The aim of this research is to highlight the various factors relating to the water conflict among the riparian countries in the Ganges basin and to examine the potential benefits of integrated water development. Lack of cooperation between the nations involved who promote a nationalistic approach for the management of the basin have made integrated development difficult. This paper examines the issues related to the utilization of the Ganges water resources, regional water-based development potentials and views of riparian countries on integrated Ganges basin management. It identifies four types of prospective benefit from integrated Ganges basin management: benefits to the river; benefits from the river; reducing costs because of the river; and benefits beyond the river. Finally, it recommends guidelines to overcome the constraints to integrated Ganges management and, hence, achieve overall regional development. This paper stresses the need to develop an integrated water management approach intended to foster regional development and overcome the prospect of severe water conflict along the Ganges basin.


Background High resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scanning is able to detect abnormalities consistent with interstitial lung disease (ILD). However, if only a small proportion of lung is affected, radiologists variously report this as 'minimal', 'minor' or 'early' ILD. There is no definition of what constitutes 'minimal' ILD and the natural history of these patients is not known. Aims To define 'minimal' ILD, test observer agreement with this definition and describe the characteristics and survival of these patients. Hypothesis Minimal ILD can be defined by subjective quantification and has a benign course. Methods Between 01.01.2002 and 31.12.2014 the Edinburgh Lung Fibrosis Database was prospectively populated with data for 1450 consecutively presenting patients with ILD. Of these, 56 were identified as presenting with 'minimal' disease according to HRCT. Three radiologists participated in a modified Delphi exercise and agreed on a definition of 'minimal' ILD. A sample (n = 38) of HRCT scans was provided to test inter- and intra-observer agreement according to this definition using Fleiss' Kappa statistics. Survival was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves. Results The Delphi exercise resulted in 'minimal' disease being defined as ILD involving <5% of the total lung volume and/or <10% of the lung peripheries. Using this definition, inter-observer and intra-observer agreement was moderate (kappa 0.42 and 0.58 respectively). Of the 56 subjects originally deemed as 'minimal' ILD, 48 were unanimously described as minimal disease by post-definition criteria. One subject was biopsied (consensus after biopsy, unclassifiable). Forty-seven subjects were not biopsied and none met ATS/ERS consensus criteria for diagnosing IPF. Most subjects had 'unclassifiable' disease, but the working diagnoses were; IPF or other fibrotic idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP) (n = 34), IIP without fibrosis (n = 7) and connective-tissue disease associated ILD (n = 7). The median age was 69yrs, 56% were male and 23% had never smoked. The mean (SD) %pred lung function was; FEV1 91.8% (19), VC 101% (18) TCO 62% (19). The median survival was 11.6 years, and all deaths (n = 12) were attributable to respiratory disease. Summary Defining 'minimal' ILD is feasible and there was moderate radiological agreement. Minimal ILD is relatively benign, but the associated mortality was of respiratory cause. Abstract S18 Figure 1 Survival of minimal ILD


In this paper, sandwich wrinkling or local face sheet instability is treated in the context of material failure. Traditionally, test results rarely complied well with the predicted failure load and a knock down factor often had to be used. The reason for this is often referred as the effect of initial geometric imperfections. In this paper, imperfections are included in the natural waveform given by the linear stability analysis, i.e., a short wavelength sinusoidal buckling shape. These initial imperfections lead to increased displacements during loading giving rise to both, an in-plane compressive strain and a varying bending strain. These strains can then be related to material failure criteria, one for the face sheet compressive strain and one for the core normal strain. An analytical model is derived and compared with experimental results and several issues are revealed. The panel strength measured using a realistic initial imperfection amplitude agrees very well with the derived model, giving a prediction somewhat below the values obtained from the traditional approach. This verifies that the actual wrinkling failure is below the theoretical instability load. The model is able to distinguish between different failure modes, face sheet compression failure or core-adhesive joint tensile failure, giving good correlation with the experimental findings. Thus, it appears that using initial imperfections as a basis for wrinkling analysis provides a better foundation for the failure analysis than the ordinary stability analysis, and it also allows to determine which failure mode is predominant. Finally, it is shown that the choice of the core material can be made based on the theory presented to obtain a more efficient sandwich panel.


An adequate flap release is necessary to perform a tension-free suture over an augmented area: this is a fundamental requisite to attain and maintain a reliable biological seal, protecting the graft from bacterial contamination during the healing period. In the posterior mandible, in particular, the use of conventional periosteal incisions is not always sufficient for a proper buccal flap passivation, being often limited by anatomical factors. This paper reports a series of 76 consecutive cases of vertical guided bone regeneration in the posterior mandible, introducing a novel surgical technique to enhance the coronal advancement of the buccal flap in a safe and predictable way.


Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) (InSAR) phase is affected by atmospheric path delay. It is common to separate the path delay into one component related to turbulent mixing processes and one component related to tropospheric stratification. Tropospheric stratification introduces phase delays correlating with topography, limiting interpretation of InSAR data in areas with steep topography. Improved access to SAR time series has led to the development of several innovative multitemporal InSAR algorithms. Small baseline (SB) is one such time-series method, based on combining and inverting a set of unwrapped interferograms to estimate surface displacement. In this letter, we present a method for estimating and correcting the effects of tropospheric stratification observed in an SB stack of interferograms. We demonstrate the value of this approach using InSAR data from the Envisat spacecraft and compare the InSAR estimated delays with results from a Global Positioning System network.


There is
much to be explored about the relationship of families with school regarding
the use of educational institutions for children up to six and the effective
co-responsibilities in the whole development of the child. Analyzing aspects of
this which permeate public institutions for Early Childhood Education was the
focus of this research, which discusses types of access, the expectations of
families and actors involved with public institutions in the network of schools
in the city of Rio de Janeiro, and the educational and social function of this
stage of learning. The article focuses on the inclusion of children in the
educational institution, based on on-site observation in two public
institutions that use differentiated policies for child care: the first, under
the aegis of the Full Early Childhood Program ("PIC") targeting children up to
three; the second being developed in the Child Development Center ("EDI")
conceived as a new model for early childhood education, bringing together in
the same space children up to six. In addition to observing these two policies
for working with children, school administrators and families were interviewed.
It transpires that, in some situations, the school adopts attitudes that
reinforce social and cultural differences; in others, the school is working
towards maximizing its ability to produce new ways of giving quality care to
the population.


In the 2nd Quarter ] 988 issue a CHOICES Debate focused on the advisability of "subsidy value-added products." Paul B. Green, a consultant to the Miller's National Federation and other agricultural processors, argued that "our trade policy needs them. " Ewen M. Wilson, Assistant Secretary for Economics, United States Department of Agriculture, argued that the effects of such policies may differ from policy objectives. Here the authors respond to the arguments presented in the p~evious issue.


Effects of treating the tongue with 7 heavy metal salts on chorda tympani nerve responses to sweet, salty, sour, and bitter stimuli were studied in ddy mice. CuCl2 and ZnCl2 at 10(-5) M inhibited responses to sucrose and Na saccharin without affecting responses to the other taste stimuli. Inhibition of responses to sweet stimuli was reversible, but recovery was very slow. No such selective inhibition of sweet responses was observed with FeSO4, MnCl2, CoCl2, NiCl2 or CdCl2. FeSO4 (1 mM) had a very small effect on all responses. CdCl2 (1 mM) depressed responses to all the stimuli to some extent. MnCl2, CoCl2, and NiCl2 (1 mM) slightly inhibited responses to NaCl and quinine hydrochloride, but not HCl. Responses to sweet stimuli were slightly inhibited by 1 mM MnCl2 or CoCl2. Kinetic analyses of the inhibition of sucrose responses by CuCl2 indicate that it is a competitive inhibition. Based on the results it is hypothesized that Cu2+ and possibly Zn2+ also compete with sweet-tasting molecules for receptor proteins while other heavy metal ions do not possess a strong ability to bind to the proteins.


Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a set of heterogeneous neurodevelopmental conditions, characterized by early-onset difficulties in social communication as well as repetitive and unusually restricted behaviors and interests. The treatment of ASD is based primarily on psychoeducational and behavioral interventions. Since the effectiveness of available treatments for ASD is limited, many families search for alternative therapies, such as the gluten-free and casein-free (GFCF) diet. Despite the popularity of the GFCF diet as a supplementary treatment in children with ASD, several rigorous evaluations have failed to confirm its effectiveness. The majority of the available studies examining the efficacy of the GFCF diet are seriously flawed and allow no firm conclusions. The available evidence regarding the effectiveness of the GFCF diet in the treatment of childhood ASD is very weak and cannot be considered promising. The GFCF diet should be used only if an allergy or intolerance to nutritional gluten or casein has been established. The identification of a hypothetical diet-related ASD phenotype may help in selecting children who could benefit from a GFCF dietary intervention. An important consideration is that potentially ineffective therapies may imply considerable opportunity costs, with other possibly more effective treatment approaches remaining unutilized.


Abstract In this article, we review the possibility of combining conjugated polymers with nanometer-scale devices (nanodevices), in order to introduce the properties associated with conjugated polymers into such nanodevices. This approach envisages combining the highly topical disciplines of polymer electronics and nanoelectronics to engender a new subdirection of polymer nanoelectronics, which can serve as a tool to probe the behavior of polymer molecules at the nanometer/molecular level, and contribute to clarifying transport mechanisms in conjugated polymers. In this study, we exemplify this combination, using a family of linear and conjugated polymers, poly(p-phenylene-ethynylene)s (PPEs) with thiolacetate-functionalized end groups.


The authors provide an experience with a novel alternative of ultrafiltration hemoconcentration applied to 26 patients in surgery involving extracorporeal circulation. The advantages of the new procedure are maintenance of higher colloid-osmotic pressure, prevention of hyperglycemia, lower body elimination of biologically active compounds and drugs than those observed during the routine procedure of ultrafiltration comprising extracorporeal circulation.


Background. Sexual behaviors and knowledge among PHIV-infected (PHIV+) adolescents in comparison with HIV-uninfected youths are not well understood and continue to be studied actively. Objective. To compare sexual behavior and sexual knowledge of PHIV+ and HIV-uninfected adolescents at an urban, tertiary-care center in New Jersey. Study Design. Modified Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance questionnaire was administered to PHIV+ and HIV-uninfected adolescents to assess and compare sexual behavior and knowledge over a 1-year-period. Results. Twenty-seven PHIV+ and 100 HIV-uninfected adolescents were studied; 59% PHIV+ and 52% HIV-uninfected adolescents were sexually active. A significantly higher proportion of PHIV+ adolescents compared to HIV-uninfected adolescents reported ≥1 occasion of unprotected penetrative sex (p < 0.0001) and reported multiple (>4) sexual partners (p = 0.037). Significantly more PHIV+ males reported receptive anal intercourse (p < 0.001). About 1/3 of adolescents in both groups were unaware that sexual abstinence can prevent HIV transmission and >80% adolescents in both groups did not consider multiple sexual partners a risk factor for HIV transmission. Only 25% PHIV+ adolescents reported disclosing their seropositive status to their first sexual partners. Conclusions. High risk sexual behaviors were significantly more prevalent among PHIV+ youths; however both groups demonstrated considerable gaps in sexual knowledge. There is an urgent need for heightening awareness about risky behaviors, interventions for prevention, and reproductive health promotion among adolescents.


: Penetration of radioactive lipoproteins of very low and low density, of free cholesterol and its esters into the aortal wall of rabbits was studied. Close values for ratios between lipids and protein, cholesterol and esterified cholesterol contained in the perfusate's lipoproteins and corresponding lipoprotein fractions separated from normal and atherosclerotic aortas following their perfusion were registered. These findings bear evidence to the fact of atherogenic lipoproteins penetrate the vascular wall in the form of intact particles. Quantitative regularities educed in this connection point to a greater permeability of atherosclerotic aortas to lipoproteins. An analysis of aortal lipids uncombined with lipoproteins showed the ratio between cholesterol and etherified cholesterol to be on the average 5.5 times as high as in the lipoproteins of the aorta and the perfusate. The prevalence of cholesterol in the lipids of the aortal tissue uncombined with lipoproteins points to the existence of other mechanisms governing the entrance of radioactive cholesterol into the vascular wall. Tests in vivo involving intravenous administration of C14-cholesterol yielded the same regularities as "in vitro" experiments.


: The pre- and intra-operative care of patients with acute intestinal obstruction is reviewed. The most important pre-operative problems are hypovolaemia, sepsis, electrolyte and acid-base imbalances. The evaulation and treatment of these disorders are discussed. The importance of preventing regurgitation and inhalation of stomach contents is emphasised and the methods which are used are described. The safest techniques of induction and maintenance of anaesthesia as well as muscle relaxation and intra-operative fluid therapy are indicated.


This thesis is a critical examination of my own creative practice through my published works in the moving image: a short film, commercials and a television series title sequence. My creative approach has been to use a hybrid of digital and heritage practices to create original works for television, advertising and film. I define 'heritage' as traditional, analogue and handmade practices that predate or overlap digital technology. I consider 'digital' as a description of the means of production and also a medium of communication. Educational research, as a qualitative and quantative study in lens-based media also contributes to this thesis and forms an argument for future directions in art and design practice.

The thesis explores the ways I fused heritage and digital practices to create works that were original at publication. A second aim is to recognise the different skills required by artists and designers to embrace a multiplicity of technologies, skills which can provide sites of resistance to technological and socio-economic change. Lastly, the thesis proposes a pedagogical imperative to ensure that heritage skills do not atrophy, but develop and are reinvigorated with new possibilities combined with digital practices and platforms of communication.

Many of my works have been broadcast to a global audience, but I have also published through traditional academic journals. In the thesis I analyse the production methods that created the range of work presented here. My narrative of production unmasks the processes of illusion and argues that hybrid techniques can offer a more 'human' expression that carries greater 'authenticity' and a broader capacity of meaning than an entirely digitally created technique. Stimulated by a range of theoretical discourse I examine human relationships with technology in the creative industries. I also examine the conditions of production from a political economy perspective.

The reflective and critical commentary on my published works argues for an urgency to this study. I conclude that to avoid 'sleepwalking' into a digital conformity, heritage processes must be celebrated and advocated as areas of difference particularly in education. Taken together, I consider my creative practice and my educational work as a pedagogic intervention to explore a multiplicity of creative expression rather than enclose moving image in a solely digital medium.


Internet voting can afford more inclusive and inexpensive elections. The flip side is that the integrity of the election can be compromised by adversarial attacks and malfunctioning voting infrastructure. Individual verifiability aims to protect against such risks by letting voters verify that their votes are correctly registered in the electronic ballot box. Therefore, voters need to carry out additional tasks making human factors crucial for security. In this article, we establish a categorization of individually verifiable Internet voting schemes based on voter interactions. For each category in our proposed categorization, we evaluate a voting scheme in a user study with a total of 100 participants. In our study, we assessed usability, user experience, trust, and further qualitative data to gain deeper insights into voting schemes. Based on our results, we conclude with recommendations for developers and policymakers to inform the choices and design of individually verifiable Internet voting schemes.


Job advertisements appearing on the Internet discussion list PAMAILALL from October 2017 to September 2018 were analyzed to determine the nature of and requirements for professional and non-professional positions in Pennsylvania public libraries. The analysis concludes that professional positions tend to be permanent and full-time, require a master's degree in library science, and be in the areas of administration, reference, and children's and youth services. Non-professional positions tend to be permanent but part-time, have lower and more diverse educational requirements, and be in access services and children's and youth services. Required years of experience vary widely for both professional and non-professional positions, with many advertisements not stating any. The results can inform job seekers on needed skills. MLS students interested in public librarianship should acquire skills in library public services and administration and that MLS curricula should provide a strong core in traditional library knowledge, skills, and abilities as well as elective courses in public services and administration. For those interested in non-professional positions, development of transferable skills, such as interpersonal and communication skills, should be documented.


The on-demand routing schemes in mobile ad hoc networks are appealing because of the lower routing overhead, compared with traditional proactive schemes. The on-demand routing protocols introduce routing overhead only in the presence of data packets that need routes. However, the control overhead of on-demand routing schemes increases with node geographic density and traffic pattern density. In fact, this is an undesirable feature for the scalable routing protocols whose control overhead should be under control to keep up with increasing offered load. As a solution for such a drawback of current reactive routing schemes, we propose the selective intermediate nodes mechanism. In this protocol, each node adaptively propagates routing information based on the local load level and cluster status. The local load level (local load status), based on channel utilization and queue size, reflects the load of the node in question and of all of its neighbors; the cluster status denotes the role of a node in a cluster (i.e., a cluster head, gateway or ordinary node). We demonstrate the effectiveness of our enhancement by applying it to ad hoc on-demand distance vector routing (AODV) and dynamic source routing (DSR). Simulation results show that the proposed idea significantly reduces the control overhead and improves the overall performance and scalability of the routing protocols.


The high degree of applicability of various software in high performance athlete training, allows for a more detailed analysis of any technical aspects. It also underlines any deviations, thus improving execution through the addition of specific restructured means.
Any trainer whom owns a current generation smart-phone or tablet may download an application known as Coach's Eye for a modest sum. Keeping in mind one must be able with one's fingers, the software may be employed in order to underline various flaws in technique that may appear throughout a certain event. These errors may be addressed at a later time by applying more or less conventional means.
This paper contains a sequential technique analysis, accomplished with the Coach's Eye software, for one of the most highly rated javelin throwers of Romania. The athelete's level of performance (78.90m), requires specialized technique assistance which in turn means repeated video footage analysis. To this end several videos were created of events that occurred in the 2012 competitive period. With the help of the Coach's Eye software, various video frames of technical importance were acquired, of the moments prior and after release. The resulting biomechanical analysis of the athelete's movements covered the period prior to and after technical corrections were made during consecutive competitive years.
The conclusion we reached was that in spite of existing software limitations, the use of various applications equates to a step forward concerning proper technique assimilation as early as the event specialization period. At the same time the use of such software is an important approach regarding high performance athlete training. While in the learning and consolidation period, observing and analysing video footage of various executed exercises allows us to track errors more efficiently and stop them before becoming an automatic feature for the athlete through careful application of corrective exercises.


The public and the courts have begun a long overdue reconsideration of race profiling, the formal and informal targeting of African Americans, Latinos, and other racial minorities for investigation on account of their race in criminal law enforcement. Race, however, remains central to the enforcement of the United States immigration laws, particularly in the southwestern part of the country. In fact, the Supreme Court stated in 1975 that "Mexican appearance" constitutes a legitimate consideration under the Fourth Amendment for making an immigration stop. At first blush, the reliance on "Mexican appearance" in immigration enforcement might not appear problematic given the perception that a large percentage of undocumented persons are of Mexican origin. However, only about one-half of the undocumented persons in the United States are Mexican nationals. More importantly, the vast majority of Latinos in the United States are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. These persons suffer the brunt of race-based immigration enforcement. Although the Court has yet to revisit this area, at least one court of appeals has questioned the continued lawfulness of reliance on race in immigration enforcement. The need for re-evaluation is readily apparent. Indeed, the armed seizure of Elian Gonzalez in Miami at the break of dawn by the Immigration & Naturalization Service, at least for a moment, focused public attention on whether the agency's enforcement and related activities comported with the Fourth Amendment. Race profiling especially deserves such scrutiny because it disproportionately burdens persons of Latin American ancestry, the vast majority of whom are U.S. citizens or lawful immigrants. Generally speaking, whether they are undocumented or lawful immigrants, or U.S. citizens, persons of Latin American ancestry or appearance are more likely than other persons in the United States to be stopped and interrogated about their immigration status. To many, all Latinos are presumed "foreigners" subject to removal from the country. The suspect immigration status of Latino citizens and lawful immigrants undermines their claim to full membership in U.S. society. The legal endorsement of race-based immigration stops contrasts sharply with the deep suspicion of racial classifications in virtually any other body of public law. Under modern equal protection doctrine, the Supreme Court has held that all racial classifications are constitutionally suspect and subject to strict scrutiny. Nevertheless, not until recently has any arm of government seriously questioned the racial discrimination that survives in immigration enforcement. Race-based immigration enforcement is unique in its express use of racial classifications. It, however, is part of a body of laws replete with disparate racial impacts. As the prevailing wisdom would have it, Congress has removed the last vestiges of invidious discrimination from the immigration laws. However, the facially neutral, hypertechnical immigration laws provide for, among other things, per-country ceilings that create long waits for potential immigrants from certain developing countries (more likely than not populated by people of color), for a diversity visa system that through a complicated formula masks a strong preference for immigrants from northern Europe, for a public charge exclusion that disparately impacts poor and working people from developing nations, and for a variety of removal grounds that adversely affect certain immigrant communities. All of these seriously disadvantage potential immigrants from Latin America and reduce their rates of immigration. They, and the operation of the immigration laws generally, deserve careful scholarly investigation. Consequently, although focusing on race profiling in immigration enforcement, the issues analyzed in this article implicate larger civil rights concerns that cut to the core of equal citizenship and full membership in the national community. Part II of this Article summarizes the critique of race profiling in criminal law enforcement and analyzes the law that, although offering remedies that are flawed in certain ways, prohibits exclusively race-based investigatory stops. Part III analyzes the impact of the Supreme Court decisions permitting consideration of race to justify a stop of an individual in immigration law enforcement. Part IV sketches the civil rights implications of racially discriminatory immigration enforcement.


The computational model of numerical analysis of the planar pre-stressed steel trusses subjected to fire load is established according with main consideration to the response mechanism of the structure in fire. For the convenience of application, the EC3 constitutive model of the steel materials in fire is simplified with series expansion, and the suggested formula for each stage are unified. The fire behavior of the planar pre-stressed tubular steel trusses in which two cables are set is analyzed with the model presented here and the effect law of different factors on the bearing capacity of the structures in fire are discussed. It is concluded that fire response of the pre-stressed steel trusses is affected obviously by the different model of material under the same fire conditions, and critical temperature of the structure in fire increases with strength grade of steel material, which means that choice of the proper material model used for analysis of behavior of the steel structure under fire is very important and need to be studied further.


The source geometry of the 24 August 2016 Amatrice earthquake is studied with Sentinel 1-A/B and Advanced Land Observation Satellite (ALOS)-2 Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) coseismic observations. Without presetting the fault geometry and location, we allow these geodetic data to constrain a planar fault and a listric dislocation through an innovative nonlinear approach. Finite-element models (FEMs) are built to simulate the earthquake deformation over a domain with a distribution of realistic crustal materials. Optimal fault geometries are resolved with the observed coseismic displacements in both homogeneous (HOM) half-spaces and heterogeneous (HET) FEMs. The HET-computed planar slip is modeled next to the hypocenter and estimated with a very compatible dip (47°) similar to the moment tensor solution, while that of the HOM solution is offset by ∼14°. Meanwhile, the former recovers the coseismic displacements significantly better than the latter at 95% confidence. This indicates that the inverse solutions of source analysis are sensitive to the presence of nonuniform rock materials in the elastic domain. Though abundant fault detachments are documented within the epicentral area, the slip distributions derived along optimized listric faults do not improve the prediction of surface movements estimated by the rectangular sources. This implies that a planar fault geometry is sufficient to describe the rupture of the Amatrice earthquake. The corresponding slip distribution reveals a maximum slip of ∼1 m at 7 km depth, beneath a lithological boundary between the shallow weaker units and the underlying stronger Dolomite. A significant correlation is found between the slip magnitude and subsurface rock stiffness where stress is being accumulated, implying a possible structural control on the earthquake nucleation and propagation.


A mathematical model was developed to describe the coupled heat and mass transfers in membrane processes. Equations for the heat and mass transfer resistances were derived and the coupling effects of the heat and mass transfer were analyzed. With taking the membrane separation process of moist air as an example, the effects of air temperature and water vapor concentration on the heat and moisture transfer process were investigated. The results show that neither the thermal resistance nor the moisture resistance are constant, they are affected by not only the membrane parameters but also the air state. As the temperature difference between the two airstreams separated by the membrane increases, both the thermal and moisture resistances decrease, causing an improved heat and mass transfer. As the average temperature of the two airstreams increases, the thermal resistance remains almost constant while the moisture resistance decreases significantly. Further, as the water vapor concentration difference between the two airstreams increases, both the thermal and moisture resistances increase. As the average water vapor concentration of the two airstreams increases, the thermal resistance remains unchanged while the moisture resistance decreases.


The beguine movement is in many ways one of the most remarkable movements in the history of the Low Countries; the impetus for the movement as a whole still remains to be explained. Factors such as the sex-ratio, diminished access to convents, and the religious revival of the late Middle Ages have been put forward, but remain insufficient to explain the specificity of the movement and its popularity in the long run. In many ways, the beguine movement stands out as different from other female organisations or religious movements. The question then arises why this was possible and whether the local conditions of the Low Countries had something to do with it. In this paper, I argue that the specific attitude towards women in the Low Countries that is reflected in their wages, as well as their level of human capital, and labour market participation created a fertile basis for the beguinages to develop: the beguinages may have offered women in the Low Countries – who enjoyed an exceptional "liberated" position regarding social and financial independence, the origins of this position lying in the emergence of the European Marriage Pattern (EMP) – safety and security in case they chose to remain single


During his marital crisis, which started around 1917, Nielsen tried to get away from Copenhagen where he found the conditions gradually becoming more and more difficult. When he realised that Wilhelm Stenhammar – chief conductor in Gothenburg – wanted to spend more time on composing Nielsen wrote several times asking whether he could act as a substitute for Stenhammar. They agreed that Nielsen should relieve Stenhammar of some of the duties as conductor, initially just for one season. However, the Orchestral Society was so satisfied with Nielsen — and he with the conditions in Gothenburg — that he worked as a substitue for many years. Apparently Nielsen was able to decide which works to include in the programmes, as long as he followed the Society's guidelines. From a modern point of view, the programming may seem somewhat haphazard and impulsive but it was often dictated by many practical circumstances. Nielsen's repertoire in Gothenburg seems conservative and not as varied as that of younger conductors, and he does not seem to have had a particular interest in new musical trends. The article includes an appendix containing the programmes of those concerts which Nielsen conducted in Gothenburg.


This chapter provides a general introduction to the European Commission, the main executive body of the European Union (EU). It argues that it is more productive to compare the Commission to national executives or to a government than to a secretariat of a traditional international organization. It begins with a summary of the Commission's functions within the EU's policy process. It then considers the question of Commission influence and autonomy, before moving on to look at the structure, demography, and decision behaviour within the organization—that is, at the role of the President of the Commission and the Commissioners, at the Commissioners' personal staffs, and at the Commission administration. It then examines the committees and administrative networks that link the Commission to national administrations and interest groups, and also deals with the recent growth of EU agencies. The chapter concludes by emphasizing that the Commission is much more of a European(ized) and supranational institution than it was at its inception.


This study examines the world market impact of an expansion in the biofuel sector in the European Union with particular focus on indirect land-use impacts. In the first scenario, an increase of 1 million tonnes oil equivalent (Mtoe) of wheat ethanol use in the European Union expands world land area used in agricultural commodity production by 366,000 hectares, representing an increase of 0.039% in total area. In the second scenario, an increase of 1 Mtoe of rapeseed oil biodiesel use in the European Union expands world land area by 352,000 hectares, representing an increase of 0.038% in total area. With additional land use somewhat close between the two scenarios, the main difference is the spatial distribution of the sources of additional supply. Because the wheat sector, especially in the European Union, is large (26.4 million hectares), when wheat use for ethanol production expands, most of the adjustment is met within the European Union, with only a 9% reduction in net exports required. In contrast, since the rapeseed sector is smaller (only 7.8 mha in the EU), 57% of additional rapeseed oil used for expanded biodiesel production is supplied from higher imports, allowing substantial adjustment by countries outside of the European Union.


A t the beginning of this year (see Science , 1 January 1999, p. 32), we briefed our readers on the features of our online products, all readily accessible from our main Science Online home page at . Even in the short interval since then, our online technology partners at HighWire Press have worked with our editors to bring you further enhancements. Perhaps our boldest new adventure—into the world of online knowledge environments—is accessible now. At the risk of excessive chest beating, permit us to offer a brief summary of these newest tools.

Our most ambitious feature is an innovative guide for readers through the ever- enlarging morass of new findings. Now online is an exclusively electronic publication called Science's Signal Transduction Knowledge Environment (STKE). Science's STKE takes advantage of new information technologies to deliver to scholars essential information and to enhance their ability to integrate that information into useful knowledge and testable theory. What exactly is STKE? On one level, it is an electronic journal, updated weekly, with original Perspectives and Reviews on topics of broad interest from leading experts in the field of signal transduction. The STKE Reviews will be updated regularly by the authors with new information and thus will remain not only authoritative but always up-to-date. STKE is also a powerful electronic library. As noted by Bryan Ray, Science Senior Editor and now editor of STKE (see Science 30 April 1999, p. 755), readers can gain orientation within the often mind-boggling array of acronyms that describe complex signaling pathways and see their favorite transductive element's location within a map of signaling pathways. Within STKE is the Connections Map, an interface to an extensive database of information on components of signaling pathways and their relations, supplied by leading authorities in the field. Full text of the literature from 30 cooperating top journals will be accessible through the map or through our "Virtual Journal of Signal Transduction." All this and more, plus weekly highlights to keep you aware of what's hot in the signaling literature, is available from your computer desktop. Initial response to the site has been terrific, and we are pleased to invite all of you to explore the newly launched site at .

Science has long recognized the value of electronic links between the references cited by our authors and the abstracts and text of these previously published papers. Since 1996, we have provided such online linkages to articles in the journals archived by the National Library of Medicine (NLM). Now, papers published in Science since July 1997 will also carry links to abstracts on the Institute for Scientific Information's (ISI's) Web of Science citation indices. This vast compendium includes journals from a wide variety of fields, including the physical sciences, and identifies related papers and ranks them according to the number of references shared with the Science paper (the more shared references, the more related the papers). As new issues appear, ISI links are added within 24 hours. We hope that all of our subscribers will take advantage of this new feature.

We've also enhanced our links to NLM's PubMed with the addition of CiteTrack alerts. CiteTrack alerts readers when new material is added to PubMed or to one of the journals electronically published by HighWire that matches the reader's preselected search criteria for authors, keywords, or citations. Moreover, we've continued to add to the online Enhanced Perspectives, which form the hub of a hypertext-linked online web of information relevant to the topic of the original Perspective. Now organized into 43 topic headings, the Enhanced Perspectives extend back to February 1996 and will soon be joined online by a weekly list of books received at Science , also accessible by topic through our subject collections.

Praiseworthy as we think the current set of electronic tools may be, their purpose is to help the reader stay afloat on the seas of data. We await your requests for tools we've not yet imagined.


The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptual, heart rate and technical-tactical characteristics of elite male and female 3 × 3 basketball games. Eleven male and twenty-two female elite basketball players were monitored using heart rate telemetry, Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) and video analysis across three 3 × 3 basketball tournaments. Linear mixed models were performed to determine the influence of round (pool game, quarter-final, semi-final, final, classification game) and sex on all dependent variables (alpha = 0.05). There was no difference between sexes for heart rate variables (p = 0.53 - 0.85). The greatest percentage (56.9 ± 20.1%) of game time was spent in heart rate zone 5 (90-100% peak heart rate). Overall RPE was higher in semi-finals (7.2 ± 1.5, p ≤ 0.001, ES: 1.27) and finals (7.7 ± 1.6 p ≤ 0.001, ES: 1.67) compared to pool games (5.1 ± 1.5). An analysis of the technical-tactical actions revealed that there were less steals in semi-finals (p = 0.01, ES = 0.56) and finals (p = 0.01, ES = 0.71) compared to pool games, with no sex-related differences present (p = 0.06 - 0.97). Players generally spent one minute on the bench for every three minutes on the court, creating a 3:1 work to rest ratio. Physical preparation programs for elite 3 × 3 basketball athletes should include exposure to high-intensity activity in which heart rates ≥80% of peak heart rate are reached for periods of time similar to that experienced during gameplay. A 3:1 work-to-rest ratio may be beneficial during conditioning training for this population.


Background: Psoriasis and atopic dermatitis are chronic skin diseases that greatly affect the quality of life. Both diseases can be triggered or exacerbated by stress. Objective: We aimed to differentiate personality traits between patients with chronic skin conditions and people treated for stress in a pilot study. Methods: Patients participating voluntarily in educational programs in Belgium and Switzerland were recruited to complete personality trait questionnaires, including the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ). A comparison was made with patients treated for work-related stress. Results: A total of 48 and 91 patients suffering from skin diseases and work-related stress, respectively, were included in the study. Based on the questionnaires, we found that dermatology patients were less persistent and impulsive than those with work-related stress. Dermatology patients also exhibited more rigidness and less focus on performance. Finally, patients with work-related stress seem more likely to change in response to health-promoting programs than patients with chronic dermatoses. Conclusion: Patients with chronic skin diseases may perceive and cope with stress differently in comparison to patients with work-related stress due to inherent personality traits. Therefore, stress coping mechanisms may differ among different diseases. More research is needed into the design of educational interventions and the impact of personality traits in disease-specific groups.


Although Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986) has long been regarded as a central figure in 20th-century art, the abstract works she created throughout her career have remained critically and popularly overlooked in favour of her representational subjects. Beginning with charcoal drawings made in 1915, which were among the most radical creations produced in the United States at that time, O'Keeffe sought to transcribe pure emotion in her work. While her output of abstract work declined after 1930, she returned to abstraction in the 1950s with a new vocabulary that provided a precedent for a younger generation of abstractionists. By devoting itself to this largely unexplored area of her work, "Georgia O'Keeffe: Abstraction" is an overdue acknowledgment of her place as one of America's first abstractionists. In addition to rethinking O'Keeffe's role in the development of a uniquely American abstract style, this book chronicles the shifts and changes in subject matter and style over the span of her long career. It adds significant new insight into her life, reproducing excerpts of previously sealed letters written by O'Keeffe to photographer and gallerist Alfred Stieglitz, whom she married in 1924. These previously unpublished letters, along with other primary documents referenced by the authors, offer an intimate glimpse into her creative method and intentions as an artist.


In TVET teaching and learning, learners' collaboration is important to ensure learning effectiveness. However, employing either design thinking or online problem-based learning would not lead to fruitarian. Hence, to devise teaching and learning that employs design thinking (DT) and online problem-based learning (ePBL) pedagogies used in tandem with social media learning environment in Facebook are hypothesized to improve TVET learner's collaboration. By adopting the Social Constructivism learning theory that social interaction fosters collaborative learning and build learners' knowledge and understanding, this study is commenced. Social interaction that fosters learners' collaboration is moderated by type of learners' self-regulation (SR) towards learning. Previous research hypothesized that ePBL alone only workedeffectively for high self-regulated learners. The learning outcome inequity present due to the pedagogy limitation. This research devises ePBL with DT as a combination of pedagogies that benefits the low SR learners as well. To monitor collaborative learning occurrences, network ties via social media footprints of individual TVET learners is tracked from the learners' Facebook group. The effectiveness of treatments is monitored using social network analysis i.e. graph theory and centrality concept employing NodeXL software. Samples of 142 TVET pre-service teachers that currently enroll in Design and Technology course at Teachers' Training Institutes in Malaysia participated in this study. The samples are intact group and classified into high-SR learners and low-SR learners. Social network analysis using Vertices index, Geodesic distance and graph visualization findings show that ePBL with DT works in fostering learning collaboration for both high-SR and low-SR learners. This implies that national e-learning policy and ePBL embeddedness into technical subject is promising, regardless of the type of learners provided that DT is incorporated into the pedagogy.


The recent issue of ecological disasters has been widely discussed in every corner of the world. Nobody who knows how huge is the devastation of nature could turn away from being mindful of the crisis. This emense problem has also been linked to religion. With regards to christianity, at least since the medio of 1960s, to use the publication of the famous article written by Lynn White, Jr. as a signpost, people has been made aware that anthropocentrism that dominates Christian teachings about nature could be the source for the negligence towards non-human beings. As White has argued, unless the anthropocentric paradigm is changed to the one that makes people see nonhuman beings as important as human beings, it is impossible to expect the destruction of nature by human beings will be put to an end. This article is a response towards the calling for a paradigm change. But, before offering a suggestion for a new way of looking Christian teachings, particularly the way the Bible should be read, this writting will discuss some concepts which correspond to the main issue. The heat issue here is whether sacralization of nature which held strongly by the ancestors should be brought back into current realization. In other words, whether christianity should learn from indigenous believes for a wisdom which may save the nature.


This paper presents the simulation of fuel cell mathematic model interfaced with DC- DC boost converters. The drawbacks of the fuel cell stack are that it lacks maximum power to generate the suitable application and high input current ripple. So, the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technique of voltage constant controller is implemented to the system to extract the maximum power from the fuel cell. The MPPT technique forces the fuel cell to meet the maximum power that the fuel cell can generate. This MPPT method increases the efficiency of power delivered from the fuel cell. The benefits of the converter chosen are the interleaving technique used in converter reduced the current ripple that could damages the fuel cell stack. The converters chosen is the conventional dc boost converter and interleaved boost converter that will be simulated along with the MPPT algorithm in MATLAB/Simulink environment. The interleaved boost converter has also chosen for its advantages of reduction of passive component's size, as well as reduced the current ripple. It is proved that the MPPT method of constant voltage gives a stable and linear performances in designing a high efficient fuel cell system.


The spatial variability of physical properties that significantly influence the fate of water and solute in soils needs a large number of measurements to be quantified. Surface electrical resistivity techniques could be used as a simple and practical method to determine this spatial variability. Electrical sounding and profiling measurements were taken on a small agricultural field (30 by 60 m) under two different soil conditions (dry and wet conditions). The soil profile is composed of three layers: a highly permeable sandy loam (alluvial terrace) overlying a gravelly sandy till that covers a friable sandy to silty shale. The soil physical properties (grain size distribution, porosity, hydraulic conductivity, bulk density, and organic matter content) of the uppermost layer were measured in the laboratory on undisturbed soil cores taken at three different depths on a 6 by 15 m grid in the field. Correlations were established between these parameters and the electrical conductivity. The best correlations were between the electrical conductivity and the sand, silt, clay, and organic matter contents. Their correlation coefficients, r, were, respectively, 0.64, 0.53, 0.64, and 0.65 for the dry conditions and 0.54, 0.45, 0.53, and 0.52 for the wet conditions. No relation was established between the electrical conductivity and the porosity, the bulk density, or the hydraulic conductivity. The correlation coefficients were, respectively, 0.04, 0.16, and 0.10 for the dry conditions and 0.14,0.12, and 0.14 for the wet conditions. Electrical conductivity seems to be more influenced by the soil texture, i.e., by the electrical properties of the soil constituents, than by the structure, i.e., the water-related properties. Besides, the two sets of electrical resistivities obtained in dry and wet conditions are not significantly different, as shown by the regression between them (slope = 0.92, r = 0.71) and by the isoresistivity maps. This study seems to indicate that the electrical method could be used to evaluate the spatial variability of some soil properties when their variability is sufficiently large, i.e., when the investigation scale or the level of contrast is large enough.


Portable unlicensed devices operating in TV white space must adhere to FCC rules designed to protect licensed devices. These rules decrease the achievable throughput for the portable unlicensed devices because the portable unlicensed devices are required to perform a channel availability query (CAQ) before transmitting. In order to reduce the number of CAQs, the Federal Communications Commission allows a region based mobility procedure (RMP). In this paper, we propose a new-RMP using directional information in order to enhance the achievable throughput. Directional information enables an unlicensed portable device to increase its achievable throughput by considering a uni- directional region that is smaller than an omni-directional region. Simulation results show that the proposed RMPs enhance the achievable throughput compared to the conventional RMPs. In addition, the achievable throughput for the proposed RMP using a navigation system is greatly enhanced compared to the conventional RMPs.


There is an urgent need for both the scientific development and clinical validation of novel therapies for acute spinal cord injury (SCI). The scientific development of novel therapies would be facilitated by a better understanding of the acute pathophysiology of human SCI. Clinical validation of such therapies would be facilitated by the availability of biomarkers with which to stratify injury severity and predict neurological recovery. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were obtained over a period of 72 h in 27 patients with complete SCI (ASIA A) or incomplete SCI (ASIA B or C). Cytokines were measured in CSF and serum samples using a multiplex cytokine array system and standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) techniques. Neurological recovery was monitored, and patient-reported neuropathic pain was documented. IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, tau, S100beta, and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were elevated in a severity-dependent fashion. A biochemical model was established using S100beta, GFAP, and IL-8 to predict injury severity (ASIA A, B, or C). Using these protein concentrations at 24-h post injury, the model accurately predicted the observed ASIA grade in 89% of patients. Furthermore, segmental motor recovery at 6 months post injury was better predicted by these CSF proteins than with the patients' baseline ASIA grade. The pattern of expression over the first 3 to 4 days post injury of a number of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1 provides invaluable information about the pathophysiology of human SCI. A prediction model that could use such biological data to stratify injury severity and predict neurological outcome may be extremely useful for facilitating the clinical validation of novel treatments in acute human SCI.


Background: Cytokine Storm (CS) is characterized by profound in fl ammation and multi-organ dysfunction. In a subset of COVID-19 patients with CS (COVID-CS), this has been shown to cause increased morbidity and mortality. There is, however, insuf fi cient data to fully understand the precise role and scope of dysregulated cytokine responses in COVID-19 patients with hematological malignancies. We investigated the prognostic signi fi cance of pro-in fl ammatory cytokines with the overall outcome of patients with myeloid and lymphoid malignancies developing SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted among 9,790 patients diagnosed or admitted with COVID-19 at MD Anderson Cancer and 105 pts (93%) in the NC-CS + group were admitted. Length of stay (LOS) for the three groups C-CS + , CVD + CS - , NC-CS + were 10 (R=4,20), 2 (R=0,5), 22 (R=11,30) (p<0.001). ICU admissions for the three groups C-CS + , CVD + CS - , NC-CS + were 8 (21%), 4 (5.6%), 28 (25%) (p=0.002). Ferritin (p <0.001), IL-6 (p=0.01) and CRP (p <0.001) were higher for both CS + groups vs. CS - , but had similar distributions between C-CS + and NC-CS + . On univariate modeling, features with good predictive performance (AUC>8) included ferritin, albumin, Hgb, platelet count. ROC curve for multivariate model for all features had an AUC of 0.92. Multivariate analysis showed that CRP (OR-0.99, 95% CI 0.99-1, p=0.015), sodium (OR-1.13, 95% CI 1.02-1.26, p=0.022), and albumin (OR-3.04, 95% CI (1.41, 6.82), p=0.005) were associated with a higher mortality risk. Patients with C-CS + had a lower OS compared to NC-CS + and CVD + CS - (p=0.001). OS from both CS cohorts was better if they received prior vaccination


In this article the implementation of an uninterrupted solar energy surveillance system is completed. The completed system is comprised of three major sub-systems that include a charging sub-system, a control sub-system and a display sub-system. Based on several transmission standards, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Zigbee capability combined with wireless transmission techniques, the proposed surveillance system is designed for monitoring a solar energy system. The performance of the simulated WSSs is evaluated using statistical report results. The proposed surveillance system can be fully extended to several different kinds of applications, such as, health care and environmental inspection. The experimental measurement results significantly show that channel fading over the propagation channel dominates the developed system performance.


A magnetic study of 16 samples of topsoil and 2 soil profiles (11 samples) in the area of Cisna-Wetlina Landscape Park was carried out. The whole collection of the samples represents typical Carpathian soils – brown and sour. Magnetic susceptibility, frequency, dependence of magnetic susceptibility, temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility, thermal decay of saturation, isothermal remanent magnetization, parameters of hysteresis loop and anhysteretic remanent magnetization of the samples were measured in a laboratory. Mass magnetic susceptibility of topsoil specimens is below 40∙10−8 m3∙kg−1, which indicates that the investigated area is probably not polluted currently. The study of the samples from two soil profiles reveals a slight enhancement of magnetic susceptibility in the upper horizons, presumably related to natural processes. The temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility and saturation isothermal remanence of four soil samples show that the presence of iron sulphide minerals (pyrrhotite) and maghemite is associated with hematite. The occurrence of other iron sulphide minerals in the soil is also possible. The saturation isothermal remanence curves do not confirm the presence of magnetite. Studies of the hysteresis loop reveal a significant role of paramagnetics among magnetic minerals occurring in the samples. Hysteresis parameters (coercive force, coercivity of remanence, saturation magnetization, isothermal remanent magnetization) and anhysteretic remanent susceptibility allowed the authors to evaluate the grain size distribution and reveal the presence of pseudo-single domain (PSD) grains.


Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) refers to wireless technology that is used to seamlessly and automatically track various amounts of items around an environment. This technology has the potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of tasks such as shopping and inventory saving commercial organisations both time and money. Unfortunately, the wide scale adoption of RFID systems have been hindered due to issues such as false-negative and false-positive anomalies that lower the integrity of captured data. In this chapter, we propose the utilisation three highly intelligent classifiers, specifically a Bayesian Network, Neural Network and Non-Monotonic Reasoning, to handle missing, wrong and duplicate observations. After discovering the potential from using Bayesian Networks, Neural Networks and Non-Monotonic Reasoning to correct captured data, we decided to improve upon the original approach by combining the three methodologies into an integrated classifier. From our experimental evaluation, we have shown the high results obtained from cleaning both false-negative and false-positive anomalies using each of our concepts, and the potential it holds to enhance physical RFID systems.


1 Abstract—Characterizing the video quality seen by an end-user is a critical component of any video transmission system. In packet-based communication systems, such as wireless channels or the Internet, packet delivery is not guaranteed. Therefore, from the point-of-view of the transmitter, the distortion at the receiver is a random variable. Traditional approaches have primarily focused on minimizing the expected value of the end-to-end distortion. This paper explores the benefits of accounting for not only the mean, but also the variance of the end-to-end distortion when allocating limited source and channel resources. By accounting for the variance of the distortion, the proposed approach increases the reliability of the system by making it more likely that what the end-user sees, closely resembles the mean end-to-end distortion calculated at the transmitter. Experimental results demonstrate that variance-aware resource allocation can help limit error propagation and is more robust to channel-mismatch than approaches whose goal is to strictly minimize the expected distortion.


Scenes of avarna castes (slave and intermediate castes) pondering their reflections recur throughout the history of anti-caste struggle in the princely state of Travancore in colonial-era south India. These scenes represent what I will call performative egalitarianisms, which are repetitive enactments in the performance of everyday lives that embody claims to equality against the dehumanizing caste codes of colonial Travancore. In this paper, I will describe three scenes that represent distinct yet intertwined routes for the flows of egalitarian discourses in colonial Kerala. The concept of equality emerged in Travancore, first, via Enlightenment values of the British Protestant missionaries, or soulful Enlightenment; second, as non-dualistic equality of Narayana Guru, or repurposed Advaita; and third, through the discourses and practices of a Tamil religious cult called Ayya Vazhi, or radical Siddha Saiva. In viewing the flows of egalitarian discourse through the lens of performance, I demonstrate the method of intellectual histories in the repertoire which allows us to investigate how particular conceptual frameworks and discursive modes are transmitted, transformed, and embodied by people for whom these ideas are, quite literally, a matter of life and death. The intentional, productive, and empowering relationship between universals such as equality or humanity and the particular claims of anti-caste struggle in Kerala leads to a politics of practice that I describe as repurposing universals. The centrality of the notion of the human in the anti-caste politics of colonial-era Travancore leads me to refer to these flows of egalitarian discourses and the political struggles that they empowered as genealogies of the human. In sum, I analyze the genealogies of the human in colonial-era Travancore by focussing on three scenes exemplifying performative egalitarianisms: soulful Enlightenment, repurposed Advaita, and radical Siddha Saiva.


Low molecular weight poly(butylene adipate) (PBA) was synthesized by melt polycondensation. The chain extension of the prepolymers was carried out using 2,2'-(1,4-phenylene)-bis(2-oxazoline) (PBOX) as chain-extender. The influencing factors including reaction temperature, oxazoline/-COOH molar ratio, and the molecular weight of prepolymers were studied. At the optimal chain-extending condition, PBA with Mn of 38583 and Mw of 125497 was prepared. The structure of the chain-extended PBA was also characterized by the FTIR and 1H NMR.


This article is the result of a debate. The motion proposed was that "endovascular procedures, carotid endarterectomies, and aortic surgery should be done preferentially by a vascular trainee rather than a general surgery resident.'' Arguments in favor of the motion were that with the development of endovascular surgery, there are now less open vascular procedures to perform and hence, vascular trainees needed to hone their skills on these limited cases rather than waste that experience on a general surgery resident. This focused training experience would allow vascular fellows to be become more highly skilled vascular surgeons. Additionally, endovascular procedures are an important component of modern vascular surgery, and it is important for the vascular fellow to develop significant experience with and acquire the appropriate numbers of endovascular cases to get the necessary credentials when going into a vascular practice. Arguments against the motion were that exposure to vascular cases will make a better general surgeon, one who will also be well equipped to deal with trauma cases and situations where the control of bleeding might be life saving. Additionally, the issue of exposure of general surgery residents to vascular cases might be a positive recruitment strategy for future vascular fellows. The motion was carried by a small majority vote.


In order to determine the wavelength depen- dence of fine ( <1 micron) atmospheric aerosol absorption in the Mexico City area, the absorption ˚ Angstrom exponents (AAEs) were calculated from hourly averages of aerosol absorption measured at seven wavelengths (370, 450, 520, 590, 660, 880, and 950 nm) with an aethalometer during two field campaigns, the Mexico City Metropolitan Area study in April 2003 (MCMA 2003) and the Megacity Initiative: Local and Global Research Observations in March 2006 (MILA- GRO). These results were compared to AAEs determined in the laboratory from 850-280 nm (350 points) on 12-h fine aerosol samples collected at the same sites. The aerosol AAEs varied from 0.76 to 1.5 in 2003 and from 0.63 to 1.4 in 2006. The AAE values determined in the afternoon were consistently higher than the corresponding morning values, suggesting the photochemical aging of the aerosols leading to the formation of more highly UV absorbing organic aerosol species in the afternoon. The AAE values were compared to stable and radiocarbon isotopic measurements of the 12-h aerosol samples to deter- mine the sources of the aerosol carbon. The fraction of mod- ern carbon (fM) in the aerosol samples, as determined from 14 C analysis, showed that an average of 70% of the carbona- ceous aerosols in Mexico City were from modern biomass sources during both field campaigns. The 13 C/ 12 C ratios of the aerosol carbon illustrate the significant impact of Yucatan forest fires (C-3 plants) in 2003 and local grass fires (C-4 plants) in 2006. A direct comparison of the fM values, stable carbon isotope ratios, and aerosol AAEs suggested that the wavelength dependence of the aerosol absorption was con- trolled by the biogenically derived aerosol components.


Little research has examined the impacts of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems implementation on job satisfaction. Based on a 12-month study of 2,794 employees in a telecommunications firm, we found that ERP system implementation moderated the relationships between three job characteristics (skill variety, autonomy, and feedback) and job satisfaction. Our findings highlight the key role that ERP system implementation can have in altering well-established relationships in the context of technology-enabled organizational change situations. This work also extends research on technology diffusion by moving beyond a focus on technology-centric outcomes, such as system use, to understanding broader job outcomes.


SUMMARY: Recent neurochemical studies suggest that alterations in functions of the central neurotransmitters may be involved in addiction. Serotonin (5-HT), dopamine (DA) and endogenous opiate are the most important neurotransmitters involved in addiction. Nucleus raphe dorsalis (NRD) on the other hand is the important site that secrete or modulate these substances. Release of 5-HT can be evoked by focal electrical stimulation of NRD. In this study electrical stimulation (30 min: pulse 0.5 ms, 150 µA, 20 Hz) of the antero-dorsal part of the nucleus raphe dorsalis produced significant decrease in initiation of morphine self-administration during 10 consecutive 2-h sessions. During all sessions lever-pressing behavior was measured. After the last test session, morphine withdrawal syndrome signs (wet dog shakes, jumping, writhing and diarrhea) in the naloxone-induced behavior, were measured. The results show that these withdrawal syndrome signs are decreased by application of electrical stimulation of NRD. It is concluded that electrical stimulation of NRD enhances the serotonergic and endogenous opiate transmission, and this activation might be involved in reduction of craving for morphine.


Terahertz (THz) radiation has attracted much attention due to its wide potential applications. Though radiation can be generated with various ways, it is still a big challenge to obtain strong tabletop sources. Plasma, with the advantage of no damage limit, is a promising medium to generate strong THz radiation. This review reports recent advances on strong THz radiation generation from low-density gases and high-density solid targets at different laser intensities.


[1] Cascading is a specific type of buoyancy-driven current in which dense water formed by cooling, evaporation, or freezing in the surface layer over the continental shelf descends down the continental slope to a greater depth. We have identified, by world-wide trawling and analysis of raw databases, several distinct mechanisms of preconditioning for cascades. We have validated, where possible, existing theories and developed simple models, which allow estimation of the parameters for preconditioning, initiating, and down-slope fluxes as well as evolution of the temperature contrasts during cascading events. Compliance or noncompliance of observations with these simple and easy-to-use models has been related to the stage of cascade development and to local factors. Estimates of observed down-slope transport rates in case studies accord with theory, which is thereby substantially validated. Typical values of cascading transport rates were in the range 0.5–1.6 m2s−1. We hazard a very approximate global estimate of order 105 km3yr−1 or average 3 Sv based on our findings and previous studies.


We propose and study a two-best user opportunistic scheduling scheme using fixed power discrete rate adaptive hierarchical constellations (known also as embedded, multi- resolution, or asymmetrical constellations). According to the classical opportunistic scheduling, the scheduler transmits information to the selected first best user in each transmission slot in order to maximize the spectral efficiency. Our newly proposed scheme transmits information not only to the first best user but also to the second best user if the channel qualities of the selected two users support. As such the frequency of channel access of the users is increased without any degradation of overall spectral efficiency compared to the classical single best user scheduling. The key idea is to rely on hierarchical constellations to transmit information to two best users simultaneously. Specifically, according to the channel quality of the first best user, the alphabet size of the square quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) is selected in order to maximize the spectral efficiency. However, if the first best user's channel quality is good enough to decode the information transmitted in the second hierarchy of the selected size hierarchical QAM constellation while the second best user's channel quality is capable of decoding the information transmitted in the first hierarchy, information is transmitted to both the selected first and second best users using the hierarchical QAM constellation. Otherwise, information is transmitted only to the first best user using the selected size uniform QAM constellation. We present expressions for the information transmission probability and the overall average spectral efficiency [bits/sec/Hz] defined as the overall average transmitted data rate per unit bandwidth for a specified number of users, a specified average carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR), and bit error rate (BER). Numerical results for a fading environment where the channel variation among the users is identically and independently distributed (i.i.d.) are presented. These results show that, in such i.i.d. fading environment, our newly proposed fixed power discrete rate adaptive hierarchical modulation- assisted two-best user scheduling provides more frequent access to the information (almost double) without any average spectral efficiency degradation compared to the classical single best user opportunistic scheduling.


Background: The importance of a person's perceptions about the causes of their disease has been emphasised by research on various diseases. Several studies have found perception may be linked to protective behaviours. Objective: This study intends to identify the main perceived causes of sporadic cryptosporidiosis, and to analyse some of the factors that may influence respondent's perception. The role of respondents' attributions, the scientific plausibility of perceptions, and the importance of specific information sources are also explored. Design: Quantitative and qualitative analyses of data from a case-control study. Setting: General population in Wales and north west England. Participants: The study is based on a sample of 411 respondents from Wales and north west of England, whose cryptosporidiosis diagnosis was confirmed by a laboratory. Results: The results show that the most frequent perceived causes are water (by drinking it or swimming), contagion (mostly from children), and contaminated food. Perceived causes are qualitatively similar to the ones described in scientific literature, but some quantitative differences are evident. Respondents' certainty in relation to the cause of illness is directly related with plausibility. The most frequent information sources used by respondents were test stool results, environmental health officers, and doctors or nurses. Results suggest that information sources may influence the perception of the causes of cryptosporidiosis. Qualitative data provided a few clues about situations where sporadic and outbreak cases may be confused. Conclusion: In contrast with outbreaks, various information sources in addition to the media are used by people with sporadic cryptosporidiosis that in turn affects the perception of aetiology. This has implications for the dissemination of information about control measures for cryptosporidiosis and surveillance activities.


Recently, perfect matching in bounded planar cutwidth bipartite graphs (\BGGM) was shown to be in ACC$^0$ by Hansen et al.. They also conjectured that the problem is in AC$^0$.
In this paper, we disprove their conjecture by showing that the problem is not in AC$^0[p^{\alpha}]$ for every prime $p$. Our results show that the previous upper bound is almost tight. Our techniques involve giving a reduction from Parity to BGGM. A further improvement in lower bounds is difficult since we do not have an algebraic characterization for AC$^0[m]$ where $m$ is not a prime power. Moreover, this will also imply a separation of AC$^0[m]$ from P. Our results also imply a better lower bound for perfect matching in general bounded planar cutwidth graphs.


An integral part of every augmented reality system is the calibration between camera and camera-mounted tracking markers. Accuracy and robustness of the AR overlay process is greatly influenced by the quality of this step. In order to meet the very high precision requirements of medical skill training applications, we have set up a calibration environment based on direct sensing of LED markers. A simulation framework has been developed to predict and study the achievable accuracy of the backprojection needed for the scene augmentation process. We demonstrate that the simulation is in good agreement with experimental results. Even if a slight improvement of the precision has been observed compared to well-known hand-eye calibration methods, the subpixel accuracy required by our application cannot be achieved even when using commercial tracking systems providing marker positions within very low error limits.


NURBS interpolation has many advantages over the traditional linear or circular interpolation in high-speed machining. The existing work in this regard focuses on adaptive feed interpolation considering the chord error constraints and tangent acceleration limits. However, regardless of the dynamic characteristics of individual axis, performance will inevitably suffer when the system is called upon to execute a complex trajectory beyond the range of its capabilities. The intent of the present work is to provide an optimal feed interpolation method respecting both the chord error constraint and the drive constraint of each axis. A look-ahead scheme is applied with a moving window to augment the calculation efficiency for real-time application. Simulations are performed to verify the resulting feedrate, acc/dec profiles and the real-time performance of the proposed interpolator.


Hydrogeologists and other water experts agree on that the effective groundwater management requires: firstly, a good understanding of the aquifer system; secondly, identification of practical measures to control abstraction; and thirdly, improvement in groundwater resource through artificial recharge. A 16 years' pumping test and drilling lithology data and productive 29 wells were used to characterize the aquifer parameters of the Hawassa City, Ethiopia. The aquifer system was characterized physically, potentially, spatially, quantitatively, and qualitatively using AquiferTest software by applying Moench method to pumping test response data considering the basic assumptions in the model. Weathered and fractured pumice, basalt Scoriaceous rocks, fine-to-coarse-grained sand, and weathered ignimbrites are major water-bearing formations found from the analysis. High porosity and permeability due to these fractures are found to be a risk for the easy contamination of the ground water from surface wastes especially at the shallow aquifer water areas. Spatially, the southern corner and the lake shore of the city were identified as a huge potential area. Percentage of recovery results are 95–100% and transmissivity varies from 4.77 × 10−4 m2/s to 1.75 × 101 m2/s. This follows the general pattern of increasing value from east to west, that is, the value increases from the upper part of the basin to the lower. Moreover, the annual ground flow vector map of the area was developed using static water level data to see the direction of subsurface flow in the area. Accordingly, a large magnitude of water flowing from the central and west directions to the lake shore is identified showing similar profile with the surface flow.


Introduction Currently, China leads the world in the number of people with diabetes, making it home to a third of the global diabetic population. Persons with diabetes have to carry out 95% of their self-care. As an important component of diabetes care, diabetes self-management (DSM) is defined as everyday behaviours that persons carry out to control diabetes. Consistent findings have been reported that level of compliance to suggested DSM behaviours is not considered optimal among Chinese adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D). The underlying reasons for suboptimal DSM behaviours among Chinese adults are not well known and no conceptual model has been developed to guide DSM interventions in this population. Although the information-motivation-behavioural skills model has been tested among Chinese adults with T2D, some key components of the original model were not tested. In this proposed study protocol, we will refine and test a culturally tailored model of DSM longitudinally among 250 Chinese adults residing in China. Methods and analysis This is a descriptive, repeated-measure study to be conducted at a tertiary hospital in Chengdu, China. A total of 250 adults with T2D will be enrolled and followed for 3 months in this study. Information of multiple domains will be collected, including demographics, diabetes knowledge, health education form, provider-patient communication, health beliefs, social support, diabetes self-efficacy, the medical coping modes, the diabetes self-care, depression, diabetes-dependent quality of life, haemoglobin A1c, blood pressure and blood lipids at baseline and 3-month follow-up. Main analyses comprise linear regression modelling controlling for covariates and structural equation modelling. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval has been obtained through the Fourth People's Hospital of Chengdu Research Ethics Committee (study approval number 2017017). We aim to disseminate the findings through international conferences, international peer-reviewed journals and social media. Trial registration number ChiCTR-ROC-17013592.


The purpose of the study was to analyze the improvement elements depended on housing quality measurement tool, and to verify it. The data for the analysis was collected through questionnaire survey method from November 1, 2012 to January 17, 2013, and the sample consisted of 720 respondents living in single detached houses, multi-families detached houses, apartments, and town houses in 4 cities, Seoul, Busan, Daejeon, and Kwangju. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results of improvement elements were as follows : 1)Pedestrian-threaten street from cars in physical safety 2) A secluded or dark spot and fear of walking at night in social security, 3) Indoor noise, outdoor noise, and evidence of abandoned trash heap/bottle in neighborhood in health & sanitation, 4) Illegal parking and heating control system in facility convenience, 5) Second kitchen, number of bathrooms, and community spaces in space convenience, 6) Openness and spaciousness of indoor room, and satisfaction of house and neighborhood in comfort, 7) Management common/sharing space in maintenance, 8) Energy saving facility and environment friendly materials use in sustainability, 9) Burden on housing cost, asset value on house, and school district in economic value, 10) Reflection of residents style, surrounding building"s number of layers, and neighborhood appearance of preference in housing environment image.


This review describes a literature survey of 1,3,5-triazepines. The investigated heterocycles were the monocyclic and fused 1,3,5-triazepines. The different sections of the paper cover: theoretical methods, spectroscopy aspects, thermodynamic aspects, synthesis and reactions of the monocyclic and fused heterocycles incorporated into the 1,3,5-triazepine moiety. The biological evaluation of the target compounds are also described as well as their synthetic applications. The reaction mechanisms are discussed.


COPYRIGHT © 2023 Xu, Gomez-Pinedo, Liu, Hong and Xu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Editorial: Current advances in genetic presentations of dementia and aging, volume II


In the present paper, we review and extend our results concerning predictive numerical simulations of the penetration into adobe on the basis of the RHT concrete model [C. Sauer et al., Int. J. Impact Engng., 104 (2017) 164-176]. We apply this model to the theoretical description of adobe in a hydrocode. For this purpose a set of material parameters is derived on the basis of published data, own material tests, and engineering assumptions. Available ballistic results for the penetration of spherical steel projectiles into semi-infinite and finitethickness adobe targets are used for validating our approach. As a result, we obtain a hydrocode model which is expected to predict a wide range of penetration scenarios into adobe. The predictive character is exemplarily demonstrated by the successful reproduction of the instability within the penetration process and residual velocities of differently shaped tungsten heavy alloy projectiles.


Reservoir unit classifications can be used in reservoir characterization of carbonate reservoirs where there is variability in the distribution of petrophysical properties. This requires the integration of geological and petrophysical data at different scales. In this study, cores and thin sections from Yamama Formation (Lower Cretaceous) at Gharaf oilfield, southern Iraq, were studiedto identify reservoir units. Ninereservoir units (units Y1 to Y9) were identified based on petrophysical evaluation by using interactive Petrophysics program (IP) software and depositional environments and related microfacies.The unit Y2 have the highest reservoir quality, which consists of grain-supported facies(packstone and grainstone) characterized by high values of effective porosity and oil volume.The second important reservoir unit is unit Y7 where oil exists in wells Ga-1, Ga-4, and Ga-5. By contrast, the unit Y6 is identified with no observable reservoir quality due to low porosity of mudstone microfacies. The computer processes interpretation (CPI) results show that unit Y1 has poor petrophysical properties except in wells Ga-3 and Ga-4 where reservoir properties are enhanced by fractures. Other units are characterized by different degrees of reservoir quality, and they are differentiated in terms of effective porosity, water saturation, clay volume, and facies types.


Industry 4.0 and digital technology has been affecting banking activities in most of bank system in emerging markets, esp. in Vietnam, one of the countries having high economic growth in ASEAN nations;so, quality management of technology issues and cyber security management are rising. There are main technologies in 4.0 revolution to process information including: Big Data database technologies, Cloud Computing, Machine Learning, IoT, AI, Business Intelligence, Data Mining and Blockchain Technologies. These technologies are successively implemented in developed and improved security procedures IT and cybersecurity risk management. Also changes to the operating environment IT can occur suddenly and without warning, such as under the COVID-19 international emergency. As the critical sector financial is adapting to expanded remote operations, there is the potential for increased vulnerabilities and potential amplification of the effect of cybersecurity threats. Therefore, organizations need to own the ability to make in new ICT and cybersecurity investments to quickly and effectively adapt to address unforeseen circumstances for better quality management of technology.


A 35-year-old woman from Georgia presented with multiple bilateral yellow nodules of the upper bulbar conjunctiva, accompanied by a severe injection of conjunctival vessels. The histologic examination of excisional biopsies showed the characteristic morphology of the Splendore-Hoeppli-phenomenon, which describes granulomas with a necrotized eosinophilic center, surrounded by a ring of epitheloid cells, giant cells and eosinophils. Although nematodes could be identified in only a few lesions, they should always be kept in mind as the causing agent of this condition. No cause of the lesions was found in our patient. The nodules may regress spontaneously. Topical application of corticosteroid eye drops, however, may give relief of symptoms, and sometimes excision of the granulomas will be necessary.


Sex steroid hormones have been thought to alter behaviors in adulthood by changing the activity of neural circuits rather than by inducing major structural changes in these pathways. In a group of androgen-sensitive motoneurons that mediate male copulatory functions, decreases in androgen levels after castration of adult rats produced dramatic structural changes, decreasing both the dendritic length and soma size of these motoneurons. These changes were reversed by androgen replacement. These results imply a surprising degree of synaptic plasticity in adult motoneurons and suggest that normal changes in androgen levels in adulthood are associated with significant alterations in the structure and function of these neurons.


The nitrogen-vacancy (N-V) defect in ultra-pure diamond shows great promise for the implementation of qubits for quantum computing. The N-V defect is a three level system which behaves as an efficient room temperature source of single photons at a wavelength of 637 nm. The N-V centre ground state spin strongly modulates the rate of spontaneous emission providing a mechanism for spin read out. We have recently shown that spin-readout with the minimum number of photons can be achieved by efficiently coupling light to the transition in a sub-wavelength scale micro-cavity [1]. Here we aim to place the N-V centre into a cavity at the centre of a suspended slab photonic crystal structure made from hexagonal array of cylindrical air holes. The light is confined by distributed Bragg reflection in the plane of periodicity (xy) and by total internal reflection in the perpendicular plane (z). The work consists of both modelling the photonic crystal to optimise the parameters and fabricating the structures using focussed ion beam milling.


Heart failure (HF) is a major health concern affecting 15 million people in Europe and around 900 000 people in the U.K. HF predominantly affects the elderly, with the mean age of patients with a diagnosis of HF between 70 and 80 years. Most previous HF studies have accordingly focused on older patients. Although HF is less common in younger adults (<65 years), 15% to 20% of patients hospitalised with HF are younger than 60 years of age. Very few studies have described the characteristics of younger adults with HF and its outcome.

The aims of this thesis are to describe the clinical characteristics of younger adults with HF, explore the epidemiology of HF in younger adults and determine their short- and long-term outcomes. This was made possible by access multiple databases consisting of large patient cohorts with HF. The first chapter is a systematic literature review of younger adults with HF. Gaps in the current literature were identified and the thesis focused on some of these.

The CHARM study allows detail characterisations of younger adults with HF. It recorded characteristics of patients with HF, including symptoms and signs of HF, electrocardiographic changes, chest radiographic findings, and also left ventricular ejection fraction. HF hospitalisations and its precipitating factors were also recorded systematically. Younger adults were more likely to have a third heart sound and hepatomegaly, but less likely to have pulmonary crackles and peripheral oedema. Similarly, radiological findings in younger adults were less likely to show interstitial pulmonary oedema or pleural effusion. Interestingly, younger adults aged <40 years not only have similar HF hospitalisation rate to older patients, however during their presentation with decompensated HF, they were less likely to have clinical pulmonary oedema and radiological signs of HF. Physicians managing younger adults with HF need to be aware of this. Younger adults were also less compliant with medications and lifestyle restriction resulting in hospitalisation with decompensated HF. Fortunately, despite these challenges, mortality rates in younger adults with HF were lower compared to older patients.

To further substantiate the findings from the CHARM study, the MAGGIC study, a meta-analysis consists of over 40 000 patients with HF from large observational studies and randomised controlled trials, was examined. In both databases, the commonest aetiology of HF in younger adults was dilated cardiomyopathy. The ejection fraction was the lowest in younger adults. Similar to the CHARM study, mortality rates in younger adults were lower compared to older patients. However, in the MAGGIC study, by stratifying mortality into patients with preserved ejection fraction and with reduced ejection fraction, younger patients with preserved ejection fraction have a much lower mortality rate compared to patients with reduced ejection fraction.

Findings from clinical trials are not always reflective of the real life clinical practice. The U.K. Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), a large and well-validated primary care database with 654 practices contributing information into the database representing approximated 8% of the U.K. population, is a rich dataset offering a unique opportunity to examine the characteristics, treatments, and outcomes of younger adults with HF in the community. In contrast to the CHARM and MAGGIC studies, younger adults aged <40 years were stratified into 20-29 and 30-39 years in the CPRD analysis. This is possible due to the larger number of younger adults with HF. Further stratifying the younger age groups demonstrated heterogeneity among younger adults with HF. In contrast to previous data showing younger adults have lower co-morbidities, the proportions of depression, chronic kidney disease, asthma, and any connective tissue disease were high among patients aged 20-29 years in the analysis from the CPRD. Surprisingly, the treatment rates for angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, and aldosterone antagonist were the lowest in patients aged 20-29 years. With the exception of patients aged ≥80 years, treatment rate with beta-blocker was also the lowest in patients aged 20-29 years. With over two decades of follow up, long-term mortality rates in younger adults with HF can be determined. The mortality rates continued to decline from 1988 to 2011. Physicians managing younger adults with HF can now use this contemporary data to provide prognostic information to patients and their family.

A hospital administrative database is the logical next platform to explore younger adults with HF. The Alberta Ministry of Health database links an outpatient database to a hospitalisation database providing ample data to examine the relationship between outpatient clinic visits and hospital admissions in younger adults with HF. Following a diagnosis of HF in the outpatient setting, younger adults were admitted to the hospital with decompensated HF much sooner than older patients. Younger adults also presented to emergency department more frequently following their first hospitalisation for HF.

In conclusion, this thesis presented the characteristics and outcomes of younger adults with HF, and helped to extend our current understanding on this important topic. I hope the data presented here will benefit not only physicians looking after younger adults with HF, but also patients and their family.


With the improvement of human living standards, users' requirements have changed from function to emotion. Helping users pick out the most suitable product based on their subjective requirements is of great importance for enterprises. This paper proposes a Kansei engineering-based grey relational analysis and techniques for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (KE-GAR-TOPSIS) method to make a subjective user personalized ranking of alternative products. The KE-GRA-TOPSIS method integrates five methods, including Kansei Engineering (KE), analytic hierarchy process (AHP), entropy, game theory, and grey relational analysis-TOPSIS (GRA-TOPSIS). First, an evaluation system is established by KE and AHP. Second, we define a matrix variate—Kansei decision matrix (KDM)—to describe the satisfaction of user requirements. Third, the AHP is used to obtain subjective weight. Next, the entropy method is employed to obtain objective weights by taking the KDM as input. Then the two types of weights are optimized using game theory to obtain the comprehensive weights. Finally, the GRA-TOPSIS method takes the comprehensive weights and the KMD as inputs to rank alternatives. A comparison of the KE-GRA-TOPSIS, KE-TOPSIS, KE-GRA, GRA-TOPSIS, and TOPSIS is conducted to illustrate the unique merits of the KE-GRA-TOPSIS method in Kansei evaluation. Finally, taking the electric drill as an example, we describe the process of the proposed method in detail, which achieves a symmetry between the objectivity of products and subjectivity of users.


Dr Eliassi's presentation explored how statelessness is experienced and narrated by members of the Kurdish diasporas in Sweden and the UK. Concerning the broader debates on statelessness that have focused mainly on the acquisition of nationality/citizenship as a solution to the political and existential vulnerability of stateless individuals and collectivities, Eliassi's presentation illustrated that while the acquisition of citizenship is important, it has also its limits in understanding the everyday life of people who consider themselves to be stateless in the world of nation-states. In Sweden the majority of Kurds have Swedish citizenship but claim to be stateless. The notion of statelessness is used to motivate transnational political mobilization and to maintain a politicised identity.10 In this context, citizenship can become a device of inclusion as well as of exclusion as the notion of 'We are all citizens' can maintain political inequality. In fact, the liberal citizenship tradition cannot fully accommodate the political grievances of stateless people like the Kurds because, as long as the sovereign identities are not decentred in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey, Kurds by large will continue to perceive themselves as an endangered nation. Dr Demir, the discussant, highlighted that in the world of nation states, the issue is not that of statelessness but of master identity: the task has to be to de-master the dominant master identity as we all live in multi-national states and the idea of 'Nation States' is a discourse, a claim that does not exist in reality.