Abstract The doctrine of legitimate expectations is a developing area of administrative law, and many issues remain outstanding. Promises, practices, and policies generate legitimate expectations, but what is special about them? Why do they and only they generate legitimate expectations? The lack of an obvious answer has led some commentators to claim that the doctrine is ultimately incoherent and should be disaggregated. In this paper, we challenge this claim by arguing, first, that promises, practices, and policies each comprise or make applicable a certain type of rule, and second, that having a legitimate expectation is a matter of such a rule binding a public body to act in some way. This rule-based account gives the doctrine of legitimate expectations both coherence and distinctiveness.


Malware detection has emerged been an active area of research over the last few years. Numerous malware detection techniques have been proposed to combat this rapidly evolving threat. Notable of these detection techniques are rate limiting [10], [11] , the sample entropy based malware detection [8], maximum entropy estimation [9] and the TRW algorithm that employs sequential hypothesis testing [4]. Most of these techniques (except rate limiting) have been designed and tested on the network periphery (e.g., gateway router etc.) Recently, network endpoint comprising home and office computers have become the most prevalent and effective launch pads and carriers of malware infections. Moreover, endpoints represent the last (and sometimes the only effective) line of defense against the spread and detection of malware. Therefore, it is important that contemporary anomaly detectors' performances be evaluated on endpoints and under high and low-rate worm propagation attacks. This paper compares the ab2ove four anomaly detection techniques using real endpoint and worm traffic data collected on operational endpoints.


The depletion of fossil fuels impacts on the increase of petroleum price and has triggered the finding of alternative and renewable energy. Biofuel has attracted the attention of researchers all over the world due to reducing the environmental impacts of elevated carbon monoxide. Abundant of fruits waste can be reused in the bioethanol production. Hence, it can reduce pollution and waste material, thus, helps in waste disposal management and reducing global warming. The aim of the study of producing bioethanol from rotten rambutan was to manage rambutan wastes, cleaning the environment and reduction of greenhouse gases and global warming. This study was conducted from rambutan fruit waste biomass in different parameters using yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae ) fermentation. The optimum condition of bioethanol yield was having 3 g of yeast at 30°C by following pH 6 for two days of incubation. Glucose content, total soluble solid (TSS) and pH values reduced after fermentation due to the conversion of glucose to ethanol and carbon dioxide in case of all parameters. The chemical content, viscosity and acid values of the bioethanol produced were within ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standard specifications with less hazardous chemical content in produced bioethanol. Furthermore, the engine test result showed that greenhouse gas emission like hydrocarbon (HC), NOx and SO 2 content in E5 and E10 were significantly lower in bioethanol than in 100% gasoline tested in (proton Gen 2 multicylinder) car. Thus, it can potentially be used as good biofuel for petrol engine purposes. Key words : Bioethanol, fruit waste, emission, renewable energy, global warming.


SIR,-According to Professor George Nuki (2 July, p 39) piroxicam is "now the most widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug world wide" and "appears to be safe" drug treatment in the elderly, but it is salutary to report the high incidence of severe congestive heart failure that we have seen in our unit since adopting it as our first line anti-inflammatory analgesic. Six cases of heart failure have occurred in patients receiving the drug, and in thr-e of these (see table) there was a clear relation between starting piroxicam and the development of severe heart failure a few weeks later. Two patients were also taking stanozolol, another drug known to promote fluid retention. In the sixth case the diagnosis of frank heart failure was not made until over three months after starting the drug, though diuretic treatment had increased meanwhile. In none of the six cases was there evidence of myocardial infarction or any other explanation for heart failure. Though fluid retention, with resistance to diuretic treatment,' is a well recognised complication of any anti-inflammatory drug-and the caution now included in the data sheet for piroxicam is more explicit than that for any other drug of this class2 (with the obvious exception of phenylbutazone, where oedema is cited as a contraindication to its use)-we were surprised how often heart failure occurred in our patients and how severe it was. It is notable that two patients had been taking other anti-inflammatory drugs before, suggesting that piroxicam may be even more likely to cause appreciable fluid retention than either ibuprofen or indomethacin. Medication once daily has great appeal in geriatric practice, and as a result piroxicam has probably been overprescribed. We now think that it should not be used as a first line drug, particularly when patients are already on diuretic treatment. If piroxicam is used for elderly patients body weight must be closely monitored. Although fluid retention or heart failure may be controlled by increasing diuretic


ABSTRACT The foreign direct investment (FDI)-led development path of the East-Central European (ECE) countries has been queried most recently. Using mainly the evidence of Hungary and Poland the paper analyses one of the potential reasons of this strategic turn: the struggle between political elites. One elite was bound to the strong presence of multinational business and the institutions of the 'competition state'. Their positions were challenged by another political elite that allied mainly with local bourgeoisie. One main arena of conflicts is the economy where political elites try to widen their influence in order to gain financial support. New forms of rent-seeking and corruption became possible after the V4 accession to the European Union (EU) when the flow of financial aid increased. Aid was channelled to partisan firms in public procurement tenders that made legal corruption possible. Political and social control over this practice declined with the demise of classic program parties' role in politics and the raise of populist 'business firm' political parties.


Organic-inorganic hybrid nanoporous materials with silicalite-1 structure were synthesized in one step co-condensation technique and subsequent transformed into solid acid materials. The tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) was used as the primary inorganic silica source with the phenethyltrimethoxysilane (PE) as an organic modifier. The effect of the PE presence in the initial synthesis mixture was studied by varying the molar ratio of PE to TEOS in the range of 0.05 to 0.20. The resulting organic-inorganic hybrid materials were characterized for its crystallinity (X-ray diffraction, XRD), surface morphology (scanning electron microscopy, SEM) and elemental composition (elemental analysis). The degree of chemical interactions between the organic and inorganic phases was determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The acid strength of the organic-inorganic hybrid solid acid materials was also obtained by titration technique.


The end of a war is generally expected to be followed by an end to collective violence, as the term 'post-conflict' that came into general usage in the 1990s signifies. In reality, however, various forms of deadly violence continue, and sometimes even increase after the big guns have been silenced and a peace agreement signed. Explanations for this and other kinds of violence fall roughly into two broad categories – those that stress the legacies of the war and those that focus on the conditions of the peace. There are significant gaps in the literature, most importantly arising from the common premise that there is one, predominant type of post-war situation. This 'post-war state' is often endowed with certain generic features that predispose it towards violence, such as a weak state, criminal elements generated by the war-time economy, demobilized but not demilitarized or reintegrated ex-combatants, impunity and rapid liberalization.


Synopsis A limestone breccia which is interpreted as a palaeokarst fill of early Jurassic age, is described from Southern Skye, lying above the Durness Limestone Group and below the Broadford Formation, as previously defined. Such breccias have been described from parts of the Camas Malag Formation and where they are overlain directly by Jurassic limestones, these are now assigned to the Broadford Formation. For the first time, direct biostratigraphical evidence is presented for the age of these limestone breccias here, where they overlie and partly fill a palaeokarst surface on the Durness Limestone. Faunal evidence also demonstrates that their deposition occurred under fully marine conditions. The Triassic age previously assigned to the Camas Malag Formation is rejected and, at its type locality, this Formation is assigned an early Jurassic age.


Background: Preeclampsia and eclampsia have been increasing at an alarming rate. It is a challenging task for doctors and pregnant mothers. Preeclampsia defined as new onset of hypertension (≥140mmHg systolic or ≥90mm Hg diastolic on at least two occasions 6 hours apart) and proteinuria (at least 1+ on dipstick or ≥300mg in a 24-hour urine collection) after 20 weeks of gestation. Eclampsia defined as neurologic involvement in the form of generalized tonicclonic convulsions in women with preeclampsia is termed eclampsia if the seizures cannot be attributed to any other cause such as epilepsy, cerebral infection, tumor or ruptured aneurysm. Aim: This study aims to find the association of risk factors for preeclampsia and eclampsia. The risk factors for preeclampsia and eclampsia are obesity, primigravida, multiple pregnancies, diabetes, pre-existing hypertension, family history, expecting mother's age, nutritional status, and socioeconomic status. The study was carried out by using descriptive research and data were collected from medical records in Sanglah hospital which has 140 cases. Results: The results for preeclampsia are highest in expecting the age of 20-35 years old, primigravida women with gestational age > 37 weeks, overweight and overnourished women, a middle socioeconomic status and also without risk factors. The results for eclampsia are dominant in expecting age of 20-35 years old, primigravida women with gestational age > 37 weeks, women with middle socioeconomic status and majority without risk factors, and women who are overweight and overnourished. Conclusion: Preeclampsia and eclampsia cases are highest in expecting age of 20-35 years old, primigravida women with gestational age >37 weeks, overweight and overnourished women, majority women without risk factors and from middle socioeconomic


Pycnidiospores of Phyllosticta citricarpa from pure cultures, symptomatic citrus black spot Valencia orange fruit and peelings were evaluated for their potential to infect and colonise citrus black spot-free Eureka lemon leaf litter in a controlled environment and in the field in different production regions of South Africa. Leaf litter, consisting of freshly detached green and old brown leaves that were exposed to viable pycnidiospores under controlled conditions or in the field underneath citrus trees, were not infected and colonised by P. citricarpa. Ascospores, conforming to Guignardia citricarpa, the pathogen, or G. mangiferae, a cosmopolitan endophyte, were collected with a Kotzé Inoculum Monitor from leaves placed in the field only at Tzaneen and Burgersfort. Distinguishing between these two species on ascospore morphology alone is not possible. A diagnostic polymerase chain reaction conducted on representative leaf material from all the treatments revealed the presence of only G. mangiferae on 12.5% of the treatments. This study demonstrated the failure of P. citricarpa pycnidiospores to infect citrus leaf litter under controlled and field conditions. Symptomatic citrus black spot fruit or peel lying on the ground underneath citrus trees, therefore, cannot lead to infection and colonisation of freshly detached leaves or natural leaf litter or represent a source of inoculum in citrus orchards for these leaves.


The book has four specific objectives: (a) to discuss the role of retirement income transfers in the context of a strategy for expanding old- age income security and preventing poverty among the elderly; (b) to take stock of international experience with the design and implementation of these programs; (c) to identify key policy issues that need to receive attention during the design and implementation phases; and (d) to offer some preliminary policy recommendations and propose next steps. The chapter one discusses the rationale for retirement income transfers. The main justifications are the limited coverage of the mandatory pension systems (chapter two) and the risk of poverty during old age (chapter three). Chapter four then examines the rights, based approach to expansion of social security coverage based on the conventions and recommendations of the International Labor Organization (ILO). The middle part of the book deals with international experience. Chapters five, six, and seven reviews selected programs in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries, respectively, and chapters eight and nine discuss in greater depth the cases of Japan and the Republic of Korea. The five concluding chapters are concerned with policy issues as related to design. Chapter ten presents a typology of retirement income transfers and analyzes the potential economic impacts of the programs. Chapter eleven deals with financing mechanisms and the problem of allocative efficiency, given limited resources. Chapter twelve addresses two key issues related to institutional arrangements and targeting systems: Should countries consider separate programs to target the elderly poor instead of using the general social assistance system to target all poor? And, how can current proxy means-test systems be adapted to target the elderly poor? Chapter thirteen explores in more detail the links between social pensions and matching contributions in the context of a general strategy for expanding coverage. Finally, chapter fourteen provides guidelines for the design of the administrative systems needed to operationalize the various programs. The remainder of this overview summarizes the main messages from the subsequent chapters and outlines an agenda for future research and policy analysis. For clarity, it starts by presenting some definitions pertinent to the retirement income transfers discussed in the book.


This paper proposes a new development method for highly reliable real-time embedded control systems using a CPU model-based hardware/software co-simulation. We take an approach that allows the full simulation of the virtual mechanical control system including the mechatronics plant, microcontroller hardware and object code level software. This full virtual system simulation reveals the control system behavior, especially in microcontroller hardware and software. It enables microarchitecture design space exploration, control design validation, robustness evaluation of the system, software optimization before components design, and prevents potential problems. A novel aspect of this work is that the proposed virtual control system comprises all the components in a typical control system, therefore it enables the analysis of the effects from the different domains, for example the mechanical analysis of behavior due to a control software bug. To help the design, evaluation and analysis, we developed an integrated behavior analyzer into the development environment. This can display the processor behavior graphically during the simulation without affecting the simulation results, such as task level CPU load, interrupt statistics and software variable transition chart. This analyzer provides useful information on the behavior. No software modification is necessary for this virtual system analysis, and this analysis does not change the control timing and does not require any processing power on the target microcontroller. Therefore this method is suitable for real-time embedded control system design, in particular automotive control system design which requires high level reliability, robustness, quality and safety. In this paper, a Renesas SH-2A microcontroller model was developed on a CoMETtrade platform from VaST Systems Technology. An ETC (electronic throttle control) system is chosen as the plant to prove this concept. The ETB (electronic throttle body) model on Saberreg simulator from Synopsysreg was co-simulated with the SH-2A model. The SH-2A chip was under development during this project, nevertheless we could complete the OSEK OS development, control software design and verification using the virtual system. We confirmed that such software could run on an actual ETC hardware system without modification after a working sample chip was released at a later stage in the course of this work. This demonstrates that our models and simulation environment are sufficiently credible and trustful


In filamentous fungi, peroxisomes are crucial for the primary metabolism and play a pivotal role in the formation of some secondary metabolites. Further, peroxisomes are important site for fatty acids β-oxidation, the formation of reactive oxygen species and for their scavenging through a complex of antioxidant activities. Oxidative stress is involved in different metabolic events in all organisms and it occurs during oxidative processes within the cell, including peroxisomal β-oxidation of fatty acids. In Aspergillus flavus, an unbalance towards an hyper-oxidant status into the cell is a prerequisite for the onset of aflatoxin biosynthesis. In our preliminary results, the use of bezafibrate, inducer of both peroxisomal β-oxidation and peroxisome proliferation in mammals, significantly enhanced the expression of pex11 and foxA and stimulated aflatoxin synthesis in A. flavus. This suggests the existence of a correlation among peroxisome proliferation, fatty acids β-oxidation and aflatoxin biosynthesis. To investigate this correlation, A. flavus was transformed with a vector containing P33, a gene from Cymbidium ringspot virus able to induce peroxisome proliferation, under the control of the promoter of the Cu,Zn-sod gene of A. flavus. This transcriptional control closely relates the onset of the antioxidant response to ROS increase, with the proliferation of peroxisomes in A. flavus. The AfP33 transformant strain show an up-regulation of lipid metabolism and an higher content of both intracellular ROS and some oxylipins. The combined presence of a higher amount of substrates (fatty acids-derived), an hyper-oxidant cell environment and of hormone-like signals (oxylipins) enhances the synthesis of aflatoxins in the AfP33 strain. The results obtained demonstrated a close link between peroxisome metabolism and aflatoxin synthesis.


Terrestrial ecosystems are highly responsive to their local environments and, as such, the rate of carbon uptake both in shorter and longer timescales and different spatial scales depends on local environmental drivers. For savannas, the key environmental drivers controlling vegetation productivity are water and nutrient availability, vapour pressure deficit (VPD), solar radiation and fire. Changes in these environmental factors can modify the carbon balance of these ecosystems. Therefore, understanding the environmental drivers responsible for the patterns (temporal and spatial) and processes (photosynthesis and respiration) has become a central goal in terrestrial carbon cycle studies. Here we have reviewed the various environmental controls on the spatial and temporal patterns on savanna carbon fluxes in northern Australia. Such studies are critical in predicting the impacts of future climate change on savanna productivity and carbon storage.


The sustainable management of innovation is perhaps the single most vital element of executive work in today's business environment. This has driven knowledge management theorists to revitalise interest in the concept of 'competency'. However, this theoretical domain continues to be fragmented by definitional debate. At a micro-level of analysis, Human Resources Management theorists have embraced the idea of managerial competencies, resulting in the elaboration of frameworks and standards of performance for the targeted development of individual knowledge. By contrast, at the macrolevel the Strategic Management literature has focussed on developing new concepts of competition and cooperation that emphasise organisational knowledge as the driver of strategic change. In this context, competence-based competition implies that competitive advantage is bestowed by an organisation's unique combination of core competencies. This definitional debate is a major obstacle to the development of an integrated perspective on competency and the knowledge needs of innovating organisations. This conceptual article asserts that, since innovation involves a learning process, it is necessary to develop process-based theory rather than the static categorisations that currently dominate thinking in this area. Drawing on theories from the field of learning, the article proposes a three-dimensional framework of knowledge-based competencies that are interlinked and meaningful across levels of analysis.


This thesis is written in relation to the current research at SIMLab in the field of impact engineering. An overall objective is to establish a general numerical model for predicting and simulating the fragmentation process of metallic materials during impact. Previously conducted experiments at SIMLab revealed that blunt nosed projectiles of hardened ARNE tool steel may be fragmented, when struck against thick target plates at certain velocities. Two preceding M.Sc. theses have been written at SIMLab on the same topic, and provided an experimental basis for evaluation of the present numerical results. Simulations were carried out using the nonlinear finite element codes IMPETUS Afea Solver and LS-DYNA. Series of 20 tensile tests were conducted for ARNE tool steel, hardened to nominally Rockwell C values of 40 and 52. A significant variation was found in the failure strain for both materials. Modified Johnson-Cook constitutive models were directly calibrated from the tests, in combination with stochastic failure models based on the Cockcroft-Latham criterion. Numerical simulations of the tensile tests were in good agreement with the experimental observations. Fractography unveiled fracture surfaces with both ductile and brittle characteristics in in the hardened projectiles. A brittle failure criterion was inversely calibrated based on previously conducted bending tests. Previously conducted Taylor tests, which induced fracture and fragmentation, were attempted simulated with the calibrated material models. The simulated plastic deformations in the unhardened projectiles were described in very good agreement with experimental observations. Both element erosion and node splitting have successively been used to model material failure. It became evident that a stochastic variation of the failure parameter can give good results, and seems necessary for capturing the fragmentation process in a brittle metallic material. Node splitting in combination with cubic 64-node elements seems to give good results when the problems are dominated by tension, while element erosion and small linear elements are more suitable for problems dominated by compressional stresses and shear fractures.


Bio-based continuous fibers were processed from polylactic acid (PLA) and cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) by melt spinning. Melt compounding of master batches of PLA with 10 wt % CNWs and pure PLA was carried out using a twin-screw extruder in which compounded pellets containing 1 and 3 wt % of CNWs were generated for subsequent melt spinning. The microscopy studies showed that the fiber diameters were in the range of 90-95 µm, and an increased surface roughness and aggregations in the fibers containing CNWs could be detected. The addition of the CNWs restricted the drawability of the fibers to a factor of 2 and did not affect the fiber stiffness or strength, but resulted in a significantly lower strain and slightly increased crystallinity. Furthermore, CNWs increased the thermal stability, creep resistance and reduction in thermal shrinkage of PLA fibers, possibly indicating a restriction of the polymer chain mobility due to the nanoscale additives. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013


The functional or genetic inactivation of p53 hampers human tumor treatment. Therefore, novel therapeutic strategies are needed. ONC201 is a p53-independent inducer of apoptosis that is the founding member of the imipridone class of novel anti-cancer compounds, which possess a unique pharmacophore. We discovered that ONC201 exerts anti-tumor effects via ATF4 induction through activation of an atypical integrated stress response (ISR) (Ishizawa et al. and Kline et al, Sci Signal, 2016). Several clinical trials of ONC201 are ongoing in advanced cancers, showing a promising safety profiling and signs of clinical activity in both solid tumors and hematopoietic malignancies. In this study, we investigated the effects of ONC212, which has emerged as a highly potent member of the imipridone family, in preclinical models of hematological malignancies. ONC212 exerted potent and prominent apoptogenic effects on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) cell lines (e.g., ED50s of 141.0 nM in p53 wild-type OCI-AML3 cells, 105.7 nM in MOLM13 cells, and 265.2 nM in p53-null JeKo-1 cell lines). Time course analysis of apoptosis in OCI-AML3 cells showed that ONC212 takes more than 36 hours to start to induce apoptosis, which is similar to observations with ONC201. Next, we further examined similarities between ONC212 and ONC201 by evaluating the in vitro efficacy of ONC212 in ONC201-resistant (ONC201-R) cell lines that we have generated by chronic exposure of MCL and AML cell lines to ONC201, of which ED50s for ONC201 treatment at 72 hrs were all > 5 μM. Interestingly, the ONC201-R cell lines were more resistant to ONC212 than the isogenic ONC201-naive cells (Figure 1), indicating that these cell lines are cross-resistant to ONC212. We previously proved that increased protein translation of the transcription factor ATF4 is one of the major molecular events involved in ONC201-induced apoptosis (Ishizawa et al., Sci Signal, 2016). Similarly, ATF4 protein abundance was increased by 24-hour treatment with ONC212. DDIT3 (CHOP) gene, a target of ATF4, was transcriptionally upregulated in parallel with its target genes GADD34, DR5 and TRIB3 in ONC212-treated JeKo-1 and OCI-AML3 cells by 24 hrs after treatment (Figure 2). Of note, ONC201 was reported to transcriptionally induce TRAIL in a p53-independent manner in solid tumors (Allen et al., Sci Transl Med, 2013), but it was not operational in hematological cell lines (Ishizawa et al., Sci Sig 2016). Consistently, we also confirmed that ONC212 does not increase TRAIL mRNA in MCL (JeKo-1) and AML (OCI-AML3) cells. BCL-2 is a protective factor for cells under endoplasmic reticulum stress, which is one way to activate ISR. Therefore, we investigated whether the BCL-2 inhibitor ABT-199 sensitizes hematopoietic malignant cells to ONC212. Apoptosis was significantly higher in the combination than either drug alone in MCL and AML cell lines even in THP-1 and OCI-AML3 cells that are relatively resistant to ONC201/212 and/or ABT-199 (Figure 3), suggesting that this combination could overcome the resistance to either of agents. Indeed, the combination was also synergistic in the OCI-AML3 ONC201-R cell line (Figure 3). Taken together, our preclinical studies suggest that ONC212 is a promising and potent new member of the impridone class of anti-cancer compounds that warrants further development in hematological malignancies. The combination of ONC212 with ABT-199 is attractive, considering that acquired resistance after a short-term response remains a clinical challenge with ABT-199. Disclosures Konopleva:AbbVie: Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding. Allen:Oncoceutics Inc.: Employment. Stogniew:Oncoceutics Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Andreeff:Oncoceutics Inc.: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees.


We explore the effective degrees of freedom in the early Universe, from before the electroweak scale at a few femtoseconds after the Big Bang until the last positrons disappeared a few minutes later. We look at the established concepts of effective degrees of freedom for energy density, pressure, and entropy density, and introduce effective degrees of freedom for number density as well. We discuss what happens with particle species as their temperature cools down from relativistic to semi- and non-relativistic temperatures, and then annihilates completely. This will affect the pressure and the entropy per particle. We also look at the transition from a quark-gluon plasma to a hadron gas. Using a list a known hadrons, we use a "cross-over" temperature of 214 MeV, where the effective degrees of freedom for a quark-gluon plasma equals that of a hadron gas.


Consolidation of virtual machines is one of the key strategies used to reduce the power consumption of Cloud data centers. For this reason it is extensively studied. Consolidation has the goal of allocating virtual machines on a few physical servers as possible, while satisfying the Service Level Agreement established with users. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of a consolidation strategy strongly depends on the forecast of virtual machine resource needs. To this aim, data-driven predictive models can be exploited to develop intelligent consolidation policies. This paper describes a comparative analysis of consolidation strategies of virtual machines in Cloud systems, driven by predictive data mining models. In particular, migrations are driven by the forecast of the future computational needs (CPU, RAM) of each virtual machine, in order to efficiently allocate those on the available servers. Experimental results, performed on data of a real Cloud data center, shows several insights in terms of energy saving and most efficient consolidation strategies.


In regard to political aspirations shown by many Papuans and supporters and the ideal objective of mediation as a peaceful process of conflict management, this paper raises two questions: firstly, how is the likelihood of a third-party mediation to take place in Papua? Secondly, if a mediation facilitated by international actors took place in Papua, how should it be pursued? The objective of this paper is to investigate the opportunity for a third-party mediation to take place in Papua and for the problems in the region to be settled properly. This research will be guided by a synthesis of structural and social-psychological perspectives of third party mediation which emphasises not only the importance of resolving the problems but also the significance of improving communication between conflicting parties in seeking acceptable and applicable agreements. With such a perspective this research will examine how biased and facilitative mediation is able to frame the mediation and bring the low-intensity of conflict but complex problems in Papua to a sustainable peace settlement. This paper shows optimism that the problems in Papua can be settled peacefully. It also provides ground for an internationally mediated negotiation to happen for the GoI and Papuans find peaceful settlements. Based on both theoretical ground as well as empirical observation, the protracted but low-level conflict in the region is overlapped by security and development problems. Instead of continuing the fight and allowing the problems unsettled, the parties of GoI and Papuans believed that the problems to be better settled in peace, including the possibility of third party mediated negotiation. While the Papuans, supported by other parties outside Papua, have called for the international community to facilitate negotiation or dialogue between the GoI and Papuans, the GoI is hesitant. A third party mediator that could preserve the territorial integrity of Indonesia and at the same time protect and promote the lives of Papuans is the key for a mediated negotiation take place in Papua and be successful.


Earthquakes sometimes create damages to steel structures. The structures which have not been seriously damaged are still used after an earthquake. The fatigue strength of these structures, however, might have been decreased due to the cyclic loads during an earthquake. In order to clarify the effect of seismic loading on the fatigue strength of the welded joint of a steel structure, a high cycle fatigue test of welded joint after large straining was performed. Although a large residual tensile stress induced by plastic deformation caused little effect on the fatigue limit even in gross plasticity condition, the cyclic application of large strain substantially decreased the fatigue limit. An application of large straining for a small number of cycles initiated a short crack at the weld toe in the low cycle fatigue manner, which acted as a trigger for high cycle fatigue failure after seismic loading. The reduction of fatigue limit depended on the size of the crack. The linear elastic fracture mechanics was used to evaluate the fatigue strength of welded joint. Although the short crack was initiated by cyclic application of plastic straining and the crack was in gross plasticity, the ΔKth of the small crack determined the fatigue limit of small-cracked welded joint after seismic loading.


The application of thermoelastic stress analysis in composite materials is particularly complicated because of the anisotropy of the material, which determines the thermoelastic effect to be depended on the material property and mechanical performance. This paper describes a theoretical and experimental analysis on full-filed stress distribution from thermoelastic measurements and its application to determination of stress concentration. The sum of the principal stress can be measured by Thermal Stress Analysis (TSA). Lock-in Thermography has been applied to measure the sum of principal stress distribution of component structure by its high thermal resolving. In this study, Experiments were carried out with GFRP composite ply and foam materials under cyclic load. The thermoelastic constant is obtained for GFRP and foam composite materials. The stress concentration is analyzed for a specimen with a hole. The experimental results show the stress distribution can be measured and analyzed using Lock-in thermography. It is found that the composite material structure stress can be evaluated with good accuracies by lock in thermography.


Multiscale image enhancement and representation is an important part of biological and machine early vision systems. The process of constructing this representation must be both rapid and insensitive to noise, while retaining image structure at all scales. This is a complex task as small scale structure is difficult to distinguish from noise, while larger scale structure requires more computational effort. In both cases, good localization can be problematic. Errors can also arise when conflicting results at different scales require cross-scale arbitration. Structure sensitive multiscale techniques attempt to analyze an image at a variety of scales within a single image. Various techniques are compared. In this paper, we present a technique which obtains an approximate solution to the partial differential equation (PDE) for a specific time, via the solution of an integral equation which is the nonlinear analog of convolution. The kernel function of the integral equation plays the same role that a Green's function does for a linear PDE, allowing the direct solution of the nonlinear PDE for a specific time without requiring integration through intermediate times. We then use a learning technique to approximate the kernel function for arbitrary input images. The result is an improvement in speed and noise-sensitivity, as well as providing a means to parallelize an otherwise serial algorithm.


How do Boston-area youth (15–25) reason about ethical dilemmas occurring within virtual worlds such as 'World of Warcraft'?"; and "Which considerations seem to shape their ethical responses?" In semi-structured interviews 27 young people were presented with an ethical dilemma: subjects were asked to imagine that they had been playing an online multiplayer game of around 30,000 players for two weeks. Within the imagined game, they are asked whether or not they would join their online friends in selling "Pseudogems"—worthless items that are thought to be valuable by new players—to others in the gameworld. The responses of our participants suggest that most young people (13 of 27) would sell the gems, while 8 would not, with 6 giving a mixed response. The interviews reveal that, of the participants who would sell the gems, the driving reason is the fact that neither the gems nor the currency is "real", and that the transactions are "only a game". Analysis of this perspective, and competing viewpoints from other participants, provides a new set of considerations for those wishing to encourage ethical behavior among youth online.


Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is the process by which epithelial cells become mesenchymal cells, gaining fibroblast-like properties and displaying reduced intercellular adhesion and increased motility. EMT plays an important role in cancer metastasis. Suppressing or reversing EMT is therefore an important way of controlling various cancers. Phytochemicals are important sources of anticancer lead molecules. Natural products have been shown to safely suppress or reverse EMT via the inhibition of associated signalling pathways in various cancer cells. In the present review, we discuss the relevant factors and the role of EMT in cancer metastasis. We then present examples of phytochemicals with a role in the inhibition and reversal of EMT in various cancers, focusing on reports from 2012 to 2016.


After the fall of the military regime (the Dergue) in Ethiopia, that had ruled for seventeen years, the EPRDF (Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front) coalition and some former liberation fronts took control of the state and the systemic political transformation of the country. The impact they made on the state stability, political and economic questions however, invite further investigation. Considering the historical preludes, understanding today's political landscape and lingering political and economic questions, this dissertation examines an institutional solution introduced by EPRDF led government in Ethiopia, i.e. Ethnic Federalism. The post-1991 politics and EPRDF's coalition however, are highly dominated by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) with a political base of roughly six percent of the total population. Nonetheless, the coalition, while challenged by fractured coalitions of political opposition and intra-party struggles, remains stable and in control. Hence, the dissertation provides a broader analysis on how the EPRDF coalition survives amid such challenges and remains in hold of political power while the overarching majority opposing its domination of the political landscape. As such, I focus on whether the federal arrangement, introduced as institutional solution to address grievances of diverse groups created mechanisms that enabled the regime's political survival. In doing so, through diverse methodologies such as the use of comparative historical analysis and process tracing, elite interviews, case studies and use of secondary sources, I argue that Ethiopia's ethnic federalism has effectively served the incumbent elites by providing the platform and mechanisms that ensured success of authoritarian survival. Overall, this dissertation in its first part discusses the continuity of culture of elite interaction that served as the foundation to survivalist politics in the country. Secondly, through careful investigation of the federal setting, the dissertation concludes that such federal arrangement is designed with the survivalist agenda in mind. As such, through patron-client relations, use of institutional arrangements that targeted group right promotion agenda in the political as well as economic schemes, the coalition navigated the political landscape quite skillfully thereby guaranteeing its survival for well over two decades and half. INDEX WORDS: Ethnic Federalism, Authoritarian Survival, Political Culture, Neo-Patrimonialism, Clientelism, Democratization, Institutional Designs, Elite Strategies ETHNIC FEDERALISM AND AUTHORITARIAN SURVIVAL IN ETHIOPIA


Migration issues are dominating current debates at all levels. The perception of migrants as a threat quite often prevails over the human dimension and is associated to the immediate emergency management phase, particularly in respect of recent developments in the Mediterranean. The analysis of the roles of NGOs, a combination of traditional assistance to development and social integration and more active interventions i.e. Search and rescue operation in the Mediterranean may offer some interesting insights. The paper is a preliminary analysis of such trends, and is enriched by the results of an expert survey research on the performance of Mare Nostrum and its capacity to manage the crisis. There are three major considerations consisting in an assessment of the literature on the role played by NGOs in EU migration policies, an analysis of the use of SAR by different actors, including the non-governmental, in order to investigate the impact on the management of the crisis and finally empirical data which are used to assess current trends and raise future perspectives.


Introduction: Phospholamban (PLB) is an integral sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) membrane protein, which directly regulates cardiac Ca 2+ handling and contractility by reversibly inhibiting SR Ca 2+ ATPase (SERCA). Our previous studies have suggested that the naturally occurring human heart failure mutation of PLB, L39X disrupts membrane localization. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that the membrane localization of PLB is a prerequisite for PLB oligomerization and interaction with SERCA. The truncation mutations in C-terminus of PLB will disrupt membrane localization, PLB oligomerization, and SERCA regulation. Results and Methods: To identify the minimum length of PLB required for membrane localization and function, we generated a series of C-terminal transmembrane truncation mutants of PLB (tagged N-terminally with Cer or YFP) including L51X, M50X, V49X, I48X, I38X, I33X, and the heart-failure mutant L39X. Confocal microscopy revealed that progressive truncation of the C-terminal residues of PLB resulted in escalating increase in mislocalization of PLB to the cytoplasm and nucleus. In addition, we observed an increased solubilization of PLB as indicated by loss of YFP fluorescence after selective permeabilization of the plasma membrane by saponin. As expected, there was no change in localization of Cer-SERCA upon saponin permeabilization. Next, western blot analysis exhibited a decrease in molecular weight corresponding to the relative sizes of truncation mutants compared to full length PLB, indicating that protein degradation is not the cause of membrane mislocalization. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer analysis revealed that truncating the C-terminal residues of PLB results in a progressive decrease in apparent affinity of PLB oligomerization and interaction with SERCA. Finally, molecular dynamics simulations exhibited that the heart failure mutant L39X was unstable compared to full length PLB pentamer and started protruding out of the bilayer until complete solubilization. Conclusions: Truncating only two C-terminal residues of PLB resulted in significant mislocalization, while deleting five or more residues profoundly disrupted membrane localization, PLB oligomerization and SERCA regulation.


The knowledge of medicinal plants must have been accumulated in the course of many centuries but it is our misfortune that proper chemical and pharmacological evaluation of most of these plants have not done till now. Keeping this view, a details study on Hygrophila difformis Blume (Family-Acanthaceae) along with phytochemical study have done. It is commonly known as water wisteria. It is a tropical aquarium plant used as environmental ornaments. It rapid growth helps prevention of algae. The plant grows to a height of 20-50 cm with a width of 15-25 cm, & slender lacy leaves and upright growth. It is found in marshy habitats on the Indian subcontinent including Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. Hygrophiloside was found in the aerial parts of Hygrophila difformis. It is an iridoid glucoside having hepatoprotective activity. On preliminary phytochemical analysis Cardiac glycosides, tannins, steroids, flavonoids & saponins were found. It is used as coagulant by tribal people. The aerial parts of the plant showed good antioxidant property and also shows anthelmintic activity, Ethanolic extracts of aerial parts of the plant shows CNS depressant activity along with analgesic activity in mice.


The manner in which bats process their echolocation calls involves two main components: (1) producing and transmitting the signals; and (2) receiving and analyzing them [Fenton and Brock, Bats, Facts On File (1992)]. The high‐frequency signals constituting these calls consist of constant frequency (CF) sounds and frequency modulated (FM) sounds. CF components were found to be used for prey detection and identification; FM components were found to be utilized to update distance information. The Doppler shift also helps in detection of targets and gauging the speed of moving targets. Thus, combining the pulses and the resultant echoes enables the bat to determine object distances, sizes, and shapes. Bats were found to have their own call frequencies and are insensitive to a wide range of potential jamming sounds, which allows them to clearly distinguish their own calls amidst environmental cacophony. Experiments have shown that only when entire CF/FM simulations were used did the bats perform discrimination...


As of Sept 1, 1986, JAMA and the nine specialty journals* published by the American Medical Association (AMA) formally began to function as an editorial consortium. In succinct terms, this means that a manuscript rejected by one journal of the consortium for reasons of priority or unsuitability for that journal's readership may, with the author's agreement, be forwarded expeditiously for consideration by another AMA journal. The manuscript will be accompanied by the reviews obtained by the first editor, which should shorten the editorial review process appreciably the second time around. Several principles of functioning of the consortium are worth emphasizing to characterize its purpose: Because of the exigence of the review process, only a fraction of the manuscripts submitted to any AMA journal are accepted for publication. Some are rejected because of flows in scientific quality. They are returned to the authors, accompanied by comments and recommendations, which may help


The amount of unstructured text-based data is growing every day. Querying, clustering, and classifying this big data requires similarity computations across large sets of documents. Whereas low-complexity similarity metrics are available, attention has been shifting towards more complex methods that achieve a higher accuracy. In particular, the Word Mover's Distance (WMD) method proposed by Kusner et al. is a promising new approach, but its time complexity grows cubically with the number of unique words in the documents. The Relaxed Word Mover's Distance (RWMD) method, again proposed by Kusner et al., reduces the time complexity from qubic to quadratic and results in a limited loss in accuracy compared with WMD. Our work contributes a low-complexity implementation of the RWMD that reduces the average time complexity to linear when operating on large sets of documents. Our linear-complexity RWMD implementation, henceforth referred to as LC-RWMD, maps well onto GPUs and can be efficiently distributed across a cluster of GPUs. Our experiments on real-life datasets demonstrate 1) a performance improvement of two orders of magnitude with respect to our GPU-based distributed implementation of the quadratic RWMD, and 2) a performance improvement of three to four orders of magnitude with respect to our distributed WMD implementation that uses GPU-based RWMD for pruning.


The paper describes the three basic functions used to describe the image forming properties of photographic materials. The functions are the line spread function, the point spread function, and the transfer function (spatial frequency response). Only one of the three functions is independent, and therefore three pairs of conjugate relations exist among them. All six relations are given explicitly.The relations are exemplified by deriving the point and line spread functions of Super-XX, Kodachrome, and Microfile film from the transfer function measurements of Schade. The results are given in Figs. 2 and 3. Four different characteristic lengths associated with the spread functions are defined, and their numerical values are given in Table I.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this systematic review was to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the implications of environmental and climate factors on sport-related concussion incidence in outdoor contact sports.

DATA SOURCES
MEDLINE (via OVID), EMBASE (via Elsevier), CINAHL Complete (via EBSCOhost), SPORTDiscus (via EBSCOhost) Scopus (via Elsevier).

STUDY SELECTION
Studies that report incidence of sport-related concussion, assess data of athletes of outdoor contact sports, report on one or more climate/environmental factors, and diagnosis of concussion performed by a licensed medical professional were included. Reasons for exclusion included no report on extrinsic or environmental factors, no data on sport-related concussion incidence, and self-report of concussion diagnosis.

DATA EXTRACTION
Systematic Review was conducted utilizing Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines employing 2 reviewers at each phase and a third reviewer for conflict resolution.

DATA SYNTHESIS
7558 articles were reviewed and 20 met the inclusion criteria. There was moderate to strong strength of evidence concluding no difference between surface type (grass versus artificial) on sport-related concussion risk. Moderate to strong strength of evidence was found supporting no difference in sport-related concussion incidence based on game location (home versus away). There was no consensus on the effects of altitude or temperature on sport-related concussion incidence. One high quality study found a decreased risk of sport-related concussion when playing in wet conditions versus dry conditions. Heterogenous populations and data collection methods prevented extraction and meta-analysis.

CONCLUSIONS
Although consensus on specific environmental and climate factors that influence sport-related concussion incidence was limited, the majority of studies were of high quality and give insight into opportunity for future investigation. Administrators of large injury surveillance databases should consider including specific environmental and climate factors to provide investigators with robust data sets to better understand potential association with sport-related concussion.


We report our experimental observation of charge domain oscillation in semi-insulating GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSSs). The high-gain PCSS is intrinsically a photon-activated charge domain device. It is the photon-activated carriers that satisfy the requirement of charge domain formation on carrier concentration and device length product of 1012 cm-2. We also show that, because of the repeated process of domain formation, the domain travels with a compromised speed of electron saturation velocity and the speed of light. As a result, the transit time of charge domains in PCSS is much shorter than that of traditional Gunn domains.


Abstract Constrained seriation of euconodont generic presence-absence matrices for four time slices between the late Llanvirn and late Llandovery provides a qualitative method for defining shelf and oceanic biofacies, recosntructing biofacies architecture and analysing biodiversity within a regional context. We propose many North Atlantic Province taxa had a pelagic mode of life and ranged widely across the Iapetus Ocean. Oceanic biofacies are considered to reflect water mass structure. Changes in vertical distribution of one such biofacies (including Amorphognathus and Spinodus) suggest adaptation to cold, nutrient-rich, oxygen-poor upwelling water. Biofacies distributions suggest that upwelling occurred along the Avalonian margin throughout the Ashgill, but was only initiated along the Laurentian margin immediately prior to the Hirnantian glacial maximum. Clade diversities and trajectories differ between biofacies and latitudes, reflecting different causal mechanisms. In Laurentia, diversity fell in the early Ashgill, coincident with the onset of ocean cooling. Diversity declined in Avalonia when the microcontinent drifted into tropical latitudes. The stability of euconodont biofacies architecture during the Late Ordovician indicates that global cooling and plate reorganization had a low palaeoecological impact despite decreases in alpha and beta diversity.


Monumental Stairs have become a common addition to architectural designs in recent years.  Due to their slenderness, complex shapes, and long spans, monumental stairs often cause vibration serviceability problems in architectural structures.  This means that when people walk on the stair, vibrations of the structure, and sometimes the transmission of that vibration to other parts of the building, can cause discomfort to the occupants.  To prevent the occurrence of such problems, the structural designers should be able to predict the dynamic properties and structural response of monumental stairs under users' loads.  This is usually conducted using structural analysis software.  Therefore, it is important to create a computer model that can accurately provide the required information.  The main research question that is addressed in this paper is 'how monumental stairs should be modeled in a structural analysis software to reliably predict their natural frequencies.'  To achieve this goal, the research methodology used in the study consisted of comparing the results of computer modeling and measured field data from two different monumental stairs.  The stairs used in this study are made of steel structure.  Electrodynamic shakers and accelerometers were used for modal tests.  Computer models of the structure were adjusted to provide the best match between the analytical and field measured results.  These included the comparison of the predicted and measured natural frequencies and mode shapes.  Upon the completion of this research, important parameters for creating a realistic structural model of monumental stairs were identified.  The study showed that the stringer stiffness, weight of structure, and inclusion of non-structural elements such as stair cladding are important factors that need to be accurately incorporated into a structural model of a monumental stair to estimate its natural frequencies for vibration serviceability evaluations.


Deletions of the proximal regions of long arm of chromosome 5 are rare, till date only 10 case reports describing patients with del 5q11.2 are available. Segmental UPD are estimated about 0.6% in the random/general population. Recently Snjiders Blok et al. [1] describe a new microdeletion 5q11.2 syndrome. We report a new case of microdeletion 5q11.1-q11.2 with associated segmental isodisomy 5q11.2-qter, patient presents psychomotor retardation, autism spectrum disorder, patent foramen ovale and speech delay and this case is compared with others reported cases from the literature to contribute for the better understanding of 5q11.2 microdeletion syndrome.


Objective 1. To review and analyse the literature regarding out-of-hospital external chest compressions (ECC) in severe asthma and status asthmaticus. 2. To compare which ambulance services in Australia and New Zealand actively use ECC in their clinical practice guidelines for severe asthma. Methods Literature review using a variety of medical databases including, Medline, AMED, ProQuest, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus and Cochrane Library from 1950 to present. The following keywords were used in the search strategy, ambulance, asthma, emergency medical technicians, external chest compression, external chest pressure, lateral chest compression, lateral chest pressure, out-of-hospital, paramedic, prehospital, status asthmaticus and thoracic compression. A review of Australian and New Zealand ambulance service clinical practice guidelines was also undertaken comparing the current out-of-hospital guidelines use of ECC. Results A total of nine papers were located with low levels of evidence supporting the use of ECC. Only two papers directly discussed ECC in the context of out-of-hospital care. Three of the eight Australian ambulance services actively use ECC in their clinical practice guidelines. Conclusion High level evidence was not found supporting the use of ECC in severe asthma or status asthmaticus. Anecdotal opinions and case reports generally have supported its use in dynamic hyperinflation settings. Further research is required before recommendations can be made.


To the Editor. —The study by Dr Katzel and colleagues 1 has been quoted widely by the national media, which have promoted the conclusion that weight loss is healthier than exercise for older men. Although the authors of the study are not necessarily responsible for quotations in the media, the apparent perceptions have their basis in the study and consequently have done a disservice for many Americans. This study seems to show that dieting to achieve weight loss has a more beneficial effect on risk factors such as fasting blood glucose, insulin usage, and high-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol levels than does exercise alone. Therefore, it can be concluded that these risk factors have improvement more from weight loss through dieting than from exercise alone. However, the conclusion that weight loss is the preferred treatment to improve CAD risk factors in overweight middle-aged and older men does not necessarily follow.


( Read in title at Whitby, 1st May , 1976)

Porifera, Coelenterata, Bryozoa, Annelida, Brachiopoda, Crustacea, Insecta

I. INTRODUCTION It is now over 40 years since Sidney Melmore compiled his catalogue of type and figured specimens in the Yorkshire Museum, which was published eleven years later, in 1945. Since that time so many specimens have been refigured, additional specimens have been described and figured, and omissions and errors in Melmore's catalogue have come to light, that it has become necessary to re-write the catalogue rather than to issue a supplement to Melmore's publication.

In Melmore's time the type and figured specimens were kept in the general collections; most have since been transferred to a separate cabinet but some have not yet been traced. Recent experience suggests that there must be type and figured specimens still in the general collections, though remaining unrecognized. This could apply particularly to specimens studied between 1935 and 1965, when there was no geologist on the Museum staff.

The palaeontological collections were discussed in detail by Melmore (1945), and include the following:

William Bean collection: one third of Bean's collection was purchased in 1859. It includes specimens figured by G. Young and J. Bird, and by John Phillips.

John Bainbridge collection: purchased in 1861.

John Francis Walker collection: material donated from 1863 onward.

T. P. Barkas collection: fish remains from the Northumberland Coal Measures, acquired 1868.

James Cook collection: Pleistocene vertebrate remains, purchased 1872.

William Reed collection: About 42,000 specimens, including some figured by S. V. Wood and ...


BACKGROUND: Patients with cancer have complex care requirements and frequently use the emergency department. The purpose of this study was to determine whether continuity of care, cancer expertise of an institution or both affect outcomes in patients with cancer in the emergency setting. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using administrative databases from Ontario, Canada, involving records of patients aged 20 years and older who received chemotherapy or radiation in the 30 days before a cancer-related visit to the emergency department between 2006 and 2011. Patients seen in an emergency department at an alternative hospital (not the site where cancer treatment was given) were matched based on propensity score to patients who visited their original hospital (site where cancer treatment was given). Next, patients seen at an alternative emergency department that was in a general hospital (i.e., not a cancer centre) were matched to patients who visited their original hospital or a cancer centre. Outcomes were admission to hospital at the index visit to the emergency department, 30-day mortality, having imaging with computed tomography and return visits to the emergency department. RESULTS: We found 42 820 patients who were eligible for our study. Patients seen in the emergency departments at alternative hospitals were less likely to be admitted to hospital (odds ratio [OR] 0.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.74–0.83) and had higher hazards of return visits to the emergency department than matched patients at original hospitals (hazard ratio [HR] 1.06, 95% CI 1.03–1.11). In comparison, patients at alternative general hospitals also had lower odds of admission to hospital (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.79–0.88) and higher hazards of return visits to the emergency department (HR 1.07, 95% CI 1.03–1.11) compared with matched counterparts; however, these patients had higher 30-day mortality (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.05–1.22) and lower odds of having CT imaging (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.69–0.80). INTERPRETATION: Cancer expertise of an institution rather than continuity of care may be an important predictor of outcomes following emergency treatment of patients with cancer.


Rate of occurrence of the hemolytic streptococcus is known to vary greatly between families. The family physician is well aware of such differences and is accustomed to expect streptococcal infections more frequently in some homes than in others. It is of practical and theoretical interest to know whether it is because of some specific source of infection, as, for instance, a "carrier," that some families acquire the organisms more than others, or whether it is because of some characteristics in the individual members which make their respiratory mucosae better culture media. If it is the same streptococcus that is found in all members of a household, either in simultaneous cultures or on successive swabbings, we might assume some one source of infection, and appropriate measures could be taken to eliminate the hazard. If on the other hand different kinds of streptococci are found, either at one time or during successive


The future of vehicle safety will benefit greatly from precrash detection – the ability of a motor vehicle to predict the occurrence of an accident before it occurs. There are many different sensor technologies currently available for pre-crash detection. However no single sensor technology has demonstrated enough information gathering capability within the cost constraints of vehicle manufacturers to be used as a stand alone device. A proposed solution consists of combining information from multiple sensors in an intelligent computer algorithm to determine accurate precrash information. In this paper, a list of sensors currently available on motor vehicles and those that show promise for future development is presented. These sensors are then evaluated based on cost, information gathering capability and other factors. Cost sensitivity is lower in large commercial vehicles than in personal vehicles due to their higher initial cost and longer life span making them a good candidate for early adoption of such a system. This work forms the basis for ongoing research in developing an integrated object detection and avoidance precrash sensing system.


Introduction Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), and according to the WHO, up to 30% of world population is infected with latent TB. Pathogenesis of TB is multifactorial, and its development depends on environmental, social, microbial, and genetic factors of both the bacterium and the host. The number of TB cases in Kazakhstan has decreased in the past decade, but multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB cases are dramatically increasing. Polymorphisms in genes responsible for immune response have been associated with TB susceptibility. The objective of this study was to investigate the risk of developing pulmonary TB (PTB) associated with polymorphisms in several inflammatory pathway genes among Kazakhstani population. Methods 703 participants from 3 regions of Kazakhstan were recruited for a case-control study. 251 participants had pulmonary TB (PTB), and 452 were healthy controls (HC). Males and females represented 42.39% and 57.61%, respectively. Of all participants, 67.4% were Kazakhs, 22.8% Russians, 3.4% Ukrainians, and 6.4% were of other origins. Clinical and epidemiological data were collected from medical records, interviews, and questionnaires. DNA samples were genotyped using TaqMan assay on 4 polymorphisms: IFNγ (rs2430561) and IL1β (rs16944), TLR2 (rs5743708) and TLR8 (rs3764880). Statistical data was analyzed using SPSS 19. Results Genotyping by IFγ, IL1β, TLR2 showed no significant association with PTB susceptibility (p > 0.05). TLR8 genotype A/G was significantly higher in females (F/M – 41.5%/1.3%) and G/G in males (M/F – 49%/20.7%) (χ2=161.43, p < 0.001). A significantly increased risk of PTB development was observed for TLR A/G with an adjusted OR of 1.48 (95%, CI: 0.96 – 2.28), and a protective feature was revealed for TLR8 G/G genotype (OR: 0.81, 95%, CI: 0.56 – 1.16, p = 0.024). Additional grouping by gender revealed that TLR8 G/G contributes as protective genotype (OR: 1.83, 95%, CI: 1.18 – 2.83, p = 0.036) in males of the control group. Conclusion Results indicate that heterozygous genotype A/G of TLR8 increases the risk of PTB development, while G/G genotype may serve as protection mechanism. A/A genotype is strongly associated with susceptibility to PTB. To clarify the role of other polymorphisms in susceptibility to PTB in Kazakhstani population, further investigations are needed.


The Protestant Reformation, beginning in 1517, was a first-order economic shock. We document its effects on the sectoral allocation of economic activity in Germany using highly disaggregated data. During the Reformation, particularly in Protestant regions, large numbers of monasteries were expropriated. University graduates shifted toward secular, rather than religious, occupations. Forward-looking university students shifted away from the study of religious sector-specific theology, toward secular fields. Construction activity in the religious sector declined, particularly in Protestant regions, while secular construction increased. These findings highlight the unintended consequences of the Reformation---a religious movement that contributed to Europe's secularization.


This paper documents the construction of a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for Zimbabwe in 2013. The SAM was built using National Accounts data from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT), including balance of payment data, government finance data, and highly aggregated industry-level production accounts.Detailed data on industry and service sectors were obtained from ZIMSTAT surveys. For some activities, unpublished but recent supply and use data on disaggregated industries were combined with data from older sources. These sources include a 2011/12 ZIMSTAT household survey, trade data, the Central Government Budget, and output and price data from private farming organizations.The SAM provides a detailed representation of Zimbabwe's economy with 36 activities and 48 commodities. The SAM disaggregates labour into skilled and unskilled labour and separates households into rural and urban households. Despite shortcomings in the underlying data, it is hoped that this initial attempt at constructing a SAM representing the economy of Zimbabwe after land reform will stimulate further work aimed at improving it. 2013 Social Accounting Matrix for Zimbabwe


Recently, many activities of the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Standard
Organization (ISO) are leading to define new standards for very low
bit-rate video coding, such as H.263 and MPEG-4 after successful
applications of the international standards H.261 and MPEG-1/2 for
video coding above 64kbps. However, at very low bit-rate the
classic block matching based DCT video coding scheme suffers
seriously from blocking artifacts which degrade the quality of
reconstructed video frames considerably. To solve this problem, a
new technique in which motion compensation is based on dense motion
field is presented in this dissertation. Four efficient new video
coding algorithms based on this new technique for very low bit-rate
are proposed. (1) After studying model-based video coding
algorithms, we propose an optical flow based video coding algorithm
with thresh-olding techniques. A statistic model is established for
distribution of intensity difference between two successive frames,
and four thresholds are used to control the bit-rate and the
quality of reconstructed frames. It outperforms the typical
model-based techniques in terms of complexity and quality of
reconstructed frames. (2) An efficient algorithm using DCT coded
optical flow. It is found that dense motion fields can be modeled
as the first order auto-regressive model, and efficiently
compressed with DCT technique, hence achieving very low bit-rate
and higher visual quality than the H.263/TMN5. (3) A region-based
discrete wavelet transform video coding algorithm. This algorithm
implements dense motion field and regions are segmented according
to their content significance. The DWT is applied to residual
images region by region, and bits are adaptively allocated to
regions. It improves the visual quality and PSNR of significant
regions while maintaining low bit-rate. (4) A segmentation-based
video coding algorithm for stereo sequence. A correlation-feedback
algorithm with Kalman filter is utilized to improve the accuracy of
optical flow fields. Three criteria, which are associated with 3-D
information, 2-D connectivity and motion vector fields,
respectively, are defined for object segmentation. A chain code is
utilized to code the shapes of the segmented objects. it can
achieve very high compression ratio up to several
thousands.


Perhaps one of the most compelling divisive workplace issues of the decade surrounds the use of increasingly complex chemicals in work environments which raises legal, economic, medical and moral concerns, especially as employers adopt employment policies meant to avoid the specter of massive tort liability for workplace exposure injuries to workers or third parties. In the case, /International Union v. Johnson Controls, the Supreme Court struck down an employer's policy prohibiting fertile women from work involving exposure to the well-known teratogen, lead, where the employer could not produce a defense to this facially discriminatory policy. The authors analyze the Court's opinion and concurrences, and note the important tensions still needed resolution after the case: namely the public policy mandate to protect all populations from workplace toxins; to eradicate toxins from the workplace; and to promote worker and safety health of both men and women.


Miocene sedimentary strata exposed in the eastern Chemehuevi Mountains, southeastern California, record development of an evolving low-angle normal fault system. The sequence includes more than 1 km of conglomerate and sandstone with rare interbedded monolithologic breccia and volcanic flows. Clasts of Peach Springs Tuff in basal units indicate that this succession is younger than 18 Ma. These rocks have been displaced by a regionally extensive low-angle normal fault, the Chemehuevi detachment, and are folded and faulted. Structural reconstructions and the character of associated fault rocks indicate that the Chemeheuvi fault was initiated at a low angle and that the footwall was progressively unloaded through thinning and displacement of its cover during extensional deformation. The syntectonic sedimentary rocks described here provide evidence that movement continued on the gently dipping (< 15/sup 0/) fault even after part of the fault was breached and the footwall eroded. The Conglomerates and sandstones were deposited by stream flow and debris flow on alluvial fans. Synsedimentary faulting is suggested by angular discordance below one monolithologic breccia bed and by local coarsening-upward sequences. Clast types reveal progressive unroofing of hanging-wall rocks to exposer the Chemehuevi fault zone, from which chloritic, brecciated granite clasts were derived. Clasts weremore » then derived from both the hanging wall and the footwall, footwall debris being dominant high in the section. Distinctive clasts show that late displacement on this evolving fault system was on the order of 1 to 5 km.« less


Nurses are expected to touch areas of patients' bodies that are considered private and emotionally sensitive (intimate), yet little is known about how nursing students learn, rehearse, and incorporate appropriate touch strategies. Although touch education is important to all nurses, male students face additional challenges due to gender roles and negative stereotypes. The purpose of this quasi-experimental pilot study was to evaluate whether a 3-hour intimate touch instructional laboratory with subsequent clinical experience (intervention group) facilitated male students' development of intimate touch knowledge, skills, and attitudes, compared with having only clinical experience and no laboratory (control group). Findings revealed that intervention group participants were significantly more comfortable with cleansing genitalia, less apprehensive about touch being misperceived as sexual, reported less gender requirement rigidity, and scored significantly higher on measures associated with client dignity, comfort, and respect than control group participants in a simulated perineal hygiene demonstration.


Drivers tend to glance at the display of in-car infotainment systems despite the presence of speech output. The SEEV Model by Wickens et al. (2003) defines parameters influencing attention allocation towards events in dynamic environments. Analysing the SEEV Model provides insights on which of the parameters of the SEEV Model speech output has disadvantages compared to visual output. In two driving simulator experiments, it was tested whether increasing or decreasing the deducted parameters of the SEEV Model for speech output by means of improving the speech output in various respects actually decreases attention allocation to the display. It was shown that increasing the relevant information content (corresponding to the parameters expectancy and value) for speech as well as decreasing the time effort (which corresponds to the parameter effort) of speech compared to a baseline condition leads towards lower percentage dwell time to the display. Next, it was shown that a conscious motor action performed to request for speech output (corresponding to the parameter effort) decreases attention allocation towards the display in situations whereby the secondary task gets interrupted by a highly demanding driving task. Based on theses insights, design recommendations for speech output were deducted and implemented in a prototype with several infotainment applications. In another driving simulator experiment, it was observed that the design recommendations actually reduced attention allocation towards the display compared to a common speech output design of in-car infotainment systems. The design recommendations to reduce the time effort of speech output were again evaluated regarding their influence on the development of users' mental models. Finally, it was tested whether increasing the hedonic quality of speech output also leads towards less time glancing at the display. On the one hand, the conducted experiments showed which parameters of the SEEV Model could be influenced for speech output to decrease attention allocation to the display of a multimodal in-car infotainment system. On the other hand, the results provided insights regarding the applicability of specific SEEV Model parameters to the auditory modality since so far the model had only been evaluated with respect to the visual modality. Finally, it was shown that also hedonic aspects of speech output do indeed influence attention allocation.


The problem of how to allocate the resources optimally and adaptively in the dynamic, scalable and distribute-controlled grid environment is introduced and discussed numerously. But recent researches can't satisfy with the needs of resource allocation in grid system thoroughly. In this paper, we use the SuperScheduling concept in grid system, which is with no explicit model. And we introduce ant colony optimization applied for those models to implement resource allocation. We test the validity of ant colony optimization which gets good results to satisfy with the needs of resource allocation in the dynamic, scalable grid environment with no global control


Teaching quality is a key metric in college teaching effect and ability evaluation. In many previous literatures, evaluation of such metric is merely depended on subjective judgment of few experts based on their experience, which leads to some false, bias or unstable results. Moreover, pure human based evaluation is expensive that is difficult to extend to large scale. With the application of information technology, much information in college teaching is recorded and stored electronically, which founds the basic of a computer-aid analysis. In this paper, we perform teaching quality evaluation within machine learning framework, focusing on learning and modeling electronic information associated with quality of teaching, to get a stable model described the substantial principles of teaching quality. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is selected as the main model in this work. Experiment results on real data sets consisted of 4 subjects / 8 semesters show the effectiveness of the proposed method.


A Fortran 77 subroutine is provided for implementing the Gibbs sampling procedure to a multiunidimensional IRT model for binary item response data with the choice of uniform and normal prior distributions for item parameters. In addition to posterior estimates of the model parameters and their Monte Carlo standard errors, the algorithm also estimates the correlations between distinct latent traits. The subroutine requires the user to have access to the IMSL library. The source code is available at http.z/www.siuc.edu/vepse 1/shengIFortran/MUIRT/GSMU2.FOR. An executable file is also provided for download at http://www.siuc.edu/-epse I/shengIFortran/MUIRT/EXAMPLE.zip to demonstrate the implementation of the algorithm on simulated data.


ABSTRACT Background Most caries prevalence studies are conducted in community-based settings, usually with no radiographs, therefore, it is questionable if visual examination alone captures the true extent of disease. Aim Since it is relatively easy to diagnose occlusal and facial/lingual surface (nonproximal caries) on visual examination, our aim was to evaluate for an association between nonproximal caries (NP) and proximal caries (P), which if present can provide a tool to help decision makers in estimating the true extent of the disease. Design A cross-sectional retrospective chart audit was done using records of 106 children to determine the association between NP and P caries in the primary dentition. Results Our mean dft for NP lesions only was 1.55. Based on our data, the mean dft considering all pit and fissure plus the proximal lesions was 2.54, which is a 63.2% increase from the dft based on NP caries only. We found a significant association between NP caries and radiographically detectable P caries. Proximal lesions were twice as likely to exist on primary molars when non-proximal/pit and fissure carious lesions were present. Conclusion The results imply that proximal caries, and thus need for treatment, are being underestimated during visual exams. How to cite this article Dhar V, Mon S, Macek MD. Evaluation of Nonproximal Caries as Predictor of Proximal Caries in Primary Molars. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent, 2018;11(6):457-461.


Immunohistochemical study of the extracellular matrix in ulcerated stomach carcinoma has been performed. Material is taken from 70 patients having either ulcerated or non-ulcerated carcinoma, and from 10 patients with chronic stomach ulcer. Results of the study revealed additional criteria for a differential diagnosis of various forms of ulcerated stomach carcinoma and gave a description of their morphogenesis.


We study a family of non-C2-cofinite vertex operator algebras, called the singlet vertex operator algebras, and connect several important concepts in the theory of vertex operator algebras, quantum modular forms, and modular tensor categories. More precisely, starting from explicit formulae for characters of modules over the singlet vertex operator algebra, which can be expressed in terms of false theta functions and their derivatives, we first deform these characters by using a complex parameter {\epsilon}. We then apply modular trans- formation properties of regularised partial theta functions to study asymptotic behaviour of regularised characters of irreducible modules and compute their regularised quantum dimensions. We also give a purely geometric description of the regularisation parameter as a uniformisation parameter of the fusion variety coming from atypical blocks. It turns out that the quantum dimensions behave very differently depending on the sign of the real part of {\epsilon}. The map from the space of characters equipped with the Verlinde product to the space of regularised quantum dimensions turns out to be a genuine ring isomorphism for positive real part of {\epsilon} while for sufficiently negative real part of {\epsilon} its surjective image gives the fusion ring of a rational vertex operator algebra. The category of modules of this rational vertex operator algebra should be viewed as obtained through the process of a semi-simplification procedure widely used in the theory of quantum groups. Interestingly, the modular tensor category structure constants of this vertex operator algebra, can be also detected from vector valued quantum modular forms formed by distinguished atypical characters.


The growth of genetically engineered maize that produces the insecticidal protein Cry3Bb1 from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is an effective method to control corn rootworms (Diabrotica spp.), which are threatening maize production in North America and Europe. In this study, the risk of Cry3Bb1-expressing maize for the predatory spider Theridion impressum, a common species in European maize fields, was assessed. Quantification of Cry3Bb1 in potential prey species collected in Bt maize plots and prey spectrum analysis revealed that T. impressum ingests Cry3Bb1 in the field. Exposure to the Bt protein, however, was highly variable because some potential prey species, such as phloem-feeding herbivores and predators, contained little or no Cry3Bb1, whereas leaf-feeding herbivores contained high concentrations. Adult and juvenile T. impressum spiders were fed with Cry3Bb1-containing food (prey or maize pollen) for 8 weeks in the laboratory to examine the toxicity of the Bt protein. No differences in mortality, weight development or offspring production were observed between spiders provided with food containing or not containing Cry3Bb1. Retrospective power analysis indicated that the bioassays were sufficiently sensitive to detect meaningful differences if present. Although Cry3Bb1 is ingested by the spider in the field, our data provide no evidence for toxicity. Consequently, the growth of corn rootworm-resistant Bt maize appears to pose no risk for T. impressum.


The purpose of this investigation is to measure the total attenuation coefficients (TACs) of plaster materials using different geometries of the plaster, field sizes, and photon beam energies. The percent depth dose measurements were made using X-rays at 6 MV and 18 MV from the linear accelerator in order to plan the probable radiation dose to be given to the patient wearing a plaster cast. The TAC was experimentally determined in solid phantoms of various thicknesses both with and without plaster over areas of 5 x 5 cm2, 10 x 10 cm2, and 15 x 15 cm2. The experimentally measured TAC for plaster was compared to that of the NIST program. The TAC of solid phantom with plaster was found to be larger than without plaster. This means that dmax is very close to the skin and that in these situations plaster has a bolus effect, increasing the skin's dose.


The management of Archives is hardly arcane, but it may not be wholly transparent to readers or even to our authors. It relies on a division of responsibilities. The editorial board solicits, evaluates, and selects the articles, tries to keep the journal aligned with new research directions and new technologies, and worries about its fiscal future. The press designs, prints, distributes, and markets the final product. The editor occupies the crucial, scary space in between, a place where there can be, in the immortal words of Monty Python's Life of Brian, ''a great confusion as to where things really are, and nobody will really know where lieth those little things.'' For the last sixteen years, Naomi Richard has been our editor, and she has always known where the little things ''lieth,'' not to mention how they should lie. From the time she came on board, Naomi set the style for Archives, and this style has not only given the journal a distinctive character but has also been an attraction for authors in search of a publication venue. Authors familiar with her work hope she will edit theirs because they know she will treat it with respect and they will learn from the process. Being edited by Naomi is like taking a master class in writing, with everything considered, from the logic of your argument to a given turn of phrase. She can smooth the rough edges of linguistic admixtures, untangle wayward paragraphs and suggest just the right word to make an idea shine. She is the Zhongkui of problematic prose, the dispeller of all written infelicities. For Naomi, the process is as important as the product. There has been hair tearing, to be sure, and pithy comments about authors who submit and run, sometimes disappearing for months beyond the reaches of modern technology, leaving behind unfinished footnotes and Sanskrit sans diacritical marks. But the storms are weathered, i's are dotted and t's crossed, and the authors become cherished friends, recipients of inside jokes and messages signed ''n.'' We met once for lunch in New York, then again for a meeting at Asia Society. Otherwise, because I live in Kansas, our relationship has been built on long phone calls and many, many emails. I find hard to believe that we have only met in person twice because such a strong sense of presence comes through her writing, with its extraordinary combination of wit, vocabulary, and deities invoked in various languages. Email subject lines like ''burning (well, simmering) indignation'' and ''another possible kerfuffle'' compel you to open the messages immediately. Her valedictions are funny and kind. Sometimes she signs off ''ccc,'' meaning ''confront chaos calmly,'' but the acronym ''ffe,'' referring to the Japanese New Year's dream of ''Fuji, a falcon, and an eggplant,'' is more common. One day, however, the closing line of a message about a wayward author read ''Fuji, Falcon, Eggplant, and Krakatoa.'' When I asked about the additional word, I was informed, ''Krakatoa is what explodes if one disrespects one's editor.'' Along with the jokes have come words of wisdom from a remarkable range of sources, Han Yu to Hercule Poirot, occasional political commentary, updates on beloved grandson Ben, and a stories about a series of highly individual cats, Cherubino, Rubatummy, and Headlamps. Thus I can always ''see'' Naomi. After she, husband Joe, and the cats moved to Colorado in the summer of 2008, she wrote: ''The books are all shelved. The cartons are gone. So is much of the dust. So is my miasma of gloom and nostalgia, altho' I still haven't gotten quite to the point of calling it 'home.' That will come.'' Naomi Richard shepherded Archives through difficult transitions, the journal's and her own. She weathered the trials and tribulations of changing publishers, as well as her own move over half way across the country. She stayed with Archives long after it was convenient or financially reasonable to do so out of loyalty to Asian art, especially the art of Japan, and to her friends who write about it. The journal and the field are much in her debt. Krakatoa could not be more pacific.


In this work, we address the problem of executing in-hand manipulation based on visual input. Given an initial grasp, the robot has to change its grasp configuration without releasing the object. We propose a method for in-hand manipulation planning and execution based on information on the object's shape using a dual-arm robot. From the available information on the object, which can be a complete point cloud but also partial data, our method plans a sequence of rotations and translations to reconfigure the object's pose. This sequence is executed using non-prehensile pushes defined as relative motions between the two robot arms.


Many qualified analysts are unconvinced by the case advanced by US economists Card and Krueger (C and K) that, within limits, the employment effects of raising the minimum wage will be zero or positive. Indeed, examinations of C and K arguments and studies by such analysts reveal many flaws and generally support the conventional view that minimum wages reduce employment. Using the minimum wage to assist low wage earners is also an inefficient and ineffective welfare measure as higher income groups benefit from it more than others. Eliminating the AIRC's role in determining the minimum wage and moving to a market-determined wage could be made more politically acceptable if accompanied by some form of additional social security assistance linked to and encouraging work for low wage earners in low-income households, and protecting their living standard. To avoid any additional budgetary cost, such assistance could be financed by reducing the large social welfare benefits currently provided to higher income groups.


In modern micro-architectures, computation speed is often reduced by cache misses. Cache analysis is therefore imperative to obtain effective optimization. We present an analytical technique based on reuse distances that focuses on efficiently determining the behavior of fully associative caches and extends to set-associative caches. In this technique, the number of cache misses is obtained by counting the number of integer points in a parameterized polytope. It is well know that this parameterized count can be represented by an Ehrhart polynomial. Previously, interpolation was used to obtain these polynomials, but this technique has some disadvantages, most notably that under certain conditions it fails to produce a solution. Our main contribution is a novel method for calculating Ehrhart polynomials analytically. It extends an existing method, based on Barvinok's decomposition, for counting the number of points in a nonparameterized polytope. Our technique always produces a solution and is usually faster than interpolation.


This paper presents a methodology that can effectively identify contributions of water sources to end-use water consumption in distribution network locations. The sector selected for the study is a residential sector of Quebec City supplied with drinking water directly from the main supply pipes from the water treatment plant and by re-chlorinated water from a reservoir. The proposed methodology relies on three strategies: a hydraulic characterization of the distribution network, a tracer study and a water quality characterization study. A tracer study was conducted by injecting CaCl 2 brine at the reservoir outlet in order to increase calcium concentrations in water from that source. It was then possible to associate sampling points at which calcium concentrations showed an increase during the test as being supplied by the reservoir. A water quality characterization study was conducted simultaneously with the tracer study, making it possible to validate the distribution zones identified. This validation was made possible by analysing the difference between residual chlorine values from the two sources; in fact, water from the reservoir had distinctively higher levels due to re-chlorination. With this fact, it was possible to identify distribution zones at points where the calcium concentration had remained constant during the tracer test.


Signed background papers and a composite overview chapter examine the behavior of interest rates in selected industrial countries, their impact on capital movement, and the consequent impact on exchange rates and trade flows. Two chapters survey the literature on the impact of taxation and inflation, three examine the situation in the United States, and three others focus on such topics as interest rates in other industrial nations and international capital flows. Volume contains author and subject index.


Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of capital market liberalization on audit reporting and pricing. The authors use the announcement of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program in China as a shock to capital market liberalization.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors use the difference-in-differences method to study the difference in changes in the frequency of modified audit opinions and audit fees between the treatment group and the control group.

Findings
This study finds that capital market liberalization increases reputational and litigation risks for auditors and leads to more conservative audit reports. In addition, capital market liberalization stimulates the management of eligible firms to improve the information environment, helps to reduce information asymmetry and decreases audit fees. Specifically, the authors identify the channels of active foreign institutional investors as a new governance mechanism through which capital market liberalization impacts eligible firm and auditor decisions.

Research limitations/implications
This study complements the literature by showing that capital market liberalization may bring a new and strong governance mechanism for eligible firms and auditors.

Practical implications
This study may provide new references for active foreign institutional shareholders as a new and strong governance mechanism in weak institutional regimes such as China, auditors' optimization decisions when litigation risks increase and management's improvements in the information environment under the monitoring of foreign institutional shareholders.

Originality/value
Overall, this study contributes to the literature by showing that capital market liberalization can bring a new governance mechanism for the management of eligible firms and auditors in a weak institutional environment. Foreign institutional shareholders may be superior to the domestic market forces and other corporate governance in the role of monitoring the management of eligible firms and auditors.


The redox characteristics of 2-ketohydrazono-3-phenyl-5-substituted-2,3-dihydro-1,3,4-thiadiazoles and its derivatives (1a-h) has been investigated in nonaqueous solvents such as 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE), dichloromethane (DCM), acetonitrile (AN), tetrahydrofuran (THF), and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) containing 0.1 mol.dm-3 tetra n-butylammonium perchlorate (TBAP) as supporting electrolyte at platinum ectrode. Through controlled potential electrolysis, the oxidation and reduction products of the investigated compounds can be separated and indentified. The redox mechanism is suggested and proved. It was found that all the investigated compounds are oxidized in two irreversible one-electron processes following the well known pattern of EC-mechanism. On the other hand, these compounds are reduced in a single two electron or in a successive two one electron processes following the well known pattern of EEC-mechanism according to the nature of the substituent