Corrupt officials can use their positions to enrich themselves in two ways. They can steal from the state budget--embezzling or misspending funds--or they can demand extra payments from citizens in return for services--bribery. In many circumstances, embezzlement is less distortionary than bribery. We analyze the tradeoff for governments in deciding how strictly to monitor and punish these two kinds of bureaucratic misbehavior. When bribery is more costly to economic development, governments may tolerate some embezzlement in order to reduce the extent of bribery--even though embezzlement is generally easier to detect. Embezzlement serves as a parallel to the "efficiency wage." This logic appears to hold in China, where misappropriation of public funds by officials appears to be ubiquitous.


Post-calving surveys to estimate herd size of barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus, R. t. granti, and R. t. caribou) have been used for caribou herds in Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Québec/Labrador. The main field procedure uses relocation of collared caribou to locate aggregated groups of hundreds or thousands of caribou during times of high insect harassment that usually occur in July. These groups are then photographed to obtain a count of the caribou in the aggregated groups. Often some caribou are missed, and the count of caribou may be a negatively biased estimate of total herd size, unless a high proportion of the herd is found and photographed. To address this, some previous studies have used the Lincoln-Petersen estimator, which estimates the proportion of the herd counted based on the percentage of available collared caribou found during the survey. However, this estimator assumes equal probabilities of all groups of caribou being found, regardless of group size and the numbers of collared caribou in the group. These assumptions may not be valid, as larger groups are more likely to be found than smaller groups, particularly if there are several collared caribou present. This may lead to estimates that are biased low, along with an estimate of variance that may also be biased low. A two phase estimator developed by Rivest et al., in 1998 became available in R statistical software in 2012. We analyzed 20 data sets from post-calving surveys in the NWT and NU carried out between 2000 and 2015 using the Rivest estimator to explore working characteristics of this estimator. We compared the Rivest estimates with Lincoln-Petersen estimates and total counts on each survey. We considered factors that influence precision of the Rivest estimator with a focus on sampling factors such as the proportion of collars found, the number of collars available, and natural factors such as the degree of aggregation of caribou in each survey (as indexed by the negative binomial dispersion parameter). In general, the Rivest estimator displayed acceptable precision when high proportions of caribou groups with collars were detected and counted, collar numbers were sufficient, and aggregation was adequate. Notable exceptions occurred in years of lower aggregation which resulted in many small groups with 0 or few collared caribou, and in these cases herd estimates had large variances and low precision. Estimates from the Rivest estimator, Lincoln-Petersen estimator, and total counts converged when sampling effort was high, collar numbers relative to herd size were high, and caribou were well aggregated in a limited number of groups. In other cases, estimates of the Rivest estimator were generally higher than Lincoln-Petersen estimates, presumably due to negative bias with the Lincoln-Petersen estimator. We provide a set of working recommendations to optimize field sampling to ensure reliable estimates of herd size using post-calving methods.


Objectives Central nervous system depressants (CNSDs) such as opioids, benzodiazepine and Z-hypnotics are commonly used. However, CNSDs may influence cognitive function, especially in older hospitalised patients with comorbidities. The aim was to examine the association between CNSD use and cognitive function in older patients. We assessed global and domain specific cognitive function, among hospitalised older patients, including covariates for comorbidity, anxiety and depression. Design Cross-sectional hospital-based study. Settings Data was collected consecutively from inpatients at somatic wards of a general university hospital. Participants Older patients between 65 and 90 years with/without CNSD use for ≥4 weeks. Outcome measures The main outcome was cognitive function assessed by Cognistat. Secondary outcomes were routine clinical tests in the wards (mini-mental state examination (MMSE), trail making test (TMT) A and B, and clock drawing tests). Analyses were bivariate and multiple linear regression, adjusted for age, gender, and education. Covariates were comorbidity, depression and anxiety scores. Results The main result indicated that CNSD users (n=100) had (β=–3.4, 95% CI 6.27 to –0.58, p=0.017) lower Cognistat score than non-users (n=146), adjusted for age, gender, education, anxiety and depression, but not significant when including covariate for comorbidity (β= –2.50 - 5.45; –0.46, p=0.097). Comorbidity was associated with cognitive function (β=−0.77, 95% CI −1.22 to −0.14, p=0.014). Cognistat subdimensions associated with CNSD use were language (p=0.017) and calculation (p=0.003). In clock drawing test, users had lower scores than non-users (β=−0.80, 95% CI 1.24 to −0.36, p=0.004), but no significant difference was found with MMSE and TMT A or B. Z-hypnotics were associated with reduced cognitive function. Conclusion Among older hospitalised patients, global cognition and specific cognitive functions were associated with long-term use of CNSD medication as well as with somatic comorbidity. Trial registration number NCT03162081, 22 May 2017.


LNK is a member of the SH2B family of adaptor proteins and is a non-redundant regulator of cytokine signalling. Cytokines are secreted intercellular messengers that bind to specific receptors on the surface of target cells to activate the Janus Kinase-Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (JAK-STAT) signalling pathway. Activation of the JAK-STAT pathway leads to proliferative and often inflammatory effects, and so the amplitude and duration of signalling are tightly controlled. LNK binds phosphotyrosine residues to signalling proteins downstream of cytokines and constrains JAK-STAT signalling. Mutations in LNK have been identified in a range of haematological and inflammatory diseases due to increased signalling following the loss of LNK function. Here, we review the regulation of JAK-STAT signalling via the adaptor protein LNK and discuss the role of LNK in haematological diseases.


The softwarization of communication networks provides notable benefits, such as flexibility, improved resource efficiency, and commoditization. In exchange, softwarization requires an increased management overhead and the need to re-design network operation. While the mobile networking ecosystem is currently adapting this new paradigm with other network-related aspects (e.g., network slicing), cloud computing already addressed such problems with the introduction of serverless architectures, also known as Function as a Service (FaaS). With this approach, the software is decomposed into its minimum building blocks, i.e., functions, maximizing scalability, resource efficiency, and flexibility. In this paper, we analyze the potential adoption of the FaaS paradigm by the mobile networking ecosystem, discussing the implicit advantages, the challenges to address, and some solutions to overcome them.


Industrial requirements of modern, agile production aim at achieving intelligent behaviour andfast reconfigurability of the production system. Evolvable Production Systems (EPS) is anovel production systems paradigm, incorporating principles of modularity and adaptability.EPS uses process-specific modules, Ontologies and the EPS-knowledge base to enablethese characteristics. The thesis proposes a heterarchical control architecture, implementedas Multi-Agent System, to enable adaptation and evolution of the production system.Therefore agents are realized as software representations of physical production equipment.The implementation of EPS components (EPS-Ontology and knowledge base) areelaborated and the advanced behaviour of the Multi-Agent System is detailed: Selfawarenessof agents concerning their skills, based on the agent state representation,facilitates reasoning capabilities and advanced coordination strategies for production tasks.The thesis investigates the structure of the proposed multi-agent control architecture by asimulation of two heterarchical architectures on machine-level and evaluates dependenciesof efficiency and robustness related to organisational structures of the agent society. Finally,system reconfigurability, which is achieved by changing multi-agent interactions, iselaborated in detail.


This letter presents a technique to assess the overall network performance of sampled value process buses based on IEC 61850-9-2 using measurements from a single location in the network. The method is based upon the use of Ethernet cards with externally synchronized time stamping, and characteristics of the process bus protocol. The application and utility of the method is demonstrated by measuring latency introduced by Ethernet switches. Network latency can be measured from a single set of captures, rather than comparing source and destination captures. Absolute latency measures will greatly assist the design testing, commissioning and maintenance of these critical data networks.


In order to estimate the mean frequency and variance of the diagnostic ultrasound Doppler signal in the presence of clutter noise, a new estimator using a second-order autoregressive (AR) model, called the AR estimator, is proposed. The sampled signal that contains information of both the Doppler signal and clutter is described by the second-order AR model with two poles. The mean frequency and variance of a unidirectional Doppler signal can be estimated, respectively, from the phase and the magnitude of the pole, with larger phase between the two poles. If the clutter is not completely rejected, all conventional estimators, including the autocorrelation (AC) estimator, result in erroneous estimations for the mean frequency and variance of the Doppler signal, whereas the AR estimator gives an accurate estimation. In the absence of clutter, however, the performance of both the AC and AR estimators are similar. If the blood flows in both directions in a sample volume and the clutter is rejected to the extent that it no longer obscures the Doppler signal, the proposed method can estimate simultaneously the mean frequencies and variances of both the forward and reverse blood flows. The performance of the proposed AR estimator was compared with that of the AC estimator by computer simulations and experiments, and it was found that when the number of available sampled data is small, the AR estimator does not require the use of a clutter filter, which simplifies Doppler signal detection.<<ETX>>


Nanoscale processor designs pose new challenges not encountered in the world of conventional CMOS designs and manufacturing. Nanoscale devices based on crossed semiconductor nanowires (NWs) have promising characteristics in addition to providing great density advantage over conventional CMOS devices. This density advantage could, however, be easily lost when assembled into nanoscale systems and especially after techniques dealing with high defect rates and manufacturing related layout/doping constraints are incorporated. Most conventional defect/fault-tolerance techniques are not suitable in nanoscale designs because they are designed for very small defect rates and assume arbitrary layouts for required circuits. Reconfigurable approaches face fundamental challenges including a complex interface between the micro and nano components required for programming. In this paper, we present our work on adding fault-tolerance to all components of a processor implemented on a 2-D semiconductor NW fabric called nanoscale application specific integrated circuits (NASICs). We combine and explore structural redundancy, built-in nanoscale error correcting circuitry, and system-level redundancy techniques and adapt the techniques to the NASIC fabric. Faulty signals caused by defects and other error sources are masked on-the-fly at various levels of granularity. Faults can be masked at up to 15% rates, while maintaining a 7 density advantage compared to an equivalent CMOS processor at projected 18-nm technology. Detailed analysis of yield, density, and area tradeoffs is provided for different error sources and fault distributions.


We propose that the optical OFDM technique using all optical discrete Fourier transform (DFT) has potential as a viable alternative for upgrading long-haul optical transmission systems towards 100-Gb/s. We demonstrate transmission of 35-Gb/s (7 x 5 Gb/s NRZ-OOK) all-optical OFDM signal over ~2000-km dispersion-managed span without using tunable dispersion compensation and time gating. We achieve bit error ratio of 1.2x10(-3) (7x10(-3)) for transmission over 1980-km (2310-km) all-EDFA amplified span consisting of standard single mode fiber (SSMF) and dispersion compensating fiber (DCF). We also study the nonlinear penalty impacting the all-optical OFDM transmission and discuss potential method for its mitigation.


We examine relations of personal value priorities to identification with one's nation. We hypothesize that relations of values to identification depend on the motivations that can be attained by identifying with a nation. Study 1 confirmed the hypothesis that identification with one's nation correlates positively with conservation values and negatively with openness to change values in Israel and the USA. Moreover, values predicted identification with the nation above and beyond Right-Wing Authoritarianism. Study 2 showed that increasing the salience of conservation values produced higher identification with Israel, whereas increasing the salience of openness to change values produced lower identification. Study 3 tested the hypothesis that when identification with a national group conflicts with social expectations it has different, even reversed relations with value priorities. We examined identification of recent immigrants to Israel. The more pressure immigrants felt to assimilate, the more positive the correlation of conservation values with identification with the country of residence (Israel) and the more negative the correlation of conservation values with identification with the country of origin (Russia). Taken together, the findings point to the utility of values in revealing the motivational functions of identification with a nation.


The role of expectations for economic fluctuations has received considerable attention in recent business cycle analysis. We exploit Markov regime switching models to identify shocks in cointegrated structural vector autoregressions and investigate different identification schemes for bi-variate systems comprising U.S. stock prices and total factor productivity. The former variable is viewed as reflecting expectations of economic agents about future productivity. It is found that some previously used identification schemes can be rejected in our model setup. The results crucially depend on the measure used for total factor productivity.


The bulk of earth's biosphere is cold 5 °C that sustains a broad diversity of microbial life by triggering physiological response(s) to ensure survival in cold and frozen ecosystems. The strategy of adaptation to cold environments includes changes in membrane composition and induction of a set of specific cold-active proteins, polyunsaturated lipids and exopolysaccharides. These adaptive features provide an enormous natural reservoir of enzymes that function effectively in cold environments, and these coldactive enzymes have been targeted for innovative applications useful to humankind. This review provides an overview of the existence, distribution and adaptation strategies of psychrophilic microorganisms worldwide with great emphasis on their recently emerged industrial applications in the textile industry, food and dairy industry, brewing and wine industry, laundry detergent industry, and others.
 Significance:
 • The outcome of these studies may also help in the exploration of the possibility of life in distant frozen planets.


Cognitive performance at night exhibits a substantial drop, typically before dawn. One of the means of dealing with this phenomenon, as well as with the accompanying sleepiness during sustained wakefulness, is the administration of stimulants. The most widely used and well‐documented stimulants are caffeine, amphetamines, and modafinil. Of these, amphetamines are the least recommended, as they may severely affect behavior. Caffeine and modafinil seem to produce relatively milder side effects and usually only at high doses. Previous comparison studies have revealed equal efficacy of both the stimulants in maintaining alertness and performance during sustained wakefulness. However, these studies used relatively high, and thus not completely safe, doses of these drugs (600 mg caffeine and 400 mg modafinil). Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the efficacy of a low and medically safe dose of caffeine (200 mg) and modafinil (200 mg) in maintaining cognitive performance during sustained wakefulness. A flight simulation task was chosen for the assessment of the stimulants in a counter‐balanced, within‐subject design under four different conditions: baseline (no drugs), placebo, caffeine (200 mg), and modafinil (200 mg). The equal effectiveness of both drugs in abolishing the nocturnal drop in cognitive performance, as well as of oral temperature and blood pressure, supported the use of low doses of caffeine and modafinil for the maintenance of alertness in healthy subjects during sustained wakefulness.


Few strategy concepts are more likely to give misleading insights than the experience curve. As a result there is considerable disenchantment with the simplistic market share prescriptions that marked the early applications. Nonetheless, the experience curve remains an extremely useful organizing framework when scale, technology and learning effects are influential forces in the environment. This article reviews the measurement and interpretation problems that have to be overcome before the experience curve can be productively applied. Conclusions provide rewarding topics for further research.


Purpose The ability to hear ourselves speak has been shown to play an important role in the development and maintenance of fluent and coherent speech. Despite this, little is known about the developing speech motor control system throughout childhood, in particular if and how vocal and articulatory control may differ throughout development. A scoping review was undertaken to identify and describe the full range of studies investigating responses to frequency altered auditory feedback in pediatric populations and their contributions to our understanding of the development of auditory feedback control and sensorimotor learning in childhood and adolescence. Method Relevant studies were identified through a comprehensive search strategy of six academic databases for studies that included (a) real-time perturbation of frequency in auditory input, (b) an analysis of immediate effects on speech, and (c) participants aged 18 years or younger. Results Twenty-three articles met inclusion criteria. Across studies, there was a wide variety of designs, outcomes and measures used. Manipulations included fundamental frequency (9 studies), formant frequency (12), frequency centroid of fricatives (1), and both fundamental and formant frequencies (1). Study designs included contrasts across childhood, between children and adults, and between typical, pediatric clinical and adult populations. Measures primarily explored acoustic properties of speech responses (latency, magnitude, and variability). Some studies additionally examined the association of these acoustic responses with clinical measures (e.g., stuttering severity and reading ability), and neural measures using electrophysiology and magnetic resonance imaging. Conclusion Findings indicated that children above 4 years generally compensated in the opposite direction of the manipulation, however, in several cases not as effectively as adults. Overall, results varied greatly due to the broad range of manipulations and designs used, making generalization challenging. Differences found between age groups in the features of the compensatory vocal responses, latency of responses, vocal variability and perceptual abilities, suggest that maturational changes may be occurring in the speech motor control system, affecting the extent to which auditory feedback is used to modify internal sensorimotor representations. Varied findings suggest vocal control develops prior to articulatory control. Future studies with multiple outcome measures, manipulations, and more expansive age ranges are needed to elucidate findings.


There are great differences between terrestrial cellular communication system and GEO (Geostationary Earth Orbit) mobile satellite system. In GEO mobile satellite system, subscribers could not be paged when the MES (Mobile Earth Station) is normally out of coverage area due to additional propagation path losses. To alert the subscribers in such situation, a more penetrative and computationally efficient coding modulation is needed. In this paper two kinds of orthogonal coded modulation, which are 6PSK based and BPSK based, are analyzed. Through compared with the common paging channel modulation method, and the performance analysis of them, we conclude that they can increase the SNR (Signal Noise Ratio) of actual transmitted information, which is greatly more than the SNR of data in the common paging channel. To be emphasized, we also confirm the predominance of 6PSK modulation.


A long-term goal of machine learning is to build intelligent conversational agents. One recent popular approach is to train end-to-end models on a large amount of real dialog transcripts between humans (Sordoni et al., 2015; Vinyals & Le, 2015; Shang et al., 2015). However, this approach leaves many questions unanswered as an understanding of the precise successes and shortcomings of each model is hard to assess. A contrasting recent proposal are the bAbI tasks (Weston et al., 2015b) which are synthetic data that measure the ability of learning machines at various reasoning tasks over toy language. Unfortunately, those tests are very small and hence may encourage methods that do not scale. In this work, we propose a suite of new tasks of a much larger scale that attempt to bridge the gap between the two regimes. Choosing the domain of movies, we provide tasks that test the ability of models to answer factual questions (utilizing OMDB), provide personalization (utilizing MovieLens), carry short conversations about the two, and finally to perform on natural dialogs from Reddit. We provide a dataset covering 75k movie entities and with 3.5M training examples. We present results of various models on these tasks, and evaluate their performance.


This thesis examines how primary sources were used to build conceptualisations of the Scottish past during the nineteenth century. To achieve this it focuses on the work of the record scholar and legal antiquary Cosmo Innes (1798-1874). Innes was a prolific editor of source material relating to parliament, the burghs, the medieval church, family history and the universities. He was also an authority on Scotland's legal history, an architectural antiquary, a practising lawyer, a university professor and one of Scotland's earliest photographers. Through an investigation of these activities, this thesis explores the ways in which Scots perceived their own history during the period of what Marinell Ash calls the 'strange death of Scottish history'.

What differentiates this study from previous investigations is its emphasis on the presentation and associated interpretation of primary sources, as opposed to institutional frameworks or secondary narratives. Innes put particular types of source to specific uses in an attempt to rehabilitate the tarnished reputation of Scottish history. However, he was not a radical operating on the intellectual fringes, but a respected mainstream figure who worked within the traditions of Enlightenment and the boundaries of Romanticism. He relied upon an institutional interpretation of history which placed abbeys, bishoprics, burghs, universities, families and the apparatus of law and government within broader narratives of national progress. Yet he also used both documentary and architectural sources as the basis for an imagistic and imaginative evocation of the textures of the past.

Whilst Innes's work illustrates how conflicted Scottish historiography was in the period, it also shows how a prominent antiquary sought to heal those historiographical wounds. The thesis will demonstrate that many of his attempts met ultimately with failure, particularly those which tried to imbue the Scottish past with an ideological validity derived from Whiggism and Enlightenment. However, it will also argue that Scottish historical Romanticism, to which Innes was an important contributor, provided the basis for a broad consensus about the value of Scottish history in the later decades of the century. The significance of this romantic consensus has been neglected by recent scholarship, and the study therefore sheds new light on the 'strange death' that occurred in the 1840s and 1850s.


In this paper, realization of three-phase grid-connected inverter controlled with dSPACE DS1103 control board is presented. Detailed information about power circuit, sensor board, signal isolation board and DS1103 is given in the paper. The inverter is controlled with DS1103 control board, programming the DSP via MATLAB/Simulink. Connection between the developed control algorithm in Simulink and experimental setup is made with installed DS1103 tools in Simulink. Space vector pulse width modulation technique in d-q synchronous reference frame is used to control the three-phase inverter. The transferred power to grid is 10 kW via three-phase inverter. The injected grid current has 3.59% THD value with 9 kHz switching frequency and 3 mH filter inductance.


Drug misuse is defined as using of drugs for a non-therapeutic or non-medical purpose. In Iraq drug misuse is a major problem because almost any drug can be easily obtained from pharmacies. Appetitestimulant drugs are example of drugs that are widely used without a prescription. The study included 230 patients who use these drugs in Babylon. A questionnaire included the following questions ; age, sex, marital state, the reason for use the drug , whether the drug is prescribed by physician or not , type of drug used , the frequency of daily dose and lastly the extent of side effects of the drugs used. The results showed that the age range of 35% of subjects were (17-21) years old and 70% of participants were females. The study also showed that 62% of them are unmarried and the reason for use, in 48% of subjects, was to increase the body weight. Furthermore, this study revealed that about 68% of those subjects utilized these drugs without prescription and the steroids are the most drug type used (33%). Additionally, 44% of subjects used these drugs twice daily and 80% of subjects who used steroids developed marked side effects. It can be concluded that there is a misuse of appetitestimulant drugs in subjects participated in this study and most of these drugs are not used on therapeutic or scientific bases.


Findings from several beta-carotene supplementation trials were unexpected and conflicted with most observational studies. Carotenoids other than beta-carotene are found in a variety of fruits and vegetables and may play a role in this important malignancy, but previous findings regarding the five major carotenoids are inconsistent. The authors analyzed the associations between dietary beta-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein/zeaxanthin, lycopene, beta-cryptoxanthin, vitamin A, serum beta-carotene, and serum retinol and the lung cancer risk in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study cohort of male smokers conducted in southwestern Finland between 1985 and 1993. Of the 27,084 male smokers aged 50-69 years who completed the 276-food item dietary questionnaire at baseline, 1,644 developed lung cancer during up to 14 years of follow-up. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate relative risks and 95% confidence intervals. Consumption of fruits and vegetables was associated with a lower lung cancer risk (relative risk = 0.73, 95% confidence interval: 0.62, 0.86, highest vs. lowest quintile). Lower risks of lung cancer were observed for the highest versus the lowest quintiles of lycopene (28%), lutein/zeaxanthin (17%), beta-cryptoxanthin (15%), total carotenoids (16%), serum beta-carotene (19%), and serum retinol (27%). These findings suggest that high fruit and vegetable consumption, particularly a diet rich in carotenoids, tomatoes, and tomato-based products, may reduce the risk of lung cancer.


Background and aims The revised Atlanta classification is widely used for the evaluation of acute pancreatitis (AP) severity. However, this classification cannot be used within 48 hours of AP onset. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive factors of mortality in patients with AP on admission. Methods We evaluated the association between AP mortality and clinical parameters at the time of admission in patients with AP from April 2013 to December 2017 at one university hospital and one tertiary care referral center. Results A total of 203 consecutive patients were enrolled. Nine patients (4.4%) died despite multidisciplinary treatment. In a multivariable analysis, hematocrit ≥ 40% (odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01–1.13; P = 0.021), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) ≥ 40 mg/dL (OR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.11–1.42; P < 0.001), base excess < -3.0 mmol/L (OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.04–1.26; P = 0.004), and inflammation extending to the rectovesical excavation (OR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.10–1.30; P < 0.001) on admission were significantly associated with mortality. Conclusion Among the imaging findings, inflammation extending to the rectovesical excavation was the only independent predictive factor for mortality in AP. This simple finding, obtained on computed tomography without contrast agent on admission, might be a promising prognostic factor for AP.


The aim of the cross-sectional study was to evaluate the pattern of complementary self-treatment with P. ginseng and its analogues amongst pharmacy customers in Estonia. The study instrument consisted of multiple-choice items related to personal knowledge about and experience with the use of P. ginseng and its analogues. In total, 1233 customers participated in the study. Of study participants, 18.1% reported the use of P. ginseng and its analogues in their lives. P. ginseng preparations were used mostly according to the well- known indications (tiredness, weakness and decreased mental and physical capacity). Of P. ginseng users 44.3% reported positive treatment effects and 12.0% had experienced different side effects. With increase of age (p < 0.01) and at lower levels of education (p = 0.04), the use of ginseng or its analogues decreased. The better the users evaluated their health, the better they perceived the effect of P. ginseng preparations (p < 0.01). This study reported rather frequent use of P. ginseng and its analogues. P. ginseng could be seen in the treatment of conditions, where the use of local medicinal plants has not been established. Further research is needed to learn more about public knowledge and experiences about efficacy and safety of P. ginseng and its analogues.


A battery energy storage scheme to enable short-term dispatch commitment from a grid-connected wind-turbine generating power station is considered. Among the various types of energy storage medium, technical factors leading to the selection of battery are explained. The scheme utilizes two battery energy storage systems (BESS) in which the generated wind power charges one BESS while concurrently, the second BESS is to discharge power into the grid. The role of the two BESS interchanges when the BESS reaches specified state of charge/discharge. Furthermore, based on forecasted charging wind power and the monitored states of charge of the two BESS, the discharge power level from the generating station is determined and scheduled a few hours ahead. The dispatch scheme maximizes wind energy harnessed, achieved with the minimum number of the BESS switch-overs. The design thus prolongs the service life of the BESS. Numerical examples to demonstrate the performance of the scheme are also included.


There is lack of investigation capturing the complex mechanical interaction of tissue engineered IVD (intervertebral disc) constructs in physiologically-relevant environmental conditions. In this study, mechanical characterisation of anisotropic eletrospinning (ES) substrates made of polycaprolactone (PCL) was carried out in wet and dry conditions and viability of human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) seeded within double layers of ES PCL was also studied. Cyclic compression of IVD-like constructs composed of an agarose core confined by ES PCL double-layers was implemented using a bioreactor and the cellular response to the mechanical stimulation was evaluated. Tensile tests showed decrease of elastic modulus of ES PCL as the angle of stretching increased and at 60° stretching angle in wet, maximum ultimate tensile strength was observed. Based on the configuration of IVD-like constructs, the calculated circumferential stress experienced by the ES PCL double layers was 40 times of the vertical compressive stress. Confined compression of IVD-like constructs at 5% and 10% displacement dramatically reduced cell viability, particularly at 10%, although cell presence in small and isolated area can still be observed after mechanical conditioning. Hence, material mechanical properties of tissue-engineered scaffolds, composed of fibril structure of polymer with low melting point, are affected by the testing condition. Circumferential stress induced by axial compressive stimulation, conveyed to the ES PCL double-layer wrapped around an agarose core, can affect the viability of cells seeded at the interface, depending on the mechanical configuration and magnitude of the load.


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Field Programmable Gate Arrays generate algorithmic specific architectures that improve the code's FLOP per watt ratio. Such devices are re-gaining interest due to the rise of new tools that facilitate their programming, such as OmpSs. The computational fluid dynamics community is always investigating new architectures that can improve its algorithm's performance. Commonly, those algorithms have a low arithmetic intensity and only reach a small percentage of the peak performance. The sparse matrix-vector multiplication is one of the most time-consuming operations on unstructured simulations. The matrix's sparsity pattern determines the indirect memory accesses of the multiplying vector. This data path is hard to predict, making traditional implementations fail. In this work, we present an FPGA architecture that maximizes the vector's re-usability by introducing a cache-like architecture. The cache is implemented as a circular list that maintains the BRAM vector components while needed. Following this strategy, up to 16 times of acceleration is obtained compared to a naive implementation of the algorithm.


Abstract The tactics used by the food industry to influence public policy have been well documented, but there is little direct evidence of the rationale behind food industry actions and their level of support from within individual companies. This paper provides an analysis of an email exchange (from 2015) between former senior executives of Coca-Cola to gain insider insight into ways in which the food industry seeks to influence policy-makers as well as scientific evidence and opinion with respect to nutrition and non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention. The results provide direct evidence that senior leaders in the food industry advocate for a deliberate and co-ordinated approach to influencing scientific evidence and expert opinion. The paper reveals industry strategies to use external organisations, including scientific bodies and medical associations, as tools to overcome the global scientific and regulatory challenges they face. This evidence highlights the deliberate approach used by the food industry to influence public policy and opinion in their favour. It also demonstrates the importance of identifying and managing potential conflicts of interest when assessing the evidence base and when making policy decisions related to nutrition and NCD prevention.


The molecular basis of the membranolytic activity of the membrane attack complex (MAC) of complement was investigated. By using density gradient equilibrium ultracentrifugation, the binding of egg yolk lecithin to the isolated MAC and to its intermediate complexes and precursor proteins was measured. No stable phospholipid--protein complexes were formed with the MAC precursor components C5b--6, C7, C8, and C9. Stable complexes of phospholipid and protein were formed by C5b--7, C5b--8, C5b--9, and the MAC (C5b--9 dimer) and they exhibited densities of 1.2164, 1.184, 1.2055, and 1.2275 g/ml, respectively. The molar phospholipid/protein ratios for the four complexes were determined to be: C5b--7, 399:1, C5b--5, 841:1; C5b--9, 918:1; and C5b--9 dimer, 1460:1. Electron microscopy of the isolated phospholipid--protein complexes revealed no lipid bilayer structures. The magnitude of the phospholipid binding capacity of the MAC is consistent with the interpretation that the MAC forms phospholipid--protein mixed in micelles in lipid bilayers and biological membranes and thus causes formation of hydrophilic lipid channels.


Financial Forecast is an estimate of future financial outcomes for a company. A financial forecast is an economist's best guess of what will happen to a company in financial terms over a given time period. Data mining has made a significant role in the prediction techniques for financial applications. Technology such as data ware house and data mining has made a significant contribution for the prediction in the entire service sector of the organization .The Data mining techniques are used to extract hidden patterns, from large amount of financial data with the effective usage of sentiment features and opinion mining. The paper describes the effective usage of data mining predictive techniques for the financial applications.


An inverse filter for image processing can be realized holographically on a single photographic plate: the Fourier hologram recording arrangement is modified by attenuating the object and reference waves by an amplitude filter. Thereby the setup can be shortened and the adjustment is simplified.


: Experience in the treatment of 33 patients with unformed intestinal fistulas is discussed. The choice of the method for surgical management was determined by the localization of the fistulas, the possibility of their occlusion, and the severity of the patient's condition. Complex therapy included selective administration of antibacterial agents and extracorporeal detoxification by means of biohemosorption. Rational surgical tactics and complex treatment including extracorporeal detoxification in patients with unformed external intestinal fistulas made it possible to reduce the mortality rate from 33.4% to 21.2% (7 patients died).


The CIDOC-CRM standard indicates that common events, actors, places and timeframes are important in linking together cultural material, and provides a framework for describing them. However, merely describing entities in this way in two datasets does not yet interlink them. To do that, the identities of instances still need to be either reconciled, or be based on a shared vocabulary. The WW1LOD dataset presented in this paper was created to facilitate both of these approaches for collections dealing with the First World War. For this purpose, the dataset includes events, places, agents, times, keywords, and themes related to the war, based on over ten different authoritative data sources from providers such as the Imperial War Museum. The content is har-monized into RDF, and published as a Linked Open Data service. While generally basing on CIDOC-CRM, some modeling choices used also deviate from it where our experience dictated such. In the article, these deviations are discussed in the hope that they may serve as examples where CIDOC-CRM itself may warrant further examination. As a demonstration of use, the dataset and online service have been used to create a contextual reader application that is able link together and pull in information related to WW1 from e.g. 1914–1918 Online, Wikipedia, WW1 Discovery, Europeana and the Digital Public Library of America.


We have studied two monoclonal antibodies raised against crude fractions of membrane glycoproteins from adult mouse brain and found them to react with two carbohydrate epitopes expressed on several neural cell adhesion molecules. Other identified and unidentified glycoproteins from different cell types, organs and species were also recognized by these antibodies. Both epitopes are N‐glycosidically linked mannosidic or hybrid type oligosaccharides and co‐expressed on all the glycoproteins so far tested. In spite of their remarkable similarities, the glycan epitopes are different as shown by ELISA competition assays. In microexplant outgrowth and cell adhesion assays, both antibodies interfere with neural cell adhesion, migration, and neurite outgrowth. These observations, together with previous studies on the L2/HNK‐1 glycan (Künemund et al., 1988), indicate that adhesion molecules carry various carbohydrate epitopes mediating different cell interactions in in vitro assays.


AIM
To assess level of IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4 to complex of antigens of Bordetella pertussis in patients with whooping cough and healthy children and adults.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Levels of anti-pertussis IgG subclasses in sera of patients with pertussis and healthy children and adults were measured with solid phase immunoenzyme assay using peroxidase-conjugated monoclonal antibodies to human IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4.

RESULTS
In patients with pertussis, IgG1-IgG3-IgG2-IgG4 type of distribution of subclasses with predominance of IgG1 and IgG3 was revealed. In healthy children and adults the character type of subclasses distribution was IgG1-IgG2-IgG4 with absent or low level of IgG3.

CONCLUSION
Detection of specific IgG3 mainly in patients with pertussis allows to consider them as a reliable serological sign of pertussis infection.


We used the intracellular absorbance spectrum of the dye 4',5'-dimethyl- 5- (and -6-) carboxyfluorescein (Me2CF) to measure intracellular pH (pHi) in the isolated, perfused cortical collecting tubule (CCT) of the rabbit nephron. The incident spot of light was generally 10 micron in diameter, large enough to illuminate from two to six cells. No attempt was made to distinguish principal from intercalated cells. All experiments were carried out in HCO3- -free Ringer to minimize HCO3- transport. When cells were acid-loaded by briefly exposing them to Ringer containing NH+4 and then withdrawing the NH+4, pHi spontaneously recovered from the acid load. The pHi recovery was best fit by the sum of two exponentials. When the acid loading was performed in the absence of Na+, the more rapid of the two phases of pHi recovery was absent. The remaining slow phase never returned pHi to normal and was sometimes absent. Returning Na+ to the lumen had only a slight effect on the pHi recovery. However, when Na+ was returned to the basolateral (i.e., blood-side) solution, pHi recovered rapidly and completely. The apparent Km for basolateral Na+ was 27.3 +/- 4.5 mM. The basolateral Na- dependent pHi recovery was reversibly inhibited by amiloride. We conclude that the mechanism responsible for the rapid phase of pHi recovery is an Na-H exchanger confined primarily, if not exclusively, to the basolateral membrane of the CCT.


Pulmonary contusion represents a serious complication of chest trauma. Its management should include adequate oxygen therapy and ventilatory support. Monitoring of the patient's condition should be by repeated measurement of arterial blood gases; use of the Swan-Ganz catheter is seldom necessary. Broad-spectrum antibiotics are generally indicated but cortisone, cardiotonic drugs and diuretics are not usually required.


storage, recently investigated nanocomposites show promise in terms of high hydrogen uptake and release with enhancement in the reaction kinetics. Among several, carbonaceous nanovariants like carbon nanotubes (CNTs), fullerenes, and graphitic nanofibers reveal reversible hydrogen sorption characteristics at 77 K, due to their van der Waals interaction. The spillover mechanism combining Pd nanoparticles on the host metal-organic framework (MOF) show at room temperature uptake of hydrogen. Metal or complex hydrides either in the nanocomposite form and its subset, nanocatalyst dispersed alloy phases illustrate the concept of nanoengineering and nanoconfinement of particles with tailor-made properties for reversible hydrogen storage. Another class of materials comprising polymeric nanostructures such as conducting polyaniline and their functionalized nanocomposites are versatile hydrogen storage materials because of their unique size, high specific surface-area, pore-volume, and bulk properties. The salient features of nanocomposite materials for reversible hydrogen storage are reviewed and discussed. are two last most researched


Summary Krškopolje pig is a local Slovenian breed with black coat and white belt of variable width over the shoulders. Th e breed experienced serious bottle neck eff ect in the middle of the 20 th century followed by the introgression of diff erent breeds, some of them with the goal to preserve belted phenotype. Th e belt allele was assigned to the KIT proto-oncogene receptor tyrosine kinase ( KIT ) gene. A number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and structural variations on of the KIT locus were observed. Th e synonymous SNP rs328592739 in the KIT gene was reported as a marker for distinguishing meat of belted Cinta Senese pigs from meat of non-belted breeds. In the present study, the SNP rs328592739 in Krškopolje, Cinta Senese and Swäbisch-Hall belted pigs has been genotyped using PCR-RFLP approach. In Krškopolje pig the region surrounding SNP rs328592739 was also sequenced using Sanger sequencing. In addition, publicly available whole-genome sequencing data for pigs of 12 diff erent breeds and wild boar were analysed to obtain the sequence of KIT locus and its surrounding region in belted and non-belted pig breeds. Th e results show that SNP rs328592739 is not associated with white belt phenotype across diff erent pig breeds. However, the analysis revealed structural variations within the KIT locus which may be associated with belted phenotype in pigs.


With a recent surge of research on narcissism, narcissism questionnaires are increasingly beingtranslated and applied in various countries. The measurement invariance of an instrument across countries is a precondition for being able to compare scores across countries. We investigated the cross-cultural measurement invariance of three narcissism questionnaires (Brief Pathological Narcissism Inventory, B-PNI; Narcissistic Personality Inventory, NPI; and Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire, NARQ) and mean-level differences across samples from the United States (N = 2,464), the United Kingdom (N = 307), and Germany (N = 925). Overall, the B-PNI and NARQ functioned equivalently for US and UK participants. More violations of measurement invariance were found between Germany and the combined US and UK samples, and for the NPI. In the B-PNI and NARQ, Americans scored higher than individuals from the UK regarding agentic aspects (self-sacrificing self-enhancement, admiration), while Germans scored lower than both Americans and UK individuals regarding antagonistic (entitlement rage, rivalry) and neurotic (hiding the self, contingent self-esteem) aspects. More inconsistent results were found for NPI facets. When noninvariance was present, observed means yielded biased results. Thus, the degree of measurement invariance across translated instrument versions should be considered in cross-cultural comparisons, even with culturally similar countries.


Methylmercury (MeHg) production from inorganic mercury in natural environment leads to bioaccumulation in fish, putting human being under the risk of exposure. This study investigated the transformation of enriched stable isotope tracer, 199Hg2+, in sediment slurry of the Florida Everglades. Incubation experiments were conducted under four different laboratory conditions. The results suggest that methylation of mercury mainly happened under anaerobic condition, with microbial activity playing the major role. The relative methylation rate was determined to be 1% per day at the first few days, and then this transformation process slowed down. At the end of incubation experiment, totally around 20% of the isotope tracer 199Hg2+ was transformed to its methylated form, Me199Hg. This high potential of mercury methylation partially accounts for the contamination and bioaccumulation of MeHg in the relatively pristine Florida Everglades ecosystem.


Two leaks were discovered at a sulfur recovery unit in a refinery. The leaks were at pipe-to-elbow welds in a 152 mm (6 in.) (NPS 6) diam line, operating in lean amine service at 50 deg C (120 deg F) and 2.9 MPa (425 psig). Thickness measurements indicated negligible loss of metal, and the leaks were clamped. A year later, 15 additional leaks were discovered, again at pipe-to-elbow welds in lean amine lines. Further nondestructive testing located other cracks, giving a total of 35. These lines had been in service for approximately eight years. Investigation (visual inspection, hardness testing, and micrographic cross-sections) supported the conclusion that the failure was caused by lean amine SCC. It was considered unlikely that these pipe welds had received such a postweld heat treatment, although it is industry practice to postweld stress relieve piping and pressure vessels in lean amine service if the temperature is expected to be above 95 deg C (200 deg F). Recommendations included inspecting all welds using shear wave ultrasonic testing and postweld heat treating all welds in lean amine service.


When ash-forming oils or contaminated distillate oils are used as fuels in land-based, marine or aero gas turbines, the hot gas path components, mainly the partition vanes and the blades of the expansion turbine are subjected to the deposition of slags that are corrosive at high temperature due to their low liquidus temperature. This hot corrosion process - if not properly inhibited - entails a dramatic life reduction of the hot gas path parts. MgO is a traditional, efficient inhibitor. Recently, it has been found that NiO also suppresses the corrosiveness of the (Na,S,V) melts by trapping vanadium in a refractory vanadate (Ni3V2O8); this compound is friable and does not tend to accumulate on turbine blades. The use of inhibitors entails losses in both machine performance and availability. Moreover, other metals can interfere with the inhibition process. In particular, zinc and iron are often inadvertently introduced in gas turbines fuels during their transportation or storage and they can significantly interact with nickel. This paper distinguishes the interactions between NiO on one hand and both ZnO and Fe2O3 on the other hand in the general complex chemistry of ash. The thermochemical study of (Na,S,V) melts in presence of Ni confirms that nickel is a good "trapper" of vanadium oxide at high temperature. However, they also show that nickel can react with iron to form the very stable ferrite NiFe2O4 and a low melting point vanadate phase. On the contrary, the presence of zinc affects to a lesser extent the reactivity of NiO versus V2O5 despite the formation of Ni1-xZnxO solid solutions.


We prepared a new stable and water-soluble silicon compound. The potential of this silicon reagent for synthesis of multicomponent oxide materials via a solution based method was demonstrated by preparation of a (Y0.79Ce0.01Gd0.20)2SiO5 blue emission phosphor using a polymerizable complex method. Phase composition and fluorescence properties of the prepared material were compared against a series of reference samples prepared by either conventional solid state reaction or by a polymerizable complex method employing fumed silica and TEOS as the traditional silicon reagents. The use of the new water-soluble silicon compound allowed for preparation of a single phase (Y,Ce,Gd)2SiO5 material at reduced temperatures and its fluorescence intensity was considerably higher compared to the phosphors of the same composition prepared by the other methods.


In February 1937 Italians murdered between 20 to 30,000 Ethiopians over three days in Addis Ababa. Known locally as Yekatit 12, the massacre almost wiped out both the centre of colonial resistance and the country's intelligensia, and remains a hidden history for most Italians. Indeed, it is for most Europeans. Yet in 2012, a small town in Lazio, Affile, the birthplace of Marshall Rodolfo Graziani, a key figure in the massacre, used regional funds to create a memorial to this fascist Viceroy of Italian East Africa. The ensuing global criticism of this local heritage-making revealed the faultlines not just in Italy's heritage sector, but between public memory and the transnational entanglements of heritage-making in the present. The Addis Ababa massacre and the Affile monument are emblematic of how colonial memory is 'staged', and illustrates a failure of contemporary heritage-making to live up to its promise of social transformation, and to further the social inclusion of the country's residents. This is despite a series of efforts, in film-making, local activism, theatre and literature - Italy's 'postcolonial turn' - to problematise the country's cultural projection of itself. Italy's colonial pasts also matter within a broader European context of slow institutional recognition and limited attempts to represent colonial pasts in reflective ways in the continent's major memory institutions. This article uses ongoing fieldwork with diaspora communities and heritage professionals to critically map the contours of Italy's public memory of colonialism.


This work reports the design of a fool proof on-chip test pattern generator (TPG) for very large scale integration circuits. The TPG is designed to generate pseudorandom test patterns without a given prohibited pattern set (PPS). It ensures desired pseudorandom quality of the generated test patterns and maintains fault coverage close to the figures achieved with a conventional maximal length linear feedback shift register/cellular automaton (CA)-based TPG. The theory of vector subspace generated by a CA (Chaudhuri, 1997) has provided the foundation of this design. The proposed TPG does not incur any additional cost for the avoidance of PPS.


The geological record of SE Canada spans more than 2.5 Ga, making it a natural laboratory for the study of crustal formation and evolution over time. We estimate the crustal thickness, Poisson's ratio, a proxy for bulk crustal composition, and shear velocity (Vs) structure from receiver functions at a network of seismograph stations recently deployed across the Archean Superior Craton, the Proterozoic Grenville, and the Phanerozoic Appalachian provinces. The bulk seismic crustal properties and shear velocity structure reveal a correlation with tectonic provinces of different ages: the post‐Archean crust becomes thicker, faster, more heterogeneous, and more compositionally evolved. This secular variation pattern is consistent with a growing consensus that crustal growth efficiency increased at the end of the Archean. A lack of correlation among elevation, Moho topography, and gravity anomalies within the Proterozoic belt is better explained by buoyant mantle support rather than by compositional variations driven by lower crustal metamorphic reactions. A ubiquitous ∼20 km thick high‐Vs lower crustal layer is imaged beneath the Proterozoic belt. The strong discontinuity at 20 km may represent the signature of extensional collapse of an orogenic plateau, accommodated by lateral crustal flow. Wide anorthosite massifs inferred to fractionate from a mafic mantle source are abundant in Proterozoic geology and are underlain by high‐Vs lower crust and a gradational Moho. Mafic underplating may have provided a source for these intrusions and could have been an important post‐Archean process stimulating mafic crustal growth in a vertical sense.


We developed a new thin rod-lens arthroscope (DRK scope-21) to achieve highly reliable arthroscopy of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) under local anesthesia in an outpatient setting. In this study, the accuracy of this arthroscope for diagnosis of osteoarthritis (OA) was experimentally evaluated in 21 rabbit knee joints: 17 with OA and 4 without OA.The diagnostic accuracy of this arthroscope for OA based on stereomicroscopic findings was verified by histopathological examination and was compared with the accuracy of MRI and soft X-ray examination. The diagnostic sensitivity of the arthroscope was 100%, the specificity was 80.0%, and the accuracy was 95.2%. These values were higher than those of MRI (sensitivity, 50.0 %; specificity, 40.0 %; accuracy, 52.4%) or soft X-ray examination (sensitivity, 43.8%; specificity, 40.0 %; accuracy, 47.6%).In addition, the arthroscopic diagnosis of the severity of OA was compared with the stereomicroscopic diagnosis, considered the optimal standard. The severity of OA was classified into the following 3 stages: normal, fibrillation, and exposure of subchondral bone. The rate of agreement between arthroscopic diagnosis and stereomicroscopic diagnosis was 90.5%(19/21 joints). In the remaining 9.5%(2/21 joints), there was overdiagnosis by arthroscopy.In conclusion, the present findings show that the DRK scope-21 is highly accurate for diagnosis of OA, with a very low risk of failing to detect OA.


To date, one-dimensional ZnO micro/nanostructures have been attracting much attention for wide potential applications due to their unique electrical, piezoelectric, optoelectronic, and photochemical properties. The overall objective of this dissertation is to grow various ZnO micro and nanostructures using a novel microwave thermal evaporation-deposition approach, to explore the application of ZnO nanostructures in gas sensing, and to fabricate and characterize multifunctional ZnO nanowires-polyimide nanocomposite. Therefore, three parts were included in this study: (1) A novel thermal evaporation-deposition method using microwave energy was investigated. Batch of ZnO structures including microtubes, microrods, nanotubes, nanowires and nanobelts have been successfully synthesized in the microwave system with a unique source materials-substrate configuration and a desirable temperature profile. These products are pure, structurally uniform, and single crystalline. The photoluminescence (PL) exhibits strong ultraviolet emission at room temperature, indicating potential applications for short-wave light-emitting photonic devices. (2) Piezoelectric crystal langasite bulk acoustic wave (LGS) resonator based high temperature gas sensor was fabricated. Ordered ZnO nanowire arrays were grown on the langasite resonator as the sensitive layer by two-step hydrothermal method at low temperature. The gas sensor coated with ZnO nanowire arrays exhibited good sensitivity to NO2 and NH3. The response of the sensor is fast due to the large surface area of ZnO nanowires. In addition, this work demonstrates that the combination of nanowire arrays with langasite thickness shear mode resonators could provide a promising high temperature gas sensing platform with both high sensitivity and enhanced response speed. (3) The nanocomposite with controlled alignment of ZnO nanowires in the polyimide matrix was achieved using self-alignment method and external electric field assisted method. For the the self-alignment process, the morphologies of the designed nanocomposites were dramatically influenced by the viscosity of the polymer and the geometrical structure of ZnO nanowires. For the nanocomposite prepared by the electric field assisted alignment, the density and the alignment degree of ordered ZnO nanowires significantly depended on the magnitude and the frequency of the applied ac electric field. The DC offset voltage had strong effect on the deposition sites of nanowires. The resultant nanocomposite devices exhibited great dielectric constant and conductivity enhancement at room temperature due to the interfacial effect between ZnO nanowires and the polymer matrix. These nanocomposites combining the superb properties of ZnO nanowires with the polyimide matrix provide a smart material candidate for multifunctional applications that require self-sensing and self-actuation capabilities. The self-alignment method and electric field assisted alignment method also provide a bright route to combine superb properties of nanomaterials with the lightweight, flexibility, and manufacturability of dielectric polymers for future generations of multifunctional materials.


The EM algorithm is a popular tool for maximizing likelihood functions in the presence of missing data. Unfortunately, EM often requires the evaluation of analytically intractable and high-dimensional integrals. The Monte Carlo EM (MCEM) algorithm is the natural extension of EM that employs Monte Carlo methods to estimate the relevant integrals. Typically, a very large Monte Carlo sample size is required to estimate these integrals within an acceptable tolerance when the algorithm is near convergence. Even if this sample size were known at the onset of implementation of MCEM, its use throughout all iterations is wasteful, especially when accurate starting values are not available. We propose a data-driven strategy for controlling Monte Carlo resources in MCEM. The proposed algorithm improves on similar existing methods by: (i) recovering EM's ascent (i.e., likelihood-increasing) property with high probability, (ii) being more robust to the impact of user defined inputs, and (iii) handling classical Monte Carlo and Markov chain Monte Carlo within a common framework. Because of (i) we refer to the algorithm as "Ascent-based MCEM". We apply Ascent-based MCEM to a variety of examples, including one where it is used to dramatically accelerate the convergence of deterministic EM.


We discuss a longitudinal study where data for many subjects are collected at irregular intervals. The study is a randomized trial of HIV infected subjects and the response variable of interest is serum neopterin. The mean of the outcome variable, taken over patients in each treatment group, is assumed to follow a smooth curve. Piecewise cubic polynomials with a moderate number of knots are used to model the curves. A general parametric form is assumed for the covariance structure. Maximum penalized likelihood estimation is used to smooth the over-parameterized curves. Statistical inference for the mean curves, including confidence bands and hypothesis tests, is discussed. Two approaches, one using a Bayesian interpretation of the penalized likelihood and the other based on the asymptotic distribution of the maximum penalized likelihood estimates, are discussed and contrasted. The properties of the confidence bands obtained from these two approaches are evaluated by examining their coverage rates in a simulation study.


With smart devices, particular smartphones, becoming our everyday companions, the ubiquitous mobile Internet and computing applications pervade people's daily lives. With the surge demand on high-quality mobile services at anywhere, how to address the ubiquitous user demand and accommodate the explosive growth of mobile traffics is the key issue of the next generation mobile networks. The Fog computing is a promising solution towards this goal. Fog computing extends cloud computing by providing virtualized resources and engaged location-based services to the edge of the mobile networks so as to better serve mobile traffics. Therefore, Fog computing is a lubricant of the combination of cloud computing and mobile applications. In this article, we outline the main features of Fog computing and describe its concept, architecture and design goals. Lastly, we discuss some of the future research issues from the networking perspective.


The presence of elemental elements in addition to beauty improves the quality of space, and this quality affects the human mind and affects the sense of place and collective memories of citizens. Urban planners should use urban elements that promote the transfer of urban identity to the city, which helps citizens to be satisfied and improve the quality of urban environments. Urban elements play an important role in fostering urban identity and empowering citizens, and should be designed in such a way that their readability is consistent with the events and events of the citizens and their plans are coordinated. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assess the role of urban elements in identifying part of urban space, which is a case study in Rasht city. The research method in this research is descriptive-analytic with a mixed approach. The results of the surveys show that in the city of Rasht, a handful of elements are seen in the squares and in some urban spaces, which can be seen by clearly seeing their images in a collection of multiplicity, conceptual split, and inconsistency. He saw the idea with a common goal. Also, the poor performance of some of these elements is not even very visually appealing.


One of the major premises of P2P systems is to enable fully decentralized collaborative functionalities for supporting work teams and P2P communities. Within collaborative systems, tracking and awareness are vital aspects for a successful collaboration. Despite the experience of using awareness in web-based applications, there has been little research in endowing P2P collaborative systems with generic, application-independent awareness mechanisms to fully support collaboration. In this work we present a distributed event-based awareness approach for P2P groupware systems. Unlike centralized approaches, several issues arise and need to be addressed for awareness in P2P groupware systems, due to their large-scale, dynamic and heterogenous nature. In our approach, the awareness of collaboration will be achieved by using primitive operations and services that are integrated into the P2P middleware. As a first step, we identify the major requirements for such an event-based awareness approach, including dynamics of events, genericity of events, lightweight mechanisms, automation via the use of rules, as well as event transformation, presentation, propagation and notification services in order to fully support timely awareness of collaboration activity. We then propose an abstract model for achieving these requirements and we discuss how this model can support awareness of collaboration in mobile teams.


EMBO Reports (2018) e46909

The first formal lessons I had in writing scientific papers occurred midway through my undergraduate degree. The class was called Writing for the Life Sciences and was taught by an old, grizzled biologist who appeared to have spent one too many seasons in the field and who had very strict views on how to write a research article. The course material contained all the standard fixings. For example, we learnt how to write a clear and succinct abstract, what to include in an introduction, the difference between results and discussion, and when to use the past or present tense.

> … the writing of a research paper can involve as much time, effort and innovation as the research itself, and […] science can be as much an artistic endeavour as one of scholarship and precision.

What I remember most from these lessons is the three‐page handout we were given on the first day, containing bullet‐pointed rules—commandments—on proper scientific writing. Avoid first‐person pronouns at all costs. Use the passive voice to stress what was done. Save flare and flourishes for your creative writing class. Never use abbreviations for That is , It is, Is not, etc. When possible, always use acronyms for scientific words. Do not, under any circumstances, be imaginative or have any fun was not one of the bullet points, but it was certainly implied.

That handout would haunt me in the years to come. It followed me to graduate school in a beat‐up binder labeled useful resources and eventually made its way onto the corkboard above my office desk. And there it sat, like Poe's raven, scrutinizing and disrupting my every scientific sentence. Those bullet points became a firing squad directed at my productivity. Are there too many adverbs in my abstract? Is the opening …


Around the 1950s an explosive population growth started in the Third World. Parallel with the population growth a global network grew up advocating population control and limited population growth. Sweden had a unique place in that network through a pioneering role promoting the issue in the UN organization. During the 20th century Sweden was a pioneer country in terms of initiatives for population control. Ceylon family planing pilot project was something new in a time when other donors considered family planning be too controversial area for bilateral aid projects. The aim of this thesis is to answer "What is the affinity between the ideological principles behind the Swedish welfare policy and the Swedish initiatives to population control?" and "Does Sweden express a unique overpopulation discourse influenced by the ideological principles behind the Swedish welfare policy?"In the thesis I examine whether it is an affinity between the Swedish welfare ideology and the Swedish initiative to population control. I do this partly by examining how Alva Myrdal – one of the ideological architects behind the swedish welfare state – implemented ideological principles in an international political context and partly how the welfare state's ideological principles took expression in the swedish family planing aid. I also investegating whether it is possible to interpret an overpopulation discourse shaped by the experiences of Swedish welfare policy and what in that case characterizes it. By using the concept "governmentality" I distinguishes different key actors in the swedish family planing organisation and thereby I problematize the concept overpopulation discourse. The thesis demonstrates fragmented perceptions within the swedish family planing organisation where a prophylactic line inspired by the welfare ideologies end up getting preference based on its benefits to get political legitimacy. The prophylactic line promoted to change peoples preferences towards population control instead of using coercion which has ideological affinity with the Swedish welfare policy. One of my conclusions is that local circumstances in South Asia like high rate of illiteracy and " widespread apathy" (not my expression) among the locals made key actors in the family planing aid sceptical towards the efficency of using profylactic policies in the third world. That partly explains the swedish family planing aid shift towards suporting more coercive methods during the 1960s.Keywords: Alva Myrdal, Ceylonproject, Welfare ideology, Population control, govermentality, overpopulation discourse, 20th century.


Farm Smart 2000 is a decision support system' (DSS) for managing crop production on the Prairies. Farm Smart 2000 provides "single-window" access to 3 different tiers of decision support utilizing the Internet, expert systems' and integrated multiple agents3. Farm Smart 2000 provides support for most management aspects of crop production including variety selection, machinery selection, planting, crop rotations, fertility, all facets of weed management, disease management, residue management, harvesting, soil conservation, and economics for the crops of wheat, canola, barley, peas, and flax. In its most sophisticated tier of decision support, Farm Smart 2000 utilizes multiple agents, integrating them such that they cooperate together to solve complex interrelated crop production problems. A global structure is used for achieving the required communication and coordination among the agents resulting in an "open system", enabling Farm Smart 2000 to easily extend its problem-solving capabilities by integrating additional agents. Farm Smart 2000 has been developed using a bottom-up4 problem-solving approach, where underlying onfarm data and agronomic knowledge are the driving forces behind farm-specific problem and planning solutions. To accomplish this, a customized global production Record Keeping System has also been developed.


More complex methods of outpatient anesthesia, including I.V. sedation and general anesthesia, have become commonplace. Patient selection and preoperative evaluation are discussed, as well as the choice of who will deliver anesthesia. Appropriate outpatient facilities and monitoring are reviewed. The authors' favorite methods of anesthesia, caveats, and suggestions are presented, as well as prevention and treatment of anesthesia problems and emergencies.


The sucrose transporter gene AtSUC5 was studied as part of a programme aimed at identifying and studying the genes involved in seed maturation in Arabidopsis. Expression profiling of AtSUC5 using the technique of real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) showed that the gene was specifically and highly induced during seed development between 4 and 9 days after flowering (DAF). Analysis of the activity of the AtSUC5 promoter in planta was consistent with this timing, and suggested that AtSUC5 expression is endosperm specific, spreading from the micropylar to the chalazal pole of the filial tissue. To demonstrate the function of AtSUC5, the corresponding cDNA was used to complement a sucrose uptake-deficient yeast mutant, thus confirming its sucrose transport capacity. To investigate the function in planta, three allelic mutants disrupted in the AtSUC5 gene were isolated and characterized. A strong but transient reduction in fatty acid concentration was observed in mutant seeds 8 DAF. This biochemical phenotype was associated with a slight delay in embryo development. Taken together, these data demonstrated the role of the AtSUC5 carrier in the nutrition of the filial tissues during early seed development. However, additional sugar uptake systems, which remain to be characterized, must be functional in developing seeds, especially during maturation of the embryo.


Abstract The Swedish East India Company (SEIC) has been traditionally seen as nothing but a peculiar and exotic adventure in Sweden's eighteenth-century history. Hence, only limited attention has been paid to the SEIC's international role, its relationship with other chartered companies, and to the development of international markets for colonial goods. The paper focuses on this unexplored chapter in the company's history. More specifically, it looks into the SEIC's re-exports of Chinese commodities to Western European markets. Although the Swedish operation was limited compared to that of the other East India companies, the SEIC was an important tea trader on the world markets. The major part of the tea imports was re-exported through merchant networks to other European countries, especially to the Austrian Netherlands and Holland. Through illicit trade, part of the SEIC's tea went to Great Britain. The paper shows in detail how the transactions between Gothenburg, Ostend, Gent and Antwerp were organized. The examples are mainly drawn from the business correspondence of the Flemish merchants.


: Ultrasonic luminescence of blood plasma was studied in 428 cases of cancer, precancer and non-tumor diseases of the stomach and other viscera. The authors were the first to establish a relatively short duration of sound-luminescence of plasma in gastric cancer. Those alterations were considered indicative of neoplasm. Disease was misdiagnosed in 15.5% of cases of gastric pathology: cancer was not detected in 12.7% whereas tumor was erroneously diagnosed in 18.5% of patients with complicated gastric ulcer and other non-tumor pathology. Application of sound-luminescent method in combination with X-ray examination assured reliable diagnosis of gastric cancer in 95.1%. The method appeared instrumental in diagnosing other cancers as well.


Substrate effects on the measurement of thin film mechanical properties by nanoindentation methods have been studied experimentally using a model soft film on hard substrate system: aluminum on glass. The hardness and elastic modulus of aluminum films with thicknesses of 240, 650, and 1700 nm sputter-deposited on glass were systematically characterized as a function of indenter penetration depth using standard nanoindentation methods. Scanning electron and atomic force microscopy of the hardness impressions revealed that indentation pileup in the aluminum is significantly enhanced by the substrate. The substrate also affects the form of the unloading curve in a manner that has important implications for nanoindentation data analysis procedures. Because of these effects, nanoindentation measurement techniques overestimate the film hardness and elastic modulus by as much as 100% and 50%, respectively, depending on the indentation depth. The largest errors occur at depths approximately equal to the film thickness.


Viruses are ubiquitous and abundant in aquatic systems, yet knowledge of virus-bacteria interactions in thermally stratified water columns of large lakes is limited. We explored the possible factors that affect viral abundance, infection rate, and the relative importance of viral lysis to heterotrophic nanoflagellate (HNF) grazing as a mortality factor of bacterioplankton in the upper (euphotic zone, 5 m) and deeper (aphotic zone, 50 m) layers of the large mesotrophic Lake Biwa,Japan. Data obtained for a full seasonal cycle indicated that bacterial abundance was the best predictor (r2 = 0.85) of viral abundance (range 1.0 × 1010 to 4.1 × 1010 viruses l-1), yielding an average virus:bacteria ratio of 8.2 ± 1.3 (SD). Variation in the frequency of visibly infected cells (range 1.8 to 4.1%) was largely accounted for by the linear combination of bacterial production and HNF abundance (r2 = 0.81, p < 0.001, n = 24). The percentage of daily bacterial production destroyed by viruses was estimated to be high (52.7 ± 16.2%) in the upper layer during the stratification period, which was on average 3.0-fold greater than the percentage of bacterial production consumed by HNF in that layer. In contrast, the corresponding value in the deeper layer was moderate (13.6 ± 5.2%), being 0.6- fold lower than the percentage of bacterial production consumed by HNF. Our data suggest that carbon and nutrient flux patterns controlled by viruses and HNF vary with depth in thermally stratified water columns of Lake Biwa.


Summary Unconventional reservoirs can only be economically exploited via massive stimulation by means of the creation of multiple hydraulic fractures. These systems are mechanically sensitive due to the presence of the hydraulic fractures (which tend to close during depletion), as well as natural and induced shear fractures which constitute the so-called stimulated reservoir volume (SRV). Another factor that contributes to the induced mechanical deformation is the ultra-low permeability of the reservoir rocks. This induces extremely steep pressure gradients in the vicinity of the hydraulic fractures which translate into large mechanical forces, able to locally modify the in-situ stresses as well as other effects such as modification to the formation permeability. Numerical simulation of hydrocarbon recovery in this kind of reservoirs must consider two-way coupling of flow and geomechanics. Another challenge in the simulation of stimulated unconventional reservoirs relates to the localization of pressure gradients around hydraulic fractures. The most efficient way to model and simulate flow in those regions relies on the use of local grid refinement (LGR). LGR, however, poses additional challenges in the implementation of the coupling of flow and geomechanics. In this paper, we propose that this coupling can be achieved by applying a higher integration order to the mechanical equations of LGR gridblocks. Flow equations are usually discretized following a two-point approximation with cell-centered properties. Mechanical equations are solved at the quadrature points which in a Q1 approximation correspond to the corners of the blocks while Q2, Q3 and so on, add additional nodes which correspond to the corners of the LGR cells. The order of the finite element and the LGR discretization can be chosen in a consistent manner. Next, an iterative coupling scheme is used until convergence is achieved. In this paper, we implemented this idea and show that the coupled LGR formulation satisfactorily replicates the reference solutions obtained using a fine grid to represent the volume. The method is validated by comparing the simulation of several examples with analytical and fine-grid solutions.


Gastrin has been shown to stimulate growth of human pancreatic cancer, and does so in an autocrine fashion. In this study, a relationship between gastrin mRNA, peptide, and gastrin receptors were studied in a variety of human pancreatic tissues. Low levels of gastrin mRNA were detected in normal human pancreas by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, but gastrin peptide was not present using radioimmunoassay. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells and tissues had 34- to 530-fold higher gastrin mRNA and peptide levels than normal pancreas. Gastrin mRNA and peptide levels were 8,000- and 15,000-fold, respectively, greater in a pancreatic islet cell gastrinoma tumor than in normal pancreas. In comparison to age-matched controls, fasting gastrin plasma levels were 2-fold higher in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma and 131-fold greater in subjects with gastrinomas. Receptor binding assays revealed that pancreatic cancer cells had a binding capacity 200-fold greater than gastrinoma tumors, and 10-fold greater than normal pancreas; no differences in K(d) values were recorded between specimens. In contrast to the normal pancreas and gastrinoma tumor, the aggressive behavior of pancreatic adenocarcinoma may be attributed to the autocrine production of gastrin and to the presence of its growth-related receptor.


High power laser systems have a number of uses in a variety of scientific and defense applications, for example laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) or laser-triggered switches. In general, high power optical fibers are used to deliver the laser energy from the source to the target in preference to free space beams. In certain cases, such as nuclear reactors, these optical systems are expected to operate in ionizing radiation environments. In this paper, a variety of modern, currently available commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) optical fiber designs have been assessed for successful operation in the transient gamma radiation environment produced by the HERMES III accelerator at Sandia National Laboratories, USA. The performance of these fibers was evaluated for high (~1 MW) and low (<1 W) optical power transmission during high dose rate, high total dose gamma irradiation. A significant reduction in low optical power transmission to 32% of maximum was observed for low OH- content fibers, and 35% of maximum for high OH- fibers. The high OH- fibers were observed to recover to 80% transmission within 1 μs and 100% transmission within 1 ms. High optical power transmission losses followed generally similar trends to the low optical power transmission losses, though evidence for an optical power dependent recovery was observed. For 10-20 mJ, 15 ns laser pulses, around 46% was transmitted coincident with the radiation pulse, recovering to 70% transmission within 40 ns of the radiation pulse. All fibers were observed to completely recover within a few minutes for high optical powers. High optical power densities in excess of 1 GW/cm2 were successfully transmitted during the period of highest loss without any observed damage to the optical fibers.


The author applies the concept of supervenience in contemporary metaphysics to Marx's foundational proposition that the relations of production in a society "correspond�? to the underlying forces of production. The author proposes that this correspondence relation be regarded as Marxian supervenience. The author draws on Gerald Cohen's analytical breakdown of Marx's theory of history and on Jaegwon Kim's formulations of strong and weak supervenience to show how the concept of strong supervenience is most useful for interpreting Marx's primacy thesis. While no position is advanced here about whether the theory of historical materialism is true or not, the author provides a tool that can be used for developing a clearer conception of Marx's foundational construct. By employing the concept of Marxian supervenience as an interpretive tool, it might be possible to uncover critical problems or advantages for the theory; it might also be possible to develop a clearer understanding of how to find evidence for the truth or falsity of historical materialism. The results of such efforts could find practical application in the fields of political philosophy, political science, legal science, political history, ethics and sociology.


The role of residue M232 in the C-terminal helix of human GLUTATHIONE TRANSFERASE T1-1 Michael D. Ianni Advisor: University of Guelph Dr. P. David Josephy Advisory Committee: Dr. Cezar Khursigara Dr. Gordon M. Kirby Glutathione transferases (GSTs) catalyze the glutathione (GSH) conjugation of various xenobiotics and endogenous compounds. GSTs play a pivotal role in cellular defence, as they are the main contributors to the inactivation of genotoxic compounds. A primary determinant for divergent substrate acceptance among GSTs appears to be the electrophilic binding site or "Hsite". Shokeer et al. (2010) reported that replacement of residue methionine 232 by alanine in mouse GST T1-1 greatly altered the enzyme's catalytic activities. The corresponding residue in human enzyme is also methionine, but, in other mammalian GST T1-1 orthologues, arginine (horse; Equus caballus) or leucine (pig; Sus scrofa) residues are found at this position. The goal of the present study aims to investigate the role of residue 232 (located in the C-terminal α-helix) in the structure and function of human GST T1-1 protein. Three variants (M232R, M232L and M232W) were constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli. The effects of these mutations on protein expression, catalytic activity and structure were tested. Variants M232R and M232L results were generally unremarkable, showing only minor differences from the wild-type protein. However, variant M232W showed significant decreases in protein expression, had reduced specific activities and showed substantial changes in the CD spectrum. The spectral shift was consistent with the interpretation that the C-terminal α-helix unwinds into a random-coil conformation. Unlike horse and pig, no mammalian species is known to have a GST T1-1 enzyme with a tryptophan residue at position 232. Results from this study shows that residue 232 does not critically affect the structure and function of human GST T1-1.


Audit is an integral part of ensuring the quality proofing any process. Specific aspects of the Practice Education Programme in the BSc Physiotherapy, TCD were audited in 2011, by means of anonymous questionnaire distributed to the Practice Educator's. Questionnaire development was informed by Guidelines for Good Practice in Practice Education. The questionnaire sought information concerning the educators duration of experience supervising students, their clinical area of expertise, students level of preparedness for the placement and communication with the Practice Education Team. Data were analysed using PASW Version 18 and qualitative theme identification with results presented in aggregate format. The response rate was 57%, of which 78% were from Practice Tutor sites. Eighty-one percent of respondents had greater than 24 months experience supervising students, only 10% had less than 6 months. The majority of respondents (>80%) rated high overall satisfaction - with the practice education process, access to and communication with the Practice Education Team. Qualitative themes generated included: differences in supervision or learning requirements dependent on year of study, curriculum content, professionalism and information dissemination encompassing the website. While supporting documentation was available to Practice Educators many were unsure where to locate it. All practice education stakeholders (Practice Educators, Physiotherapy Managers, Students, HEI staff, Practice Education Team) identified from the audit process were included in the feedback loop. Quality measures implemented as a result of the audit were: a) dissemination of the audit results by means of a report to the Physiotherapy Managers b) streamlining of relevant documentation to website c) use of clinical opinion to inform the curriculum d) issues of professionalism awareness raised with students through a discussion forum. Feedback from PE's is an essential element of quality assurance in Practice Education. This process provided a voice for Practice Educators who remain central to the provision of Practice Education. Future audits could include feedback from Physiotherapy Managers to gain a broader view of the Practice Education Process in the clinical sites.


"From Sensation to Society" tracks the evolution of Mary Elizabeth Braddon's critique of Victorian marriage in the early phase of her long and prolific novel-writing career. The study begins with Braddon's two famous sensational novels, "Lady Audley's Secret" (1862) and "Aurora Floyd" (1863); it ends with her first novel of "society", "The Lady's Mile" (1865). In the novels of this period, Braddon proved herself to be a relentless critic of the patriarchal powers and privileges that determined the conditions of marriage for women. As she depicted in the lurid excesses of sensationalism, at its worst marriage for women amounted to a sentence of cruel and unjust imprisonment in a world of insanely distorted values. Subsequent novels rigorously dissect the contradictions in the Victorian ideal of middle-class marriage and dramatize how the conditions of marriage undermine marital happiness and result in the compromise of marital fidelity. An advocate of moderate reform, Braddon offers alternative models of marriage in which companionate harmony prevails. Natalie Schroeder and Ronald A. Schroeder are Professors in the English department at the University of Mississippi.


ABSTRACT Universal antiretroviral therapy (ART) for pregnant and postpartum women in sub-Saharan Africa has required adaptations to service delivery. We compared national policies on differentiated HIV service delivery with facility-level implementation, and explored provider and user experiences in rural Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa. Four national policies and two World Health Organization guidelines on HIV treatment for pregnant and postpartum women published between 2013 and 2017 were reviewed and summarised. Results were compared with implementation data from surveys undertaken in 34 health facilities. Eighty-seven in-depth interviews were conducted with pregnant and post-partum women living with HIV, their partners and providers. In 2018, differentiated service policies varied across countries. None specifically accounted for pregnant or postpartum women. Malawian policies endorsed facility-based multi-month scripting for clinically-stable adult ART patients, excluding pregnant or breastfeeding women. In Tanzania and South Africa, national policies proposed community-based and facility-based approaches, for which pregnant women were not eligible. Interview data suggested some implementation of differentiated services for pregnant and postpartum women beyond stipulated policies in all settings. Although these adaptations were appreciated by pregnant and postpartum women, they could lead to frustrations among other users when criteria for fast-track services or multi-month prescriptions were not clear.


Corporate social responsibility is a key point of intersection at the junctures of business, society and
government. It has first been conceived of as voluntary or self-regulatory measures that address, at least in part, complex issues that entail from corporate activity, whether they relate to direct or indirect forms of externalities or indeed the provision of proactive 'good' for social causes and objectives. Global corporate activities are increasingly related to the provision of global public or
collective goods,such provision no longer confined to public sector actors. This is arguably because the existence of the needs for global public goods is due to the externality-creating actions on the part of corporations that consume planetary resources and often fail to internalise social cost associated with their activities. Corporations suffer from a collective action problem in refraining
from creating such externalities (as their competitors may persist in doing so) as well as redressing them- both are phenomena of the tragedy of the commons. Global public goods include environmental protection, sustainability in the use of planetary resources, adequate standards and
protection of certain humanity conditions such as human rights, labour rights and communities,development, addressing the sub-optimal institutions in political economy (such as tax havens and corruption), and social transformations (such as consumerism).

Voluntary corporate responsibility may not be able to keep pace with the intensity and range of social demands, not to mention that the incentives that drive corporations often diverge from social expectations. The needs for these global public goods arise in a polycentric space of actors and
stakeholders including states, international organisations and other public and private sector
stakeholders.

States and law-makers are not necessarily able to command this space5 as the transnational context for global multi-national corporations and the complexity of issues that affect a wide range of stakeholders increasingly elude state-based authority and mechanisms.

Polycentric governance is an important paradigm du jour for analysing these issues. The importance
of polycentric governance is reflected in the development of reflexive means of governance in law and policy to be discussed shortly. However, commentators increasingly observe a 'juridification' of corporate social responsibility and the extension of regulation and legalisation (in various forms).

This is largely due to increasing pressure for change in corporate behaviour over years of slow achievements in the voluntary efforts led by the corporate sector. A 'new' regulatory technique, which is found in the EU Non-financial Reporting Directive 2014 implemented in the UK Companies
Act 2006, and to a lesser extent in the UK's Modern Slavery Act 2015 seems poised to draw together the polycentric forces of governance in a new way and yet leverage upon the power of state-backed regulation to achieve changes to corporate behaviour.

We suggest that such a new regulatory technique brings about new opportunities for corporate behaviour to be shaped by social input. This can incrementally result in cultural and behavioural change at corporations. Although this technique may appear 'weak' as corporate law is not significantly reformed, intrusive or 'command'-forms of hard law need not be superior. What matters is whether behavioural change can be secured. This article makes a positive case for the
social implications of the new mandatory disclosure obligation, although we acknowledge that this is
not a silver bullet. The article does not take the view that other forms of hard law reforms such as in
relation to corporate objective, directors' duties etc8 are unnecessary. The complementarity between the case put forward in this article and other reform options is a subject for another discussion.

In this article, Section A will discuss briefly the context for 'juridification' or 'legalisation' of issues of
corporate social responsibility. Section B discusses the provisions in the EU Non-financial Disclosure Directive (and the equivalent in the UK Companies Act) and how procedural regulation for corporations is introduced via a form of mandatory disclosure. Section C discusses the UK's Modern Slavery Act regime which employs less legalisation and compares this to the non-financial disclosure regime. Section D draws together a few broad critical reflections and concludes.


Dealing with uncertainty and complexity in social-ecological systems is profoundly dependent on the ability of natural resource users to learn and adapt from ecological surprises and crises. This paper analyzes why and how learning processes are affected by strategic behavior among natural resource users and how social conflict is affected by social and ecological uncertainty. The claim is that social conflict among natural resource users seriously inhibits the possibilities of learning and adaptation in social-ecological systems. This is done combining insights from political science, experimental economics, and social-psychology and an analytical case study elaborating social conflict and institutional change in Swedish water management institutions. This paper also discusses the crucial role the institutional context plays in defining the outcome of learning processes in Swedish water management institutions and hence highlights previously poorly elaborated political aspects of learning processes and institutional change in social-ecological systems.