Within the project, a six week travel survey has been conducted among 230 persons from 99 households in Frauenfeld and the surrounding areas in Canton Thurgau from August until December 2003. The design built on the questionnaire used in the German project Mobidrive, but developed the set of questions further. All trip destinations of the survey have been geocoded. Moreover, route alternatives for private motorised transport and public transport have been calculated. Moreover, the collected data has been compared with the National Travel Survey 2000 (Mikrozensus zum Verkehrsverhalten 2000), whereas differences in terms of sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents and particularly their travel behaviour couldn't be observed except for an higher proportion of GA and Halbtax ownership. For example, the average trip frequency per person and day is almost the same. In order to check for possible fatigue effects of the amount of reported trips, several GLM (Generalised Linear Model) and poisson regression models have been estimated besides descriptive analysis. No fatigue effects could be observed in the data set. The continuous support to the respondents and the increasing routine of the self responsible reporting of the respondents were consequently sufficient to restrain potential fatigue effects in the multi-week, longitudinal travel survey. Besides descriptive analysis of the data set, the focus has been on analysis of temporal stability and variability of travel behaviour by hazard models. The analyses of the variability and of the rhythms as well as that of the innovation have revealed that travel behaviour is highly conditioned by habits and routines. Nevertheless, new trip destinations are added continuously, particularly for leisure travel. The majority of trips have been planned at least one or more days in advance. Moreover, it could be shown that the rhythms and therefore the temporal structure are partly dependent on the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, although it is just one determinant within the demand structure. The activities themselves can be divided into groups with daily, bi-daily and weekly rhythms and without a temporal structure. In addition, the spatial dimension and distribution of trip destinations as well as the extent of activity spaces over the reporting period has been analysed through confidence ellipses, a two-dimensional version of the well-known confidence interval, and kernel density estimates of activity density. The data base generated within the project is an important prerequisite to better understand and model the complex connection of transport supply, activity planning and execution as well as destination, mode and route choice. With this knowledge it is possible to better assess the effects of measures, particularly those which have a direct impact on daily routines.


In this paper we describe an approach to coping with parallelism in symbolic applications. Our purpose is to build a parallel symbolic system suited to homogenous and heterogenous Distributed Memory Parallel Systems. In particular we describe the design criteria and the implementation strategy for a Distributed Lisp System (DLISP) that relies on a client/server model and uses a functional level mechanism to synchronize and to control the processes. The intraprocess and interprocess management are obtained using the notion of continuation of a computation for process context switching and resuming. In this way this system does not rely on any control feature outside the LISP language. The DLISP system is structured in three main layers. The hardware heterogeneity is encapsulated using the Parallel Virtual Machine software package to implement the actual communication among processes.<<ETX>>


From abstract: Mica has been mined in New Hampshire since 1803. Production from 1908 through 1939 has aggregated 13,326,990 pounds of sheet and punch mica, an annual average of 416,470 pounds. Since 1931 production has been below this average, because of economic conditions rather than depletions. The mica-bearing pegmatites of the Grafton and Keene districts occur mostly in sillimanite-mica schist adjacent to large areas of biotite gneiss. The pegmatite bodies range from a fraction of an inch to more than 200 feet in thickness; most of them are crosscutting, and about 75 percent strike northeast. Mica occurs sporadically in most of them but where present in commercial quantities it is localized in one or more of the following zones: (1) In quartz-plagioclase-muscovite zones 2 to 10 feet from the walls of large pegmatite bodies, (2) in or near quartz masses that occur mostly near the centers of the bodies, (3) in thin dikes 5 to 15 feet thick or in similar offshoots from larger bodies, (4) within large pegmatite bodies, in more or less tabular streaks or zones composed principally of plagioclase, quartz, and muscovite.


In Germany, a growing number of health targets has been adopted in the last years by various actors. While health targets are a useful instrument of governance, the priority setting and a respective redistribution of resources have to be legitimised in the cause of their advantages and disadvantages for population groups. The involved sciences including ethics can support decision-making, but not fully justify decisions. Therefore, decisions on health targets must be made in a transparent and participative process. In spite of a growing number of health targets, the lack of targets in health policies is to be criticised. Within the health targets, those measures assigned to curative medicine and prevention have a greater weight than health promotion. Health promotion should follow the WHO Ottawa-Charter and be embedded in the concept of "capabilities". Under these conditions, a stronger consideration of health promotion in the health target process would be desirable. However, the present actor constellations within health target processes make such a direction improbable. The struggle around capabilities and individual freedom occurs through, in and about institutions of the civil society as well as political and legal institutions. To restrict the discussion about public health and health promotions to an juxtaposition of individual freedom and state paternalism minimises societal and social restrictions of individual freedom as well as the possibility of a safeguard and enlargement of individual freedoms through political and legal institutions.


The advent of X-ray free electron lasers is opening the soft X-ray spectral regime for investigation of ultrafast dynamics in isolated molecules. This spectral range allows for K-edge spectroscopy at the most abundant elements in organic molecules, C, N, and O. We are highlighting the opportunities for understanding excited state dynamics using site and element specificity, which are characteristics of core hole spectroscopy. Available spectroscopic schemes can be categorized into "direct" methods investigating the interaction between the X-ray photon and the molecule, and "indirect" methods focusing on the relaxation of the molecule via Auger processes. We review recent pioneering studies using "indirect" methods and point out future opportunities for studies employing "direct" methods.


This study has been created to analyze current stage of tourism development in Republic ofCroatia, as well as to show prospective ways for improved tourism and economic development in the future. The focus is on both macroeconomic and microeconomic .aspects. The study shows how to use some ofthe bestmanagement practices system dynamics, systems thinking, breakthrough thinking, benchmarking and delivering profitable value in scenario planning for Croatian tourism and economic development. The transition process brings about numerous challenges to every aspect of life, but especially in economics. Government administrators, economists, tourism planners, corporate managers and university professors can find the best way to deal with these challenges in such increasingly complex environment. Traditional styles and practices in both knowledge delivery and implementation of actions are often limited when the focus is on ambiguous and interrelated problems within complex systems. A new systematic and organized approach should be established for fostering the problem solving, critical thinking and scenario planning skills. The idea is to familiarize those in charge of tourism and economy development in Croatia with a new approach, derived from best management practices. Breakthrough thinking shows that the same or very similar practices can be used inmanagement of an enterprise, a city, region or a whole country. Hands-on experience through implementation ofthe best practices should eventually result in increased creativity and implementation ofthe new ideas. It will also help to


With streaming media services are widely used on Internet, the users of video on demand (VOD) increased rapidly, so there are more demands on quality of service (QoS) of streaming media data transmission. To guarantee the quality of real-time transmission for streaming media data, M-RSVP has been designed on the application layer of OSI model by RSVP principle, which is a resource scheduling mechanism suitable to self-developed PPVOD system on P2P network. M-RSVP has defined the resources and messages, the working principle of M-RSVP resource scheduling has been designed in PPVOD system, and implemented it in PPVOD system. Through experiments and analysis, and compared with the former system, the performance of PPVOD system was improved, so current PPVOD system was optimized.


Measurements of nearly isotropic turbulence downstream of an active grid are performed as a high-Reynolds-number ($Re_{\lambda} \approx 720$) update of the Comte-Bellot & Corrsin (1971) data set. Energy spectra at four downstream distances from the grid, ranging from $x/M=20$ to $x/M=48$, are measured and documented for subsequent initialization of, and comparison with, large-eddy simulations (LES). Data are recorded using an array of four X-wire probes which enables measurement of filtered velocities, filtered in the streamwise (using Taylor's hypothesis) and cross-stream directions. Different filter sizes are considered by varying the separation between the four probes. Higher-order statistics of filtered velocity are quantified by measuring probability density functions, and hyper-flatness and skewness coefficients of two-point velocity increments. The data can be used to study the ability of LES to reproduce both spectral and higher-order statistics of the resolved velocity field. In this study, the Smagorinsky, dynamic Smagorinsky, and dynamic mixed nonlinear models are considered. They are implemented in simulations of decaying isotropic turbulence using a pseudospectral code with initial conditions that match the measured energy spectra at $x/M=20$. Overall, it is found that the various LES models predict accurate low-order statistics of resolved scales in isotropic turbulence during the decay. For the spectral cutoff filter, the dynamic Smagorinsky model simulates the energy spectrum more closely at smaller wavenumber, and the dynamic mixed nonlinear model has closer agreement at large wavenumber. For the graded physical-space (Gaussian) filter, the dynamic mixed nonlinear model provides the best spectral results. The three models considered here underpredict the intermittency of longitudinal velocity increments at small distances. For transverse velocity increments, the models' predictions are closer to the measured values, but differ among themselves, with the mixed nonlinear model predicting reduced intermittency. Comparisons of probability density functions of subgrid-scale dissipation and stresses from simulations and experimental data reveal pronounced differences among the different models.


Installation work as part of the event 'Migration Song'
MAMU Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
Event opened by the presentation of a text by Yugoslavian
writer and artist Szombathy Balint

Interview 'Csalad-Barat', DUNA TV, Budapest, Hungary
(Boldizsar Csernak-Risko, Christy Johnson, and Conor Kelly)

"As a building type, both rural and urban, the grain elevator has provided a source of inspiration for architects and artists alike. From the European architects who first noticed them at the turn of the century to the generations of American artists who still document them, all have continued to renew the meaning of the elevator through their work. American artists, in particular, developed a certain way in which they recorded the elevator. They emphasized the elevator's context, whether rural farmland or urban industrial landscape, and its identity as an American object, thereby setting themselves apart from the Europeans who were interested primarily in the building's form – a quality that transcends cultural boundaries. Both groups of artists, however, strove to extract the spiritual essence of the grain elevator, without altering its integrity as an object, and transformed it from a common vernacular structure to a building of iconic stature." Aldo Rossi

BREAKING THE PLAIN takes as its centre an image of a model – a representation of the generalised form of the rural wood elevator that has been lost over time. The family albums accessible to Johnson offered up numerous and varied photographs of elevators built by her grandfather. His movements across the Great Plains can be plotted via inscription and recall. Working from one of the images in the archive, Johnson has created a flat-pack, collapsible, portable elevator that provides an opportunity for 'performances' and narrative constructions. The monumentalized and iconic structure of the elevator is reduced to a domestic scale – photographic and architectural sizing provide the arena for showing, telling, journeying. Filmed on super 8, the flat-pack is assembled and flattened alongside a recording of Johnson and her father discussing the location order of the constructions. This work opens up a triangular dialogue between image, object, and the body and sets out to explore how the vernacular document becomes a site for re-enactment, and draws attention to the instability and fragility of structuring memory.


This report is intended to serve as a sourcebook to aid decisionmakers as they create environments conducive to the development of rural financial markets. As a sourcebook, it explores both the traditional and new approaches that governments have taken to rural finance. First, the report outlines the traditional approach to rural finance, which relied heavily on supply-led, state-- owned agricultural credit institutions. Second, it highlights how widespread, urban-based policies impeded rural development and the promotion of rural financial markets. These policies included overvalued exchange rates, inflexible price controls on food produce, underinvestment in rural infrastructure, and protection of domestic industries against import competition. The report then illustrates the emerging new approach, which focuses on creating a favorable policy environment in terms of the macroeconomy, agricultural and financial sectors, rural development, and the legal and regulatory framework. Moving to the institutional level, the report offers two primary criteria -- outreach and self-sustainability -- as the bases for assessing the performance of rural financial institutions. It reviews and analyzes the modes of operation and performance of three successful rural institutions in Bangladesh, Thailand, and Indonesia. These three case studies provide insights for the design of future interventions.


Queueing systems with redundancy have received considerable attention recently. The idea of redundancy is to reduce latency by replicating each incoming job a number of times and to assign these replicas to a set of randomly selected servers. As soon as one replica completes service the remaining replicas are cancelled. Most prior work on queueing systems with redundancy assumes that the job durations of the different replicas are i.i.d., which yields insights that can be misleading for computer system design. In this paper we develop a differential equation, using the cavity method, to assess the workload and response time distribution in a large homogeneous system with redundancy without the need to rely on this independence assumption. More specifically, we assume that the duration of each replica of a single job is identical across the servers and follows a general service time distribution. Simulation results suggest that the differential equation yields exact results as the system size tends to infinity and can be used to study the stability of the system.


Fractures in rock cause seismic anisotropy because they are oriented mechanical discontinuities that may occur in sets with preferred orientations. However, anisotropy from orientation can be altered or masked by gradients in stress and fluids. Such gradients in stress occur naturally in the Earth or are induced through anthropogenic activities. For instance, stress increases with depth in the Earth because of lithostatic forces, and in a given region, local gradients in horizontal stresses can arise through the tectonic history of the region (e.g., folding, faulting, etc.). In addition, gradients in fluid distributions as well as pore pressures occur when fluids are either injected or withdrawn from a rock formation.


In this paper, we investigate the mechanism of output increase by inserting additional permanent magnets in salient-pole synchronous machines. The machines are modeled not only by finite element methods but also by a simple nonlinear magnetic circuit in order to express the assist effects of permanent magnets by simple theoretical expressions. The no-load saturation curves obtained by the finite element method and the magnetic circuit are compared with those of measurements in order to confirm the validities. It is clarified that the accuracy of the proposed magnetic circuit is nearly identical to that of the finite element method. Furthermore, the mechanism of the output increase by the permanent magnets is revealed by the theoretical expressions derived from the magnetic circuit equations.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of a new, straw-based fibre manufacturing technology integrated to bioenergy and biofuels production. The process is based on a novel hot water treatment and subsequent mechanical refining, both of which are performed at a high temperature. Soda process, ethanol production, and chemical defibration based on hot water treatment and subsequent alkaline peroxide bleaching were selected as references. The idea is to utilise the fibre fraction for packaging and the dissolved solids and the formed fines for energy. The investment costs of this process are significantly lower than those of a soda process. Additionally, a chemicals recovery process is unnecessary. Furthermore, the process offers an attractive alternative for biogas production. However, the assessment showed that the process could only be economical in some terms. Subsidies for investment would probably be needed to promote the acceptance of this environmentally safe process.


A tornado-like vortex flow has been investigated for both effective local ventilation from the floor of a room and local heat transfer control without the circumferential thermal diffusion. A relatively stable axisymmetrical tornadolike vortex is generated in a water tank by a vertically uniform swirl. The overall flow structure of the tornado-like vortex has been categorized into three regions: the outer free vortex region, the inflow layer (the Ekman boundary layer), and the vortex tube. The present tornado-like vortex flow was investigated experimentally and also agrees qualitatively with this flow structure. In the free vortex region, the tangential velocity distribution shows a Rankine-like vortex and has good agreement with an approximate formula characterized by the radius and the maximum tangential velocity of the forced vortex. A numerical analysis using an axisymmetrical laminar flow model is carried out. To eliminate the effect of swirl supplying methods, a virtual cylindrical surface of the radius (Rout) is considered, where an axisymmetrical flow is established. All experimental and computational data of the flow characteristics of the tangential velocity profile in the free vortex region are well-arranged by the Reynolds number based on the flow rate and the swirl Reynolds number based on Rout. The flow structure in the Ekman boundary layer is characterized by the tangential velocity profile in the free vortex region and the height where the radial velocity is half its maximum value. The heat transfer characteristics of the heated plate with uniform heat flux located on the bottom are investigated both experimentally and computationally. The forced convective heat transfer of the tornado-like swirling flow is handled in the same way as the laminar forced convective heat transfer on a flat plate, by using the maximum radial velocity component in the Ekman boundary layer.


The purpose of this work was to observe the effects of early application of digitalis on heart function, hemodynamics, and laboratory indexes in patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) complicated with heart failure after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI). We recruited 54 patients with AMI complicated with heart failure after undergoing emergency PCI and randomly divided them into control and experimental groups. The experimental group was treated by digitalis preparation after reperfusion while the control group received saline injection. Left Ventricular End-Diastolic Diameter (LVEDD) increased in both groups, but there were no significant differences between the two groups. Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LVEF) was higher in the experimental group than in the control group. Heart Rate (HR), in the experimental group was lower than those in the control group after medication. Stroke Volume (SV) was higher in the experimental group than that in the control group 1 h after medication. The changes in Central Venous Pressure (CVP), Pulmonary Artery Systolic Pressure (PASP), and Cardiac Index (CI) were not significantly different between the two groups. The values of Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP), Creatine Kinase isoenzyme MB (CK-MB), and Troponin I (TnI) improved significantly in both groups after surgery. The incidence of ventricular arrhythmia and mortality rate 30 d post-surgery were similar in the two groups. Overall, the heart function and hemodynamic indexes of patients with AMI complicated with heart failure after PCI can be significantly ameliorated after intervention with digitalis drugs without increasing the adverse events.


A review and analysis of existing cadaver head impact data has been conducted in this paper. The association of the Head Injury Criterion with experimental cadaver skull fracture and brain damage has been investigated, and risk curves of HIC versus skull fracture and brain damage have been developed. Limitation of the search for the maximum HIC duration to 15ms has been recommended for the proper use of HIC in the automotive crash environment.


Supreme Court citation of the opinion of foreign courts, a phenomenon common worldwide, is much more controversial in the United States than abroad. This controversy is difficult to explain solely with reference to the judicial-activism and separation-of-powers arguments that usually frame debates over the propriety of foreign citations. Supreme Court opinions are replete with references to extra-legal sources; why single out foreign case law as deserving of special condemnation? The answer, this essay suggests, derives in large part from the prominence of European case law from the civil-law tradition among the cited foreign precedents. As such, the current controversy stands as a reincarnation of 19th-century divisions over the transplantation of continental-inspired legislation. Throughout the 1800s, key jurisprudential figures (e.g., Kent, Lieber, Carter, and Dillon) argued that civil-law-based legal reforms, such as codification and social legislation, conflicted with the tenets of American constitutionalism. The current foreign-precedent controversy is, in many ways, a mirror image of older debates. In the 19th- and early 20th-century story, the main mechanism for the transplantation of continental-modeled law into the United States - and hence the main threat for those worried about foreign influence - was legislation. Opponents asserted that there was an inherent antagonism between American constitutionalism and legislation inspired by continental political systems. Today, the roles have reversed, with some judges serving as agents of legal transplantation (notably from Europe) and some legislators seeking to guard the gates with campaigns against foreign citations, among other tools. This thesis finds support in the prominence of references to core differences between Europe and America within the current debate. The essay offers two such examples. The first is arguments advanced on behalf of a congressional resolution condemning citations to foreign law, and the second is Justice Scalia's response in Printz v. United States to Justice Breyer's comments on the structure of federalist institutions on the continent.


The productivity of Ria de Aveiro is sustained by the large quantities of dissolved inorganic nutrients, mainly from freshwater inputs (e.g. agricultural drainage) and organic-rich anthropogenic point sources (e.g. urban sewage). The concentration of silicate and nitrate showed a similar seasonal variation and conservative behaviour, since 63 to 96% of the total variance of the concentration of silicate and 88 to 96% of the total variance of the concentration of nitrate were explained by salinity. On the other hand, the concentration of nitrite, ammonium, and phosphate did not seem dependent on the freshwater inputs, showing a random distribution with salinity. Nutrient concentrations were always higher in the two inner areas than at the outer boundary of the system. Chlorophyll a showed higher concentrations throughout spring and summer, and also in the inner areas. The annual variation of N:P, N:Si and phytoplankton biomass suggests that there is a large excess of nitrate. The results suggest that within a system with low overall eutrophic condition (OEC) and low susceptibility (US-NEEA index), the quality status of different areas within the system can vary (Applying the EU-WFD criteria proposed for the trophic classification of the Baltic Sea). This work also suggests that in coastal lagoons such as Ria de Aveiro, where the quality status of certain specific areas may vary, these particular areas should be taken under consideration for specific monitoring programmes and management measurements, particularly with regard to anthropogenic point sources.


Model-free off-policy actor-critic methods are an efficient solution to complex continuous control tasks. However, these algorithms rely on a number of design tricks and hyperparameters, making their application to new domains difficult and computationally expensive. This paper creates an evolutionary approach that automatically tunes these design decisions and eliminates the RL-specific hyperparameters from the Soft Actor-Critic algorithm. Our design is sample efficient and provides practical advantages over baseline approaches, including improved exploration, generalization over multiple control frequencies, and a robust ensemble of high-performance policies. Empirically, we show that our agent outperforms well-tuned hyperparameter settings in popular benchmarks from the DeepMind Control Suite. We then apply it to less common control tasks outside of simulated robotics to find high-performance solutions with minimal compute and research effort.


The range of antisecretory preparations used by a gastroenterologist now includes a new reliable preparation. Nexium, which allows solving the problem of optimization of treatment of patients with acid-dependent diseases.


Currently, optical networks provide the highest bandwidth among all the other networking technologies. Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) is a networking scheme that makes use of optical channels lying in the C-band of the optical spectrum to provide data rates of up to 40Gbps. In current DWDM technology, a channel separation, as low as 25 GHz, is used to provide up to 160 optical channels. In this paper, we use the VPItransmissionMaker 7.1, powerful simulation software provided by VPIsystems, Inc., to implement and test an optical network schematic under various noise environments. This software, with its user friendly interface, facilitates the implementation of a variety of networks including optical networks. VPItransmissionMaker 7.1 is easy to use but also proficient in simulating various types of networks and offering highly accurate results.


We isolated Sindbis virus (SINV) from the enzootic mosquito vectors Culex torrentium, Cx. pipiens, and Culiseta morsitans collected in an area of Sweden where SINV disease is endemic. The infection rate in Cx. torrentium mosquitoes was exceptionally high (36 infections/1,000 mosquitoes), defining Cx. torrentium as the main enzootic vector of SINV in Scandinavia.


OBJECTIVE
To report on data collected during on-site audits of source documents in the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB).

DESIGN
A retrospective review of audit reports in four audit cycles.

SETTING
A cooperative group of institutions conducting clinical trials in cancer treatment.

PARTICIPANTS
Patients taking part in clinical trials at collaborating CALGB institutions, members of the CALGB Data Audit Committee, and group chairmen of CALGB.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
The results of 691 institutional audits conducted by the CALGB in 1982 through 1992 with comparisons of main CALGB institutions vs affiliates.

RESULTS
In four full reviews of all participating institutions in the CALGB, 3787 patients have had their on-site medical records compared with data submitted to the CALGB Data Management Center. Compliance with federal regulations for oversight by an institutional review board improved from a deficiency rate of 28.0% among the main institutions and 49.6% of the affiliate institutions in the first audit cycle to respective figures of 13.3% and 28.2% in the fourth cycle. Consent form deficiencies also dropped overall from 18.5% in the first cycle to 3.9% in the fourth. Patient eligibility was verified by auditors in 94.5%, and assessment of tumor changes in response to treatment was verified in 96.4% in the fourth cycle; both figures were only slightly lower in the first cycle. Two instances of scientific impropriety were discovered for a rate of only 0.28% of all audits. Both occurred prior to 1984, and none have occurred since. Major protocol deviations in drug dosing have held steady at about 11% over four audit cycles. Over the 11-year period of audits, three main institutions and 96 affiliate institutions have discontinued CALGB membership due solely, or at least partly, to unfavorable audit results.

CONCLUSION
Scientific improprieties have occurred very rarely in clinical trials conducted by the CALGB. Protocol compliance in assessing patient eligibility and tumor responses has been high. Attention to administrative matters of consent forms, institutional review board approval, and ancillary data submission has measurably improved in the CALGB, which is at least partly due to the pressure from this on-site peer review of investigator performance.


The operation of two wheelers frequently encounters off-road terrain comprising loose particles of sand and soil, which setup three-body abrasive wear phenomena affecting the tire life. To evaluate the response of two-wheeler tires on such terrains, the dry abrasive wear behavior of two-wheeler tires was experimentally determined using a three-body wear test apparatus. Three different mixtures of sand and granite dust of varying grit size, 100, 200, and 300 µm, were employed to represent the abrasive cluster, typical of the varying roughness on off-road terrains. Taguchi's L27 (33) orthogonal array was applied to analyze the specific wear rate as a response to three parameters—load, speed, and road roughness—separately for front and rear two-wheeler tires. Variation of hardness and wear pattern observation for the front and rear tires were carried out to oversee the surface deterioration. A numerical model based on abrasive grit-tire surface interaction was developed for comparison with the experimental results.


"East End I888" documents in minute detail the social, political, and economic life in the notorious slums of East London during the reign of Queen Victoria. The setting for Jack the Ripper's atrocities, East End was synonymous with crime, filth, disease, and the dregs of humanity. W. J. Fishman focuses on a single year, one century ago and one century after the storming of the Bastille. Poignant accounts of homeless families choosing starvation rather than submitting to the inhumanity and separation of the workhouse are contrasted with lively reports of entertainment in music halls and "penny gaffs" or freak shows, where Joseph Merrick, The Elephant Man, was discovered. Providing numerous excerpts from contemporary newspapers, police records, workhouse journals, novels, medical reports, church sermons, and political debates, Fishman illuminates a slice of life in Victorian England. William J. Fishman is Professor of Political Studies at Queen Mary College, University of London.


Chronic inflammation precedes the majority of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases. We investigated the chemopreventive potential of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), an essential donor for all methylation reactions in the cell, at the late precancerous stage of HCC development using the Mdr2-knockout (Mdr2-KO, Abcb4-/-) mice, a model of inflammation-mediated hepatocarcinogenesis. Previously, we revealed down-regulation of the genes regulating SAM metabolism in the liver of these mice at the precancerous stages. Now, we have supplied Mdr2-KO mice at the late precancerous stage with SAM during either a short-term (17 days) or a long-term (51 days) period and explored the effects of such supplementation on tumor development, DNA methylation and gene expression in the liver. The short-term SAM supplementation significantly decreased the number of small tumor nodules, proliferating hepatocytes and the total DNA methylation level, while it increased expression of the tumor suppressor proteins Mat1a and p21. Surprisingly, the long-term SAM supplementation did not affect tumor growth and hepatocyte proliferation, while it increased the total liver DNA methylation. Our results demonstrate that the short-term SAM supplementation in the Mdr2-KO mice inhibited liver tumor development potentially by increasing multiple tumor suppressor mechanisms resulting in cell cycle arrest. The long-term SAM supplementation resulted in a bypass of the cell cycle arrest in this HCC model by a yet unknown mechanism.


Link prediction in signed social networks is challenging because of the existence and imbalance of the three kinds of social status (positive, negative and no-relation). Furthermore, there are a variety types of no-relation status in reality, e.g., strangers and frenemies, which cannot be well distinguished from the other linked status by existing approaches. In this paper, we propose a novel Framework of Integrating both Latent and Explicit features (FILE), to better deal with the no-relation status and improve the overall link prediction performance in signed networks. In particular, we design two latent features from latent space and two explicit features by extending social theories, and learn these features for each user via matrix factorization with a specially designed ranking-oriented loss function. Experimental results demonstrate the superior of our approach over state-of-the-art methods.


An eye-in-hand system visually tracking objects can fail when the manipulator encounters a kinematic singularity or a joint limit. A solution to this problem is presented in which objects are visually tracked while the manipulator simultaneously avoids kinematic singularities and manipulator joint limits by moving in directions along which the tracking task space is unconstrained or redundant. A manipulability measure is introduced into the visual tracking objective function, providing an elegant and robust technique for deriving a control law that visually tracks objects while accounting for the configuration of the manipulator. Two different tracking strategies, one using a standard visual tracking strategy and the other using the newly proposed strategy, are experimentally compared on an actual hand/eye system. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the new method by showing that the tracking region of a manipulator tracking objects with planar motion can be greatly increased.


The primary process in the cleaning of hard surfaces is the adsorption of the active substance of the detergent at the interfaces: liquid/gas, liquid/liquid, liquid/solid. This primary step in the cleaning process induces secondary processes which in turn are responsible for the soil removal from the surface of the substrate. The first requirement for a cleaning effect is that the dirt and the substrate be well wetted by the cleaning solution as a result of a reduction in surface tension and of the adsorption at the solid/liquid interface. The further secondary processes which effect the removal of dirt vary considerably, depending on the type of dirt (e.g. oils, pigments). In the case of oily and greasy dirt, rolling-up penetration, formation of mixed phases, emulsification and solubilization are of importance. For pigments, the surface pressure of the adsorption layer and the electrostatic repulsion are the determining factors. The processes of pigment dispersion, emulsification and solubilization are, in addition, extremely important for the stabilization of the dirty wash bath and the prevention of deposits on the substrate. The essential active substances of the detergents are surfactant and complexing agents, the first being unspecifically adsorbed by hydrophobic interactions, and the latter specifically by polar interactions. They influence one another mutually and are responsible for an optimal cleaning effect when they occur in suitable mixing ratios; the special constitutional characteristics of the individual surfactant and complexing agents, must also be considered.


Generally, marination time at home industry of dried meat "jerky" in NTB province was conducted up to 18 hours at room temperature, which promote the growth of foodborne pathogen. This research was aimed to determine the effective and efficient marination time to produce a good quality of jerky. A previous study showed that 2.5% of liquid smoke Grade 1 was recommended to be used in traditional jerky processing. Therefore, the concentration was used for marination of sliced meat in traditional spices for 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 hours at room temperature. Data analyses were conducted using ANOVA. The results indicated that marination time has significant effect on the chemical qualities (water, protein content and pH), however no significant effect was observed on the ash content. In addition, a hedonic test exhibited that marination time influenced the color, taste and flavor of the traditional jerky. However, it had no effect on the jerky's texture. Direct plating analyses indicated that marination time influenced the number of total microbes (<1.0 x 10 2 (CFU/gram), coliform and molds (<1.0 x 10 1 CFU/gram). In conclusion, the best traditional jerky quality was resulted from 3 hours of marination.  The jerky had 11.77% of water content; 4.66% of ash; 48, 54% of protein and pH of 5.5. In general, 3 hours marination time exhibited a good acceptance on the parameter of SNI 01-2908-1992, i.e. color ( black towards brownish ), texture (biteable) and flavor (smoky flavor/barbeque) as well as, safe for consumption.


With the development and implementation of device-based therapeutic interventions to decrease renal and systemic nerve activity in patients with resistant hypertension, there has been an increase in research dealing with the role of the sympathetic nervous system in hypertension. These interventions have produced substantial decreases in blood pressure in patients wherein pharmacological treatments, including agents which inhibit the effects of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system, have failed serves to confirm and reassert the essential role of the sympathetic nervous system in hypertension. This review will encompass recent publications dealing with the sympathetic nervous system and hypertension, focusing on those recently published in Hypertension .

### Obesity-Related Hypertension

Although there has been a debate as to whether sympathetic activation is a cause or consequence of obesity, the studies noted below support the view that it is the obesity that leads to sympathetic activation. The importance of this sympathetic activation for the development of the hypertension is supported by the finding that renal denervation prevents the development of obesity hypertension in the dog.

Studies have now focused on the developmental phase of obesity hypertension regarding the renal sympathoexcitation. In rabbits fed high-fat diets, body weight, plasma insulin and leptin concentrations, mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and renal sympathetic nerve activity were all increased after 1 week.1 Mean arterial pressure and body weight continued to increase over 3 weeks of high-fat diet, whereas heart rate and renal sympathetic nerve activity did not change further. Arterial baroreflex control of renal sympathetic nerve activity was attenuated from the first week of the high-fat diet. Excitatory responses to air jet stress diminished over 3 weeks of high-fat diet. Resumption of normal diet normalized glucose, insulin, leptin, and heart rate, but body weight, visceral fat content, mean arterial pressure, and renal sympathetic nerve activity remained elevated. Increased renal sympathetic nerve activity …


Objectives: To determine if socio-demographic, medical and radiological variables have an impact on the risk of developing post-traumatic agitation in patients with mild complex to severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). In addition, determine prognosis using the Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS-E), length of stay (LOS) and orientation at discharge of agitated patients with TBI. Methods: A retrospective observational study of all 778 patients admitted to the Montreal General Hospital, a tertiary specialized trauma centre, following a TBI that occurred between 2013 and 2015. Data was collected from the national trauma registry and TBI program database. Independent variables collected were socio-demographic, clinical, and neurological information. Dependent variables were LOS in days, non-pharmacological treatment, GOS-E at discharge, and discharge destination. Results: 55 patients (7.1%) suffered from post-traumatic agitation. The group with agitation had a significantly higher proportion of men, psychiatric history and suffered in a greater proportion a moderate TBI. The median GCS was significantly lower and post traumatic amnesia was longer in subjects with agitation. A higher percentage of patients with agitation were transferred to long-term care (LTC) facilities.


This paper describes the implementation of Screffva, a computer system written in Prolog that employs a parallel corpus for the automatic generation of bilingual dictionary entries. Screffva provides a lemmatised interface between a parallel corpus and its bilingual dictionary. The system has been trialled with a parallel corpus of Cornish-English bitext. Screffva is able to retrieve any given segment of text, and uniquely identifies lexemes and the equivalences that exist between the lexical items in a bitext. Furthermore the system is able to cope with discontinuous multiword lexemes. The system is thus able to find glosses for individual lexical items or to produce longer lexical entries which include part-of-speech, glosses and example sentences from the corpus. The corpus is converted to a Prolog text database and lemmatised. Equivalents are then aligned. Finally Prolog predicates are defined for the retrieval of glosses, part-of-speech and example sentences to illustrate usage. Lexemes, including discontinuous multiword lexemes, are uniquely identified by the system and indexed to their respective segments of the corpus. Insofar as the system is able to identify specific translation equivalents in the bitext, the system provides a much more powerful research tool than existing concordancers such as ParaConc, WordSmith, XCorpus and Multiconcord. The system is able to automatically generate a bilingual dictionary which can be exported and used as the basis for a paper dictionary. Alternatively the system can be used directly as an electronic bilingual dictionary.


Consider a scenario in which K users and a jammer share a common spectrum of N orthogonal tones. Both the users and the jammer have limited power budgets. The goal of each user is to allocate its power across the N tones in such a way that maximizes the total sum rate that he/she can achieve, while treating the interference of other users and the jammer's signal as additive Gaussian noise. The jammer, on the other hand, wishes to allocate its power in such a way that minimizes the utility of the whole system; that being the total sum of the rates communicated over the network. For this noncooperative game, we propose a generalized version of the existing iterative water-filling algorithm whereby the users and the jammer update their power allocations in a greedy manner. We study the existence of a Nash equilibrium of this noncooperative game as well as conditions under which the generalized iterative water-filling algorithm converges to a Nash equilibrium of the game. The conditions that we derive in this paper depend only on the system parameters, and hence can be checked a priori. Simulations show that when the convergence conditions are violated, the presence of a jammer can cause the, otherwise convergent, iterative water-filling algorithm to oscillate.


This paper lays the foundation for a diagnostic system that improves its performance by deriving symptom-fault associations from an underlying causal model and then utilizes those relationships to impose further structure upon the "deep" model. A qualitative version of sensitivity analysis is introduced to extract the implicit symptom-fault information from a set of local constraints. Parameter aggregation triggered by this new information then simplifies diagnosis by forming a more abstract causal representation. The resulting diagnostician thus employs both an experiential and a first-principle approach, where in this case "experiences" are compiled directly from first-principles. Key issues include the roles of knowledge compilation and abstraction in refining qualitative models of physical systems.


Moringa oleifera is known for its nutritional and therapeutic potential. This potential is linked to the chemical composition whose variability according to the ecological characteristics and development processes (from harvesting to packaging) can be significant. The influence of parameters such as altitude, weather conditions (temperature, humidity, precipitation), parts of the plant used as well as the influence of the processes for extracting active compounds, the quality of the finished product and/or its maturity level can be apprehended by statistical studies of analytical data. The ultimate goal is to use spectroscopy to ensure the quality control and traceability of different M. oleifera samples. Preliminary results on the mineral contents of Moringa plant parts (leaf, stem, bark and flower) show a differentiation depending on the geographical origin (arid zone or wetland). The use of spectroscopic technics associated to chemometric treatments allowed the differentiation of plant parts (leaf, stem and flower) on the basis of their chemical composition and gave informations on the quality of the process (ratio leaf/stem in a powder of dry material or water content for example). Water content of leaves is an important parameter during harvesting, drying, storage or industrial processing for the evaluation and the control of spoilage risks if leaves are used as food commodity. Sorption isotherms of M. oleifera leaf powders were used as models to give informations about their humidity equilibrium and their shelf life if they are used as dietary supplement. To achieve our goal, we depend on the validation of a large and representative sampling by local experts.


This report presents the findings of an effectiveness review on Oxfam's response to the 2012/2013 conflict response in South Sudan that was undertaken through the application of Oxfam's Humanitarian Indicator Tool. Overall the response scored 58% and met or almost met five of the 11 standards. Although this is below the 60% cut-off point, the issues of funding and the constraints of working under difficult conditions need to be taken into account. Despite having measures in place, it was found that Oxfam was not prepared for an emergency as much as they should have been in a country known for conflict and weather-related emergencies. There were, however, genuine efforts to address community needs and to elicit feedback, which in turn led to changes in facility design. Measures to protect the community and to reduce conflict were in place as well as efforts to consult with women and address their needs.


Restrictions on social interaction and travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic have affected how researchers approach fieldwork and data collection. Whilst online focus groups have received attention since the 2000s as a method for qualitative data collection, relatively little of the relevant literature appears to have made use of now ubiquitous video calling software and synchronous, interactive discussion tools. Our own experiences in organising fieldwork aimed at understanding the impact of different 'future-proofing' strategies for the European agri-food system during this period resulted in several methodological changes being made at short notice. We present an approach to converting in-person focus group to a virtual methodology and provide a checklist for researchers planning their own online focus groups. Our findings suggest data are comparable to in-person focus groups and factors influencing data quality during online focus groups can be safeguarded. There are several key steps, both before and during the focus groups, which can be taken to ensure the smooth running of such events. We share our reflections on this approach and provide a resource for other researchers moving to online-only data collection.


Follow this and additional works at: http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/ua_docs This is Area Services bulletin no. 3 in the series "Human and Community Resources of Southern Illinois," published in the early 1960s. This report was published in 1962 by Southern Illinois University's Division of Area Services and authored by Dr. Ray E. Wakeley. The series was published as a means to assist the economic, social, and cultural development of southern Illinois. The report focuses on the characteristics of business and cultural services in community centers, which is useful for planning community center development. The report also provides a mechanism to compare communities and gives benchmarks that can be used in development efforts in the various communities.


Osmoregulation during pregnancy was compared in Brattleboro rats completely lacking vasopressin [homozygous (DI)], those with partial deficiency [heterozygous (HZ)], and control Long-Evans (LE) animals. Plasma osmolality (Posmol) was decreased 10-16 mosmol/kg near term in each group, whereas urine osmolality (Uosmol) was similar to that of virgin controls. This was accompanied by significant increments in water turnover similar in HZ and LE and massive in the gravid DI. Chronic vasopressin treatment increased Uosmol less in pregnant DI compared with virgins (P less than 0.001), and urinary prostaglandin E2 was increased in all gravid groups. Captopril per os failed to implicate the renin-angiotensin system in the altered water ingestive behavior of pregnancy. Basal arginine vasopressin pressure (PAVP) was similar in gravid and virgin HZ and LE, whereas the osmotic threshold for AVP secretion was lower in both pregnant groups. Increasing Posmol by dehydration or hypertonic saline led to similar increments in plasma AVP (PAVP) in pregnant and nongravid rats of each group, but sensitivity of the system delta P AVP/delta P osmol was significantly lower in HZ, a difference compatible with the decreased pituitary AVP content in the HZ strain. Data are consistent with decreases in the osmotic thresholds for AVP release (in HZ and LE) and thirst (in DI) and a need for increased AVP secretion during pregnancy.


In this study, the parameters of a stochastic‐dynamical model of sea surface winds are estimated from long time series of sea surface wind observational data. The model was introduced by A. H. Monahan, who developed an idealized model from a highly simplified representation of the momentum budget of a surface atmospheric layer of fixed depth. Such estimation of model parameters is challenging, in particular for a multivariate model with nonlinear terms as is considered here. The authors use a method developed recently by Crommelin and Vanden-Eijnden, which approaches the estimation problem variationally, finding the spectrally ''best fit'' stochastic differential equation to a time series of observations. While the estimation procedure assumes forcing that is white in time, observed time series are generally better approximated as forced by red noise. Using a red-noise-forced linear system, the authors first show that the estimation procedure can still be used to estimate model parameters. Because the assumption of white noise is violated, these estimates lead to model autocorrelation functions that differ from the observed time series. Application of the estimation procedure to the wind data is further complicated by the fact that the boundary layer model is inconsistent with certain observed features of the wind. When these mismatches between the model and observations are accounted for, the estimation procedure generally results in parameter estimates consistent with the climatological features of the associated meteorological fields. Important exceptions to this result are the layer thickness and layer-top eddy diffusivity, which are poorly estimated where the vector winds are close to Gaussian.


Stand-alone off-grid power supply system is a necessity for applications when electrical power distribution network is inaccessible. Internal and external subject security aspects should be valued, and the system should be optimized to obtain properly working, never-failing and secure local electrical power supply system. Internal security aspects result from both security concept and used technologies. Internal threats contain fire ignition, flooding, electrical cables melting and other threats arising from intrinsic materials or subsystems characteristics, at standard conditions of use. Additional external aspects include anti-theft protection, breaking doors or windows signaling and countermeasure, weather extremes alert, etc. Both internal and external aspects necessarily induce additional off-grid power system or subject monitoring that might be performed by supervising security subsystem. This paper provides a solution for off-grid security subsystem. It consists from pervasive sensor circuits, fuzzy controlled diagnostics and executive actuators. Cooperated fuzzy logic diagnostic and control device enables to evaluate anticipated threats and dynamically generates the most appropriate decisions about real threat existence that leads to improvement of system protection. Proposed fuzzy rules are particularly discussed in the paper.


Air infiltration plays a significant role in designing and evaluating the performance and air quality of a building. Air leakage through an existing building enclosure can be detected by using experimental measurements, such as blower door test, tracer gas method, and transient approach. Estimating building air permeability through these methods can be expensive, time consuming, and weather reliant. The economical and environmental effect of air infiltration through building envelope requires higher level of research on locating air leakage locations and estimating air infiltration rate through new techniques, such as acoustical methods.

In this research, a general review of airtightness detection and quantification method is presented and acoustical techniques are explored more in depth. Due to the significant impact of window systems on the total air infiltration through the building envelope, the correlation between the sound transmission loss and the air permeability through seven window assemblies in an existing building are explored to investigate acoustical method further. In addition, the acoustic air leakage detection method based on the standard ASTM E1186 is instigated. The results reveal the poor correlation between the airtightness of the windows and the acoustical analysis and investigations


Abstract The wild pig (Sus scrofa), an exotic and invasive species, has caused great concern at a global scale, particularly within agricultural landscapes. The objective of this study was to determine whether intensive trapping and wild pig removal resulted in a concomitant decrease in damage to rangelands. Removal of 356 wild pigs over 2 years showed an immediate reduction in rooting damage that carried over after trapping ceased. After only one trap session, rooting damage across the three sites was reduced 43–82% and total damage reduction from the beginning to the end of the project was 90%. With intensive trapping (1 pig/22.7 ha/year), damage may also be reduced on neighboring areas that are not being trapped, as indicated by data from our non-trapped units. Although we reduced rooting damage locally, and on nearby areas, large-scale, intensive control will be needed for the long-term effective reduction in damage and wild pig numbers because wild pigs have high reproductive rates, high survival, and can recolonize areas rapidly.


A field experiment was conducted at a tropical microtidal intermediate sandy beach with a low tide terrace (Nha Trang, Vietnam) to investigate the short-term swash-zone hydrodynamics and morphodynamics under variable wave conditions. Continuous 2D Lidar scanner observations of wave height at the lower foreshore, subsequent run-up and swash-induced topographic changes were obtained. These data were complemented by detailed real-time kinematic GPS topographic surveys. Variable wave and tide conditions were experienced during the field experiment with relatively large swell waves (offshore significant wave height, Hs = 0.9 m to 1.3 m; peak wave period, Tp = 8 to 12 s) concomitant with spring tides at the beginning of the period, followed by mild wind waves (offshore Hs under 0.5 m and Tp 5 s) and neap tides. This resulted in the following morphological sequence: berm erosion followed by rapid neap berm reformation and beach recovery within a few days. New insights into the link between intra-tidal swash dynamics and daily beach profile evolution were found using the Lidar dataset. While waves directly cause morphology changes on a wave-by-wave basis, tidal levels were found to be a key factor in determining the morphological wave-effect (accretive or erosive) due to modulated interaction between surf and swash hydro-morphodynamics.


This article explores the quality of accounting information in listed family firms. The authors exploit the features of the Italian equity market characterized by high ownership concentration across all types of firms to disentangle the effects of family ownership from other major block holders on the quality of accounting information. The findings document that family firms convey financial information of higher quality compared to their nonfamily peers. Furthermore, the authors provide evidence that the determinants of accounting quality differ across family and nonfamily firms.


A workshop to evaluate the scientific evidence for the etiologic associations between modifiable lifestyle and environmental risk factors and to identify areas for future research in breast cancer etiology was sponsored jointly by the Canadian Breast Cancer Initiative and the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Initiative in May, 2001. Reviews of the scientific evidence in these topics were commissioned and an expert panel convened to consider the reviews and make recommendations for research. The panel concluded that there was substantial evidence to proceed with additional research in several areas of breast cancer etiology. Particular support for future research for several lifestyle and environmental risk factors including alcohol, diet, physical activity, anthropometric factors, hormonally active agents and occupational exposures was identified. Several emerging hypotheses for breast cancer etiology were also considered and recommendations made in these areas. Specific areas for future consideration included: insulin-like growth factors, pharmaceuticals, viruses, psychosocial factors, and functional polymorphisms. The panel also identified common themes for future research including: studies of exposures across the life cycle; research in populations with unusual exposure levels; consideration of effect modification; development of improved exposure assessment methods and use of intermediate endpoints; separation of disease subtypes by hormone receptor status, stage and tumour markers; and consideration of biological mechanisms in breast cancer etiology.


The study forwards a social-psychological perspective on the notions of reconciliation and social cohesion. In this hermeneutic, the social identity approach in social-psychology together with the psychology of prosocial intergroup behaviour, is utilised to critically appraise the role identity of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) in a multiracial South Africa.
In-group role identity is informed by the social identity and relational dynamics in a specific intergroup context: Who we are in our relationship with others. I argue that group role identity has a negative impact on reconciliation and social cohesion when a strong in-group social identity becomes salient, because it leads to objectification of the other in the context of intergroup helping. Objectification occurs when people are differentiated from the in-group self as the other and then become strategically subservient to satisfy an in-group need. This is an automatic consequence of strong social identities.
This study aims to answer how does the relational dynamics, from a socio-psychological perspective on social identity and prosocial group behaviour, inform the contemporary role identity of Dutch Reformed Church congregations regarding their relationship with the racial other in a multiracial and unjust South African society?
The study historically traces the development of a strong white Afrikaner Christian social identity as core to the role identity of the DRC and how such an identity affected the relationship with the racial other. Mission constitutes the relational parameters of intergroup helping the DRC chose to engage with the other. The study argues that the racial other was objectified by the DRC because the missional relationship was managed strategically to serve the needs of the white Christian Afrikaner in-group.
A theological critique against a relational praxis of othering and objectification is discussed. Liberation-, Black Liberation- and Feminist theologies forward a reciprocal relationship of mutuality based on the Imago Dei concept and a Christology where Christ identifies with the poor and oppressed in the social margin. This is a critique of the psychological mechanisms inherent in strong social group identities by arguing for a strong superordinate identity of all being made in the image of God and a purposeful identification with those in the social margin as participation in the Missio Dei.
From a social-psychological perspective it is clear that reconciliation and social cohesion will be severely hampered before the other is accepted as a self, in a relationship of mutuality. Psychologically speaking, acts of neighbourly love will always be suspect in the context of strong social identities.
This study seriously questions the significance of the contemporary DRC role identity in furthering the notions of reconciliation and social cohesion in a racially divided society where Afrikaner social identity is under threat. The helping endeavours of DRC congregations may still be interpreted as strategic in satisfying in-group needs: Objectifying the racial other as an object for alleviating guilt or as an object of charity to manage group impression or as a means to justify the social status of having a special calling to educate the racial other.


Bullying, a common, persistent, and detrimental occurrence in schools, adversely affects the social, emotional, behavioral , and psychological well-being of children and youth. Independent variables that have been studied among children and youth involved in bullying in school settings are delineated , ways that bullying has been assessed and reported are described and critiqued, and the effect of hindsight bias is reviewed. Fortyeight vignettes were constructed by crossing (a) four kinds of social contact (physical aggression, verbal aggression, relational aggression , and non-aggression) with (b) male and female actors, ( c) male and female and receivers, and ( d) reaction of the receiver (aggressive, passive, and no reaction). Participants gave predictions of how the receiver may react to the scenario, rated vignettes on seven items assessing the seriousness, and gave qualitative responses to how they might intervene. Hindsight bias analyses revealed that when a hindsight bias exists, teachers who read an aggressive reaction by the receiver always gave a higher prediction of the likelihood that the victim would respond aggressively. Analyses of the vignettes revealed that physical aggression was perceived as more serious than any other kind of social contact, and situations that depicted female actors and male receivers were perceived as least serious across all kinds of social contact. The qualitative responses demonstrated that teachers report using different intervention strategies with the actors versus the receivers , and different intervention strategies based on kind of contact. Results are discussed in terms of applied implications for teachers in school settings and in terms of directions for future research .


BACKGROUND:Optimal treatment of intracranial aneurysms involves complete occlusion of the aneurysm with preservation of the parent artery and all of its branches. Attempts to occlude the aneurysm and preserve the parent artery may be associated with a higher level of risk than parent vessel occlusion or trapping. OBJECTIVE:To evaluate our series of patients with large and giant aneurysms who underwent treatment via endovascular coiling with parent artery sacrifice or surgical ligation of the common carotid artery (CCA) and gain insight into the advantages and risks of each of these alternatives. METHODS:We retrospectively reviewed all patients with aneurysms who underwent carotid sacrifice via endovascular occlusion or surgical CCA ligation during an 8-year period at our institution. RESULTS:Twenty-seven patients with large and giant aneurysms of the internal carotid artery underwent carotid artery sacrifice via endovascular occlusion (n = 15) or CCA ligation (n = 12). Of the patients who underwent endovascular occlusion, 3 developed groin complications, 1 developed a new sixth nerve palsy, 1 died from vasospasm related to subarachnoid hemorrhage, and 1 died secondary to rupture of an associated 3-mm anterior communicating artery aneurysm 5 days postoperatively. Of the patients undergoing CCA ligation, 1 patient developed a partial hypoglossal palsy. Clinical improvement of presenting symptoms was observed in all surviving patients regardless of the method of treatment. Complete aneurysm obliteration was documented in all patients during the initial hospital stay. The mean radiographic long-term follow-up was 14.2 months, which was available in 20 of the 25 surviving patients (80%). Complete obliteration was confirmed at follow-up in all but 2 patients with large cavernous aneurysms; 1 was initially treated with endovascular occlusion and the other with carotid ligation. CONCLUSION:Parent artery sacrifice is still a viable treatment for some complex aneurysms of the internal carotid artery. CCA ligation is a reasonable alternative to endovascular arterial sacrifice.


Tackling tax avoidance has become a priority for tax authorities. The accounting profession has been subject to significant criticism for its role in the promotion and facilitation of what may be regarded as aggressive tax avoidance. In response to this increasing issue of public concern, tax authorities have sought to tackle tax avoidance through the introduction of general anti-avoidance rules and supplementary provisions. These regulatory changes may be regarded as an attempt by tax authorities to disrupt the existing work practices of the accounting profession.In this context, the escalating disruptive work practices are explored, identifying how a tax authority built up layers of disruptive work, at times crossing into categories of traditional creation and maintenance work, in its attempts to tackle aggressive tax avoidance.These disruptive work practices were represented in changes to the general anti-avoidance tax regime. As a result, the accounting profession was impacted both directly and indirectly, where provisions introduced placed new reporting obligations on tax advisers and on taxpayers. The accounting profession's response is explored, beginning with defiance (where changes were not aimed at it directly), moving to a combination of defiance and compromise (where it faced new reporting obligations) and finally public acquiescence and private avoidance and defiance (where it faced a Supreme Court decision strengthening the tax authority's powers). The public and private response of the accounting profession are examined, by analysing public documentary evidence, together with interview and focus group data, enabling an in-depth understanding of the accounting profession's response to regulatory changes to be explored.When faced with disruptive work, tax accountants are seen to engage in a range of different maintenance work practices in an attempt to rebuff changes to their day-to-day work practices and advice given to clients. Once again, the complexity of real life, provides an opportunity to identify institutional work practices crossing traditional categories, with creation work practices identified in tax accountants' attempts to maintain their status quo.The influence of clients, and society more generally, on both the response of the accounting profession to changes in the general anti-avoidance tax regime and the resulting impact on work practices is identified throughout the study, with the concept of client-led professionalism emerging from the findings.%%%%Check date.issued and date.embargo: Flexible delayed release embargo added by author


Abstract The emergence of the Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic in South and Central America has ascended to the forefront of international attention. While research regarding the effects and details surrounding ZIKV in pregnancy is well underway, especially related to blood-borne transmission, less attention has been devoted to ZIKV infection in semen and questions concerning implications of ZIKV infection in men. In this review, we present what is known and unknown, and the implications for localization of ZIKV to the male urogenital system. We examine the duration and viral load of ZIKV in semen, male and female transmission of ZIKV, the asymptomatic male carrier, and the consequences for assisted reproductive technology and sperm banking facilities. Furthermore, we discuss the potential for active ZIKV transmission in the United States as world travel continues to rise and the evolution and case history of ZIKV sexual transmission. We also review the current government-sponsored and reproductive society recommendations for managing sexual transmission of ZIKV and elucidate future research needs.


Introduction The National EOLC Strategy seeks to improve access to high quality palliation for patients of all diagnoses. One such group for which this is difficult is advanced heart failure. Aim To use auspices of NHS Improvement to develop cross organisational integrated pathway for advanced heart failure (HF) to ensure better end of life care (EOL). Results A. Retrospective audit identified 26 deceased patients known to the heart failure nurses. The majority had no EOL discussions or specialist palliative care and died in hospital. Most had multiple admissions with average length of stay of 31 days in last year of life. B. Key stakeholders were brought together to develop a new pathway and tools which facilitated patient choice, addressed symptom management and anticipatory care planning. C. Tools include ▶ Tools for HF nurses ▶ Patient and Carer assessment tool ▶ 'Trigger Tool' to identify patients who are a 'cause for concern'. Creates gateway for appropriate joint management between cardiology and SPC services. ▶ Aide memoire for action following identification of patients ▶ Home management folder. D. Key features of pathway ▶ Monthly advanced heart failure forum. Enables hospital /community heart failure nurses to discuss patients identified as 'cause for concern' with cardiologists and agree CLEAR action plan. Palliative care input to forum is planned ▶ Bi-monthly meetings between palliative care nurses and community HF nurses ▶ Joint Heart Failure clinic. E. Re-audit revealed ▶ Increased use of specialist palliative care services, for example, homecare, day care, hospice and hospice at home ▶ Increased EoL discussions with HF nurses ▶ Increase in documented preferred place of care and achievement of death in PPC ▶ Reduced hospital deaths. Conclusion Cross organisational work can develop shared pathways, tools and training which improve care for end stage HF and improve skills of HF nurses.


Parents and teachers define, identify and perceive in various and diverse ways the concept of 'special educational needs' (SEN), which might lead to different interpretations as to what can be considered problematic and what cannot (Laluvein, 2010; Kristoffersen, et al., 2015). This study aimed to assess and compare the views and perceptions of parents and teachers of children with and without Special Educational Needs, on Social, Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties (SEBD). The purpose is to present an overall picture of the situation, to provide an indication of the existence or absence of agreement between parents and teachers concerning children's social emotional and behavioural problems and subsequently make suggestions and recommendations to facilitate both educators and parents to acknowledge and attend more efficiently to children's needs. Parents and teachers of 77 children, aged 6 to 13 years, with (n = 24) and without (n = 53) Special Educational Needs from a mainstream school in the rural area of Nicosia, Cyprus, took part in the study. Assessment of behaviour problems from both parents and teachers were obtained from the Child Behaviour CheckList 6/18 (Achenbach and Rescorla, 2001) and the Teacher Reference Form 6/18 (Achenbach and Rescorla, 2001) respectively. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were used with 5 parents and teachers, complementary of the questionnaires. The data were analysed using the Assessment Data Manager software and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences 21. The key findings suggest that parents and teachers of children with SEN agree more compared to parents and teachers of children with NoSEN. It also emerged that parents of children with SEN tend to report more internalizing, externalizing and total/overall problems compared to teachers (e.g. anxiety, depression, withdrawal, rule breaking and aggressive behaviour, jealousy, social issues). Furthermore, gender variance was found, with parents of children in both groups (SEN and NoSEN) viewing boys differently compared to girls. Regarding the latter, parents of children in the SEN group view girls as exhibiting more internalizing and overall difficulties (which is the sum of all scales namely internalizing, externalizing, thought problems, attention problems and social problems) compared to boys, while parents of children in the NoSEN group view boys as exhibiting more internalizing and overall difficulties.


Liver dendritic cells (DC) are believed to play important roles in liver immunity, autoimmunity, and in the regulation of hepatic allograft acceptance. However, limited information is available on the phenotypes and functions of DC in the liver. To address this issue, we isolated DC from murine liver using procedures that do not involve collagenase, and characterized the freshly isolated DC population that had not been subjected to in vitro expansion. Thence, based on the expression of CD4, B220, and CD11b, four subsets or groups of hepatic NK1.1−CD11c+ DC were identified with the following phenotypes: B220+CD4+, B220+CD4−, B220−CD11b+, and B220−CD11b−. Each subset was further characterized both phenotypically and functionally. In addition to unique phenotypic expression, each subset displayed different allostimulation capability in mixed lymphocyte reaction assays. All four groups developed DC morphology following in vitro culture with activation agents and synthesized distinct patterns of cytokines in response to different stimuli. Taken together, our results suggest that groups I and II are IFN-α-producing plasmacytoid DC, group III cells are myeloid-related DC, while group IV is a heterogenous population containing both myeloid- and lymphoid-related DC. Our results demonstrate the highly heterogeneous nature of hepatic DC, which is in agreement with the unique requirements for APC in the complex liver environment.


Introduction Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a recognised risk factor for the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Both entities are increasingly recognised to be different manifestations of a wide spectrum of metabolic syndrome phenotypes. Our study aims to determine whether incidental abnormal liver function tests (LFT) precede the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus in patients without an underlying liver diagnosis. Method We identified patients with a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus who attend the same large primary care centre in Newport, South Wales. Data on age at diagnosis, gender and date of diagnosis of diabetes mellitus were extracted from the primary care records. This was linked to secondary care records to extract liver function tests available in the last twenty years. GP and outpatient clinic letters were carefully examined and patients with known liver disease preceding diagnosis of diabetes were excluded, as were those with other explainable causes for liver function derangement. The resulting database was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 23.0, IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, USA). Results A total of 561 patients were identified, of whom 31 (6%) had type 1 DM and 530 (94%) had type 2 DM. Mean age (± standard deviation) at the time of diagnosis of Type 2 DM was 53 (±19) years, with 305 (54%) being male. Out of this group, 448 patients (80%) had liver function tests checked prior to their diagnosis of DM. Of those, a total of 133 patients (24%) had any preceding LFT abnormality, 100 (18%) in ALT and 58 (10%) in ALP. The mean ALT derangement was 81 i.u./l (±38 i.u./l) in those with abnormal LFTs recorded prior to diagnosis of diabetes. The mean time (± standard error of the mean) from recorded ALT abnormality to diagnosis of DM was 873 (±103) days, and from ALP to DM was 655 (±84) days. Conclusion Our results suggest that incidental abnormalities in LFT (in the absence of diagnosed liver disease) are associated with a subsequent diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and may represent an earlier manifestation of a spectrum of metabolic syndromes. There may be a role for utilising incidental abnormalities in LFTs to promote early detection of diabetes mellitus in asymptomatic individuals, particularly those that fit the profile of a metabolic syndrome patient. Further follow-up is required to ascertain if such knowledge may impact on both the diagnosis of diabetes and/or NAFLD in such individuals. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


This dissertation examines the development of authorship in Canada in the first half of the twentieth century, with a particular emphasis on the Canadian Authors Association (C.A.A.). By focusing on this association, the dissertation refutes the common narrative that the development of Canadian authorship was the result of a vanguard of modernist writers standing collectively against an older generation of amateur writers. Instead, it insists on the importance of a history of authorship that includes dissenting conceptions, specifically those articulated by the C.A.A., which resisted the practice of creating hierarchies for authors based on gender, age, quality of work, chosen genre, or professionalism. The development of authorship in the first half of the twentieth century was a site of debate and contestation. From 1921-1960, there was increasing pressure to define this key role in the national literary field. This pressure to define authorship was manifest: in the legal debates around copyright, which had ramifications for both the state and for private industry; in the debates between authors themselves, as seen during Book Week (1921-1957), which sought to determine the proper relationship between literature and the marketplace; in the creation and development of the Governor General's Literary Awards (1937-1959), in which the association attempted to promote a specific type of literature; and in the rise of government patronage of the arts, which saw the state developing new ways to both fund and regulate culture. During these various debates over the role of authorship, the C.A.A. generally resisted hierarchies, and in doing so defended the middlebrow and the writer as a skilled labourer in the literary field. The association, however, was not always consistent in advocating these positions. This inconsistency demonstrates how difficult it was during this period to articulate a single, coherent definition of authorship. As such, this dissertation argues that literary histories that only recall the modernist narrative of the rise of authorship in Canada lose a sense of this important contest.


A handful of researchers are employing various constraint-based theoretical perspectives to study multiple Germainc languages. This volume investigates the linguistic phenomena found in the grammar of the German and Danish languages. Using such approaches as lexical-functional grammar and head-driven phrase structure grammar, contributors shed a different light on theoretical issues addressed by studies of the past, including semi-free word order, partial front phenomena and complex predicate formation. While alternative approaches have assumed that meaning (semantics) is dependant on form (syntax), various analyses presented in this volume explore the idea that both form and meaning are equally constitutive for grammatical descriptions.


Setyawan AD. 2011. Recent status of Selaginella (Selaginellaceae) research in Nusantara. Biodiversitas 12: 112-124. Selaginella Pal. Beauv. (Selaginellaceae Reichb.) is a cosmopolitan genus that grows in tropical and temperate regions. Some species of Selaginella have widely distribution and tend to be invasive, but the others are endemics or even, according to IUCN criteria, endangered. Nusantara or Malesia (Malay Archipelago) is the most complex biogeographic region and rich in biodiversity. It is one of the biodiversity hotspotof Selaginella, whereas about 200 species of 700-750 species are exist. Selaginella has been survived for 440 mya without any significant morphological modification, but extinction of tree-shaped species. Selaginella have similar morphological characteristics, particularly having heterospore form and loose strobili; and is classified as one genus and one family. However, individual species has high morphological variation caused by different edaphic and climatic factors. Genetic studies indicate high polymorphism among Selaginella species. Selaginella had been used as complementary and alternative medicines treated to postpartum, menstrual disorder, wound, etc. Biflavonoid – the main secondary metabolites – gives this benefit and is especially used as anti oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti cancer in modern pharmaceutical industry. The other metabolites, trehalose, potentially act as molecular stabilizer in biological based industry. Metabolite profiles can also be used to identify Selaginella by its species, time and harvest age, and locations. Since most of Selaginella grows on moist, organically rich, and well drained soils, which is vulnerable to forest degradation and global warming, it needs more conservation priority. Biosystematics and ethnobotanical researches of Nusantara Selaginella is needed to expand taxonomic status and bioprospecting of this bioresources.Key words: biosystematics, ethnobotany, research, Nusantara, Selaginella.


This essay argues that, under certain circumstances in securities fraud cases, a statement's well-pleaded falsity gives rise to a strong inference that the speaker acted with scienter. In particular, this essay contends that the well-pleaded falsity of a statement is sufficient to create a strong inference of scienter when (1) the truth is necessarily within the speaker's core knowledge; and (2) the statement is sufficiently false to have necessarily caught the speaker's attention. This falsity-scienter inference potentially applies in a variety of securities fraud contexts, including falsified CEO resumes, objectively unreasonable analyst opinions, and cooked books. In addition, the falsity-scienter inference supports adoption of the controversial "core operations inference" and provides guidance on the proper scope of this narrower inference.


Colored shading nets have been increasingly studied in semi-arid crop production systems, primarily because of their ability to reduce solar radiation with the attendant reductions in air, plant, and soil temperatures. However, there is a paucity of research concerning the impact of colored shading nets on various crops grown under semi-arid environments, particularly the sweet pepper (Capsicum annum) production system. This study aimed to investigate the effects of three colored shading net treatments (i.e., white, green, and black shading nets with 50% shading intensity and control with unshaded conditions) on the growth and instantaneous water use efficiency (WUE) of sweet pepper. The results showed that all colored shading nets exhibited significantly lower daytime air temperatures and light intensity (22 to 28 °C and 9992 lx, respectively) compared with the control (32 to 37 °C and 24,973 lx, respectively). There were significant differences in sweet pepper growth performance among treatments, including plant height, shoot dry weight, leaf area, leaf chlorophyll content, and vitamin C in ripened fruit. The enhanced photosynthetic rates were observed in sweet pepper plants under the colored shading nets compared with control plants. WUE increased among the colored shading net treatments in the following order: control ≤ white < black < green. Overall, the application of green and black shading nets to sweet pepper production systems under semi-arid environments significantly enhanced plant growth responses and WUE.


It has frequently been observed that the ductility or elongation of a material can significantly be affected by its grain size. Poor ductility with low elongation has been found in ultrafine-grained (UFG) steels when their grain size is smaller than a critical value. The so called instability of plasticity is a well known drawback for UFG steels and has greatly prevented them from wider application. Although the instability has been attributed to the lack of strain hardening capacity of ultrafine-grained materials, its mechanism is still unclear. In this paper, a newly developed model for predicting the dependence of uniform elongation on grain size is described, using which the instability of plasticity in UFG steels can be explained. The model is based on a strain hardening model for polycrystalline metals that was previously developed by the present author and was modified in the present study to take the grain size effect into account. The uniform elongation calculated using the model is in good agreement with that experimentally measured in two steels. It was found that the elongation begins to decrease rapidly when the grain size is reduced to below 2μm - a clear sign of the occurrence of the instability of plasticity.


Modeling the molecular mechanisms that govern genetic variation can be useful in understanding the dynamics that drive genetic state transition in quasispecies viruses. For example, there is considerable interest in understanding how the relatively benign vaccine strains of poliovirus eventually revert to forms that confer neurovirulence and cause disease (ie, vaccine-derived poliovirus). This report describes a stochastic simulation model, S2M, which can be used to generate hypothetical outcomes based on known mechanisms of genetic diversity. S2M begins with predefined genotypes based on the Sabin-1 and Mahoney wild-type sequences, constructs a set of independent cell-based populations, and performs in-cell replication and cell-to-cell infection cycles while quantifying genetic changes that track the transition from Sabin-1 toward Mahoney. Realism is incorporated into the model by assigning defaults for variables that constrain mechanisms of genetic variability based roughly on metrics reported in the literature, yet these values can be modified at the command line in order to generate hypothetical outcomes driven by these parameters. To demonstrate the utility of S2M, simulations were performed to examine the effects of the rates of replication error and recombination and the presence or absence of defective interfering particles, upon reaching the end states of Mahoney resemblance (semblance of a vaccine-derived state), neurovirulence, genome fitness, and cloud diversity. Simulations provide insight into how modeled biological features may drive hypothetical outcomes, independently or in combination, in ways that are not always intuitively obvious.


Materials such as added clays, weight materials, drill solids and metalic wear products in the drilling fluid are known to distort the geomagnetic field at the location of the Measurement While Drilling (MWD) tool magnetometers that are used to measure the direction of well path. This distortion contributes to substantial errors in determination of azimuth while drilling deviated wells. These errors may result in missing the target of a long deviated 12 ¼″ section in the range of 1–200m; representing a significant cost to be mitigated. The error becomes even more pronounced if drilling occurs in arctic regions close to the magnetic North Pole (or South Pole). The effect on the magnetometer readings is obviously linked to the kinds and amounts of magnetic materials in the drilling fluid. The problem has recently been studied by laboratory experiments and analyses of downhole survey data.A series of experiments has been carried out to understand how some drilling fluid additives relate to the magnetic distortion. Experiments with free iron ions show that presence of iron ions does not contribute to magnetic distortion; while experiments with bentonite-based fluids show a strong effect of bentonite on magnetic shielding. Albeit earlier measurements showing a strong dependency of the content of organophilic clay, clean laboratory prepared oil-based drilling fluids show no increased shielding when adding organophilic hectorite clays. The anticipated difference between these two cases is outlined in the paper. When eroded steel from an offshore drilling site is added into the oil-based drilling fluid, it is found that these swarf and steel fines significantly increase the magnetic shielding of the drilling fluid. The paper outlines how the drilling direction may be distorted by the presence of these additives and contaminants and how this relates to the rheological properties of the drilling fluid.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


Relevance of the study . Dramaturgy of the vocal works from the Renaissance epoch, connected to the application of the specific ways of counterpoint work, thus far hasn't been studied more thoroughly. Yet, the manifestation of some of the dramatic principles can also be noticed in music of this period. It is specially relevant at presentation of the two themes in simultaneous sounding. In that context, the specificities of musical dramaturgy realization by use of the simple imitation are little known. Main objective of the study is to light up the distinctiveness of the double simple imitation in the austere style music and to examine its reference to convertible counterpoint. On the other side, the influence of the counterpoint technique on the dramaturgy of Renaissance musical work will be opened. Methodology is based on the examples analysis from Palestrina creative work. How the study was done. In chosen analytical specimens, the ways of counterpoint work was identified and defined along with the definiteness of their dramaturgic function in the context entirety. Results and conclusions . The double simple imitation leads to various possibilities of the imitation voices combination, specially in situations when the themes length is dissimilar. The convertible counterpoint, which then appears might be interpreted by methods used at unimitated polyphony. On the other side, such application of the polythematic imitation might be in function of the musical form dramaturgy. Through the various spatial changes of the thematic material within composition entirety specific section, the clear separation of thematic material occurs in relation to the other, monothematic sections; it is experienced as the focus of composition. By beforehand planned way of work with the themes, the clear movement architectonics is created. Practical significance. The work shows the way of the simple imitation interpretation based on two themes. Additionally, this research opens up the possibility of dramaturgy use as analytical practice instrument and also in vocal works of the old counterpoint masters.


This article is an examination of academic, corporate, and state-funded alliance of molecular, biological, computer, and clinical scientists who are conducting research into the genetic epidemiology of type 2 diabetes. Because type 2 diabetes affects human groups differently, researchers use ethnic and racial taxonomies to parse populations and social history to rationalize their categorical choices. In a process termed "bioethnic conscription," the social identities and life conditions of DNA donors are grafted into the biological explanations of human difference and disease causality in both objectionable and constructive ways. Bioethnic conscription is presented as an ethnographically sound alternative to the either–or proposition of the (R)ace–no race debate within biomedicine and anthropology.


This paper, which is part one of a two-part series, analyses the influence of demand-side management (DSM) on the overall performance of distribution networks, particularly with respect to the quality of supply of low-voltage residential customers. The paper uses detailed network configurations and load models to assess changes in active/reactive power flows, system losses, voltage profiles and propagation of harmonics due to changes in the load mix as a result of DSM actions. The Part 2 paper will consider the effect of microgeneration technologies on further improvement/ deterioration of network performance.


Within developing countries, there is a digital divide between rural and urban areas. In order to overcome this division, we need to provide locally relevant Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services to these areas. Traditional software development methodologies are not suitable for developing software for rural and underserviced areas because they cannot take into account the unique requirements and complexities of such areas. We set out to find the most appropriate way to engineer suitable software applications for rural communities. We developed a methodological framework for creating software applications for a rural community. We critically examined the restrictions that current South African telecommunications legislation places on software development for underserviced areas. Our socially aware computing framework for creating software applications uses principles from Action Research and Participatory Design as well as best practice guidelines; it helps us address all issues affecting the project success. The validity of our framework was demonstrated by using it to create Multi-modal Telemedicine Intercommunicator (MuTI). MuTI is a prototype system for remote health consultation for a rural community. It allowed for synchronous and asynchronous communications between a clinic in one village and a hospital in the neighbouring village, nearly 20 kilometers away, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It used Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) combined with a store and forward approach for communication. MuTI was tested over a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) network for several months.
Our socially aware framework proved to be appropriate for developing locally relevant applications for rural areas in South Africa. We found that MuTI was an improvement on the previous telemedicine solution in the target community. Using the approach also led to several insights into best practice for ICT development projects. We also found that VoIP and WiFi are relevant technologies for rural regions and that further telecommunication liberalisation in South Africa is required in order to spur technological developments in rural and underserviced areas.