Information intermediaries play an important role in communication by filtering the available flood of information for the recipient. They can take both traditional and modern forms differentiated by their connection to the Internet. Because external factors can shape these intermediaries, possible differences are examined in terms of competition and responsibility for the actions of third parties from an international perspective. In each category, four subcategories are used to compare the situation of traditional and modern information intermediaries. Market share, revenue, market structure and growth are examined in the "competition" category. For "responsibility for the actions of third parties" the aspects degree of content control, voluntary enforcement, collateral censorship and user empowerment are examined. A simple scoring system is used to visualize the perceived strength of change in each category and its subcategories. Possible strengths of change are weak, moderate and strong. It is hypothesized that there would be at least moderate change in both categories to reflect that the external factors around information intermediaries have changed significantly. This was confirmed. It is found that the change in the competition category could be described as strong, especially when considering revenue and growth. In responsibility for the actions of third parties, the change is moderate, strongest in degree of content control and user empowerment. Thus, strong changes have taken place between traditional and modern information intermediaries.


The direction of developing MSME will encourage the realization of economic revitalization which is expected to be more pro-people's economy. In essence, economic revitalization is a joint movement between the government and the people. Efforts to make the people's economy a pillar of the national economy found important momentum after the 1998 economic crisis at which time the concept of partnership which was an idea of the New Order era was difficult to materialize due to various obstacles such as the low quality of human resources, lack of technology and information, production factors, facilities and infrastructure, aspects funding and financing services that are not yet supportive, the business climate is not yet supportive, as well as coordination and guidance that have not been going well. MSMEs with their intrinsic characteristics and potential are vital elements of an economic system that can truly create people's welfare.The development of a people's economy requires side with the government. Partisanship does not mean to win over the weak, but so that competition can be healthy and balanced. The government takes sides in doing something so that the weak economic groups have sufficient power so that they can freely develop their businesses, if necessary, compete profitably with other companies. Referring to Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution, local governments need to develop their roles to jointly manage all natural wealth for the people's economic interests. It is hoped that the strengthening of the populist economic system will be able to stem and minimize the negative impacts that arise due to


At the beginning of the 21 st  century, a series of structural and domestic factors created an environment favourable to the projection of Brazil in the international financial agenda. The period was marked by intense intellectual productivity and reflections about the country's role in the world, leading to the quest for an independent and dynamic foreign policy. Brazil, along with other Southern countries, submitted proposals to the main multilateral forums operating in the financial sector (such as the International Monetary Fund, the G20 and the Financial Stability Forum), and proposed a number of institutional reforms in its foreign policy decision-making process. However, throughout the 2010s a different set of domestic and structural factors altered the environment that had given rise to the previous wave of strong activism in Brazilian foreign policy. This article seeks to identify the internal and multilateral gains achieved during that period, as well as the major obstacles that prevented some other Brazilian claims from being addressed. It argues that Brazilian diplomacy was shaped according to the possibilities, given the domestic context and the international constraint.


Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a highly contagious viral disease that mainly affects sheep and goats. Heavy losses can be seen, especially in goats, with morbidity and mortality rates sometimes approaching 80-100%. At one time, peste des petits ruminants was thought to be restricted to the Middle East and limited areas of Africa and Asia. Recently, its range has expanded in both Africa and Asia. In addition, infections and clinical cases have been recognized in other ungulates, particularly antelope and wild relatives of sheep and goats, but also camels and water buffalo. Some clinical cases and outbreaks in these animals have been severe, and there is a risk that PPR could threaten the conservation of certain wildlife.


This chapter covers a brief review of the definition, structural characteristics and main applications of hydrotalcite, an interesting multifunctional material which finds applicability in different areas. Particularly, some catalytic reactions using hydrotalcite or mixed oxides derived from these materials are addressed (Ethanol Steam Reforming, Photochemical conversions, Hydrodesulfurization). The use of Raman Spectroscopy associated with other techniques, such as powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Extended X-ray Absorption Fine-Structure (EXAFS), Temperature Programmed Reduction of hydrogen (H2-TPR), Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Density Functional Theory (DFT) simulations, to characterize this type of material is addressed through examples described in the current literature. In this sense, multidisciplinary efforts must be made in order to increase the understanding of the properties of these materials and the catalytic behavior in the most varied reactions.


We report the fabrication of p- and n-type thermoelectric oxide thick films laminated by insulating alumina using electrophoretic deposition and their thermoelectric performance. From the experimental studies performed for optimization of the thermoelectric performance in the p- and n-type mono-layers, the control of sintering temperature for densification and the usage of fine powder were effective for reducing the electrical resistivity of thermoelectric layers. These findings could be applicable also to the triple-layered thick films. When one assumes that two triple-layered films of p- and n-type thermoelectric materials are combined as unicouple of thermoelectric module, an estimated maximum output power was 20 times higher than a measured maximum output power of a previously reported multi-layered thermoelectric module. It was found that precise control of the microstructure in the thermoelectric layers is indispensable for development of the thermoelectric modules based on the electrophoretic deposition.


ABSTRACT The effective labor possibilities frontier (ELPF) is defined as the set of statically efficient allocations of labor inputs in the competing tasks of production and R&D. It is concave if labor is heterogeneous. In an R&D-based growth model with an essential non-renewable natural resource, the shape of the ELPF affects the optimal speed of the transition. If resource endowment is poor, transition is slower and involves a smaller R&D effort, and slower growth in per capita consumption, in the case of a heterogeneous labor force as compared to a homogeneous one. Policies that modify the distribution of skills in the population imply shifts of the ELPF. We provide a taxonomy of possible shifts of the ELPF, and link them to education policy or demographic trends.


The histologic distinction between high-grade prostate cancer and infiltrating high-grade urothelial cancer may be difficult, and has significant implications because each disease may be treated very differently (ie, hormone therapy for prostate cancer and chemotherapy for urothelial cancer). Immunohistochemistry of novel and established prostatic and urothelial markers using tissue microarrays (TMAs) were studied. Prostatic markers studied included: prostate-specific antigen (PSA), prostein (P501s), prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), NKX3.1 (an androgen-related tumor suppressor gene), and proPSA (pPSA) (precursor form of PSA). "Urothelial markers" included high molecular weight cytokeratin (HMWCK), p63, thrombomodulin, and S100P (placental S100). TMAs contained 38 poorly differentiated prostate cancers [Gleason score 8 (n=2), Gleason score 9 (n=18), Gleason score 10 (n=18)] and 35 high-grade invasive urothelial carcinomas from radical prostatectomy and cystectomy specimens, respectively. Each case had 2 to 8 tissue spots (0.6-mm diameter). If all spots for a case showed negative staining, the case was called negative. The sensitivities for labeling prostate cancers were PSA (97.4%), P501S (100%), PSMA (92.1%), NKX3.1 (94.7%), and pPSA (94.7%). Because of PSA's high sensitivity on the TMA, we chose 41 additional poorly differentiated primary (N=36) and metastatic (N=5) prostate carcinomas which showed variable PSA staining at the time of diagnosis and performed immunohistochemistry on routine tissue sections. Compared to PSA, which on average showed 18.8% of cells with moderate to strong positivity, cases stained for P501S, PSMA, and NKX3.1 had on average 42.5%, 53.7%, 52.9% immunoreactivity, respectively. All prostatic markers showed excellent specificity. HMWCK, p63, thrombomodulin, and S100P showed lower sensitivities in labeling high-grade invasive urothelial cancer in the TMAs with 91.4%, 82.9%, 68.6%, and 71.4% staining, respectively. These urothelial markers were relatively specific with only a few prostate cancers showing scattered (≤2%) weak-moderate positive cells. In summary, PSA can be used as the first screening marker for differentiating high-grade prostate adenocarcinoma from high-grade urothelial carcinoma. Immunohistochemistry for P501S, PSMA, NKX3.1, and pPSA are useful when high-grade prostate cancer is suspected based on the morphology or clinical findings, yet shows negative or equivocal PSA staining. HMWCK and p63 are superior to the novel markers thrombomodulin and S100P.


Public policy to attain gender equality in India has moved away from welfare approach to empowerment approach. Several policy initiatives are made for improving access to capability enhancing inputs to women. Education being one of the critical inputs for improving the capabilities of women, recent education policies are engendered at all levels. Specific programmes are introduced to operationalize the policy objectives. These initiatives have resulted in improving the gender parity at the primary and secondary level much more than at the higher education level. But the reduced gender gap in education attainment is not translated into increased work participation of women in public domain. Encouragement to formation of Self Help Groups (SHG) and linking them with the banking sector is another strategy adopted to empower women. Policies are initiated to link SHGs with other welfare programmes. However research studies revealed mixed outcomes on the impact of these programmes in improving the choices for women. Therefore, the focus of this paper will be on the critical analysis of gender specific social policies and the impact of these policies on improving the choices for women mainly based on the secondary data and field study results.


The concern with stabilising the political and avoiding the excessive deployments of co- ercive force by totalitarian political imaginations is usually associated with political liberal- ism and liberal political theory. It is rarely associated with political theology and conceptions of sovereignty that are based on political theology. The unique contribution of the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben to contemporary political theory is the opportunity it offers to contemplate the stabilisation of the political in terms of political theology and not in terms of typical rule of law arguments that one would associate with political liberalism. The aim of this article is to trace and question some of the essential thoughts on the basis of which Agamben puts forward the idea of the called existence of the Christian community. It does so in order to put forward, in response, an argument for a literary community that has much in common with Agamben's conception of the Christian ekklesia, but ultimately also differs from it in certain important respects. The argument for a literary communitythat is developed ultimately has more in common with Nancy's conception of an "inoperative community". The article also offers a close scrutiny of Agamben's engagement with the work of Carl Schmitt. This scrutiny of Agamben's engagement with Schmitt is crucial for the argument that the article forwards, considering the way in which Schmitt's work is with good reason historically linked to exactly the kind of political theology that destabilises rather than stabilises the political.


Abstract Understanding structural excursions of proteins under folding conditions is crucial to map energy landscapes of proteins. In the present study, OneG computational tool has been used for analyzing possible existence of cryptic intermediates and metastable states of 26 proteins for which three prerequisite inputs of the OneG such as atomic coordinates of proteins, free energy of unfolding (ΔGU) and free energy of exchange (ΔGHX) determined in the absence of denaturant were available during the course of the study. The veraciousness of the tool on predicting the partially folded states of the proteins has been comprehensively described using experimental data available for 15 of the 26 proteins. Meanwhile, possible existence of partially structured states in the folding pathways of 11 other proteins has also been delineated as predicted by the OneG. In addition to mapping the folding pathways of proteins, the salient merits of the tool on systematically addressing the discrepancy between the ΔGU and the ΔGHX of the proteins have also been dealt. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma


Modernity has significantly influenced the branches of human knowledge; architecture has a substantial share in this effect. Modern architecture, in turn, was not a negative recipient to impact, but it was a positive catalyst for decades. Moreover, it did not limit to certain geographic boundaries, but it has spread all over the world and Cyprus was not an exception. Due to most of the Cypriot pioneer architects were studied in Europe; Cyprus was the incubator that has many architectural distinctive pieces of evidence of modern architecture. Perhaps the expert reader of the modern architectural discourse of Cyprus could distinguish numerous aesthetic features in Cyprus Buildings especially the private residences and their appearance is credited back to one of the pioneers of modern architecture; Le Corbusier. The research paper is an attempt to determine the influence of the principles that Le Corbusier claimed as keystones of modern architecture in early twenty century and how impressed on the emergence of aesthetic values of the modern architecture of Cyprus as well. The paper takes two works of Neoptolemos Michaelides, as a case study (Neoptolemos Michaelides is considered the father of Cyprus modern architecture). The first case study is his and wife private residence, which considers the icon of the modern residential architecture of Cyprus and the other is the first residential project designed by him Theotodos Kanthos residence.


It is by now generally understood that the nature of events are central to Deleuze's philosophical endeavour. This has not meant, however, that the process mapped out by this concept has been adequately grasped. Indeed, the lines mapping out events are obscured, theoretical, even otherworldly, whenever the complexities of the creating of the virtual and the actual as the created, are reductively conceived as giving way to two separated domains; two separated domains whereby the repeater would be forever condemned to be the result of an otherworldly will that "works through it," one that would signal that they would never be capable of becoming worthy of the events that make a life. [i] The perspectival reality of the virtual with respect to the actual, which despite its fragmentary nature is in its entirety encompassed in each singular event, requires of us that we grasp what it is that Antonin Artaud's points to when saying, I "am my son, my father, my mother, and myself." It is not as though events perceived in the form of a virtual complex render beings inconsequential; instead, events are capable of ousting the verb "to be" in a double sense, because they enfold what is most affirmative in the activity of beings, the being of becoming whereby a life is born, always yet again, and as a function of which, as Alfred North Whitehead notes, what an actual being is, is how that entity becomes. It is adequate to its becoming. The actual as present-being expresses the verb "to be" in an ephemeral sense, or it is expressed by it in a restrictive way, while when affirmed as indistinct from the virtual, being, the verb "to be," implies nothing else than the return of becoming. It is an untimely instant in which what is affirmed is the continuation of becoming; an instant that makes each event be the infinite becoming-finite of an actual being. So as to explore the nature of events in Deleuze's philosophy, it is this displacement, the ousting of the verb "to be," that I focus in on in this paper.


The Precision IceCube Next Generation Upgrade (PINGU) is supposed to have an energy threshold below 10 in order to resolve the neutrino mass hierarchy. In order to reconstruct the energy and direction of neutrinos interacting in this array, producing both a hadronic cascade and a muon track, advanced reconstruction methods need to be employed. A class of these seeks to maximize a complicated likelihood function within an 8-dimensional parameter space describing the event, and requires sophisticated minimizers to achieve the necessary resolution in a reasonable time. In this report, a pre-existing but hitherto unused minimizer which samples that parameter space with several Markov chains at once, based on the Differential Evolution Monte Carlo algorithm, is developed further and its behaviour and performance is tested on simulated data of the IceCube/PINGU array. The tests compare both various configurations of the minimizer and Markov Chain Monte Carlo, a similar previous approach.


Meta-analysis is a statistical process summarizing comparable data from a number of scientific papers. The use of meta-analysis in microbiology allows decision-making that has an impact on public health policy. It can happen that the primary researches come to different conclusions, although these are targeted with the same research question. It is, therefore, inevitable to have the means to systematically evaluate information and compare research results. Ulcerative colitis together with Crohn's disease are among the two main inflammatory bowel diseases. This chronic disease of the gastrointestinal tract, with an as yet unclear etiology, is presented by an uncontrolled inflammatory immune response in genetically predisposed individuals to as yet undefined environmental factors in interaction with the intestinal microbiota itself. In patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), changes in the composition and relative abundance of microorganisms could be observed. Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), which commonly occur in the large intestine as part of the commensal microbiota of animals and humans involved in the pathogenesis of the disease, have been shown to occur. SRB are anaerobic organisms affecting short-chain fatty acid metabolism. This work outlines the perspectives of the use of meta-analysis for UC and changes in the representation of intestinal organisms in these patients.


Although there are vast amounts of information accessible through Web technology, retrieving specifically related information through the Internet can still be difficult. In order to cope with this problem, the World Wide Web Consortium has developed an extension of the current Web called The Semantic Web. The Semantic Web is a standardized mechanism for obtaining meaningful definitions and a fundamental philosophic logic that relates entitites by means of integral relations (the basis for granularity) using conceptual ontology. In this article, the authors describe the essential features of OWL, an Ontology Web Language, and the Semantic Web, and outline their respective representations in Protege. The authors then utilize OWL to formulate an ontology of blood pressure by extending Kumar and Smith's original blood pressure case study to a domain composed of medical entities. We have a software package that comes with this paper to demonstrate the Ontology for Blood Pressure to a domain composed of medical entities.


Due to the large accumulation of omics data sets in public repositories, innumerable studies have been designed to analyze omics data for various purposes. However, the analysis of single data set may only provide limited information or suffer from small sample size and lack of reproducibility, thus data integration is gaining more and more attention nowadays. This dissertation focuses on developing methods for variable selection in regression (Chapter 1) and clustering (Chapter 2) for multi-omics data integration, and identification of differential co-expression networks (Chapter 3) in the transcriptomics meta-analysis setting.

In Chapter 1, we propose a Bayesian indicator variable selection model to incorporate multi-layer overlapping group structure (MOG) in the regression setting, motivated by the structure commonly encountered in multi-omics applications, in which a biological pathway contains tens to hundreds of genes and a gene can be mapped to multiple experimentally measured features (such as its mRNA expression, copy number variation and methylation levels of possibly multiple sites). We evaluated the model in simulations and two breast cancer examples, and demonstrated that this approach not only enhances prediction accuracy but also improves variable selection and model interpretation that lead to deeper biological insight into the disease. In Chapter 2, we extended MOG to Gaussian mixture models for clustering, aiming to identify disease subtypes and detect subtype-predictive omics features.

In Chapter 3, we present a meta-analytic framework for detecting differential co-expression networks (MetaDCN). Differential co-expression (DC) analysis, different from conventional differential expression (DE) analysis, helps detect alterations of gene-gene correlations in case/control comparison, which is likely to be missed in DE analysis.

Public health significance: Methods proposed in Chapter 1 - 2 not only can predict disease outcome or identify disease subtypes, but also determine relevant biomarkers, which can potentially facilitate the design of a test assay to monitor disease progression, predict disease subtypes, and guide treatment decisions. Method developed in Chapter 3 provides a novel framework for identifying differentially co-expressed genes to help us better understand how gene-gene interactions are altered in disease mechanism and provide potential new molecular targets for drug development.


An increasing interest and growth potential has emerged for Norwegian salmon in Iran's seafood market. Willingness to pay (WTP) for Norwegian salmon, Iranian rainbow trout, and Iranian narrow-barred Spanish mackerel is estimated for seafood consumers in Iran. Marginal effects of taste, convenience, nutrition, and demographic factors on WTP, are also estimated. A survey among 359 food shoppers was conducted in Tehran province, employing a Multiple Price List (MPL) and a stated preferences method. Based on this survey, estimated WTP for Norwegian salmon is $12.54, which is almost half of its current price in the market. The results indicate that WTP for Norwegian salmon is higher among high-income groups; and also taste, nutrition, and consumption frequency can increase this WTP up to $17.45. This implies that businesses can take advantage of the existing opportunities for Norwegian salmon among Iranian seafood consumers by increasing their WTP and balancing the prices accordingly. Differentiating Norwegian salmon with respect to its attributes, and using local seafood stores in wealthy regions as the distribution channel, are the suggested strategies for development of the consumption of Norwegian salmon among Iranian seafood consumers.


Speech is one of the vital signals of acoustic classification. Speech recognition is also significant and very well known of audio processing. Speech contains very important frequency information of human being. The features of Audio, especially speech signal may be extracted using FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) and Wavelet to detect the frequency information of the signal. But it is difficult to extract the changes of small variation of speech signal with time-varying morphological characteristics. So, it is needed to be extracted by signal processing method because there are not visible of graphical audio signal. In this paper, an improved wavelet method has been proposed to extract the precise detection of small abnormalities of both original and noise corrupted speech signal which are taken empirically by writing MATLAB program. The proposed wavelet method found to be more summarized over conventional FFT and Wavelet in finding the small abnormalities of audio signal.


Defining the boundaries of practice-based and practice-led PhD programmes is often confusing. Undoubtedly, doctoral programmes are challenging, and feelings of "imposter syndrome" and anxiety tend to go hand in hand with such intense levels of study. Adding an individual's arts practice on to this furthers the feeling of uncertainty. In this paper, I explore how notions of practice-based and practice-led research can be interpreted differently. I discuss my personal experiences as an artist navigating the field of academia and how I used the Practice-as-Research model within my research.


Neurothekeomas are rare benign cutaneous neoplasms of nerve sheath origin. They are primarily found in the superficial soft tissue and are also known as dermal nerve sheath myxomas. They are commonly found on the upper extremities, head and neck followed by trunk. Here is an unusual presentation of neurothekeoma occurring as a polypoidal lesion of the nipple in a young female patient.


There is a large and growing literature on the potential use of policy instruments for stimulating the adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices amongst smallholders. The objective of this article is to review and understand how the array of potential policy incentives can serve as mechanisms for enhancing adoption and upscaling of potential CSA practices by small-scale farmers in low-income countries. The review follows a matrix approach capturing where specific CSA practices (rows) are supported by typical policy instruments (columns) for enhancing widespread adoption. We first identify six key CSA practices, namely water management, soil and nutrient management, crop tolerance to stress, agroforestry and intercropping, crop rotation and mixed systems, and pest and disease management. Then we discuss the impact of those typical policy instruments, namely market prices, taxes and subsidies, land rights, rural finance, training and information, and certification and labeling. The review finds that most studies on this subject have a rather narrow focus on functional properties of a specific policy instrument and a particular CSA practice, thereby ignoring substitution, complementary or conditional effects between policy measures and CSA practices. Consequently, previous studies identify few incentives, particularly effective on their own. Wider perspectives on impact pathways point to the importance of sequencing and scaling for enhancing farmers' CSA adoption. We therefore advocate for more integrated approaches that also consider indirect effects of policy instruments on CSA adoption and pursue their systematic anchoring through successful policies that enhance widespread adoption.


The Web is revolutionizing the way citizens interact with businesses and government agencies. Almost all key functions of modern society are being reshaped to exploit opportunities the Web opens. As part of an effort to improve government-citizen interactions, government agencies are providing a wide spectrum of online services. Virginia Tech is collaborating with the Virginia Department for the Aging (VDA) on a project called WebSenior. A middleware infrastructure, WebSenior automatically delivers e-government services customized for seniors. It uses ontologies to automatically generate Web services customized to senior citizens' needs and government program laws and regulations.


As part of an effort to understand how proteins are imported into the peroxisome, we have sought to identify the peroxisomal targeting signals in four unrelated peroxisomal proteins: human catalase, rat hydratase:dehydrogenase, pig D-amino acid oxidase, and rat acyl-CoA oxidase. Using gene fusion experiments, we have identified a region of each protein that can direct heterologous proteins to peroxisomes. In each case, the peroxisomal targeting signal is contained at or near the carboxy terminus of the protein. For catalase, the peroxisomal targeting signal is located within the COOH-terminal 27 amino acids of the protein. For hydratase:dehydrogenase, D-amino acid oxidase, and acyl-CoA oxidase, the targeting signals are located within the carboxy- terminal 15, 14, and 15 amino acids, respectively. A tripeptide of the sequence Ser-Lys/His-Leu is present in each of these targeting signals as well as in the peroxisomal targeting signal identified in firefly luciferase (Gould, S.J., G.-A. Keller, and S. Subramani. 1987. J. Cell Biol. 105:2923-2931). When the peroxisomal targeting signal of the hydratase:dehydrogenase is mutated so that the Ser-Lys-Leu tripeptide is converted to Ser-Asn-Leu, it can no longer direct proteins to peroxisomes. We suggest that this tripeptide is an essential element of at least one class of peroxisomal targeting signals.


Poverty's mental toll might explain its connection to unhealthy impulsive behaviors. [Also see Research Article by Mani et al.] Few people wish to be poor. Many find it puzzling that those in poverty seem to get stuck in that state, even when there are opportunities to improve one's lot. On page 976 of this issue, Mani et al. (1) provide a possible reason: Poverty-related concerns impair cognitive capacity. Simply put, being poor taps out one's mental reserves. This could explain data showing that the poor are likelier than others to behave in ways that are harmful to health and impede long-term success—in short, behaviors that can perpetuate a disadvantaged state.


Often during the process of divergence, genetic markers will only gradually obtain the signal of isolation. Studies of recently diverged taxa utilizing both mitochondrial and nuclear data sets may therefore yield gene trees with differing levels of phylogenetic signal as a result of differences in coalescence times. However, several factors can lead to this same pattern, and it is important to distinguish between them to gain a better understanding of the process of divergence and the factors driving it. Here, we employ three nuclear intron loci in addition to the mitochondrial Cytochrome b gene to investigate the magnitude and timing of divergence between two endangered and nearly indistinguishable petrel taxa: the Galapagos (GAPE) and Hawaiian (HAPE) petrels (Pterodroma phaeopygia and P. sandwichensis). Phylogenetic analyses indicated reciprocal monophyly between these two taxa for the mitochondrial data set, but trees derived from the nuclear introns were unresolved. Coalescent analyses revealed effectively no migration between GAPE and HAPE over the last 100 000 generations and that they diverged relatively recently, approximately 550 000 years ago, coincident with a time of intense ecological change in both the Galapagos and Hawaiian archipelagoes. This indicates that recent divergence and incomplete lineage sorting are causing the difference in the strength of the phylogenetic signal of each data set, instead of insufficient variability or ongoing male‐biased dispersal. Further coalescent analyses show that gene flow is low even between islands within each archipelago suggesting that divergence may be continuing at a local scale. Accurately identifying recently isolated taxa is becoming increasingly important as many clearly recognizable species are already threatened by extinction.


Sustainable grazing in the nationally iconic southern rangelands of Australia requires landholders to actively manage the grazing pressure from both domestic livestock and non-domestic herbivores. Landholders have primary responsibility for controlling the non-domestic herbivores. In doing so, they must meet the Australian public's expectations for resource conservation (mainly a public good) and animal welfare. Governments are also involved in the management of non-domestic herbivores via native and feral animal legislation and control programs. The Australian public will not accept cruelty to animals, perceived or otherwise. In this paper we explore the challenges faced by landholders in their attempts to manage the grazing pressure from native herbivores, particularly kangaroos, feral goats and feral pigs, while meeting the Australian public's expectations for animal welfare. Landholders typically live on extensive properties and their capacity to manage these is influenced by high climate variability, low labour availability, commodity price fluctuations and limited capital available for investment in new technologies. The additional requirement to reduce the grazing pressure from kangaroos, feral goats and feral pigs is a significant burden on already time-poor landholders. Hence, there is a critical disparity between landholders' capacity and their responsibility to effectively manage the non-domestic herbivores on their properties. We suggest that current expectations of landholders to deliver public benefits by publicly acceptable practices are unreasonable. Further, we suggest that governments should accept more responsibility for managing non-domestic grazing pressure. The concept of duty of care to land management provides a means by which a more appropriate division of responsibilities between landholders and government could be achieved to ensure that valued attributes of this iconic Australian landscape are retained.


1. The populations of alpha 1- and beta-adrenergic receptors in brown adipose tissue (BAT) of genetically obese Zucker rats (fa/fa) were studied with [3H]prazosin and [3H]CGP-12177 respectively. 2. The density of alpha 1-adrenergic receptors in BAT was significantly lower in obese than in lean Zucker rats, both at 2-4 months of age and at 6 weeks of age. The density of beta-adrenergic receptors was identical in BAT of lean and obese 6-week-old Zucker rats. 3. Cold-acclimation increased the alpha 1-receptor density significantly in BAT of both lean and obese Zucker rats, and the number of beta-receptors was also somewhat increased. 4. Sucrose feeding did not affect the density of alpha 1-receptors in BAT of lean or obese Zucker rats, but it increased beta-receptor density. 5. Adrenalectomy restored the density of alpha 1-adrenergic receptors in BAT of obese Zucker rats to the value observed in lean rats. 6. It is concluded that there is a direct correlation between alpha 1-receptor density and tissue recruitment, and that alpha 1-receptor density is thus positively correlated with sympathetic activity. beta-Receptor density is apparently better correlated with feeding conditions.


Myeloma (MM) is a malignant plasma cell disorder, which is incurable owing to its drug resistance. Autophagy performs an integral function in homeostasis, survival, and drug resistance in multiple myeloma (MM). Therefore, the purpose of the present research was to identify potential autophagy-related genes (ARGs) in patients with MM. We downloaded the transcriptomic data (GSE136400) of patients with MM, as well as the corresponding clinical data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO); the patients were classified at random into two groups in a ratio of 6: 4, with 212 samples in the training dataset and 142 samples in the test dataset. Both multivariate and univariate Cox regression analyses were performed to identify autophagy-related genes. The univariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that 26 ARGs had a significant correlation with overall survival (OS). We constructed an autophagy-related risk prognostic model based on six ARGs: EIF2AK2 (ENSG00000055332), KIF5B (ENSG00000170759), MYC (ENSG00000136997), NRG2 (ENSG00000158458), PINK1 (ENSG00000158828), and VEGFA (ENSG00000112715) using LASSO-Cox regression analysis to predict risk outcomes, which revealed substantially shortened OS duration in the high-risk cohort in contrast with that in the low-risk cohort. Therefore, the ARG-based model significantly predicted the MM patients' prognoses and was verified in an internal test set. Differentially expressed genes were found to be predominantly enriched in pathways associated with inflammation and immune regulation. Immune infiltration of tumor cells resulted in the formation of a strong immunosuppressive microenvironment in high-risk patients. The potential therapeutic targets of ARGs were subsequently analyzed via protein–drug network analysis. Therefore, a prognostic model for MM was established via a comprehensive analysis of ARGs, through using the clinical models; we have further revealed the molecular landscape features of multiple myeloma.


Abstract : This study develops the rank deficient adjustment theory in a geometrical manner. In accordance with most least-squares (L.S.) applications, the adjustment model is considered linear or linearized. The fundamental building blocks consist of orthonormal vectors spanning the spaces and surfaces linked to the L.S. setup. From this setup to the desired results including the variance-covariance matrices, the standard adjustment quantities can be represented by first and second order tensors. It is thus possible to express them in terms of the components of the above vectors, allowing for an easy and clearcut geometrical interpretation of the L.S. process. By virtue of such a vectorization, the propagation of the contravariant and covariant metric tensors is shown to fit perfectly the variance covariance propagation law and even to establish a weight propagation law. The opportunity to obtain variance-covariances and weights as a coherent part of the geometrical development provides the motivation for using tensor structure in the analysis of various L.S. methods and their properties. An algorithm furnishing the pseudoinverse of a positive semi-definite matrix, which could be useful for its straightforward geometrical interpretation as well as for its computational efficiency, is developed as a by-product of this analysis. The Choleski algorithm for positive-definite as well as positive semi-definite matrices is interpreted in terms of orthonormal vector components.


Two-way relaying in wireless systems has initiated a large research effort during the past few years. Nevertheless, it represents only a specific traffic pattern and it is of interest to investigate other traffic patterns where such a simultaneous processing of information flows can bring performance advantage. In this paper we consider a four-way relaying scenario, where each of the two Mobile Stations (MSs) has a two-way connection to the same Base Station (BS), while each connection is through a dedicated Relay Station (RS). The RSs are placed in such a way that one RS and the terminals associated with it do not interfere with the other RS, and vice versa. We introduce and analyze a two-phase transmission scheme to serve the four-way traffic pattern defined in this scenario. Each phase consists of combined broadcast and multiple access. We analyze the achievable rate region of the new scheme for Decode-and-Forward (DF) operational model for the RS. We compare the performance with a state-of-the-art reference scheme, based on two-way relaying with DF. The results indicate that the achievable rate regions are significantly enlarged for the new scheme.


Bio oil aqueous two phase systems were formed with ethanol and the salts of (NH4)2SO4, K2HPO4 and NaH2PO4 in bio oil on the ratio of 10:5:10(by mass). After phase separation, both the upper and the lower layers were analyzed by gas column/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). As a result, both K2HPO4/ethanol and NaH2PO4/ethanol system can enrich phenols and levoglucosan in the upperand lower layers,respectly, while NaH2PO4/ethanol system seldom changes the components of bio oil; the (NH4)2SO4/ethanol system is quit different with the other two and we have detected some components with nitrogen. Hence, NaH2PO4/ethanol is an advantage aqueous two phase system for bio oil treatment.


(1) Background: COVID-19 may deteriorate some aspects among individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although some positive aspects were reported during the pandemic, it remains unclear how COVID-19 qualitatively influences their living context; (2) Methods: this study employed interviews with four participants with ADHD during the declaration of emergency issued in Japan. The study was a part of ongoing coaching as a psychosocial intervention for ADHD, which was initiated long before the pandemic. The data were the answers to the question: "how are things going with participants during this pandemic?". In a qualitative analysis, the researchers coded the data to identify different themes and sub-themes; (3) Results and Discussion: the qualitative data analysis yielded five themes: (1) Terrible feeling caused by frustration, stress, and anger; (2) Closeness due to the internal difficulties and conflict; (3) Deteriorating ADHD symptoms and executive function related matters; (4) Condition is the same as usual; and (5) Positive aspects associated with the self-lockdown. As a whole, these results show that the COVID-19 pandemic could be a factor in inducing psychological distress in the participants who adjust relatively better at work/school but did not do well at home before the pandemic; (4) Conclusions: this study indicates the need for special support for individuals with ADHD, especially those who originally had difficulties at home.


The application of differential privacy to the training of deep neural networks holds the promise of allowing large-scale (decentralized) use of sensitive data while providing rigorous privacy guarantees to the individual. The predominant approach to differentially private training of neural networks is DP-SGD, which relies on norm-based gradient clipping as a method for bounding sensitivity, followed by the addition of appropriately calibrated Gaussian noise. In this work we propose NeuralDP, a technique for privatising activations of some layer within a neural network, which by the post-processing properties of differential privacy yields a differentially private network. We experimentally demonstrate on two datasets (MNIST and Pediatric Pneumonia Dataset (PPD)) that our method offers substantially improved privacy-utility trade-offs compared to DP-SGD.


Excess phosphorus (P) in runoff from animal production facilities can result in nutrification of watersheds with serious consequences for aquatic life and water quality. In this research, the metal hydroxide waste product generated in the neutralization of acid mine drainage (AMD) was tested for adsorption capacity of P as phosphate. Acid mine drainage is caused by the oxidation of sulfide minerals such as pyrite to form sulfuric acid. The acid dissolves metals present in the sulfide minerals and associated rock, such as iron, aluminum, and manganese. Acid mine drainage is widespread in the Appalachian region due to decades of coal-mining activities predating regulation of acid discharge. When AMD is treated by neutralization with alkaline substances such as limestone or lime, a precipitate or floc is formed, consisting mainly of base metal hydroxides and unreacted alkaline material. Disposal costs of the floc can be as much as one half of the total operating cost for a treatment facility. Therefore, the floc would be an economical and widely available source of material for P sequestration should adsorption densities prove adequate. The effects of AMD composition and choice of alkaline neutralizing substances on floc formation and P adsorption were investigated. The test results were consistent with adsorption of P rather than chemical precipitation. Freundlich adsorption isotherms showed loadings of 30 to 50 milligrams (mg) P per gram dry weight of the sludge in equilibrium with solutions containing 0.1 to 1 mg P per liter. These loadings are much greater than for most natural soils. Phosphate adsorption also occurred under anaerobic conditions, such as would be found for wastes submerged in ponds or lagoons. Longer-term soil bag tests are planned to confirm these promising initial results.


The engineering design, performance analysis and safety assessment of Generation IV heavy liquid metal cooled nuclear reactors calls for advanced and qualified numerical tools. These tools need to be qualified before used in decision making process. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes provide detailed means for thermal-hydraulics analysis of pool-type nuclear reactors. This paper describes modeling of a forced to natural flow experiment in TALL-3D experimental facility using a commercial CFD code Star-CCM+. TALL-3D facility is 7 meters high LBE loop with two parallel hot legs and a cold leg. One of the hot legs accommodates the 3D test section, a cylindrical pool where the multi-dimensional flow conditions vary between thermal mixing and stratification depending on the mass flow rate and the power of the heater surrounding the pool. The pool outlet temperature which affects the natural convection flow rates in the system is governed by the flow structure in the pool. Therefore, in order to predict the dynamics of the TALL-3D facility it is crucial to resolve the flow inside the 3D test section. Specifically designed measurement instrumentation set-up provides steady state and transient data for calibration and validation of numerical models. The validity of the CFD model is assessed by comparing the computational results to experimental results.


Fiscal policy can be considered as a key driver of economic growth. The government can either provide for the public good used in firm's production process, or invest in public education that improves the abilities and skills of workers. In term of the public good and public education, the growth rate of economy is undoubtedly enhanced. However, the magnitude of growth also depends on how the government levies the distortionary tax to finance its spending. Since different kinds of taxes contribute to the different states of economy, as well as the long-run growth, the main purpose of this thesis is to examine the effect of the fiscal policy on economic growth in various theoretical frameworks, particularly the representative-agent approach and the three-period overlapping generations model.
 The theoretical analysis reveals a number of interesting findings. Firstly, the productive externalities from public investment and procyclical endogenous consumption tax creates the multiplicity of balanced growth paths (BGPs) in the representative agent framework. Two BGPs arise due to the existence of the Laffer curve. In addition, local indeterminacy may occur around the lowest balanced growth path if consumption tax is mildly procyclical. As a result, there is no trade-off between growth and volatility. Secondly, the growth-maximising tax rate is investigated in the three-period overlapping generations economy in which altruistic parents provide private tuition for their children and the government subsidises public education. When the government misconceives of the existence of private tuition, public education is over-provisioned. This leads the economy to the growth-reducing area of the Armey curve. Finally, in the presence of stochastic productive government expenditure, the economy experiences a higher growth rate than it does in the perfect foresight economy when households are risk-averse agent. The inverted-U shape relationship between economic growth and permanent income tax disappears in the stochastic growth context; nevertheless, the condition of growth-enhancing tax rate remains valid. Furthermore, the first-best fiscal instruments are explored based on the difference between centralised and decentralised economies in the case of proportional congestion. To prevent the welfare loss, the initial capital should be sacrificed in the interest of the higher level of consumption. For this reason, the trade-off between growth and welfare is unavoidable in a decentralised economy.


In the last decade, various clinical trials proved the capability of visual prostheses, in particular retinal implants, to restore a useful form of vision. These encouraging results promoted the emerging of several strategies for neuronal stimulation aiming at the restoration of sight. Besides the traditional approach based on electrical stimulation through metal electrodes in the different areas of the visual path (e.g., the visual cortex, the lateral geniculate nucleus, the optic nerve, and the retina), novel concepts for neuronal stimulation have been mostly exploited as building blocks of the next generation of retinal implants. This review is focused on critically discussing recent major advancements in the field of retinal stimulation with particular attention to the findings in the application of novel concepts and materials. Last, the major challenges in the field and their clinical implications will be outlined.


A review of introductory international relations, international studies, and global studies textbooks reveals that each field defines itself differently: one in terms of its central focus on the diplomatic and strategic relations of states, the second more broadly by including transnational transactions of all kinds, and the third focusing on globalization as both an object of analysis and a lens through which to view nearly all phenomena. However, in reading past the definitional chapters there are clear overlaps—most notably with regard to each introductory textbook's treatment of globalization. Close examination of recently published introductory textbooks and those well into multiple editions reveals that globalization is treated as a fundamental aspect of each of the three fields. While both International Relations (IR) and International Studies (IS) scholars have contributed significantly to further broadening of both IR and IS in order to become increasingly "global," other scholars have moved to create a new field of study called Global Studies (GS).
 This new field of GS developed in the 1990s as scholars from multiple disciplines began to study the many dimensions of globalization. While globalization remains an essentially contested concept, most scholars accept as uncontroversial that it refers to the many strings that connect the world such that pulling on one string in one place will make a change somewhere else. Globalization's central dynamics include interconnectivity, reconfiguration of space and time, and enhanced mobility. GS is the only field that places the contested concept of globalization at the center of its intellectual initiative.


The orifice plate flow meter is the most common form of differential pressure flow meter used in industry. The standard discharge coefficient, which is defined by both British Standard and ISO 5167, is only valid if the flow approaching the meter is perfectly settled and fully developed. However, in practical applications the flow approaching the orifice meter is often disturbed by pipe-fittings and consequently the measurements become inaccurate. Basically, the design of the orifice plate meters that are independent of the upstream disturbances is a main goal for orifice plate metering. This task can be achieved either by using a long straight settling length upstream and downstream of the orifice plate or using a flow conditioner upstream of an orifice plate. In addition, the standard orifice plate is vulnerable when metering dirty flow due to the accumulation of dirt in front of the orifice plate which can alter the accuracy of metering as well. In this paper the effect of the swirler flow conditioner for both standard and non-standard flow conditions has been investigated in an experimental rig and validation of the results has been justified with the appropriate CFD domains. In these investigations the effect of different designs of swirler flow conditioners have been examined in asymmetric and swirling flow profiles. The results so far show the cone swirler flow conditioner has a desirable effect for both asymmetric and swirling flow disturbances. They also show the error of metering for non-standard velocity profiles with the swirler flow conditioner is typically 1.5% compared to around 4% for a standard orifice plate. Moreover using a swirler conditioner tends to keep particles in suspension and thus prevents the accumulation of dirt particles in front of orifice plate. All experimental and numerical results here are presented for different velocity profiles both swirling and asymmetric profiles, mass flow rates and for β = 0.5.Copyright © 2005 by ASME


Fully quantized training (FQT), which uses low-bitwidth hardware by quantizing the activations, weights, and gradients of a neural network model, is a promising approach to accelerate the training of deep neural networks. One major challenge with FQT is the lack of theoretical understanding, in particular of how gradient quantization impacts convergence properties. In this paper, we address this problem by presenting a statistical framework for analyzing FQT algorithms. We view the quantized gradient of FQT as a stochastic estimator of its full precision counterpart, a procedure known as quantization-aware training (QAT). We show that the FQT gradient is an unbiased estimator of the QAT gradient, and we discuss the impact of gradient quantization on its variance. Inspired by these theoretical results, we develop two novel gradient quantizers, and we show that these have smaller variance than the existing per-tensor quantizer. For training ResNet-50 on ImageNet, our 5-bit block Householder quantizer achieves only 0.5% validation accuracy loss relative to QAT, comparable to the existing INT8 baseline.


We use an auditory-visual semantic priming paradigm to investigate the effect of phonetically-cued emotional information (emotional prosody) on semantic activation of a lexical carrier. In two experiments, we show that words uttered in emotional prosody, although infrequent and atypical, do not necessarily hinder lexical access nor hamper subsequent semantic spreading, and that effects of emotional prosody on word processing crucially depend on the global context in which different types of prosody are presented. These results illustrate the complex nature of spoken word recognition and raise questions about how listeners incorporate multi-faceted information from spoken words.


The ATPase activity of the thermosome from a methanogen, Methanopyrus kandleri, was characterized in detail. In contrast to all other known chaperonins, enzymatic ATP hydrolysis was found to be strictly dependent on high levels of ammonium salts in vitro. The ths gene encoding the thermosome subunit from the hyperthermophilic M. kandleri was functionally expressed in Escherichia coli and the overproduced polypeptide was assembled into intact thermosome complexes in the mesophilic host. The recombinant particles could be purified by a simple two-step procedure including only one chromatographic step. Structural and biochemical properties of the recombinant protein were closely similar to those of the natural complex. Western blot analysis with an antiserum against the M. kandleri thermosome indicated the presence of at least two subfamilies of archaeal chaperonins.


To the Editor: —From 1956 to 1958, animal studies were performed using newborn white rats 1 which demonstrated that subminimal doses of 11-cis vitamin A will protect the retina of a newborn rat and prevent retinal rod degeneration but would not prevent somatic changes of vitamin A deficiency. This indicated that in the newborn white rat, 11-cis vitamin A was necessary for the metabolism and viability of the retinal rods. The vitamin A in our normal diets and in vitamin capsules is in the all-trans form and must be isomerized somewhere in the body to produce 11-cis vitamin A to be utilized by the retinal rods. In retinitis pigmentosa there is progressive degeneration of the retinal rods. It is postulated that individuals with this disease have an hereditary or constitutional inability to make the normal isomerization from all-trans to 11-cis vitamin A, thereby resulting in gradual retinal rod degeneration. The


In this paper, we develop a first order (in time) numerical scheme for the binary fluid surfactant phase field model. The free energy contains a double-well potential, a nonlinear coupling entropy and a Flory-Huggins potential. The resulting coupled system consists of two Cahn-Hilliard type equations. This system is solved numerically by finite difference spatial approximation, in combination with convex splitting temporal discretization. We prove the proposed scheme is unique solvable, positivity-preserving and unconditionally energy stable. In addition, an optimal rate convergence analysis is provided for the proposed numerical scheme, which will be the first such result for the binary fluid-surfactant system. Newton iteration is used to solve the discrete system. Some numerical experiments are performed to validate the accuracy and energy stability of the proposed scheme.


Nucleotide diphosphate kinase (NDK) was purified from 12 strains of halobacteria using ATP-agarose chromatography and their N-terminal amino acid sequences were determined. The electrophoretic mobilities of these enzymes differed significantly on the native-PAGE or the SDS-PAGE when the samples were not heat treated. Comparison of seven complete amino acid sequences from seven species of Haloarcula_and those from Har. californiae and Har. japonica, whose N-terminal 3 amino acids have not been determined yet, revealed that they are very similar and differed at only 1 to 4 residues in 153 residues. NDKs from Haloarcula quadrata and Har. sinaiiensis differed only at the 30th amino acid (arginine vs. cysteine), yet they showed a remarkable difference in their salt-response patterns, suggesting that a single amino acid substitution can cause a one molar shift in the optimal NaCl concentration.


A local area network for interconnecting terminals and other users and data processing systems and other service providers over a communications link. The users and providers connect to the communications link by means of interface units each of which may connect to several users or providers. The interface units communicate over the communications link by means of messages. When a user requires the use of a service, the interface unit establishes a virtual circuit between it and the interface unit connected to the service provider and a service session which allows the user and the service provider to communicate over the virtual circuit. If several users connected to the one interface unit as the first user require services provided by providers which connected to the same interface unit as the first provider, they communicate in sessions over the same virtual circuits. The session messages are accumulated into single virtual circuit messages that are acknowledged in unison by the receiving interface unit. Each virtual circuit in the users' interface units includes a timer which reset when a message is transmitted over the virtual circuit and a data waiting flag set whenever data is present to be transitted over the virtual circuit. The interface units are inhibited from transmitting over a virtual circuit unless the timer has timed out and the data waiting flag is set.


SIR,-Your leading article (October 11, p. 823) underlines a problem that has given concern to education and health authorities for some time, but the size of the problem is difficult to determine. Among the 400,000 children in London County Council schools a recent inquiry revealed 249 " epileptics." Of these, 166 are attending ordinary schools. This means that their treatment is adequate, and the community is ready to accept their occasional seizures, whether these are major fits, minor, or some equivalent. This figure of 249 children is probably too low, but the excess will consist of other children like these who are able to lead much the same kind of life as normal schoolchildren, and who have not therefore been brought to the notice of the school physician. Of the remaining 83, 11 are in schools for the educationally subnormal, 12 are in schools for the physically handicapped, where attention is available for their more frequent fits and transport between home and school can be provided, 58 are in epileptic colony-schools, and two 5-year-olds are at home while the result of further treatment is observed. The two greatest difficulties met with in the care of these children are to ensure effective treatment, and to persuade the community in which they live to accept them. The first means that the parents have to co-operate with the family doctor and with the hospital over what must seem a very long period, and the second means that teachers, school-fellows, and the parents of other children have to overcome any repugnance they may feel. The fear and other emotions aroused by a major fit in a companion are not easily dispelled, but in some schools that have faced this problem the most encouraging results have been obtained. If this attitude were general there might be no need for a special school for maladjusted epileptic children, for their acceptance by the community should reduce the amount of maladjustment, or, if maladjustment is sometimes part of the syndrome, then such children could be admitted to the existing special schools for maladjusted children. As such a 'Utopia has not yet arrived, it is perhaps necessary to consider the provision of some form of special education for the few children who cannot be accommodated in one or other of existing types of school.-I am, etc.,


Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) are being implicated in the development of many cancers. Here, we report the discovery of a critical role for the lncRNA GCASPC in determining the progression of gallbladder cancer. Differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs between gallbladder cancer specimens and paired adjacent nontumor tissues from five patients were identified and validated by an expression microarray analysis. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure GCASPC levels in tissues from 42 gallbladder cancer patients, and levels of GCASPC were confirmed further in a separate cohort of 89 gallbladder cancer patients. GCASPC was overexpressed or silenced in several gallbladder cancer cell lines where molecular and biological analyses were performed. GCASPC levels were significantly lower in gallbladder cancer than adjacent nontumor tissues and were associated with tumor size, American Joint Committee on Cancer tumor stage, and patient outcomes. GCASPC overexpression suppressed cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo, whereas GCASPC silencing had opposite effects. By RNA pull-down and mass spectrometry, we identified pyruvate carboxylase as an RNA-binding protein that associated with GCASPC. Because GCASPC is a target of miR-17-3p, we confirmed that both miR-17-3p and GCASPC downregulated pyruvate carboxylase level and activity by limiting protein stability. Taken together, our results defined a novel mechanism of lncRNA-regulated cell proliferation in gallbladder cancer, illuminating a new basis for understanding its pathogenicity. Cancer Res; 76(18); 5361-71. ©2016 AACR.


Until the 1980s, the concept of heritage had a reductionist nature as it was focused solely on the identification of isolated resources, relatively independent from their environment, which were included in a protective catalogue. Over the last 25 years, successive recommendations from both national and international organisations (UNESCO, Council of Europe) have gradually changed this traditional conception in favour of other points of view. Territory is no longer simply a support for heritage sites or a stage for the landscape, but one in which everything is considered as a whole, as heritage territory. The process through which a territory is recognised as possessing heritage sites can no longer be based on the mere location and inventory of the resources, as it did in the past. In order to overcome this limitation, after analysing many international experiences, we make a proposal here for classifying heritage sites that incorporates new variables to explain the nature of a heritage site and to understand the most complex and integrating meaning of the so-called 'territorial heritage'.


We report results of a two-year campaign of measurements, during arctic winter darkness, of optical turbulence in the atmospheric boundary-layer above the Polar Environment Atmospheric Laboratory in northern Ellesmere Island (latitude +80 deg N). The data reveal that the ground-layer turbulence in the Arctic is often quite weak, even at the comparatively-low 610 m altitude of this site. The median and 25th percentile ground-layer seeing, at a height of 20 m, are found to be 0.57 and 0.25 arcsec, respectively. When combined with a free-atmosphere component of 0.30 arcsec, the median and 25th percentile total seeing for this height is 0.68 and 0.42 arcsec respectively. The median total seeing from a height of 7 m is estimated to be 0.81 arcsec. These values are comparable to those found at the best high-altitude astronomical sites.


The present studies determined the effect of preparation "Biosept 33 SL" in inhibiting the linear growth of five isolates of Phomopsis sojae in in vitro conditions. The experiment was conducted on PDA medium using the method of "the medium poisoning". The examined preparation was used at the concentrations of 165, 330 and 660 μg grapefruit extract ∙ cm-3. The pathogen's mycelium growing under the grapefruit extract was pale white, and the mycelium hyphae formed a fairly loose structure as distinct from the more compact mycelium of control colonies. Strong degeneration of mycelium hyphae was visible in microscopic preparations.


This study examines the urbanisation of capital in the context of a socialist economy undergoing profound market transition. It identifies the dynamics of state capital as a 'missing link' in understanding the variegated forces shaping Chinese cities through a case study of Beijing – China's capital city. Contrary to the popular perception of the rolling back of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as a natural outcome of capital switching from a declining primary circuit to a booming secondary circuit, this empirical study of urban transformation in the Beijing metropolis identifies an intriguing trajectory of 'capitalisation without privatisation' whereby the commodification of the land and housing market has been accompanied by a growing share of capital assets under the ownership control of SOEs and a spatial concentration of state capital toward the city centre since the turn of the new century. The development experience centred on the capitalisation of SOEs is shown to be reflective of the new strategic vision to remake Beijing as a national hub of corporate control and the persistent syndrome of soft budget constraint characterising SOEs under a reformed management system that prioritises operational scale and asset appreciation. The new dynamics of state capital in Beijing is found to be associated with eviscerated domestic private investment and the spatial redistribution of rural–urban migrants towards the urban fringe. The case study has implications for ongoing inquiries into the urbanisation of capital in transitional urban China and points to the need to pay adequate attention to the growth and resilience of state capital in the Chinese 'game' of landed-property production and capital circulation.


Whereas the effects of maternal parenting quality during infants' 2nd year on later executive function (EF) have been studied extensively, less is known about the impact of maternal parenting quality during the 1st year. The aim of this study was to examine whether maternal parenting during infants' 1st year predicted EF performance at 2 and 3 years of age in a Chinese sample. Data were collected from 96 mother-infant dyads (42 males) when the infants were 6, 9, 25, and 38 months old. Cognitive development as a control variable was measured with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II at 6 months. At 9 months, three aspects of maternal parenting quality (sensitivity, mind-mindedness, and encouragement of autonomy) were assessed with MBQS, mind-mindedness coding system, and encouragement of autonomy coding schema within a 15-min mother–infant interaction. Three aspects of EF (working memory, inhibitory control, and delay EF) were measured at 25 and 38 months with age-appropriate tasks. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that maternal mind-mindedness had a more important effect than did the encouragement of autonomy and maternal sensitivity during infants' preverbal period. More precisely, maternal mind-mindedness at 9 months predicted inhibitory control at 2 and 3 years, and maternal encouragement of autonomy predicted performance on delay EF tasks at 3 years, maternal sensitivity had no observed effect on children's EF. This study suggests that maternal parenting quality during the 1st year (maternal mind-mindedness and encouragement of autonomy, but not maternal sensitivity) impacts later EF development.


Investing in young children is one of the best investments that countries can make. A child's earliest years present a unique window of opportunity to address inequality, break the cycle of poverty, and improve a wide range of outcomes later in life. Recent brain research suggests the need for holistic approaches to learning, growth, and development, recognizing that young children's physical and intellectual well-being, as well as their socio-emotional and cognitive development, are interrelated. To fully benefit from future opportunities in life and become productive members of society, by the end of early childhood, young children must be: healthy and well-nourished; securely attached to caregivers; able to interact positively with families, teachers, and peers; able to communicate in their native language; and ready to learn throughout primary school. This document draws on these existing frameworks and broad evidence on the impacts of ECD interventions. It summarizes some of the existing literature on this topic with the aim to identify key interventions needed for children. The document is intended to provide an easily accessible introduction to interventions and integrated services that could help policymakers and practitioners think about how to effectively invest in ECD. In addition to identifying key interventions, the document outlines four principles that can help countries design and implement strong ECD policies and programs. Countries should: (i) prepare an ECD diagnostic and strategy; (ii) implement widely through coordination; (iii) create synergies and cost savings through integrated interventions; and (iv) monitor, evaluate, and scale up successful interventions. In terms of interventions, within the ECD period, 25 key interventions are identified as essential for a child's growth and development. For each intervention, illustrative costs and impacts are provided. These are based on existing evidence and are only intended to be indicative. The document suggests that these interventions can be delivered through five integrated packages at different stages in a child's life. The five packages of interventions include: (a) the family support package, which should be provided throughout the ECD period, (b) the pregnancy package, (c) the birth package (from birth to six months), (d) the child health and development package, and (e) the preschool package.


Abstract Objective: The AeroChamber Plus (AC) valved holding chamber has been enhanced to include the Flow-Vu (FV) inspiratory flow indicator that provides visual inhalation feedback during use. We have investigated if FV alters asthma control and whether parents accept it. Methods: At visit 1, children with asthma, age 1–5 years, used an AC with their pressurised metered dose inhaler and 2 weeks later (visit 2) they were randomised to use either AC or FV. Subjects returned 6 (visit 3) and 12 (visit 4) weeks later. The Asthma Control (ACQ) and Paediatric Asthma Caregiver's Quality of Life (PACQLQ) questionnaires were scored at each visit, and their peak inhalation flow (PIF) when they used their spacer was measured. Results: Forty participants in each group completed the study. There was no difference in the ACQ scores from visits 2 to 4 between the two groups. The improvements in the PACQLQ scores were greater in the FV group (p = 0.029). The mean difference (95% confidence interval) for the change from visits 2 to 4 between FV and AC groups was 0.05 (−0.33, 0.43) and 0.39 (0.035, 0.737) for the ACQ and PACQLQ, respectively. Most parents preferred the FV (p < 0.001). There was no difference in the PIF rates at each visit and between the two spacers. Conclusions: There was no change in asthma control of the young children but that of their parents improved. Parents preferred the FV and this could be related to their improved perception of their children's asthma control by better PACQLQ scores.


As well as their direct ecological impacts on native taxa, invasive species can impose selection on phenotypic attributes (morphology, physiology, behaviour, etc.) of the native fauna. In anurans, body size at metamorphosis is a critical life-history trait: for most challenges faced by post-metamorphic anurans, larger size at metamorphosis probably enhances survival. However, our studies on Australian frogs (Limnodynastes convexiusculus) show that this pattern can be reversed by the arrival of an invasive species. When metamorph frogs first encounter invasive cane toads (Bufo marinus), they try to eat the toxic invader and, if they are able to do so, are likely to die from poisoning. Because frogs are gape-limited predators, small metamorphs cannot ingest a toad and thus survive long enough to disperse away from the natal pond (and thus from potentially deadly toads). These data show that larger size at metamorphosis can reduce rather than increase anuran survival rates, because larger metamorphs are more easily able to ingest (and thus be poisoned by) metamorph cane toads. Our results suggest that patterns of selection on life-history traits of native taxa (such as size and age at metamorphosis, seasonal timing of breeding and duration of pondside aggregation prior to dispersal) can be modified by the arrival of an invasive species. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 100, 329‐336.


: Cloud computing and storage solutions provide users and enterprises with various capabilities to store and process their data . To guarantee shared information respectability can be checked freely, clients in the gathering need to process marks on every one of the squares in shared information. Diverse squares in shared information are by and large marked by various clients because of information alterations performed by various clients. For security reasons, once a client is denied from the gathering, the squares which were already marked by this disavowed client must be re-marked by a current client. The clear technique, which permits a current client to download the comparing a portion of shared information and re-sign it amid client denial, is wasteful because of the expansive size of shared information in the cloud. In this paper, we propose a novel open inspecting instrument for the honesty of imparted information to productive client repudiation at the top of the priority list. By using the possibility of intermediary re-marks, we permit the cloud to re-sign squares for the benefit of existing clients amid client repudiation, so that current clients don't have to download and re-sign pieces independent from anyone else. Moreover, an open verifier is constantly ready to review the uprightness of shared information without recovering the whole information from the cloud, regardless of the possibility that some piece of shared information has been re-marked by the cloud. We develop privacy preserving framework which handle all the worries in privacy security. This mechanism strengthens the cloud storage services. The integrity of data in the cloud is protected. Besides, our instrument can bolster group evaluating by checking numerous inspecting assignments all the while. Trial comes about demonstrate that our instrument can altogether enhance the productivity of client denial. The cloud providers provide a more secure and reliable environment for users. Attribute based encryption is used to provide cloud security for third party auditors.


We examine the experimental absence of standing spin wave modes in thin magnetic films, by means of atomistic spin dynamics simulations. Using Co on Cu(001) as a model system, we demonstrate that by increasing the number of layers, the optical branches predicted from adiabatic first-principles calculations are strongly suppressed, in agreement with spin-polarized electron energy loss spectroscopy measurements reported in the literature. Our results suggest that a dynamical analysis of the Heisenberg model is sufficient in order to capture the strong damping of the standing modes.


The paper evaluates the pressure impact of implantation of intracoronary stents of different designs on the immediate and long-term outcomes of stenting. A retrospective study included 192 patients. Matrix and wire stents were implanted in 97 (50.5%) and 95 (49.5%) patients, respectively. In one part of the patients, the coronary stent was implanted under nominal pressure, in the other, the stent after implantation was extended with a balloon by using high pressure. Good immediate angiographic and clinical results were obtained in all 192 patients. Thirty three (17.2%) patients were found to have coronary spasm at the site of a stent. There was no significant difference in the development of coronary spasm, which was associated with the type of an implanted (matrix or wire) stent and with the pattern of its implantation (under high or nominal pressure). Dissection along the stent edges developed in 17 of the 192 patients, which amounted to 8.8%. It significantly more frequently developed in patients from Subgroup IA than in those from Subgroup IB. There was no significant difference in the development of restenosis in patients after implantation of matrix or wire stents and in the relation to the stent implantation pressure.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
A recent evaluation carried out by the Associazione Italiana di Ematologia e Oncologia Pediatrica (AIEOP) about practice management of acute childhood idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) revealed a remarkable difference of behaviors among the different AIEOP centers. A need for common practice guidelines for this frequent illness arose from this observation. Our aim was to make the diagnosis and treatment of childhood ITP uniform. In the future we will evaluate the influence of these guidelines on practice behaviors.

DATA SOURCES AND METHODS
Our main reference was the 1996 document produced by the American Society of Hematology (ASH). Their recommendations were updated with information from literature searched for in the MEDLINE database (June 1996-October 1998); search terms included: thrombocytopenia, ITP, diagnosis, therapy, children. The computerized search retrieved 83 articles.

DATA EXTRACTION
the scientific validity of the literature was evaluated by a panel of members using published guidelines. The strength of the evidence was assessed using level of evidence criteria. Only data from level I and level II studies were taken in account. Only one study out of the 83 retrieved articles met these selection criteria and it was considered in addition to the 11 out of 581 articles selected in the ASH ITP guidelines. This preliminary work pointed out each issue about ITP not addressed by clinical studies and all participants in a Consensus Conference expressed their opinion about these issues.

RESULTS
Diagnosis is essentially based on history, physical examination, a complete blood count and an examination of the peripheral blood smear. Treatment is recommended taking into account the clinical picture and number of platelets. The main difference between these guidelines and those from ASH are: AIEOP guidelines rely on the opinion of the members of the consensus conference, ASH ones on a panel of experts; therapeutic options include only products available in Italy; the indications to treatment rely more on clinical picture than on platelet number.

INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS
These are explicitly developed, evidence-based practice guidelines to assist Italian pediatricians in making decisions about diagnosis and appropriate health care for patients with acute childhood ITP.


The use of haloperidol to induce sedation and control agitation in the acutely ill adult patient has been well documented. There are few reports, however, of the use of this neuroleptic agent to control the severe delirium and agitation that may occur in critically ill pediatric patients or acute pediatric patients suffering from burn wounds. We assessed the effectiveness and safety of the use of haloperidol by completing a retrospective chart review of 855 acutely ill children treated consecutively during the period from April 1999 to May 2002, during which time 26 children received haloperidol. The safe use of haloperidol was assessed by documenting any adverse effects or reactions observed after the administration of the drug. Of patients given haloperidol, 23% had adverse effects. This result suggests that the use of haloperidol to treat the acutely agitated and delirious pediatric burn patients is fraught with a number of difficulties and is not completely safe and effective.


This paper presents the results on the effect of specific characteristics of three completely different carbon black upon the dynamic mechanical and dielectric thermal properties of natural rubber based composites. It has been found that the size of carbon black particles, its specific surface area, respectively, as well as the ability of carbon black particles to formvarious aggregates and agglomerates affect both the dynamic mechanical and dielectric properties of the prepared composites. At the same concentration of all fillers studied the dynamic mechanical properties of the composites filled with high structure carbon black having super high specific surface area are much better than those of the composites filled with conventional carbon black. The same is valid for their dielectric permittivity (aÂ') values which are of about two-three orders higher.


PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: Our work was aimed at determining the diagnostic value of multislice computed tomography-assisted angiography in atherosclerotic lesions of the aorta and arteries of the lower limbs, taking into consideration the condition of the peripheral bed, as well as at making an angiographic assessment of the quality of the reconstructive operations performed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Over the period from October 2005 to July 2006, multispiral computed tomography-assisted angiography (hereinafter referred to as MSCTA) followed by an operative intervention was carried out in a total of 59 patients who were diagnosed with diseases of the aorta and arteries of the lower extremities. The average age of the patients was 59.1 years (range from 17 to 83 years). MSCTA was carried out using a 16-slice CT scanner (Somatom Sensation Cardiac 16, >) during the arterial phase of injecting the non-ionic radiopaque material > ( >, Germany). RESULTS: Studying the dissemination of the obliterating processes revealed an aneurysm of the abdominal portion of the aorta (n=10), while in the remaining cases atherosclerotic lesions were observed to be localized in the aorto-femoral (n=17) and femoropopliteal segments (n=32). Comparing the findings obtained by the comprehensive examination and analysis of the angiograms, we determined that the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of MSCTA in the mentioned groups amounted to 96%, 92% and 94%, respectively. CONCLUSION: MSCTA performed using the novel software appears to be an alternative to other diagnostic methods of examining patients presenting with occlusive diseases of the lower limb arteries.


We employed cDNA microarray analysis to identify, in mammary adenocarcinomas induced by 7,12-dimethylbenz[a] anthracene (DMBA) in the rat, target genes as potential biomarkers for cancer chemoprevention by 1,4-phenylenebis(methylene)selenocyanate (p-XSC). Confirmation of selected genes was conducted by reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR). The glutathione conjugate, p-XSeSG, a putative metabolite of p-XSC was also employed to test our hypothesis that p-XSeSG is a more effective cancer chemopreventive agent in the mammary cancer model than p-XSC. Mammary adenocarcinomas were induced by a single oral administration of 5 mg DMBA in 0.2 ml olive oil per rat at 50-55 days of age. Consistent with our previous reports, dietary p-XSC at a non-toxic dose (10 p.p.m. as selenium) significantly inhibited adenocarcinoma development, independent of feeding duration. Moreover, p-XSeSG appears to be just as effective as p-XSC when fed after DMBA administration, but was significantly less effective than p-XSC in inhibiting the induction of mammary adenocarcinomas when it was fed before DMBA and continued until termination. To delineate the molecular basis for cancer chemoprevention by organoselenium compounds, we focused our analysis on differential expression of genes known to be involved in DMBA metabolism, as well as those related to cell cycle, cell proliferation and apoptosis. p-XSC and p-XSeSG were significantly and equally effective in inhibiting levels of expression of genes associated with cytochrome P450 isoforms, but the former was more active than the latter in up-regulating the expression of those related to certain phase II enzymes. p-XSC and p-XSeSG were significantly more effective in the up-regulation of pro-apoptotic genes, such as p21CIP1/WAF1, p27KIP1, APO-1 and Caspase-3, while down-regulating cell growth regulatory genes, such as c-myc, cyclin D1, cyclin D2 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). To our knowledge, this is the first report that provides insights into the effects of p-XSC and p-XSeSG at the molecular level that may account for mammary cancer chemoprevention in vivo in the rat.


On Friday, September 21, 2018, news reports on Greek corporate media announced the death of a man who had allegedly attempted to rob a jewellery store. The media announcement was accompanied by video footage in which two civilians were shown violently attacking the alleged thief while the latter was attempting to escape the jewellery store. A little later, the alleged thief was announced dead. This is the case of Zak Kostopoulos who was lynched in his attempt to escape a jewellery shop where he had found shelter from a threat that, to this day, remains unknown. Zak was lynched literally and figuratively by the jewellery shop owner and his associate, by the bystanders, and by all corporate media. In this paper, homoterrorism is proposed as a construct that can describe hegemonic attempts to portray certain domestic non-heterosexual identities, practices, and cultures as abject in an attempt to (re)define a society's national sociodicy. The argument is that homoterrorism provides an understanding of extreme acts of violence against the non-heterosexual Other, such as in the case of Zak Kostopoulos's murder, especially when such acts are framed as essential to the precipitation of national cohesion. Further to this, the paper draws on theories about social media and their potential for political and social change, and it argues that Twitter activism can become a way to challenge homoterrorism.


Facing strong competition and financial hardship, Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) operators are redefining their role and re-inventing new futures. The Portuguese PSB, Radiotelevisao Portuguesa (RTP) is no exception and important changes have recently been introduced in the traditional 'public service' model. The centre-right government – in office since 2002 with a qualified majority – perceived the restructuring of RTP as a major political goal and, in an unprecedented move, it has decided to hand out one RTP's generalist channel to 'civil society'. This article looks at this political decision and its financial and economic implications. It argues that as far as rhetoric went, citizens had the centre-stage in this new 'participatory model' but it is economics rather than citizenry that is at the very heart of this strategy.


The effect of mineralogical origin, elemental component, crystal structure of three types of limestone powder on the fluidity of cement-limestone paste and mortar was investigated. The results show that the limestone powder originated from the mine of limestone and river pebble have better water-reducing effect, which is closely correlated with the main components of Calcite and Dolomite. These two mineral have relatively regular, orderly and perfect crystal structure with few defects and unfilled pores which are liable to adsorb more water and water-reducing agents. On the contrary, the limestone powder derived from the mine of sandstone has nearly no water-reducing effect which is ascribed to the large amount of clay mineral which exhibit lamellar structure leading to the large quantity of consumption of water.


The presence of source code that is no longer needed is a handicap to project maintainability. The larger and longer-lived the project, the higher the chances of accumulating dead code in its different forms. Manually detecting unused code is time-consuming, tedious, error-prone, and requires a great level of deep knowledge about the codebase. In this paper, we examine the kinds of dead code (specifically, oxbow code) that can appear in Erlang projects, and formulate rules to identify them with high accuracy. We also present an open-source static analyzer that implements these rules, allowing for the automatic detection and confident removal of oxbow code in Erlang codebases, actively contributing to increasing their quality and maintainability.


Heterogeneous System Development needs Hardware/Software Partitioning performed early on in the development process. In order to do this early on predictions of hardware resource usage and delay are necessary. In this thesis a Quantitative Model is presented that can make early predictions to support the partitioning process. The model is based on Software Complexity Metrics, which capture important aspects of functions like control intensity, data intensity, code size, etc. In order to remedy the interdependence of the software metrics a Principal Component Analysis performed. The hardware characteristics were determined by automatically generating VHDL from C using the DWARV C-to-VHDL compiler. Using the results from the principal component analysis, the quantitative model was generated using linear regression. The error of the model di?ers per hardware characteristic. We show that for ?ip-?ops the mean error for the predictions is 69%. In conclusion, our quantitative model can make fast and su?ciently accurate area predictions to support Hardware/Software Partitioning. In the future, the model can be extended by introducing extra software metrics, using more advanced modeling techniques, and using a larger collection of functions and algorithms.


INTRODUCTION
Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is an important clinical problem. However, although traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) are widely consumed in Asia, most cases of TCM-DILI are reported as case reports or case series. We aimed to evaluate the clinical course of DILI at an Asian tertiary liver centre.

METHODS
All patients with DILI seen by one hepatologist from July 2003 to June 2004 at a local liver centre were prospectively collected and reviewed.

RESULTS
29 cases of DILI were seen by the hepatologist over the 12-month period. Median age was 51 (range 18-76) years, 20 (69 percent) were female, and 24 (83 percent) were Chinese. TCM were the commonest group of drugs implicated as 15 (52 percent) of the patients had presumed DILI from TCM, while four (14 percent) were from anti-tuberculosis drugs. 18 (62 percent) presented as hepatitic picture, seven (24 percent) as cholestatic, and four (14 percent) as mixed picture. Extrahepatic manifestations were seen only in ten percent of patients. Three (ten percent) died and one (3 percent) underwent liver transplant for liver failure.

CONCLUSION
DILI is a common clinical problem with significant mortality. TCM is an important cause of DILI in Asia. Further studies on DILI from TCM or other complementary medicines are needed.


During the E-cigarette or Vaping product use Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) outbreak of August 2019 to February 2020, the California Department of Public Health, Food and Drug Laboratory Branch received numerous cannabis vape oil cartridge investigation samples from throughout the state. Many of these products were directly linked to patients; others were collected as part of investigations. We determined the major ingredients and additives in twelve unused cannabis vape oil cartridge samples obtained before (n = 2) and during the EVALI outbreak (n = 10) in California from September 2018 to December 2019. We tested for major constituents in vape oil liquid, vape oil vapor, and vape oil aerosol phases. A nontargeted Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry direct injection screening method was developed for vape oils, a headspace heating module used for vape oil vapors and a solid-phase microextraction (SPME) vaping rig for aerosols generated by vaping. We have identified more than 100 terpenes and natural extracts, 19 cannabinoids, and other potential toxic additives such as Vitamin E Acetate, Polyethylene Glycols, and Medium Chain Triglycerides. We determined more terpenes and minor cannabinoids can be produced via vaporizing and aerosolizing the vape oil. Delta9-THC and potential toxic additives were found at lower levels in the vapor and aerosol than in the vape liquid.


This project centers Guåhan (Guam) as a critical site of rhetorical struggle over identity, indigeneity, and Americanness. Using Chamoru (Chamorro) cultural frameworks of inafa' maolek (to make things good for each other), we illuminate how local responses and activism challenge US colonization and militarization. Efforts to "protect and defend" Pågat, a sacred site on the northeastern coast of Guåhan, focus on ancestral land, language and cultural revitalization, and self-determination. They rely primarily on actions that both depend on and reinforce communicative channels directed against the US nation-state. We argue that activism must first be rooted in our sacred spaces to give us strength for contending with American influence and critiquing militarization. Yet it is articulated through rhetoric that demonstrates complex and contradictory identities positioned as simultaneously part of the United States and exterior to it. Understanding these struggles from Guåhan offers an important launching point for efforts connecting ongoing transoceanic dialogues and resistance.


The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has jurisdiction over disputes between nations and has decided dozens of cases since it began operations in 1946. Its defenders argue that the ICJ decides cases impartially. Its critics argue that the members of the ICJ vote the interests of the states that appoint them. Prior empirical scholarship is ambiguous. We test the charge of bias using statistical methods. We find strong evidence that (1) judges favor the states that appoint them and that (2) judges favor states whose wealth level is close to that of the their own states, and weaker evidence that (3) judges favor states whose political system is similar to that of their own states and that (4) (more weakly) judges favor states whose culture (language and religion) is similar to that of their own states. We find weak or no evidence that judges are influenced by regional and military alignments.