the log binomial model fit failed. Similar percentages were observed for the Poisson regression approach. Coefficient and standard error estimates from the three models were similar. Rejection rates for goodness of fit tests for log binomial fit were around 5%. Power of goodness of fit tests was modest when an incorrect logistic regression model was fit. Examples demonstrate the use of the methods. Uncritical use of the log binomial regression model is not recommended. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


This article describes a new unsupervised methodology to learn F0 classes using HMM on a syllable basis. A F0 class is represented by a HMM with three emitting states. The unsupervised clustering algorithm relies on an iterative gaussian splitting and EM retraining process. First, a single class is learnt on a training corpus (8000 syllables) and it is then divided by perturbing gaussian means of successive levels. At each step, the mean RMS error is evaluated on a validation corpus (3000 syllables). The algorithm stops automatically when the error becomes stable or increases. The syllabic structure of a sentence is the reference level we have taken for F0 modelling even if the methodology can be applied to other structures. Clustering quality is evaluated in terms of cross-validation using a mean of RMS errors between F0 contours on a test corpus and the estimated HMM trajectories. The results show a pretty good quality of the classes (mean RMS error around 4Hz).


The potential for man-made chemicals to mimic or antagonise natural hormones is a controversial issue, but one for which increasing amounts of evidence are being gathered worldwide. The controversy surrounds not so much the matter of whether these chemicals can mimic hormones in vitro — this phenomenon has been widely accepted in the scientific world — but more whether, as a result, they can disrupt reproduction in a wildlife situation. It has, nevertheless, been acknowledged that many wildlife populations are exhibiting reproductive and/or developmental abnormalities such as intersex gonads in wild roach populations in the U.K.[1] and various reproductive disorders in alligators in Lake Apopka, Florida[2]. However, the causative agents for many of these effects are difficult to specify, due to the extensive mixtures of chemicals — each of which may act via different pathways — to which wild populations are exposed, together with the wide variability observed even in natural (uncontaminated) habitats. As a result, any information detailing fundamental mechanism of action of the so-called endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is of use in determining whether or not these chemicals, as they are present in the environment, may in fact be capable of causing some of the effects observed in wildlife over recent years.


American medical care has been characterized by an acute care and surgical orientation. This acute care focus has been reinforced by advances in infectious diseases and cardiology in the years since World War II. The success in acute care medicine, however, has resulted in a larger number of Americans who are older and suffering from chronic disease. Despite these demographic developments, there is a general inattention to chronic and long term care in medical education. Such a focus is needed because unlike acute care medicine which is dependent upon diagnostic categories, the provision of long term care is dependent upon functional status. Ethical considerations in long term care are also different than acute care. While the autonomy ethic is predominant in acute care settings, the needs of the chronically ill might be better addressed with a communitarian ethic of care. The autonomy ethic distorts the doctor-patient relationship most notably in chronic care by isolating the dependent patient from a community of care. The current euthanasia debate in the United States is symptomatic of the health care system's inability to provide adequate chronic, long term and palliative care to patients in great need.


The Web and image repositories such as Fickrtrade are the largest image databases in the world. There are billions of images on the web, and hundreds of million high-quality images in image repositories. Currently, these images are indexed based on manually-entered tags and individual and group usage patterns. In this work we a exploring a third information dimension: image features. We are exploring probabilistic latent semantic analysis in order to infer which visual patterns describe each object. We wish to build models that connect words and image features, and use content features and tags to better find similar images.


Whether use of combined oral contraceptives (OC) protects against benign ovarian tumors is unknown. A case-control study of pathologically confirmed benign ovarian tumors was conducted in the New York City area and included cases diagnosed from January 1, 1992, to December 31, 1993, and controls identified by random digit dialing. There were 196 cases with serous adenomas, 176 with teratomas, 311 with endometriomas, and 65 with mucinous adenomas. Interview data were used to determine contraceptive use. Ever use of OC was associated with a decreased risk of these benign tumors (age- and hospital-adjusted odds ratio = 0.79, 95% confidence interval: 0.60, 1.05). In histologic subgroup analyses, the risk of ovarian tumors was reduced for both current and past OC users. Among tumor subtypes, the risk reduction was greatest for women who had endometriotic lesions. The risk reduction also was greater for women who had used OC for more than 24 months. Protection against benign ovarian tumors may be an additional noncontraceptive benefit of OC use.


This thesis investigates the potential applications of the Sharpe Hollow Cavity Model (SHCM), the Gaussian Ball Source Model (GBSM), and the Heelan Cylindrical Model (HCM) in modelling explosive pressure sources. Each of these models account for the non-linear nature of wave propagation near an explosive source by mathematically altering the conditions around the source, and replacing it with a model that is more easily understood. Both the SHCM and the HCM replace the source with a hollow cavity, within which waves do not behave linearly, and elastic waves are assumed to emanate directly from the surface of the cavity. The GBSM does not use a cavity and replaces the explosion with a Gaussian ball; elastic waves are then assumed to emanate from a point in space. Each of these models were able to make reasonably accurate predictions about the nature of dynamite data measured in the field.


A conceptual model articulating the nature and determinants of customer expectations of service is proposed and discussed. The model specifies three different types of service expectations: desired service, adequate service, and predicted service. Seventeen propositions about service expectations and their antecedents are provided. Discussion centers on the research implications of the model and its propositions.


Archaea have unique membrane lipids typified by ether linkages of the glycerol-to-isoprenoid chains with sn-2,3 stereochemistry that runs against the naturally occurring sn-1,2 stereochemistry of the glycerophospholipids of Bacteria and Eukarya. Membrane lipids were extracted and analyzed from the hyperthermophilic archaeon, Thermococcus kodakaraensis, cultivated at various temperatures. At all growth temperatures examined, both the diphytanylglycerol diether (archaeol, C20) and diphytanyldiglycerol tetraether (caldarchaeol, C40) were identified as saturated forms, and no other lipids could be identified. The ratio of caldarchaeol to archaeol increased with increasing growth temperature, particularly at 93 °C. A larger amount of archaeol was detected from cells in the logarithmic phase than from those in the stationary phase at all temperatures examined. These results indicate that T. kodakaraensis modulated the membrane lipid composition depending on both the growth phase and the growth temperature, and suggest that the membrane fluidity to environmental change was maintained by altering the length of the hydrocarbon chains, and not by side-chain saturation such as double-bond hydrogenation nor by such a modification as cyclopentane ring formation.


In order to stabilise and improve their income situation, rural households are strongly encouraged to diversify their activities both within and outside the agricultural sector. Often, however, this advice is only moderately pursued. This paper addresses issues of rural household income diversification in the case of Poland. It investigates returns from rural household income strategies using propensity score matching methods and extensive datasets spanning 1998-2008. Results suggest that returns from combining farm and off-farm activities were lower than returns from concentrating on farming or on self-employment outside agriculture. This differential is stable over time although returns from diversification have relatively improved after Poland's accession to the EU. This is also visible in the fact that since 2006 returns from combining farm and off-farm activities have evened with returns from relying solely on hired off-farm labour, thus smoothing the difference observed before the accession. Further, over the analysed period, households pursuing the diversification strategy performed better than those relying solely on unearned income. Finally, in general, the income in households combining farm and off-farm activities was higher than in those combining two off-farm income sources.


Abstract Carbonate buildups are a common feature in Mississippian sections worldwide. Yet despite intense study, questions remain about depositional processes that form such structures and their interrelations, if any, to each other. Carbonate buildups located in siliciclastic basins are particularly understudied and poorly understood. This study focuses on a new exposure of buildups in the siliciclastic-dominated Fort Payne basin (Osagean) of south central Kentucky. It represents a first attempt to combine field and petrographic descriptions of facies in the buildup interval of the Fort Payne with the concepts of sequence stratigraphy to gain better insight into their depositional histories. The buildup interval is composed of five distinct facies. Two of these, the fossiliferous green shale and the tabular crinoidal packstone-grainstone, represent the background sedimentation during buildup nucleation and growth. The remaining three facies make up the buildups themselves. The shaly packstone marks the inception of buildup growth, the massive wackestone represents the core of the buildups, and the crinoidal grainstone is a buildup-flank facies deposited near the end of buildup growth. The buildups of the Fort Payne Formation grew during the transgressive phase of one third-order sequence in the early Osagean. The time at which buildup growth ceased cannot be determined precisely with available data but likely occurred either at the maximum flooding surface or during the early highstand. Three commonly used depositional models, abbreviated as the lithoherm model, the baffling model, and the microbial model, are evaluated with respect to the Fort Payne buildups. None of the models is deemed adequate to explain all of the features of the buildups. Rather, a combination of all three seems to be required to account fully for all of the characteristics noted in this study. This multi-faceted depositional model compares favorably with other Carboniferous buildups worldwide, suggesting commonalities that transcend the properties of the basins in which they grew.


A series of studies was undertaken to investigate the impact of the system hydrodynamics (i.e., sparging intensity and membrane module configuration) the operating permeate flux and fouling reduction measures on the evolution of the trans-membrane pressure (TMP). The evolution in TMP could be modeled using a simple exponential relationship that incorporated the impact of the air sparging intensity, the membrane module configuration and the backwash cycles on the evolution in TMP. The extent of reversible fouling was a function of the operating permeate flux and the hydrodynamic conditions in the membrane system and could be characterized based on the difference between the operating permeate flux and the critical permeate flux. Reversible fouling could be eliminated during each backwash cycle. The extent of irreversible fouling was relatively low and was expected to be a function of the diffusion and adsorption tendency of foulants within the membrane pores.


Course Numbering 100-level courses are broad introductory surveys that address basic art history from a number of regional and thematic perspectives. Prospective majors are encouraged to take the surveys as early in their course of study as possible. Under certain circumstances, students who have taken the Advanced Placement test in art history may earn acceleration credit and, in consultation with the director of undergraduate studies (DUS), may place out of one required 100-level course.


Polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS) has been investigated as a candidate material for microfluidic chips. The ability to modify the surface of PMHS by hydrosilation is particularly advantageous for separation processes. The chemical modification of PMHS is verified by diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) analysis, and the modified PMHS is shown to be stable when exposed to extreme pH conditions between 2 and 9. Spectrophotometer measurements show that PMHS exhibits over 40% transmittance for ultraviolet (UV) wavelength as low as 220 nm, indicating viability for sensor applications based on UV absorption. The UV transmittance is furthermore observed to be insensitive to thickness for specimens tested between 1.6 mm and 6.4 mm thick. Full curing of PMHS liquid resin occurs between 48 and 72 h at 110 °C with no secondary additives. Casting of microscale features is achieved by using soft lithography methods similar to established techniques for fabrication based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Microchannels approximately 100 µm wide and 50 µm deep are also demonstrated by carbon dioxide laser ablation, with uniform channels produced using an energy dose of 0.2 mJ mm−1 with respect to line length. Other basic functional requirements for microfluidic chips are discussed, including the ability to bond PMHS substrates by plasma treatment.


The successful development of hydrogen-energy technologies has several advantages and benefits. Hydrogen-energy development could prevent global warming as well as ensure energy security for countries without adequate energy resources. The successful development of hydrogen would provide energy for transportation and electric power. It is a unique energy carrier, as it can be produced from various energy sources such as wind, fossil fuels and biomass and, when it is combusted, it emits no CO 2 emissions. The other advantage is the wide distribution of resources globally that can be used to produce hydrogen. In Japan, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) published a 'Strategic Roadmap for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells' in 2014, with a revised update published in March 2016. The goal of the roadmap is to achieve a hydrogen society. The roadmap aims to resolve technical problems and secure economic efficiency. The roadmap has been organized into the following three phases: Phase 1—Installation of fuel cells; Phase 2—Hydrogen power plant/mass supply chain; Phase 3—CO 2 free hydrogen. This paper reports on the current status of fuel cells and fuel-cell vehicles in Japan and gives a description and status of the R&D programmes along with the results of global energy model study towards 2050.


Mobocertinib, an oral epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor targeting EGFR gene mutations including exon 20 insertions (EGFRex20ins) in non-small cell lung cancer, was evaluated in a phase 1/2 dose-escalation/expansion trial (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02716116). Dose escalation identified 160 mg daily as the recommended phase 2 dose and maximum tolerated dose. Among 136 patients treated with 160 mg daily, the most common any grade treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs; >25%) were diarrhea (83%), nausea (43%), rash (33%), and vomiting (26%), with diarrhea (21%) the only grade {greater than or equal to}3 TRAE >5%. Among 28 EGFRex20ins patients treated at 160 mg daily, the investigator-assessed confirmed response rate was 43% (12/28; 95% confidence interval (CI): 24-63%) with median duration of response of 14 months (5.0-not reached), and median progression-free survival of 7.3 months (4.4-15.6). Mobocertinib demonstrated antitumor activity in patients with diverse EGFRex20ins variants with a safety profile consistent with other EGFR inhibitors.


the end of 4 h the reversal of pethidine depression had disappeared.4 It seemed logical to determine whether giving a larger dose of naloxone intramuscularly would be effective over a longer period The degree and duration of reversal of pethidine-induced depression were surprising and it is possible that a smaller dose of intramuscular naloxone might prove equally effective Naloxone 200 iig has been used frequently during the past year without ill effect, but we would agree that greater experience is necessary to give complete reassurance on safety Very much larger doses, relatively, have been given to adult volunteers without detectable effects. We chose to compare naloxone with placebo in healthy mature neonates so that drug effects could be clearly distinguished from any concurrent effects of prematurity, asphyxia, or birth trauma. The protocol was approved by the area ethical committee and the three divisions of anaesthetics, obstetrics, and paediatrics. A full explanation was given to each mother. We can assure Dr Barritt and his colleagues that no baby had umbilical venous cannulation; injection and sampling were done using a redundant section of umbilical cord. Indeed, the measurements were chosen because they were all non-invasive. We have not administered naloxone to every neonate whose mother had pethidine during labour since treatment should be related to a clinical problem. However, naloxone is used whenever pethidine depression is suspected and this includes the need for differentiating pethidine depression from other perinatal insults. A proper reading of our paper is inconsistent with their view that we have givell any encouragement to "the over-prescribing of new 'wonder drugs,' "which we were especially careful to avoid.


: We describe new developments in the OpenLoops framework based on the recently introduced on-the-fly method. The on-the-fly approach exploits the factorisation of one-loop diagrams into segments in order to perform various operations, such as helicity summation, diagram merging and the reduction of Feynman integrands in between the recursion steps for the amplitude construction. This method sig-nificantly reduces the complexity of scattering amplitude calculations for multi-particle processes, leading to a major increase in CPU efficiency and numerical stability. The unification of the reduction to scalar integrals with the amplitude construction in a single algorithm, allows to identify problematic kinematical configurations and cure numerical instabilities in single recursion steps. A simple permutation trick in combination with a one-parameter expansion for a single topology, which is now implemented to any order, eliminate rank-two Gram determinant instabilities altogether. Due to this any-order expansion, the numerical accuracy of the algorithm can be determined with a rescaling test. The on-the-fly algorithm is fully implemented for double and quadruple precision, which allows for true quadruple precision benchmarks with up to 32 correct digits as well as a powerful rescue system for unstable points. We present first speed and stability results for these new features. The on-the-fly algorithm is part of the forthcoming release of OpenLoops 2. We describe new developments in the O PEN L OOPS framework based on the recently introduced on-the-fly method [1]. The on-the-fly approach exploits the factorisation of one-loop diagrams into segments in order to perform various operations, such as helicity summation, diagram merging and the reduction of Feynman integrands in between the recursion steps for the amplitude construction. This method significantly reduces the complexity of scattering amplitude calculations for multi-particle processes, leading to a major increase in CPU efficiency and numerical stability. The unification of the reduction to scalar integrals with the amplitude construction in a single algorithm, allows to identify problematic kinematical configurations and cure numerical instabilities in single recursion steps. A simple permutation trick in combination with a one-parameter expansion for a single topology, which is now implemented to any order, eliminate rank-two Gram determinant instabilities altogether. Due to this any-order expansion, the numerical accuracy of the algorithm can be determined with a rescaling test. The on-the-fly algorithm is fully implemented for double and quadruple precision, which allows for true quadruple precision benchmarks with up to 32 correct digits as well as a powerful rescue system for unstable points. We present first speed and stability results for these new features. The on-the-fly algorithm is part of the forthcoming release of O PEN L OOPS 2.


H-modes exhibiting improved confinement above the L-mode are achieved in Alcator C-Mod with ICRF and with ohmic heating alone without boronization. Both ELM-free and ELMy H-modes are obtained with total input power from 0.75 to 4.2 MW over a range of densities (0.8 to ) and toroidal fields (3 to 8 T). Type III ELMs are often observed to have coherent, high m and n precursor oscillations with frequencies of 100 - 160 kHz. The threshold power required to achieve the H-mode increases with density and toroidal field, in rough agreement with scalings derived from other tokamaks. The power densities and density times toroidal field products are an order of magnitude larger than in other tokamaks, in the range of values expected for ITER. The L - H and H - L transitions occur at approximately the same edge electron temperature. A low density limit to the H-mode is found at about . A high midplane neutral pressure limit of about 0.6 mTorr is also observed.


In this study, accumulation of some elements in Epilobium hirsutum L. which was collected from 6 different locations on Seydisuyu stream (Seyitgazi/Eskisehir) were investigated. All plants need to intake macro and micro elements to maintain their lives. Generally, low dosage of these elements is essential for plants. Unfortunately, higher dosage of these elements has toxic effects on plants. For this reason, reactions and levels of these elements should be known in soil and specially water. In study area, Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Iron (Fe), Mangan (Mn), Boron (B), Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), Sodium (Na), Silicium (Si), Nicel (Ni) and Cadmium (Cd) elements were analysed in roots, stems and leaves of Epilobium hirsutum L. except from these elemental analysis, pH, Humidity, Heat, Conductivity and UV levels of specimen locations were investigated.
Seyitgazi plain is an erosion plain and it has organic substance rich soils. Seydisuyu stream is elongated from beginning to end of the Seyitgazi plain. The most important feature of the region that distinguishes it from other working areas is that the largest mining enterprise in which the element Boron, the richness of our country, is extracted, is located in the region. One of the main important factors on the Boron accumulation is seasonal flow of Seydisuyu stream in parallel with the water elemental content.
According to the studied analysis, Cd, Mn, Ca and B levels were clearly higher than determined limit values. Fn and Zn levels were identified between limit values and level of Cu was identified under of these values. In the other elements, elemental analysis results founded between limit values.


Spot size is one of the parameters to characterize the performance of a radiographic X-ray source. It determines the degree of blurring due to magnification directly. In recent years, a variety of measurement methods have been used to diagnose X-ray spot size at Laboratory of Accelerator Physics and Application (LAPA). Computer simulations and experiments showed that using a rolled-edge to measure the spot size are more accurate, and the intensity distribution of X-ray source was obtained by a device with a square aperture. Experimental and simulation results on a flash X-ray source at our laboratory are presented and discussed in this paper. In addition, a new method for time resolved diagnostics of X-ray spot size is introduced too.


Older caregivers of dementia patients have been studied as a model of chronic stress influencing psychological and physical well ‐ being and the function of the immune system. These immune decrements can relate to altered stress hormone levels, and caregivers show elevated or reduced cortisol compared to age ‐ matched controls as well as dysregulation in other cortisol indices. Recently, this field has developed to examine a range of immune outcomes and cortisol measures in younger caregivers too, as well as other potential underlying mechanisms including genetic variation, acute stress reactivity, and inflammation. Several interventions have also been trialled to reduce the negative physical impact of caregiving stress. This paper reviews the latest developments in the field and gives suggestions for future research.


The actual impact of economic growth on poverty reduction is of fundamental importance to the development agenda, especially in view of the Sustainable Development Goals. So far, studies have focused on income poverty. This paper offers new empirical evidence on growth and poverty measured from a multidimensional perspective using the global Multidimensional Poverty Index. Results from a first difference estimator model suggest that while economic growth reduces multidimensional poverty, this impact is well below a one-to-one relationship. We also find that economic growth has a far bigger impact on reducing income poverty than on reducing multidimensional poverty. Results from an alternative cross-section model also support this result and additionally suggest that countries with higher levels of exports, a higher share of industry and services in their GDPs, and higher control of corruption have lower multidimensional poverty. All in all, the results highlight the need for countries to grow in order to reduce poverty, but they simultaneously suggest the limited power of economic growth per se to achieve grand reductions in poverty.


We reexamine the impact of soil water on the precipitation for the United States for July 1993 (the time of the Mississippi flood), previously discussed by Beljaars et al. [1996], using soil moisture from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis (ERA). Ensembles of three precipitation forecasts for the month of July, initialized on July 1, 2, and 3, using different initial soil water fields, are compared with the 12 to 24 hour ERA precipitation forecasts for the month and the observed precipitation. Both the 12 to 24 hour forecasts and the July integrations depict the July mean anomaly field well, although the mid-West precipitation maximum is displaced northward in both the ECMWF short and long-term forecasts. The July 1993 ERA soil water anomaly does not account for the anomalous July precipitation, but replacing the July 1, 1993, soil water with the much drier soil water from June 1988 reduces the July 1993 ensemble forecast precipitation by about 40%. It is probable that soil water nudging has reduced the variability of soil water in the ERA fields.


Documenting large architectures with an accurate survey has recently become possible even with a limited budget. Digital survey tools based on both active and passive solutions, offers today versatile opportunities for the architectural documentation, regardless of the building's dimension. This paper presents the poster, prepared for the CHNT conference, with an extract of Terrestrial and Aerial Photogrammetry and Terrestrial Lasergrammetry. This was used by academics in the context of the Kyrenia Castle in the Cyprus Island, a large medieval fortification organized in an almost square planimetry with a side of about 150 meters and walls height up to about 30 meters, gathering the occasion of a specific workshop (activated for one week in May 2018) and producing the first (partial) digital model of this large built heritage. Following the protocols and best practice in digital documentation of this kind of architectures – the coordinator group of the workshop in synergy with the management unit of the museum hosted in the castlehas brought on an articulated experience moving from the morphology of the castle, to its stratigraphy, to its exhibition aspects, to its restoration issues, to the production of multimedia contents for technical and/or general public access. In that poster it was presented the structure of the workshop, the structure of the survey, the interactions and integrations between different surveys, the system of tools, and the results coming out at first, from the on-field operations brought on by the students participating to the workshop and the following processing operated by technical expert operators; going on to the development of common digital bases to evolve the way of approach to these monumental structures. To present the complete workflow with samples the poster was enriched with QR-Code links to online resources has been made to be a useful base for sharing and discussing the whole set of activities completed on this subject.


Mice deficient in the Msx2 gene manifest defects in skull ossification and a marked reduction in bone formation associated with decreases in osteoblast numbers, thus suggesting that Msx2 is involved in bone formation. However, the precise role of Msx2 during osteoblast differentiation is not fully understood. In the present study, we investigated the role of Msx2 in the regulation of osteoblast differentiation in the multipotent mesenchymal cell lines C3H10T1/2 and C2C12 and in murine primary osteoblasts. Introduction of Msx2 induced alkaline phosphatase activity in C3H10T1/2 and C2C12 cells and promoted the calcification of murine primary osteoblasts. This effect of Msx2 was also observed in mesenchymal cells isolated from Runx2-deficient mice. Interestingly the expression of Msx2 was induced by bone morphogenetic protein 2 treatment in Runx2-deficient mesenchymal cells. In contrast, Msx2 diminished peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) expression and adipogenesis of the preadipocytic cell line 3T3-F442A. Moreover Msx2 inhibited the transcriptional activity of PPARγ, CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein β (C/EBPβ), and C/EBPδ and blocked adipocyte differentiation of mesenchymal cells induced by overexpression of PPARγ, C/EBPα, C/EBPβ, or C/EBPδ. These data indicate that Msx2 promotes osteoblast differentiation independently of Runx2 and negatively regulates adipocyte differentiation through inhibition of PPARγ and the C/EBP family.


The intent of micro finance in developing countries has been to provide loans to very poor people and to help them transform their lives. This study examined micro finance institutes (MFIs) in Kenya. Of the various MFIs in Kenya, it examined three characterized as formal and client based and likely to use rational and explicit performance measures. Clients in these MFIs have been placed into self-help groups with two responsibilities: (1) provide mutual support and advice to the borrowing client, and (2) provide the MFI with a guarantee that loans of group members will be repaid. Based on a review of the performance measurement systems (PMS) literature, research questions were developed along with an interview guide. Case studies were used to administer an interview guide which was distributed prior to the face-to-face interviews. The study concludes that MFIs have relatively well developed PMS that support their particular businesses. The nature of the MFIs suggest the importance of performance measurement. The managers of the MFIs are concerned with performance measurement as expected with a bureaucracy. This is the top down demand for performance measurement. In addition, group members or clients are interested in performance measurement as each guarantees the loans of all group members who have loans with the MFI. Thus, the clients exert a bottom up demand for performance measurement.


This article indentifies the carbon governance landscape after a complex and large-scale disaster by identifying the formation of new strategic groups and the utilization of resources policies. The article highlights the post-disaster context of land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF). In particular it examines the power issue surrounding carbon management in Aceh Province, Indonesia, after the Indian Ocean tsunami (IOT) 2004. The author proposes a new institutional framework, namely the Strategic Framework for Sustainability Analysis (SFSA). The SFSA uses a series of strategic group analyses, combined with strategic resources identification and strategic policy to analyze LULUCF problems. The strategic groups in LULUCF are those that hold the decision-making power to discourage/encourage sustainability of local natural resources. Each group is assumed to reposition itself strategically in order to gain more control over resources. The IOT 2004 has led Aceh to exercise its own sustainability policies, which are set through many initiatives such as a moratorium on logging, a sustainable palm oil policy, livelihood-based carbon conservation projects, and green development policies, including disaster risk reduction.


Abstract Return migration recently became of scientific interest on an intra-European scale. As remigrants bring along various forms of capital, this form of migration is frequently considered as an opportunity to revitalize rural communities. Since Romania entered the EU in 2007, a certain number of Transylvanian Saxons, i.e., ethnic Germans, who emigrated to Germany in the 1980s and 1990s, temporarily or permanently returned to rural Romania. By means of qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey among returnees and potential re-emigrants, this study provides empirical insights to the status quo and the potential of this phenomenon. A particular emphasis is given to their everyday practices and implications on the Transylvanian community, mostly aiming at preservation of the cultural heritage.


Abstract. With increasing costs inflicted by natural hazard perils, and amidst state budget cuts, concerns are mounting about the capacity of governments to design sustainable, equitable and affordable risk management schemes. The participation of the private sector along with the public one through public–private partnerships (PPPs) has gained importance as a means of providing catastrophic natural hazard insurance to address these seemingly conflicting objectives. In 2013 the European Commission launched a wide-ranging consultation about what EU action could be appropriate to improve the performance of insurance markets. Simultaneously, the EU legislator instigated major reforms in the legislation and regulations that pertain to how PPPs are designed or operate. This paper has a dual objective: first, we review and summarize the manifold legal background that influences the provision of insurance against natural catastrophes. Second, we examine how PPPs designed for sharing and transferring risk operate within the European regulatory constraints, illustrated using the example of the UK Flood Reinsurance Scheme (Flood RE) between the state and the Association of British Insurers.


We demonstrate a new method for measuring temperature distribution changes caused by coupling a high power laser beam into a multimode fiber and by splicing of two multimode fibers. The measurement technique is based on interrogating a distributed sensor implemented using a fiber Bragg grating.


Framed in a cognitive approach to task-supported L2 vocabulary learning, the present study used a pedagogical approach to investigate the relative effectiveness of tasks with different involvement loads on the vocabulary knowledge of Iranian EFL learners. The goal was to investigate the way that the construct of involvement load is related to the Input Hypothesis (Krashen, 1985) and the Output Hypothesis (Swain, 1996) to see whether the involvement load or input/output-orientation of tasks is the determining factor in task effectiveness. A quasi-experimental design with a pretest-treatment-posttest sequence was used in this study. The participants were 127 university students from four General English classes at Islamic Azad University, Mobarakeh Branch, who were assigned to four instructional groups. Contrary to the predictions of the Involvement Load Hypothesis (Laufer & Hulstijn, 2001), the results of the study indicated that involvement load is not the only determining factor in task effectiveness, but input/output-orientation of tasks is also a decisive parameter in task effectiveness. While Laufer and Hulstijn's proposal is a valuable first step towards building a theory of vocabulary learning, the results of the study indicated that involvement index may well not function independently of the task type, i.e., input or output orientation of a word-focused task.


Calculations are presented for a series of interrelated problems in the theory of disordered solids. The simple mean field theory of tricriticality in the layered Ising metamagnet is modified by inclusion of the Bethe-Peierls equation of state for the planar interactions. The approximation allows for a model of dilution with a finite percolation concentration for the layers. The calculated behaviour as a function of dilution for anisotropic coupling strengths allows comparison with experimental results on dilute ferrous chloride. Estimation is made of the effects of treating fluctuations by theories with mean field singularities. A discussion is given of first order phase transitions in disordered systems. A mean field theory of the implications of introducing quenched disorder to a system undergoing a transition of first order is effected by reformulating the problem in terms of a translationally invariant one via the replica method. The conclusions are examined in terms of a simple scaling theory and criteria derived for smearing of the singularities. Dynamic and thermodynamic properties of diluted magnetic insulators near the percolation concentration are considered in terms of simple geometric models of the percolating cluster as introduced by de Gennes. New scaling relations for the spin wave stiffness and conductivity exponents are derived and differences from previous relations interpreted geometrically. The scaling models of the percolating cluster so found, in which correlations propagate locally via effectively one-dimensional paths, are applied to the determination of the mobility edge for spin wave excitations in a dilute Heisenberg magnet near the percolation threshold. A prediction for the functional form of the mobility edge is made by means of results known for the Anderson model and a localisation length derived from an exact solution of a random problem by Dyson.


This thesis describes CACTI-D, a memory modeling modeling tool that supports both SRAM and DRAM circuits and technologies. With CACTI-D it is possible to project area, access time, cycle time, dynamic read and write energies per access, and standby leakage power of memories and caches for technology nodes between 90nm and 32nm. CACTI-D supports SRAM, logic process based DRAM (LP-DRAM) and commodity DRAM (COMM-DRAM) technologies. CACTI-D also supports the modeling of main memory DRAM chips. Thus with CACTI-D, modeling of the complete memory hierarchy with consistent models all the way from SRAM based L1 caches through main memory DRAMs on DIMMs becomes possible.
CACTI-D is based on the well-known memory and cache modeling tool CACTI. We borrow key circuit models from CACTI but revamp CACTI-D from the ground up with a complete rewrite of the source code. We incorporate a new technology foundation into CACTI-D with device data based on the ITRS roadmap. We incorporate device data for different ITRS device types such as high performance (HP), low standby power (LSTP) and low operating power (LOP). We also incorporate data for interconnect technology based on well-documented models and data from the literature.
We have validated CACTI-D by comparing its projections against real designs. For SRAM validation, we compare against two prominent 90nm and 65nm SRAM caches and for DRAM validation, we compare against a 78nm DDR3 DRAM chip. Taking into account the extremely generic nature of CACTI-D, there is good agreement between the projections produced by CACTI-D and the published data.
We illustrate the potential applicability of CACTI-D in the design and analysis of future memory hierarchies by carrying out a last level cache study for a multicore multithreaded architecture at the 32nm technology node. In this study we use CACTI-D to model all components of the memory hierarchy including L1, L2, last level SRAM, LPDRAM or COMM-DRAM based L3 caches, and main memory DRAM chips. We carry out architectural simulation using benchmarks with large data sets and present results of their execution time, breakdown of power in the memory hierarchy, and system energy-delay product for the different system configurations. We find that COMM-DRAM technology is most attractive for stacked last level caches, with significantly lower energy-delay products.


In this paper, optimal resolution of air-traffic (AT) conflicts were considered. Aircraft are assumed to cruise within a free altitude layer and are modeled in three dimensions with variable velocity and proximity bounds. Aircraft cannot get closer to each other than a predefined safety distance. The problem of solving conflicts arising among several aircraft that are assumed to move in a shared airspace were considered. For such systems of multiple aircraft, the total flight time by avoiding all possible conflicts were minimized. This paper proposes a formulation of the conflict avoidance problem as a mixed-integer nonlinear-programming problem. In the author's case, only velocity changes are admissible as maneuvers. Nevertheless, in subsequent work, simultaneous velocity and heading angle changes will be checked too. Simulation results for realistic aircraft conflict scenarios are provided.


ABSTRACT This special section contains empirical and conceptual articles pertaining to the broad topic of teaching, training, and supervision of assessment. Despite some evidence of a decline in recent decades, assessment remains a defining practice of professional psychologists in many subfields, including clinical, counseling, school, and neuropsychology, that consumes a consequential proportion of their time. To restore assessment to its rightful place of prominence, a clear agenda needs to be developed for advancing teaching and training methods, increasing instruction to state-of-the-art methods, and defining aims that could be elucidated through empirical inquiry. The 7 articles in this special section provide a developmental perspective of these issues that collectively provide practical tools for instructors and begin to set the stage for a research agenda in this somewhat neglected area of study that is vital to the identity of professional psychology. Additionally, 2 comments are provided by distinguished figures in the field concerning the implications of the articles in the special section to health services psychology and the competencies-based movement in applied psychology.


J. KEVIN THOMPSON, LESLIE J. HEINBERG, MADELINE ALTABE, AND STACEY TANTELEFF-DUNN: Exacting Beauty: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment of Body Image Disturbance. American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C., 1998, 396 pp., $39.95, ISBN 1-55798-541-3. The goal of this book-the third on body image that was either authored or edited by J. Kevin Thompson-is "to attempt to integrate theory, assessment, and treatment for the field of body image; to provide a guide for researchers and clinicians interested in the field of body image disturbance and to bridge research and practice." After reading this text, the clinician would hope to come away with a clear sense of the etiology of body-image disturbances and then to be able to identify the best clinical treatment that would match patient diagnostic presentation. Although the research material is well handled, the treatment aspect is somewhat incomplete. The authors present a good overall view of the origin of body image and body-image disturbance, and an excellent historical review of research in the field of eating disorders, i.e., anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, as well as bingeeating disorder and obesity. The book also addresses the complexity of defining, measuring, and creating theoretical models while exploring the social and cultural aspects of body image and the public media emphasis on thinness. And it outlines the current thinking about making a differential diagnosis of body-dysmorphic disorder, often a difficult matter. Some important work in body-dysmorphic disorder is missing, however, such as that of Eric Hollander, M.D. The book's forte is presenting the reader with a strong array of models for measurements and assessment and different testing methodologies, as well as including helpful tables, appendices, and references. The 11 chapters are divided into five parts: 1. An Overview: Prevalence, Diversity, Assessment, and Treatment; 2. Societal and Social Approaches; 3. Interpersonal Approaches; 4. Feminist Approaches; and 5. Behavioral, Cognitive, and Integrative Approaches. The term "approaches" is somewhat misleading because it infers presentation of several different treatment methodologies that the book only partially delivers. The authors conclude that the cognitive-behavioral modality of treatment, supported by "empirical findings," has been the most successful in the treatment of body image thus far, and they are not nearly as exhaustive in covering other treatment modalities, such as the feminist perspective. …


OBJECTIVE
To test the hypothesis that application of a rope restraint device would result in behavioral, electroencephalographic, and humoral changes consistent with sleep and analgesia in neonatal foals.

ANIMALS
8 healthy neonatal foals.

PROCEDURES
Following acclimatization to experimental conditions, each foal underwent a series of assessments before and during or at the end of a period of restraint via application of a restraint device (soft linen rope). Assessments included measurements of heart and respiratory rates, rectal temperature, and circulating β-endorphin and steroid hormone concentrations and evaluations of mentation and body position (behavior), electroencephalographic patterns, and pain tolerance.

RESULTS
All foals were lively with apparently normal behavior prior to restraint. During application of the restraint device, foals assumed lateral recumbency with relaxed, somnolent behavior. Heart and respiratory rates and rectal temperature uniformly decreased as a result of the procedure. Electroencephalographic recordings (completed for 3 foals only) revealed patterns consistent with slow wave sleep. Plasma ACTH, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, and androstenedione concentrations significantly increased during restraint, compared with prerestraint values. The foals' tolerance to noxious stimuli significantly increased during restraint; however, this was independent of the concentration of circulating β-endorphin.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
In neonatal foals, the evaluated form of restraint resulted in a decrease in heart and respiratory rates and rectal temperature. Squeeze-induced somnolence may resemble the effects of compression of the fetus in the birth canal and lead to inhibition of voluntary activity. Use of this technique to safely restrain neonatal foals during minor procedures warrants further evaluation.


Background: Reconstruction of large defects in the temporal region can be performed with skin grafts or pedicled or free flaps. Results are often not optimal because of the patch of a skin graft, lack of availability of local flaps, and distant skin from free flaps. A technique for reconstruction of these defects with local tissue is presented in this article that uses superficial musculoaponeurotic system (SMAS) plication to allow wide advancement of a cervicofacial flap. Methods: Once the defect is outlined, a face-lift–like skin incision is used to raise the flap. The SMAS is plicated with two purse-string sutures that relieve tension on the flap and allow maximal advancement. Thirteen face-lift SMAS plication flaps were used in 12 patients (mean age, 70.2 years) after cancer resection, which was bilateral in one case. Defects up to 8 cm in largest diameter can be closed. In one case of an 8 × 6-cm defect, a 1 × 1.5-cm skin graft was necessary. Results: All flaps healed uneventfully, and no reoperation was necessary. Scars are almost completely hidden and the cosmetic result is satisfactory. The asymmetrical face-lift effect fades out within 6 months. Conclusions: The face-lift SMAS plication (FLISP) flap allows reconstruction of large defects in the temporal region with a local flap providing an excellent cosmetic result and avoiding the need for distant tissue and multiple scarring. This flap provides an example of how reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery are complementary and can be mutually beneficial.


Digital design tools and techniques facilitate efficiency gains, shorten development times, and aid collaboration between members of product development teams. As the range of digital tools available to the industrial designer increases, the aim of this research was to investigate the viability of a totally digital industrial design strategy and opportunities to employ the methods in design education.
Published literature indicated a general lack of research in the use of digital design tools and media by industrial design students and practitioners. This research employed empirical surveys, which indicated that whilst the use of digital methods increased as the design solution progressed, practitioners were using digital tools/media more extensively than the students. The findings also revealed a negative reaction to a completely digital industrial design strategy and curriculum, despite the fact that the majority of practitioners believed in the capacity of digital tools/media to replace conventional methods. Losing the spontaneity of paper-based sketching was identified as the main concern about a totally digital process and this issue was further investigated through a case study in which industrial/product design students employed the Tablet PC as a tool for concept generation. Student responses indicated overwhelmingly positive attitudes towards the use and capabilities of the Tablet PC as a tool for digital sketching and its use as a self-contained design tool. Following the first phase of empirical studies, a draft digital industrial design strategy was devised and presented to graduating students, academics and practitioners for feedback. Findings revealed that the majority of graduating students were receptive to the strategy and modifications applied in response to feedback.
The research concludes that industrial design programmes are failing to fully avail of the breadth of advanced and emerging digital technologies that can be used during practice. Despite the fact that the majority of interviewees felt that the digital industrial design strategy was feasible, cost and the resistance of academics who had an interest in the use of conventional tools was holding back educational progress. Recommendations for curriculum development have been identified for a more extensive introduction to, and use of, digital tools.


When Luigi Bassi entered the stage of the Prague National Theatre in 1787 to create the title role of Mozart and Da Ponte's Don Giovanni, he could have drawn inspiration from a rich tradition of theatrical, pantomimic and marionette representations of the legendary Don Juan, to which this new opera was the latest contribution. Previous incarnations had been shaped by the likes of Tirso de Molina, Molière, Shadwell, Purcell and Gluck; yet it is Mozart and Da Ponte's version that has for us become the definitive: the Don as paradox; an uncomfortable blend of the despicable and the admirable, hero and anti-hero. Lecher, rapist, liar, cheat, murderer, he is the brutal epitome of macho striving for power and domination, yet clothed with a seductive panache, conviction and bravado — the reckless-heroic libertine phallocrat who would rather face the fires of eternal damnation than curb his appetites.


Abstract. We investigate the sensitivity of aerosol representation in the regional climate model RegCM4 for two dust parameterizations for the period 2007–2014 over the Sahara and the Mediterranean. We apply two discretization methods of the dust size distribution keeping the total mass constant: (1) the default RegCM4 4-bin approach, where the size range of each bin is calculated using an equal, logarithmic separation of the total size range of dust, using the diameter of dust particles, and (2) a newly implemented 12-bin approach with each bin defined according to an isogradient method where the size ranges are dependent on the dry deposition velocity of dust particles. Increasing the number of transported dust size bins theoretically improves the representation of the physical properties of dust particles within the same size bin. Thus, more size bins improve the simulation of atmospheric processes. The radiative effects of dust over the area are discussed and evaluated with the CALIPSO dust optical depth (DOD). This study is among the first studies evaluating the vertical profile of simulated dust with a pure dust product. Reanalysis winds from ERA-Interim and the total precipitation flux from the Climate Research Unit (CRU) observational gridded database are used to evaluate and explain the discrepancies between model and observations. The new dust binning approach increases the dust column burden by 4 and 3 % for fine and coarse particles, respectively, which increases DOD by 10 % over the desert and the Mediterranean. Consequently, negative shortwave radiative forcing (RF) is enhanced by more than 10 % at the top of the atmosphere and by 1 to 5 % on the surface. Positive longwave RF locally increases by more than 0.1 W m−2 in a large portion of the Sahara, the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East. The four-bin isolog method is to some extent numerically efficient, nevertheless our work highlights that the simplified representation of the four-bin approach produces less dust optical depth and RF, a fact that should be taken into account by future studies of the same region.


This paper describes a system called SITAC based on our proposed approach to discover concepts (called SITACs) in text archives that are identical semantically but alter their names over time. Our approach integrates natural language processing, association rule mining and contextual similarity to discover SITACs in order to answer historical queries over text corpora.


Structural health monitoring (SHM) is an active area of research devoted to systems that can autonomously and proactively assess the structural integrity of bridges, buildings, and aerospace vehicles. Recent technological advances promise the eventual ability to cover a large civil structure with low-cost wireless sensors that can continuously monitor a building's structural health, but researchers face several obstacles to reaching this goal, including high data-rate, data-fidelity, and time-synchronization requirements. This article describes two systems the authors recently deployed in real-world structures.


Historically, periodontal disease (gingivitis and periodontitis) has been recognized as being primarily of bacterial origin. However, recent evidence indicates that while bacteria are necessary for disease development they are not sufficient for the clinical manifestation of the many and varied forms of periodontal disease. It is becoming increasingly apparent that it is the host inflammatory response to the subgingival bacteria that is responsible for the tissue damage and, most likely, progression of the disease. We explore the concept that it is the subgingival microenvironment modified by the inflammatory response that leads to a change from a commensal to pathogenic microbiota. In this review, we examine the evidence for the emerging paradigm supporting the central role of inflammation rather than specific microbiota in the pathogenesis of periodontitis, and that by controlling the inflammation, it is possible to control the infection. As an extension of this, we propose a working model for the ongoing monitoring of periodontal patients using the medical model of 'treat to target'.


This study examines how processes such as reward/aversion and attention, which are often studied as independent processes, in fact interact at a systems level. We operationalize attention with a continuous performance task and variables from signal detection theory, and reward/aversion with a keypress task using variables from relative preference theory. We find that while the relationship between reward/aversion and attention is functionally invariant, a power law formulation akin to the Cobb-Douglas production function in economics provides the best model fit and theoretical explanation for the interaction. These results indicate that a decreasing signal-to-noise with signal detection results in higher loss aversion. Furthermore, the estimated exponents for the multiplicative power law suggest capacity constraints to processing for attention and reward/aversion. These results demonstrate a systemic interaction of attention and reward/aversion across subjects, with a quantitative schema raising the hypothesis that mechanistic inference may be possible at the level of behavior alone.


Cereal aphid (Sitobion avenae) and wheat bulb fly (Delia coarctata) are serious pests of wheat in the UK. At the present, chemical pesticides are used to control these insects, but they are limited in effectiveness, and have undersirable ecological impacts. There is a need to improve wheat genetically to be resistant to such inset pests. The objectives of this work were to investigate digestive biochemistry in the selected insect pests of wheat, and to determine effects of potential endogenous resistance factors in wheat on digestion, nutrition and other insect metabolic processes. The aim was to develop new strategies for crop protection.
Digestive biochemistry in S. avenae and D. coarctata was studied to characterise gut proteases and their inhibition by host plant proteinase inhibitors (PIs). Investigation of proteolytic digestion in S. avenae gut showed that in spite of being a phloem-feeding insect, cereal aphid could digest ingested protein, using cysteine proteases. D. coarctata larvae contained mainly serine protease activity. A serine protease (DcSP) and a cysteine protease (DcCathL) from D. coarctata gut tissue were expressed as recombinant proteins. Only DcCathL was recovered in active form. DcCathL was insecticidal to Mamestra brassicae when injected into hemolymph, causing systemic and extensive melanisation. DcCathL selectively degraded recombinant serpins from M. brassicae in in vitro assays, and is suggested to interfere with regulation of the proteolytic cascade leading to phenoloxidase activation and melanin production in vivo. DcCathL has potential as a biopesticide if it could be made effective when orally delivered. A cationic amino acid transporter from D. coarctata gut (DcCAAT) was also cloned as a target for RNA interference.
Potential resistance factors in wheat were characterised by expression as recombinant proteins. Two PIs from wheat (subtilisin/chymotrypsin inhibitor; WSCI, and cysteine proteinase inhibitor; WCPI) were expressed in the yeast Pichia pastoris, and purified. WSCI inhibited gut protease activity of both insects in in vitro and in vivo assays, whereas WCPI only inhibited S. avenae gut extract activity. On feeding, WSCI was antimetabolic to both insects, affecting both survival and growth, whereas WCPI was antimetabolic to S. avenae only. Wheat Hessian fly responsive (Hfr) genes are up-regulated in response to herbivory by Hessian fly (Mayetiola destructor). The protein product Hfr-3 was expressed and purified, and showed antimetabolic effects on survival and growth of both S. avenae and D. coarctata. Both accumulated and induced defence proteins, like WSCI, WCPI and Hfr-3, have the potential to act as endogenous resistance factors in wheat towards a range of insect pests. Developing a wheat variety constitutively expressing these defence proteins by using traditional breeding methods and/or modern biotechnological tools is discussed.


In the pursuance of sustainable development, knowledge development and learning are often central activities. Moreover, this is organised in sustainability clusters that are groups of related companies that aim to increase the sustainability of their firms, value chains and territories, supported by stakeholders from public authorities, science, society and business. The thesis Territorial knowledge governance: pursuing sustainability in agriculture and food clusters aims to improve the understanding of the principles and to what extent of the coordination that is established through knowledge and learning in the pursuance of the sustainable development of agriculture and food clusters, or territorial knowledge governance. The thesis addresses two knowledge gaps: 1) the underrepresentation of the coordinative and transformative aspects of knowledge and learning in modes of governance literature and 2) the underrepresentation of a territorial-economic approach in the literature on the governance of sustainable development transitions, especially regarding knowledge and learning. The thesis makes use of on an iterative research design. Each research step consisted of theoretical explorations and case studies that were evaluated afterwards to select the next research activities. The data collection and analysis has two pillars: 1) a literature research on theories of modes of governance, knowledge, learning, innovation, and territorial development and 2) a comparative case study analysis. The thesis presents an analytical framework for analysing territorial knowledge governance, especially in relation to sustainable development and agriculture and food clusters. The coordinative principles of territorial knowledge governance have been defined in this framework as: 1) the setting of sustainable development missions, 2) the production and exchange of knowledge in supportive milieus, 3) the embedding of substantive knowledge, 4) the anchoring of significant knowledge, and 5) the feeding of the acquired significant knowledge into the (re-) design of institutions and strategies of policy design and implementation. Moreover, constraints, enablers and type of results are presented. It is concluded that territorial knowledge governance is especially suited to complex challenges, such as sustainable development, because it is able to open new pathways for sustainable development, through the establishment of alignment between cluster actors around a shared vision and mission that emerges during knowledge-based endeavours in the sustainable development in agriculture and food. Time-aspects and the institutions that enable or constraint territorial knowledge are identified as major issues for future research, especially in relation to the highly complex settings in which cluster actors act from perspectives, habits, capabilities, beliefs and ambitions that tend to oppose the implementation of sustainable territorial development missions.


According to the technical demand of hot-rolling production in steel plant, a production scheduling mathematical model was proposed with the aim of reducing the production cost and optimizing the product quality. The scheduling of reheating furnaces which was summed up as the Boolean satisfiability problem was involved in rolling scheduling optimization which was summed up as the multiple traveling salesman problem with uncertain traveling salesman number, and a two-stage genetic-tabu algorithm was designed to solve the problem. It was shown that, the model could fully meet the demand of hot-rolling production. Compared to the human-computer method, the results had better performance on high production and energy efficiency.


This study investigates acoustic variations when producing Lombard speech under the effect of a changing environment to identify adaptive tendencies of intelligibility. Analyses of the acoustic features of duration, F0, formants, spectral tilts and modulation spectrum in a dataset of speech at noise levels of −∞, 66, 72, 78, 84, and 90 dB were carried out. The results show that the recognized tendencies (neutral-Lombard distinction), including lengthening vowel duration, increasing F0, shifting F1 and decreasing spectral tilts (A1-A3) are preserved among Lombard speech produced in backgrounds with a various noise levels. Our new findings are an abrupt change in F0 at 84 dB, increasing formant amplitudes, and H1-H2 variation, and a raised modulation spectrum. On the basis of physiological and psychological knowledge, we can give reasons for their correlations with intelligibility. Moreover, these variations continuously vary with increasing noise level. As a result, it is suggested that they are related to the adaptive tendencies of intelligibility.


Intelligent conversational assistants, such as Apple's Siri, Microsoft's Cortana, and Amazon's Echo, have quickly become a part of our digital life. However, these assistants have major limitations, which prevents users from conversing with them as they would with human dialog partners. This limits our ability to observe how users really want to interact with the underlying system. To address this problem, we developed a crowd-powered conversational assistant, Chorus, and deployed it to see how users and workers would interact together when mediated by the system. Chorus sophisticatedly converses with end users over time by recruiting workers on demand, which in turn decide what might be the best response for each user sentence. Up to the first month of our deployment, 59 users have held conversations with Chorus during 320 conversational sessions. In this paper, we present an account of Chorus' deployment, with a focus on four challenges: (i) identifying when conversations are over, (ii) malicious users and workers, (iii) on-demand recruiting, and (iv) settings in which consensus is not enough. Our observations could assist the deployment of crowd-powered conversation systems and crowd-powered systems in general.


Aims: Our aim is to obtain more information about the physical nature of B-type asteroids and extend on the previous work by studying their physical properties derived from fitting an asteroid thermal model to their NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) data. We also examine the Pallas collisional family, a B-type family with a moderately high albedo in contrast to the large majority of B-types. Methods: We apply a combination of the NEATM and a model of the reflected sunlight to WISE asteroid data in order to derive effective diameter (D), the so-called infrared beaming parameter (\eta), ratio of infrared to visible albedo (R_p = p_{IR}/p_V) and visible geometric albedo (p_V). Results: We obtained parameter values for $\ga$ 100 B-types asteroids and plotted the value distributions of p_V, R_p and \eta (p_V = 0.07 +- 0.03$, R_p = 1.0 +- 0.2, and \eta = 1.0 +- 0.1). By combining the IR and visible albedos with 2.5-micron reflectances from the literature we obtained the ratio of reflectances at 3.4 and 2.5 micron, from which we found statistically significant indications that the presence of a 3-micron absorption band related to water may be commonplace among the B-types. Finally, the Pallas collisional family members studied ($\sim$ 50 objects) present moderately high values of p_V (p_V = 0.14 +- 0.05), significantly higher than the average albedo of B-types. In addition, this family presents the lowest and most homogeneously distributed R_p-values of our whole sample, which shows that this group is clearly different from the rest, likely because its members are pieces probably originating from the same region of (2) Pallas, a particularly high-albedo B-type asteroid.


This paper explores the rationale for developing a formal generic skills framework at tertiary education level in New Zealand. Employers require graduates to be work-ready after completion of study. The dynamics of this requirement change as the business environment changes. This increases pressure on education institutions and on the graduates. A generic skills framework which would be structured against up to ten skill areas may go some way to resolving this pressure. These skills would reflect those identified by employers and other stakeholders and reflect the interest in skills internationally. The benefits to the organisation would be in the immediate recognition of generic skills, ability, potential, and best fit with the organisation's plans and strategies enabling a shorter learning curve. The challenge is in identifying which generic skills are required by employers. This paper presents an overview and a discussion of the results of a survey conducted with human resource professionals on the skills and their uses.


In this paper we describe a database containing subjective assessment scores relative to 78 video streams encoded with H.264/AVC and corrupted by simulating the transmission over error-prone network. The data has been collected from 40 subjects at the premises of two academic institutions. Our goal is to provide a balanced and comprehensive database to enable reproducible research results in the field of video quality assessment. In order to support research works on Full-Reference, Reduced-Reference and No-Reference video quality assessment algorithms, both the uncompressed files and the H.264/AVC bitstreams of each video sequence have been made publicly available for the research community, together with the subjective results of the performed evaluations.


The design of CSCW systems has often had its roots in ethnomethodological understandings of work and investigations of working settings. Increasingly, we are also seeing these ideas applied to critique and inform HCI design more generally. However, the attempt to design from the basis of ethnomethodology is fraught with methodological dangers. In particular, ethnomethodology's overriding concern with the detail of practice poses some serious problems when attempts are made to design around such understandings. In this paper, we discuss the range and application of ethnomethodological investigations of technology in working settings, describe how ethnomethodologically-affiliated work has approached system design and discuss ways that ethnomethodology can move from design critique to design practice: the advent of technomethodology.


CIENIAWSKA BEATA, ŁUCZYCKA DETA, ČERVINKA JAN, DEREŃ KATARZYNA. 2018. Coverage of the Sprayed Objects in the Aspect of the Coefficient of the Spray Surfaces. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, 66(1): 9 – 16. The aim of the study was to compare the degree of coverage of the sprayed objects with the selected nozzles in the aspect of the characteristics of the sprayed object, determined by the coefficient of the position of the sprayed surfaces. Studies were conducted in two stages, in laboratory conditions, in which the first step was to determine the characteristics of the sprayed objects, and in the second there were conducted the studies of the degree of coverage. Based on the analysis of the obtained results from the first stage it was stated that the studied plants were characterised by great differentiation of morphological features having a significant influence on the parameters of their spray characteristics. Important was the fact that the use of the coefficient of the spray surfaces Wpo, determining the mutual relation of particular sprayed surfaces facilitates the selection of the most appropriate nozzles and treatment parameters in relation with the morphological features of the plant. In the second stage, concerning the studies of the degree of the coverage it was stated that the selected nozzles differed strongly in the degree of coverage of vertical and horizontal objects. Differentiated coverage for particular nozzles had a strong relationship with the coefficient of spray surfaces, except that the dual‐spray nozzles covered the vertical surfaces better compared to the single‐spray nozzles, which covered the horizontal surfaces better.


Psychodermatology is an emerging branch of dermatology. Patients with pyschodermatological disease are very common. They largely fall into two categories: patients with primarily psychiatric disease who present to dermatology health care professionals (e.g. delusional infestation and body dysmorphic disorder) and patients with skin disease (e.g. psoriasis, atopic eczema, vitiligo and acne) for whom there are large psychosocial co-morbidities (e.g. anxiety and/or depression and suicide). Management of patients with psychodermatological disease requires a multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach, where possible in speicialist clinics. Such clinics are relatively rare, perceived to be expensive, but increasing globally. There is increasing evidence that management of patients with psychodermatological disease in MDT clinics is both cost effective and produces the best clinical outcome for patients. In this chapter a comprehensive list of psychodermatological disorders is covered; diagnosis, assessment and management of psychodermatological disease is discussed alongside (where possible) current theories about aetiology and psychoneurology. It is widely recognized that patients with psychodermatological disease present to dermatology health care professionals (HCPs) rather than psychiatric/psychology services. It is essential, then, that dermatology HCPs are familiar with the management of these common but complex patients, albeit with the support of a psychodermatology MDT.

Keywords:

psychodermatology;
psychosocial co-morbidity;
delusional disorders;
anxiety/depression;
obsessive–compulsive spectrum disease;
dermatitis;
body dysmorphic disease;
factitious skin disease;
suicide in dermatology;
psychopharmacology


Is sexual harassment a serious issue for managers, and does it occur as much in business as the popular press would have us believe? How difficult will it be to implement the newly issued EEOC guidelines? Out of a joint survey with Redbook magazine, HBR takes a look at these and other questions. Eliza Collins and Timothy Blodgett explore definitions of harassment, analyze respondents' replies, and suggest ways to counter the problem.


Forecasted increases in terrestrial organic matter (OMterr) inputs to the Arctic Beaufort Sea necessitate a better understanding of the proportional contribution of this potential food source to the trophic structure of marine communities. This study investigated the relative ecological importance of OMterr across the Beaufort Sea shelf and slope by examining differences in community trophic structure concurrent with variation in terrestrial versus marine organic matter influence. Oxygen stable isotope ratios (δ18O) of surface water confirmed the widespread influence of Canada's Mackenzie River plume across the Beaufort Sea. Carbon stable isotope ratios (δ13C) of pelagic particulate organic matter (pPOM) and marine consumers indicated a significant decrease in OMterr presence and utilization by consumers with increasing distance from the Mackenzie River outflow. Food web length, based on the nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δ15N) of marine consumers, was greater closer to the Mackenzie River outflow both in shelf and slope locations, due to relatively higher δ15N values of pelagic and benthic primary consumers. Strong microbial pro cessing of OMterr in the eastern regions of the Beaufort Sea is inferred based on a trophic gap between assumed end members and lower trophic consumers. A greater proportion of relative epifaunal biomass occupying higher trophic levels suggests that OMterr as a basal food source can provide substantial energetic support for higher marine trophic levels. These findings challenge the current conception of low terrestrial matter usage in the Arctic marine food web, and indicate the need for a more specific understanding of energy transfer through the OMterr-associated microbial loop.


This paper continues the development of a stochastic calculus for two-parameter martingales, and particularly for the two-parameter Wiener process. Whereas in an earlier paper we showed that two types of stochastic integrals were necessary for representing functionals and martingales of a Wiener process, introduction of two mixed area integrals is necessary to complete the stochastic calculus. These mixed integrals are weak martingales in the sense of Cairoli and Walsh, and are necessary in a general representation for weak martingales and transformations of weak martingales. Stopping times are introduced for two-parameter processes, and a characterization of strong martingales in terms of stopping times is given.


Drawing on interpretations of Foucault's techniques of power, we explored the discourses and power relations operative between groups of girls that appeared to influence their participation in Physical Education (PE) and outside of school in sport and physical activity (PA) in rural and regional communities. Interviews and focus groups were conducted in eight secondary schools with female students from Year 9 (n = 22) and 10 (n = 116). Dominant gendered and performance discourses were active in shaping girls' construction of what it means to be active or 'sporty', and these identity positions were normalised and valued. The perceived and real threat of their peer's gaze as a form of surveillance acted to further perpetuate the power of performance discourses; whereby girls measured and (self) regulated their participation. Community settings were normalised as being exclusively for skilled performers and girls self-regulated their non-participation according to judgements made about their own physical abilities. These findings raise questions about the ways in which power relations, as forged in broader sociocultural and institutional discourse–power relations, can infiltrate the level of the PE classroom to regulate and normalise practices in relation to their, and others, PA participation.