Motivations. Available biomolecular annotations are very valuable, but dispersed and far from being complete. High quality integration of scattered annotation data and reliable identification of new annotations can greatly support unveiling new biomedical knowledge. Biomolecular interactions are one of the main objectives of biomolecular studies, due to the understanding that biological processes are mainly driven by interactions among biomolecular entities, such as proteins and DNA. New powerful high-throughput experimental techniques are providing numerous protein-protein interaction data; they are being collected, together with computational results, in several different databases, which include IntAct, BioGrid, BIND, DIP, HPRD and MINT. Yet, they generally do not include phenotypic or even functional or structural information about the interactors, which in many cases are available in other databases. In particular, no information is available about the association of protein-protein interactions with genetic disorders. This creates the need to integrate the sparsely available data in order to enrich the identified interactions with additional evidence, support their biological interpretation and identify their involvement in inherited pathologies. In addition, integration of gene and protein annotations and protein-protein interaction data provides the base to infer new gene annotations and interaction networks. Methods. We developed an automatic association inference method, based on the transitive closure concept, and applied it on the data from several distributed sources integrated in our Genomic and Proteomic Data Warehouse (GPDW). In particular, by leveraging protein-protein interaction data, provided by the IntAct and MINT databases, and protein encoding gene data form the Entrez Gene database, we inferred gene interaction networks. In addition, by taking advantage of genetic disorder and phenotype data provided by the OMIM database, we inferred associations between proteins and genetic disorders and their phenotypes. Then, in order to identify genetic disorders possibly associated with protein-protein interactions, we looked for those interacting proteins that resulted associated with the same genetic disorder. Results. Our GPDW currently includes 46,154 human protein-protein interactions (out of the 254,048 protein-protein interactions contained), which involve 12,178 different human proteins (out of the 326,766 human proteins in the GPDW) that are encoded by 11,232 different human genes. By applying the above described method, we identified 1,130 gene networks and found 1,136 human protein-protein interactions associated with 628 genetic disorders (6% of all genetic disorders in the GPDW), which are related to 86 clinical synopses (87% of all clinical synopses in the GPDW) and 3,481 phenotypes (10% of the total phenotypes in the GPDW). Among others, we found four interacting proteins (AHSA1_HUMAN, CFTR_HUMAN, DERL1_HUMAN, and RNF5_HUMAN) whose encoding genes are known to be associated with cystic fibrosis, as well as other 43 genes. Mutations of the CFTR human gene are known to be directly involved in different grades and manifestations of cystic fibrosis. The found associations of the AHSA1_HUMAN, CFTR_HUMAN, DERL1_HUMAN, and RNF5_HUMAN interacting proteins with cystic fibrosis could suggest that some types of this multi-variant disorder may be associated with defects in the interactions between these proteins. Possibly, different CFTR_HUMAN protein mutations could alter its functional interaction with one or more of the AHSA1_HUMAN, DERL1_HUMAN and RNF5_HUMAN proteins. If this would be proven, such finding would also suggest, as a possible disease treatment strategy, the engineering of a synthetic protein interacting with the mutated CFTR_HUMAN protein and similar in function to the one of the AHSA1_HUMAN, DERL1_HUMAN or RNF5_HUMAN proteins whose interactions with the mutated CFTR_HUMAN protein result altered. The above discussed findings demonstrate the importance of the transitive closure based inference method developed, as well as of the data integration approach implemented in the GPDW and the relevance of the comprehensive data there integrated. Availability The GPDW constitutes the backend of a Genomic and Proteomic Knowledge Base (GPKB) that is publicly available at http://www.bioinformatics.dei.polimi.it/GPKB/ through a prototype easy-to-use and efficient Web interface.


This is one of a series of articles written by eminent authorities for the purpose of extending information concerning the official medicines. The twenty-four articles in this series have been planned and developed through the cooperation of the U. S. Pharmacopeial Committee of Revision andThe Journal of the American Medical Association.—Ed. Normal respiration is closely coordinated with other functions, such as the liberation of energy, combustion of carbonaceous materials, consumption of oxygen, and particularly the production of carbon dioxide. Any drug that disturbs this relation of respiration to metabolism for more than a brief period seriously upsets the economy of the body. This is the fundamental consideration that must always be kept in mind in choosing and using respiratory stimulants. Only such drugs as are free from this objection are permissible. Recognition of this limitation properly excludes many substances from use as respiratory stimulants, although they may be used for


This paper explores cross/modal clustering in the acoustic/articulatory space. A method to improve clustering using information from more than one modality is presented. Formants and the Electromagnetic Articulography meas/ urements are used to study corresponding clus/ ters formed in the two modalities. A measure for estimating the uncertainty in correspon/ dences between one cluster in the acoustic space and several clusters in the articulatory space is suggested.


OBJECTIVE
We recently reported enhanced arterial thickening in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the importance of increased bone resorption in this process. Our aim was to examine whether arterial stiffening, another aspect of atherosclerosis, is also increased in patients with RA, and to determine if it is an important risk factor.

METHODS
The subjects were 47 patients with RA and 49 healthy controls, all postmenopausal women. Subjects having risk factors for atherosclerosis were excluded. Femoral-ankle (fa) pulse wave velocity (PWV) and brachial-ankle (ba) PWV were measured in all patients using a waveform analyzer. Bone mineral density (BMD) at the ultradistal radius was assessed by peripheral quantitative computed tomography. Inflammation markers (C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, rheumatoid factor, platelet count) and bone resorption markers (urinary excretion of deoxypyridinoline and N-terminal telopeptide) were also measured.

RESULTS
The median values of faPWV and baPWV in RA patients were 1124 cm/s [interquartile range (IQR) 1040-1175] and 1539 cm/s (IQR 1297-1738), respectively, which were significantly greater than the respective values of 982 cm/s (IQR 819-1054; p < 0.001) and 1322 cm/s (IQR 1112-1398; p = 0.004) in controls. In multiple regression analysis, the presence of RA emerged as an independent factor associated with the greater faPWV and baPWV when adjusted for age, blood pressure, and smoking. In RA patients alone, BMD in the trabecular bone component, but not for the total bone (cortical plus trabecular), at the ultradistal radius correlated significantly with both faPWV and baPWV. Multiple regression analysis showed that trabecular BMD at the distal radius was a significant factor independently associated with greater faPWV and baPWV when adjusted for age, blood pressure, and smoking. None of the measured inflammation markers or bone resorption markers correlated with either faPWV or baPWV in patients with RA.

CONCLUSION
Patients with RA show increased arterial stiffening, in addition to the arterial thickening we have previously reported, supporting the notion of enhanced atherosclerosis in RA patients. Paraarticular bone loss in the trabecular bone component at the ultradistal radius is a factor significantly associated with increased arterial stiffening in RA patients.


We report a case of a large chondrosarcoma of an L4 vertebral body causing iliac vein thrombosis. The slow-growing tumor eluded definitive diagnosis early in its development since the main symptom it caused was only lower back pain. Five years after onset of the disease, the patient presented with fever, tenderness and swelling in the leg, the tumor was diagnosed and found to be exerting a mass effect causing further pain and compressing the left common iliac vein. Due to inoperability of the tumor, a multidisciplinary surgical approach was used to resect the majority of the tumor as apalliative measure and rid the patient of her symptoms. Due to the chemoresistance and relative radioresistance of these tumors, prompt full surgical resection before the tumor invades vital structures remains the mainstay of successful treatment of chondrosarcoma of the spine.


A multi-tracer approach is applied to assess the impact of boundary fluxes (e.g. benthic input from sediments or lateral inputs from the coastline) on the acid-base buffering capacity, and overall biogeochemistry, of the North Sea. Analyses of both basin-wide observations in the North Sea and transects through tidal basins at the North-Frisian coastline, reveal that surface distributions of the d13C signature of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) are predominantly controlled by a balance between biological production and respiration. In particular, variability in metabolic DIC throughout stations in the well-mixed southern North Sea indicates the presence of an external carbon source, which is traced to the European continental coastline using naturally-occurring radium isotopes (224Ra and 228Ra). 228Ra is also shown to be a highly effective tracer of North Sea total alkalinity (AT) compared to the more conventional use of salinity. Coastal inputs of metabolic DIC and AT are calculated on a basin-wide scale, and ratios of these inputs suggest denitrification as a primary metabolic pathway for their formation. The AT input paralleling the metabolic DIC release prevents a significant decline in pH as compared to aerobic (i.e. unbuffered) release of metabolic DIC. Finally, long-term pH trends mimic those of riverine nitrate loading, highlighting the importance of coastal AT production via denitrification in regulating pH in the southern North Sea.


We present fabrication and optical characterization of micro-cavities made of multilayer graphene (MLG) cantilevers clamped by metallic electrodes and suspended over Si/SiO2 substrates. Graphene cantilevers act as semi-transparent mirrors closing air wedge optical cavities. This simple geometry implements a standing-wave optical resonator along with a mechanical one. Equal thickness interference fringes are observed in both Raman and Rayleigh backscattered signals, with interfringe given by their specific wavelength. Chromatic dispersion within the cavity makes possible the spatial modulation of graphene Raman lines and selective rejection of the silicon background signal. Electrostatic actuation of the multilayer graphene cantilever by a gate voltage tunes the cavity length and induces space and time modulation of the backscattered light, including the Raman lines. We demonstrate the potential of these systems for high-sensitivity Raman measurements of generic molecular species grafted on a multilayer graphene surface. The Raman signal of the molecular layer can be modulated both in time and space in a similar fashion and shows enhancement with respect to a collapsed membrane.


Based on an ethnographic survey on cannabis cultivation in Morocco, this article examines the emergence of economic, political, and associative elites in a marginalized space strongly marked by illegalism. The article also analyzes the relationships between these different actors with farmers at different levels (during an election campaign, during a meeting, and in the media field), in order to better understand the complexity of the debate on the legalization of cannabis in the Moroccan context


With transistor sizes being reduced to sub 45nm ranges, we have seen an improvement in speed, better performance, and deeper integration of digital circuits. However, there has been a corresponding increase in power consumption, along with greater energy dissipation. The reason is because of increased leakage current in the channel. A proposed solution is a shift towards high-k materials and metal gate from poly-silicon gate of yesteryear. Reduced feature sizes also suffer from greater parametric process variations during lithography and cause identical circuits to behave differently. With high-k technology overshadowing bulk technology ever since transistor sizes hit 45nm, a greater understanding of how the properties of high-k technology will affect digital devices especially their speed, power consumption, and energy dissipated upon voltage scaling is needed. Also, a better estimation of effects of parametric variations on circuits designed in high-k technology can provide valuable information which can be used to improve current designs.


This article seeks to establish the interpretative methodology used by the WTO Appellate Body and panels in deciding cases. The modern WTO dispute settlement system has been the subject of great criticism, including allegations of judicial activism and use of judicial precedent. These perspectives are founded upon a false theoretical dichotomy, whereby the WTO system is viewed either as a global constitutional system or, alternatively, that its rules are subsidiary to a host of other values and norms, including environmental protection, human rights and national regulatory choice. First, the modifications in institutional architecture under the dispute settlement system are traced and discussed. This includes an analysis of treaty changes, the organisation and structure of panels and the adoption of reports. Subsequently, an analysis of WTO/GATT jurisprudence is made to ascertain the various legal sources used, the normative hierarchy established, the application of VCLT provisions and other rules of treaty interpretation, the use of evolutionary interpretation and the significance of special rules. This Section relies on case law and academic literature. Finally, the question of the fragmentation of international law is addressed with respect to treaty interpretation. This Section analyses legal pluralist arguments, particularly by Weiler, Fischer-Lescano and Teubner and establishes legitimate responses to their arguments. Moreover, certain similarities are established with other international courts and tribunals.


The growing drug dependency of developed societies has meant the uncontrolled use of drugs with the consequent medical risks and important economic repercussions. Primary health care in our country is characterized by high demand bureaucratization of clinics. Because of this, we consider it useful to rely on a prescription system for long term treatment, this being understood as a mechanism which allows the obtaining of prescriptions easily both for the patient and the doctor, control and monitoring of established chronic treatments, periodical therapy evaluations, which rely on the participation of other members of the primary health care team. In this report the model of the repeat prescription system in our health area is shown, from which the prescription can be obtained in a maximum time limit of 8 hours, the medication taken for chronic illness can be easily recognized and to make note of the date of the prescription.


Gravure printing as direct patterning roll‐to‐roll (R2R) production technology can revolutionize the design of thin‐film organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices by allowing feasible manufacturing of arbitrary‐shaped modules. This makes a distinction to coating methods, such as slot die coating, in which the pattern is limited to continuous stripes. Here, we analyze the thin‐film formation and its influence on OPV module performance as the gravure printing of hole transport and photoactive layers are transferred from laboratory to R2R pilot production environment. Insertion of a 0.8‐nm layer of lithium fluoride (LiF) as an interfacial layer between the active layer and the electron contact provided insulation against the detrimental pinholes formed in the R2R printing process. Using this device configuration, we produced well‐performing R2R‐printed monolithic modules with a mean efficiency of 1.7%. In comparison, reference modules with an efficiency of 2.2% were fabricated using laboratory‐scale bench top sheet‐level process. Surface energy and tension measurements together with optical microscopy were used to analyze the printability of the materials. The pinhole insulation was investigated in detail by processing R2R‐printed OPV modules with different interfacial layer materials and performing electrical measurements under dark and AM1.5 illumination conditions. Furthermore, we analyzed the LiF distribution using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The insulating nature of the LiF layer to improve module performance was confirmed by manufacturing lithographically artificial pinholes in device structures. The results show the possibility to loosen the production environment constraints and the feasibility of fabricating well‐performing thin‐film devices by R2R gravure printing. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


In social science, researchers are often confronted with large amounts of data generated through qualitative methods such as interviews, interpretive narration, and oral history. While selecting an appropriate form of communicating the findings at the end of a research project is every research's obligation, the dissemination of key insights gained from academic research, and presenting these in other formats that effectively extend the research results and new knowledge gained to nonexpert audiences, is many times forgotten. The purpose of this research is to address this gap in the literature by answering the question of how to communicate futures scenarios to nonexpert audiences, corporate decision-makers, and their staff using video animation as a medium. The process presented in this paper is based on a use case in which academics and designers, at a design school, took the findings of a financial services futures study and applied storytelling and visualization techniques to bring futures scenarios to life with video animation.


The non-active operation phase of ITER will be done in H and 4He plasmas at half the nominal magnetic field, B 0=2.65T. At this field and for the given frequency range of the ICRF system (f=40-55MHz), three ICRF heating scenarios are available a priori: (i) Fundamental ICRH of majority H plasmas at f≈40MHz, (ii) second harmonic (N=2) 3He ICRH in H plasmas at f≈53MHz and (iii) fundamental minority H heating in 4He plasmas at f≈40MHz. While the latter is expected to perform well for not too large H concentrations, the heating scenarios available for the Hydrogen plasmas are less robust. Recent JET experiments performed in similar conditions to those expected in ITER's half-field phase confirmed the low performance of these two scenarios and numerical simulations have shown that the situation is not much improved in ITER, mainly because of the rather modest plasma temperature and density expected in its initial operation phase. A summary of the main experimental results obtained at JET followed by numerical predictions for ITER's half-field ICRF heating scenarios will be presented.


We present an analysis of the temporal evolution of stratospheric constituents above the station of Dumont d'Urville in Antarctica (67°S, 140°E) from August 14 to September 20, 1992. Data sets include temperature profiles and H 2 O, ClO, O 3 , NO 2 , ClONO 2 , HNO 3 , N 2 O, and CH 4 mixing ratios and aerosol extinction coefficients from 46 to 1 hPa measured by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and the Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer (CLAES) instruments aboard the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). At the station, aerosol extinction coefficients and O 3 profiles are obtained by a lidar together with O 3 profiles provided by sondes. Integrated O 3 and NO 2 column amounts are given by a Systeme d'Analyse par Observation Zenithale (SAOZ) spectrometer located at the station. Column O 3 is also provided by the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument aboard the NIMBUS 7 satellite, complemented with potential vorticity derived from the U.K. Meteorological Office assimilated data set and temperature fields provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Time evolution of these measurements is interpreted by comparison with results from the SLIMCAT three-dimensional chemical transport model. We show that the site is near the vortex edge on average and is alternately inside the vortex or just outside in the region referred to as the collar region. There are no observations of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) over the station above 46 hPa (∼18 km). In fact, PSCs mainly appear over the Palmer Peninsula area at 46 hPa. The rates of change of chemical species are evaluated at 46 hPa when the station is conservatively inside the vortex collar region. The ozone loss rate is 0.04 ppmv d -1 (∼1.3% d -1 ). which is consistent with other analyses of southern vortex ozone loss rates; chlorine monoxide tends to decrease by 0.03 ppbv d -1 , while chlorine nitrate increases by 0.025 ppbv d -1 . These negative ClO and positive ClONO 2 trends are only observed in the collar region of the vortex where O 3 amounts are far from near zero, and little denitrification is observed. Loss and production rates as measured by UARS are more pronounced than the ones deduced from the SLIMCAT model, probably because of the moderate model horizontal resolution (3.75°×3.75°), which is not high enough to resolve the vortex crossings above Dumont d'Urville and which leads to a larger extent of denitrified air than indicated by the UARS data. The analysis also shows activated ClO inside the vortex at 46 hPa, a dehydrated vortex at 46 hPa, and rehydrated above, with no trace of denitrification in the lower stratosphere. Good agreement between coincident measurements of O 3 profiles by UARS/MLS, lidar, and sondes is also observed. Finally, the agreement between UARS and SLIMCAT data sets is much better in the middle stratosphere (4.6 hPa) than in the lower stratosphere (46 hPa).


In "Poeticizing Ecology/Ecologizing Poetry: Reading Elizabeth Bishop's 'Poem' Ecologically," we argue that ecological poetry is a kind of ecopoetry that undergirds "nature poetry" and environmental/activist poetry.  Ecological poetry is also best put into conversation with deconstruction.  This argument, informed by Timothy Morton's claim that "deconstruction and ecology should talk to one another," entails challenging previous arguments about what counts as ecopoetry but also the status of the lyric in general.  We synthesize James Longenbach's position in The Resistance of Poetry with Nick Selby's argument in "Ecopoetries in America" to examine the relationship between close reading and reading ecologically.  Rather than an ethical stance perceived in the content of the poem, to read ecologically requires attention to form and linguistic indeterminacy, not only because deconstruction and ecology are alike, but also because poetry is comprised of language, the usage of which "revels in duplicity and disjunction." Deconstruction is the best approach to divergent perspectives on nature, or the way a poem offers, in Nick Selby's view, not a clear purchase or single overarching view, but "a struggle to get nature right."  We contend that to give space to alterity, to allow the otherness not only of nature but also of language itself in its capacity for referentiality is to expand the "marked" space of ecology (in the terms set forth by G. Spencer Brown's Laws of Form).  We support this claim with a reading of Bishop's "Poem," which we acknowledge as an atypical choice for what constitutes ecological poetry.  A borderline ekphrastic poem, "Poem" allows us to talk not only about the space inherent in nature and language but between text and image, or poem and painting.  What we find in our reading of Bishop's "Poem" is a contingency between the poem and the painting, rather than a classical attempt of one to overpower the other, to speak for the other as the more authoritative sign.  We find the uncanny or strange quality of Bishop's ekphrastic approach to an amateurish painting that she calls "sketch" a way to further substantiate Morton's claim about the relevance of deconstruction to ecology.  Through our reading of the poem we argue that no entity completely coincides with itself because ecological thinking has helped us to see how every entity is shot-through with traces of the other; we ourselves are made up of other lifeforms; life is made up of nonlife.  To think ecologically is to think the other within the self (especially including all the nonhuman others), within any entity whatsoever.


Encapsulated designer cells implanted into mice are currently used to validate the efficacy of therapeutic gene networks for the diagnosis and treatment of various human diseases in preclinical research. Because many human conditions cannot be adequately replicated by animal models, complementary and alternative procedures to test future treatment strategies are required. Here we describe a novel approach utilizing an ex vivo human whole‐blood culture system to validate synthetic biology‐inspired designer cell‐based treatment strategies. The viability and functionality of transgenic mammalian designer cells co‐cultured with primary human immune cells were characterized. We demonstrated that transgenic mammalian designer cells required adequate insulation from the human blood microenvironment to maintain viability and functionality. The biomaterial alginate‐(poly‐l‐lysine)‐alginate used to encapsulate the transgenic designer cells did neither affect the viability of primary granulocytes and lymphocytes nor the functionality of lymphocytes. Additionally, alginate‐encapsulated transgenic designer cells remained responsive to the release of the pro‐inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF) from the whole‐blood culture upon exposure to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). TNF diffused into the alginate capsules, bound to the specific TNF receptors on the transgenic designer cells' surface and triggered the expression of the reporter gene SEAP (human placental secreted alkaline phosphatase) that was rewired to the TNF‐specific signaling cascade. Human whole‐blood culture systems can therefore be considered as valuable complementary assays to animal models for the validation of synthetic circuits in genetically modified mammalian cells and may speed up preclinical research in a world of personalized medicine. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 588–597. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


A topic of academic research and business practice which has grown in importance recently is sustainability. Its main objective is to ensure the development of the current generation and protect the right of future generations to prosper. In the business context, sustainability should be reflected in firms' efforts to simultaneously ensure short- and long-term gains. A time dimension is thus an important feature in the concept of sustainability.
In the past two decades, sustainability research specific to operations management has gained popularity. A number of operational practices from the lean, green and social management systems have proven to be effective sustainability practices with acknowledged positive effects on various dimensions of a firm's sustainability performance. However, a review of existing studies suggests that a time dimension is totally missing in sustainability discussions. Based on the time dimension, there is a need to classify popular sustainability practices based on their effect on performance, another issue which has yet to be addressed. Furthermore, existing sustainability studies in the field of operations management have mainly focused on sustainability practices and performance, ignoring the role of capabilities in interacting with practices to achieve better sustainability performance. This is surprising given that capability is increasingly proven to be the real source of superior firm performance and competitive advantage. This study attempts to address these research gaps by classifying the popular sustainability practices using a time dimension of short- and long-term sustainability, and by examining the role of two important operational capabilities, namely, operational improvement and innovation, in influencing sustainability. Since operational improvement and innovation capabilities involve short-term incremental and long-term radical changes to existing processes, they fit perfectly in the sustainability context featured by the time dimension.
Among industry sustainability is a serious concern in the production and consumption stages of the automotive sector. Any negative impact is more severe in emerging economies due to the lack of advanced technologies and management methods compared with developed countries. This study focuses on sustainability issues in the production stage of automotive products in the context of the largest emerging economy in the world, China. China has been the world's biggest automotive producer and consumer since 2009. Unsustainable problems such as increased costs, environmental pollutions, and human-related issues become more prominent as the industry expands. Thus, the sustainable development of the automotive industry in China deserves attention and this study attempts to address this from an internal operational perspective.
Thus, the study aims to develop and empirically validate a two-dimensional three-level sustainability framework that incorporates both short- and long-term sustainability practices, operational improvement and innovation capabilities, and short- and long-term sustainability performance. The categorization of short- and long-term sustainability is based on the traditional Chinese philosophy of duality, Yinyang. Based on relevant management theories and empirical case studies, the research framework is developed with sustainability practices being the independent variables, capabilities being the mediators and sustainability performance being the dependent variables. Horizontally, short-term sustainability practices include various lean practices and basic environmental management practices while long-term sustainability practices focus mainly on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Short- and long-term capabilities in this study refer to operational improvement and operational innovation from an incremental-radical perspective. Short-term sustainability performance mainly includes short-term financial performance, while long-term sustainability performance focuses on long-term financial performance achieved from being sustainable as well as corporate social image enhancement. In addition to the comprehensive research framework, direct relationships (practices on performance, practices on capabilities, and capabilities on performance) are also investigated. Mixed methods involving empirical case studies, a large-scale survey, and a workshop for dissemination of research findings were employed for this study. Given the fact that there is not sufficient theoretical information, case studies were conducted for framework development. Validation of the framework is made through 284 valid responses to an empirical survey conducted among Chinese automotive firms, including end assemblers, tier-1 suppliers, and tier-2 suppliers. Survey data are analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Findings suggest that the implementation of short-term sustainability practices has positive effects on the development of both operational improvement and innovation capabilities. It is also found to significantly improve both short- and long-term sustainability performance. On the other hand, the implementation of long-term sustainability practices is significantly related with the development of operational improvement capability and long-term sustainability performance only. Both forms of capabilities, operational improvement and innovation, are found to partially mediate the relationship between sustainability practices and performance. The findings were disseminated among practitioners on a subsequent workshop, where extensive acknowledgement was received.
This study makes theoretical contributions by adding the time dimension to the concept of sustainability and proposing a direction for future empirical sustainability research on how to incorporate the time feature. Furthermore, it contributes to the static sustainability theories of the Resource-based View (RBV) and the Practice-based View (PBV) by clarifying the tacit and explicit ways in which operational practices enhance performance. Thus, the RBV and the PBV can be integrated. In addition to environmental sustainability, the study extends the Nature Resource-based View (NRBV), another static sustainability theory, to a holistic sustainability context. Finally, it confirms the dynamic sustainability theory, the Dynamic Capabilities View (DCV), by confirming the unique role firm capabilities (operational improvement and innovation) play in sustainability. Practically, the findings suggest to companies that the long-term aspect of sustainability should never be overlooked, and managers are encouraged to pay closer attention to the development of capabilities when launching sustainability programs.


This lecture draws upon 25 years experience working with people who have impairments and live with disability. The lecture highlights the scope of the issues facing those with impairment or disability within current UK society; the challenges facing designers in this field relating to user acceptance of AT products provided; and, the associated stigma. The reasons behind the lack of social acceptance for Assistive Technology (AT) products are explored through values, beliefs and doctrines. The context of AT products are defined within a user-centred new product development (NPD) process. The viewpoint of the user, associated stakeholders and a wider UK society are described, along with their associated preferences. The generic mechanisms of perception and emotional response to a product are discussed and mapped onto the given process. The semantics of words images and forms are shown to be critical influences on the perception of an individual and society. The lecture provides an example process and design tools that has been practically applied through many successful AT product developments. Further examples of current Finalist student product designs will demonstrate some of the principles described. The process described uses a combination of conventional evidenced-based NPD alongside specific methods of the manipulation of perception and semantic meaning. Design tools such as value web-diagrams, technology footprint, iconography and product DNA are demonstrated within the NPD examples. In conclusion, the expansion of the market is discussed and demonstrated through changing perceptions and responses to an AT-focused product using alternative words and forms to emphasise 'enhanced living'.


The requirement of S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet) in the cleavage reaction carried out by type III restriction-modification enzymes has been investigated. We show that DNA restriction by EcoPI restriction enzyme does not take place in the absence of exogenously added AdoMet. Interestingly, the closely related EcoP15I enzyme has endogenously bound AdoMet and therefore does not require the addition of the cofactor for DNA cleavage. By employing a variety of AdoMet analogs, which differ structurally from AdoMet, this study demonstrates that the carboxyl group and any substitution at the epsilon carbon of methionine is absolutely essential for DNA cleavage. Such analogs could bring about the necessary conformational change(s) in the enzyme, which make the enzyme proficient in DNA cleavage. Our studies, which include native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, molecular size exclusion chromatography, UV, fluorescence and circular dichroism spectroscopy, clearly demonstrate that the holoenzyme and apoenzyme forms of EcoP15I restriction enzyme have different conformations. Furthermore, the Res and Mod subunits of the EcoP15I restriction enzyme can be separated by gel filtration chromatography in the presence of 2 M NaCl. Reconstitution experiments, which involve mixing of the isolated subunits, result in an apoenzyme form, which is restriction proficient in the presence of AdoMet. However, mixing the Res subunit with Mod subunit deficient in AdoMet binding does not result in a functional restriction enzyme. These observations are consistent with the fact that AdoMet is required for DNA cleavage. In vivo complementation of the defective mod allele with a wild-type mod allele showed that an active restriction enzyme could be formed. Furthermore, we show that while the purified c2-134 mutant restriction enzyme is unable to cleave DNA, the c2-440 mutant enzyme is able to cleave DNA albeit poorly. Taken together, these results suggest that AdoMet binding causes conformational changes in the restriction enzyme and is necessary to bring about DNA cleavage.


Purpose: To estimate thyroid dose from multi‐detector CT Head and Neck scans in an Anthropomorphic phantom using TLDs, OSLs, and the Monte Carlo‐based ImPACT software, and to compare the results to OSL doses obtained from teenage patients. Methods and Materials: Five TLD chips were inserted into each of the three holes surrounding the thyroid gland in the 9* slice of a Rando phantom. Four InLight/OSL nanoDot (Landauer Inc.) dosimeters were taped on the phantom surface (anterior, laterals, and posterior of the 9th slice) which was then positioned for head and neck scans on a 16‐slice CT scanner. A standard axial head scan was used followed by a helical neck scan. ImPACT software was used to determine the contribution of each scan to the total thyroid dose. Clinical doses were obtained from nanoDots which were placed on the skin over the thyroids of pediatric patients (ages from 15 to 17 y/o). Results: Average dose of all TLDs was 25.3 mGy. The total thyroid dose as calculated by ImPACT for both scans was 25.2 mGy. OSL dosimeters in the phantom gave the following readings: 40.1, 39.7, 39, and 32.8 mGy for anterior, left lateral, right lateral, and posterior positions, respectively. The average dose from the OSL placed on the patients' necks was found to be 37.5 mGy. Conclusion: The thyroid dose measurements obtained by using TLDs in a Rando phantom were similar to the dose calculated with the ImPACT software (p = 0.8). There was also good agreement between the values of the OSLs placed on the necks of the phantom and of three subjects. Preliminary results show the neck OSL readings overestimating the thyroid dose by a factor of 1.5. Results will be presented with a larger number of patient data and a relationship between surface and thyroid dose will be explored.


Large wavefield datasets are becoming increasingly large due to improvements in simulation techniques and advances in computer systems. Larger storage capacities enable scientists to store more data. For example, state of the art ground-motion numerical solvers produce Terabyte-size datasets per simulation. Operating on these datasets becomes extremely challenging due to decades of declining normalized storage performance both in terms of access latency and throughput. Data access and transfer rates have not kept pace with the increase in storage capacity or CPU performance, i.e., (seek time/disk capacity) and (transfer bandwidth/disk capacity) have decreased. As dataset sizes increase, it takes much longer to access the data on disk. We present new mechanisms that allow querying and processing large wavefields in the compressed domain (i.e, directly in their compressed representation). These mechanisms combine well-known spatial-indexing techniques with novel compressed representations in order to reduce bandwidth requirements when moving data from storage to main memory. The compression technique uses frequency domain representation to take advantage of the temporal redundancy found in wave propagation data, coupled with a new representation based on boundary integral equations which takes advantage of data spatial coherence. This approach transforms a large I/O problem into a massively-parallel CPU-intensive computation. Common queries to these datasets result in difficult to handle I/O workloads with semi-random access patterns. In the proposed representation I/O access patterns exhibit larger sequential patterns. The decompression stage for this approach places heavy demands on the CPU. The good news is that the decompression can be performed in parallel, and is well-suited for the surfacing many-core processors. We evaluate our approach in the context of post-processing of dataset produced by CMU Quake project.


BACKGROUND: The aetiology and pathogenesis of collagenous colitis are unknown. Autoimmunity has been suggested, but no serological findings have supported such a theory. AIMS AND METHODS: Serum from 38 collagenous colitis patients and 38 matched healthy controls was analysed for autoantibodies--that is, antinuclear antibodies, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies, smooth muscle and mitochondrial antibodies, rheumatoid factor and antibodies to thyroglobulin and microsomal antigen, together with antibodies to endomysium, gliadin, and cardiolipin. The serum values of IgA, IgG, IgM, and IgG-subclasses, and complement factors C3 and C4 were also determined. RESULTS: In patients with collagenous colitis the mean value of IgM was significantly increased 2.5 g/l (95% CI; 1.9, 3.2) compared with 1.4 g/l (95% CI; 1.2, 1.7) in controls (p = 0.002). Antinuclear antibodies occurred in nine of 38 patients compared with three of 38 controls, this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.11). The results of all other immunoglobulins, complement factors, and specific antibodies showed no statistical difference between patients and controls. CONCLUSIONS: No firm evidence for an autoimmune genesis in collagenous colitis is found in this study, although the findings of a positive ANA-titre in some patients and an increased IgM level might give some support for this hypothesis.


The diversity-multiplexing trade-off (DMT) expresses the optimal trade-off between the transmission rate and the error probability for communications at high signal to noise ratios (SNR) in wireless networks with fading channels. For half-duplex single relay networks with quasi-static fading channels, if the average signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the source-relay (S-R) link is equal to the average SNR of the relay-destination (RD) link, quantize-map-and-forward (QMF) and dynamic decode-and-forward (DDF) strategies are DMT optimal at high and low multiplexing gains, respectively. In this paper, we show that DDF and SQMF strategies are not generally DMT optimal in half-duplex single relay networks when the average SNR of the S-R link and R-D link are not equal. We show that DMT of dynamic QMF strategy is strictly greater than DMT of DDF and static QMF strategies for a specific half-duplex single relay network at certain multiplexing gains.


The scientific rationale to block angiogenesis as a treatment strategy for human cancer has been developed over the last 30 years, but is only now entering the clinical arena. Preclinical studies have demonstrated the importance of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathways in both physiologic and pathologic angiogenesis, and have led to the development of approaches to block its role in tumor angiogenesis. Bevacizumab is an antibody to VEGF and has been shown to prolong survival when given with chemotherapy in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). Although this is the first anti-angiogenic treatment to be approved for the treatment of human epithelial malignancy, a number of other approaches currently are in development. Soluble chimeric receptors to sequester serum VEGF and monoclonal antibodies against VEGF receptors have both shown considerable promise in the laboratory and are being brought into clinical investigation. A number of small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors that have activity against VEGF receptors also are in clinical trials. Although these novel treatments are being pioneered in CRC, anti-angiogenic approaches also are being tested in the treatment of other gastrointestinal malignancies. Anti-VEGF therapy has shown promise in such traditionally resistant tumors as pancreatic cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. This review will examine the preclinical foundation and then focus on the clinical studies of anti-VEGF therapy in gastrointestinal cancers.


Mediated public diplomacy plays an important role in attaining foreign policy objectives by communicating with foreign audiences in order to establish a dialogue intending to inform and influence. The Russian state-funded global network RT serves as an important tool of Russian mediated public diplomacy. Its purpose is not only to cover major global events that are often missed by the Western mainstream media, but also to apprise an international audience of an alternative pro-Russian perspective. Interestingly, although there are a few researches analysing Moscow's efforts to rebrand its international image in the last decade, there has been very little work done giving a good insight into Russian media. This dissertation seeks to participate in the discussion about public diplomacy in general by applying the framing theory as a tool of mediated diplomacy. A qualitative analysis of 97 articles discussing the effects of international sanctions imposed on Russia in the aftermath of the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis, revealed a constructed pro-Russian narrative. Several strategies are pursued to convince its audience about the rightness of the Russian stance and gain support for the Kremlin's assertions. Finally, RT aims to wipe out the demonisation of Putin and its administration and counterbalance the penetration of the West in its sphere of influence.


This paper traces the development of the government-to-government relationship between the United States and Native peoples and examines the implications of that relationship for Native American educatioa. In 1532, Francisco de Vitoria refuted the Doctrine of Discovery and laid out four principles to guide Spanish governmental relations with Native peoples. Colonial powers and, later, the United States recognized the sovereignty of Native nations by entering into over 800 treaties with them. A 1794 treaty was the first to contain provisions for 7ndian education. In 1871 Congress ended treaty-making with Native governments, essentially legalizing Native assimilation and land annexation. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) controlled all aspects of Native education and government. In 1934, in response to criticisms in the Meriam Report, Congress reaffirmed tribal self-government and provided financial inducements to states to enroll Natives in public schools. Following efforts in the 1950s to terminate the government-to-government relationship, the Federal Government in the 1960s reaffirmed its support for Native self-determination and tribally controlled education. The present trend of shifting responsibility for Native education from BIA and tribal schools to public schools has resulted in a real loss of Native control. Contemporary roles in Native education are described for various federal agencies, tribal governments, Native communities, and state governments. Recent Supreme Court decisions concerning the rights and jurisdiction of tribal governments are outlined. This paper contains 26 references and cites 46 court cases and 30


Measurements of the suprathermal tail of the energy distribution function of deuterium ions, in plasmas containing MeV energy ICRH driven minority He3 ions and majority deuterium ions, revealed that the suprathermal tail ion density exceeded by nearly an order of magnitude that expected due to nuclear elastic scattering (NES) of He3 projectile ions on deuterium target ions. The experiments were performed on the Joint European Torus (JET), measurements of the line-of-sight integrated energy distribution functions of He3 and suprathermal deuterium ions were made using a high energy neutral particle analyzer. The NES or 'knock-on' deuterium ion energy distribution function was simulated using the FPP-3D Fokker–Plank code (Zaitsev et al 2002 Nucl. Fusion 42 1340) which solves the 3D trajectory averaged kinetic equations in JET tokamak geometry while taking into account NES of He3 ions on the deuterium ions. The required input energy distribution function of ICRH driven He3 ions was simulated using the SELFO code (Hedin et al 2002 Nucl. Fusion 42 527). The comparison between measurement and simulation in the He3 ICRH experiments is contrasted with an analogous previous comparison between measurements and simulation of JET plasmas in which 3.5 MeV DT fusion alpha-particles were the projectile ions, where measurement and simulation roughly agreed. Possible explanations for the observed excess knock-on deuterium tail in the experiments with He3 minority ICRH are discussed. The importance of D + He3 fusion products as additional drivers of suprathermal fuel ions is underlined.


Immigration has been a topic of controversy in the United States, and has led to national discussions on tightening border control. The United States continues to be a place where immigrants seek a better life or refuge from their own country. Today, a large number of Hispanic immigrants seek to start a new life in the United States, much as Chinese and Irish immigrants did in the early 1900s. By studying the struggles immigrants faced during the 19th century and comparing them to obstacles faced by present day Hispanic immigrants, it is possible to see there are many parallels. Attitudes of US citizens today towards new immigrants are similar to those held in the 1800s and 1900s. Historically, many American citizens have not recognized immigrants as equals in the workplace, an attitude that seems to persist today. This study examines the historic immigration of the Irish and the Chinese during the nineteenth century, specifically focusing on their assimilation into early American society. The ways that these groups were treated can be compared to the treatment of Hispanic immigrants that are living and working in the United States today. Factors that will be examined include conditions that precipitated the migration of the immigrants from their homeland, and living and working conditions that the groups endured before, during, and after their immigration. The difference in languages and how it can influence one's perception of another person will also be reviewed. To supplement this analysis, a questionnaire will be completed by both Hispanic immigrants in the United States and non-Hispanic Americans. This will allow for a comparison of how the two groups view themselves and each other in modern day society, thus providing additional viewpoints for the study.


A group of patients is described in whom choroidal detachment was superimposed on retinal detachment. The prominent external signs are severe iritis and profound hypotony. The configuration of the choroidal detachment is variable, and changes in the course of several days. As the choroidal detachment subsides, the retinal detachment increases. The necessity for careful diagnonosis, and the frequency of misdiagnoses, are stressed. Definitive surgery should be postponed until the choroidal fluid has cleared, but even then the prognosis for reattachment is poorer than in uncomplicated retinal detachment.


Freeway congestion can reduce the freeway throughput due to the capacity drop or due to blocking caused by spillback to upstream ramps. Research has shown that congestion can be reduced by the application of ramp metering and variable speed limits. Model predictive control is a promising strategy for the optimization of the ramp metering rates and variable speed limits to improve the freeway throughput. However, several challenges have to be addressed before it can be applied for the control of freeway traffic. This paper focuses on the challenge of reducing the computation time of MPC strategies for the integration of variable speed limits and ramp metering. This is realized via a parameterized control strategy that optimizes the upstream and downstream boundaries of a speed-limited area and the parameters of the ALINEA ramp metering strategy. Due to the parameterization, the solution space reduces substantially, leading to an improved computation time. More specifically, the number of optimization variables for the variable speed limit strategy becomes independent of the number of variable message signs, and the number of optimization variables for the ramp metering strategy becomes independent of the prediction horizon. The control strategy is evaluated with a macroscopic model of a two-lane freeway with two ON-ramps and OFF-ramps. It is shown that parameterization realizes improved throughput when compared with a non-parameterized strategy when using the same amount of computation time.


Fire detection systems as they are now configured in aircraft cargo bays do not always meet the current FAA requirements, including a specification that a fire be detected within 1 mm after initiation. A new FAA Airworthiness Directive requires upgraded fire detection systems on all combination passenger/cargo aircraft built by Boeing and McDonnell Douglas. A thermal monitoring/fire detection system that meets the new FAA regulations has been developed. It is based on infrared detection technology coupled with a Fresnel scanning optical system. The system uses a dual computer controller unit, which permits totally redundant thermal monitoring within the cargo bay. The system is responsive to either overheat or fire conditions, has three levels of fire alarm signal, incorporates complete optical coverage and electronic circuitry redundancy, and provides fire location information. It is highly reliable and immune to false alarm stimuli. Each sensor is designed to cover a portion of the cargo bay approximately 20 ft in diameter from 12 ft above. A system description is presented, and performance characteristics for fire/overheat and false alarm immunity are discussed.


Breast cancer tends to spread to other organs and bone metastasis has the highest frequency in breast cancer metastasis, while its mechanisms are not clear and the current treatments are not very effective. To better study the mechanisms and facilitate drug screening for breast cancer bone metastasis, an in vivo mouse model needs to be constructed. However, the construction of the humanized mouse model for cancer bone metastasis which will mimick real interactions between cancer tissue and bone tissue in the human microenvironment remains a challenge. In this study, we constructed a human engineering bone tissue composed with the human osteoblast-like cells (SaOS-2 cells) and the silica nanoparticlesincorporated human demineralized bone matrix (Si/DBM). The engineered bone was then transplanted into a nude mouse to build a humanized bone microenvironment. The human breast cancer cells were then injected into the fat pads of the nude mouse to form an orthotopic tumor. The results showed that the engineered bone tissue-constructed humanized bone microenvironment had significant advantages when inducing human cancer cells to metastasize into the engineered bone tissue. Further, the SaOS-2/Si/DBM had a stronger ability to entice cancer-bone metastasis through promoting osteogenesis compared to the SaOS-2/DBM. Accordingly, this study highlights a novel, facile and effective mouse model for human cancer-bone metastasis, which will provide a platform to explore the mechanisms and anti-tumor drug screening for cancer-bone metastasis.


Studies on ultrastructural changes in the accessory and ventral hyperstriatum in chicks at the 2nd and 3rd days after visual imprinting revealed significant increase in the surface of synaptic contact zones and mean width of postsynaptic thickenings in the investigated structures. The data obtained are discussed in relation to the specific role of the medial part of the ventral hyperstriatum in birds during learning and imprinting memory.


Traffic signs are important means to control and evacuate traffic by providing traffic information so that it can ensure transportation safety. According to the characteristics of ring expressway construction, the article analyzes the traffic flow of highway network and concludes four models of traffic flow. Considering the purposes of traffic and traffic flowing models and technical classification of all highway networks, it proposes the layout and classification of traffic information and the referential standard of traffic signs. The classification of traffic signs are quit helpful to meet the demand of demand from different traffic involvers who need different traffic information. This method has been applied in the planning and layout of traffic signs for highway network with two rings & eight radial highways in Chongqing Municipality which can testify the method practically.


Background Serial joint range-of-motion (ROM) measurements are an important component of assessments for children with cerebral palsy. Most research has studied ROM stability using group data. Examination of longitudinal intraindividual measures may provide more clinically relevant information about measurement variability. Objective The aim of this study was to examine the stability of intraindividual longitudinal measurements of hip abduction (ABD), popliteal angle (POP), and ankle dorsiflexion (ADF) ROM measures of children with cerebral palsy. Design Secondary data analyses were performed. Methods The stability patterns of individual serial measurements of ABD, POP, and ADF from 85 children (mean age=3.8 years, SD=1.4) collected at baseline (T1), 3 months (T2), 6 months (T3), and 9 months (T4) were examined using T1 as the anchor and bandwidths of ±15 degrees (ABD and POP) and ±10 degrees (ADF) as acceptable variability. Frequencies of stability categories (0°–5°, 5.1°–10°, 10.1°–15°, and >15°) were calculated. Patterns of stability across the 4 time periods also were examined. Group means (T1–T4) were compared using repeated-measures analysis of variance. Results No significant differences in group means were found except for ABD. Stability patterns revealed that 43.3% to 69.5% of joint measurements were stable with T1 measurements across all 3 subsequent measurements. Stability category frequencies showed that many measurements (ABD=17%, POP=29.9%, and ADF=37.1%) went outside the variability bandwidths even though 39% or more of joint measurements had a change of 5 degrees or less over time. Limitations Measurement error and true measurement variability cannot be disentangled. The results cannot be extrapolated to other joint ROMs. Conclusions Individual ROM serial measurement exhibits more variability than group data. Range-of-motion data must be interpreted with caution clinically and efforts made to ensure standardization of data collection methods.


Variability on all time scales between seconds and decades is typical for cataclysmic variables (CVs). One of the brightest and best studied CVs is TT Ari, a nova-like variable which belongs to the VY Scl subclass, characterized by occasional low states in their light curves. It is also known as a permanent superhumper at high state, revealing "positive" (P_S > P_0) as well as "negative" (P_S < P_0) superhumps, where P_S is the period of the superhump and P_0 the orbital period. TT Ari was observed by the Canadian space telescope MOST for about 230 hours nearly continuously in 2007, with a time resolution of 48 seconds. Here we analyze these data, obtaining a dominant "negative" superhump signal with a period P_S = 0.1331 days and a mean amplitude of 0.09 mag. Strong flickering with amplitudes up to 0.2 mag and peak-to-peak time scales of 15-20 minutes is superimposed on the periodic variations. We found no indications for significant quasi-periodic oscillations with periods around 15 minutes, reported by other authors. We discuss the known superhump behaviour of TT Ari during the last five decades and conclude that our period value is at the upper limit of all hitherto determined "negative" superhump periods of TT Ari, before and after the MOST run.


Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. Because these tumours are usually detected by early diagnosis, prostate cancer is often limited to the prostate when diagnosed. Withholding active treatment, with active surveillance or watchful waiting are full options for men with this diagnosis. In active surveillance, men receive a structured follow-up with repeated determinations of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and prostate biopsies, often supported by MRI. When the tumour develops, active treatment can still be initiated. With this approach, the 10-year survival rate is high and a significant proportion of men remain untreated. With watchful waiting no structural monitoring takes place; instead one waits until the prostate cancer becomes symptomatic. This mainly concerns bone pain due to metastasis and obstruction of the urethra due to local growth. Explanation about these options is essential and GPs can play an important role in this.


ABSTRACT The collectins surfactant-associated protein A (SP-A) and SP-D are components of innate immunity that are present before birth. Both proteins bind pathogens and assist in clearing infection. The significance of SP-A and SP-D as components of the neonatal immune system has not been investigated. To determine the role of SP-A and SP-D in neonatal immunity, wild-type, SP-A null, and SP-D null mice were bred in a bacterium-laden environment (corn dust bedding) or in a semisterile environment (cellulose fiber bedding). When reared in the corn dust bedding, SP-A null pups had significant mortality (P < 0.001) compared to both wild-type and SP-D null pups exposed to the same environment. The mortality of the SP-A null pups was associated with significant gastrointestinal tract pathology but little lung pathology. Moribund SP-A null newborn mice exhibited Bacillus sp. and Enterococcus sp. peritonitis. When the mother or newborn produced SP-A, newborn survival was significantly improved (P < 0.05) compared to the results when there was a complete absence of SP-A in both the mother and the pup. Significant sources of SP-A likely to protect a newborn include the neonatal lung and gastrointestinal tract but not the lactating mammary tissue of the mother. Furthermore, exogenous SP-A delivered by mouth to newborn SP-A null pups with SP-A null mothers improved newborn survival in the corn dust environment. Therefore, a lack of SP-D did not affect newborn survival, while SP-A produced by either the mother or the pup or oral exogenous SP-A significantly reduced newborn mortality associated with environmentally induced infection in SP-A null newborns.


This study sought to identify the language-learning strategies employed by learners of Spanish while posting entries to a class blog. The project consisted of the development of a blogging activity and its implementation in an Intermediate Spanish course. In accordance with the literature's recommendations about language-learning-strategy assessment, the study employed an actual-task strategy questionnaire which included open-ended questions, along with a checklist to identify the strategies used by participants while completing the blogging task. The analysis of the data revealed that participants employed a variety of strategies while posting their entries to the class blog. The most prevalent was the use of previous knowledge, which was mainly reflected in the choice of topic for blog entries made by participants. Participants also used the task-based strategy of re-wording and rephrasing to simplify the language and turned to available resources such as a Spanish-English dictionary, their textbook, the Internet, and help from friends or classmates. Additionally, participants used the metacognitive strategies of monitoring and evaluation to ensure the quality of their posts, coupled with the task-based strategy of applying general grammatical rules to specific blogging problems. Finally, the data analysis revealed that, contrary to the findings of previous research, students had some awareness of the existence of strategies that they could use to facilitate the blogging task.


While academic social science is extremely effective at generating public value, it is less adept at communicating this value. Sam Baars believes researchers should reflect on the ways in which social value is created not just from the findings of our research, but also the way in which it is conducted. He pushes for the adoption of a more 'embedded' approach to research which involves working more closely with the public, and public institutions, at a local level.


Abstract This paper investigates the role of women as shareholders in joint stock companies, and how far they can be characterised as active investors. It is based on a large database of company constitutions, together with procedural records and the pamphlet literature of the period. The penetration by women of the private sphere of investment did not always extend to the more public sphere of participation at shareholder meetings. Literary representations of women as speculators reinforced such boundaries. While the separate spheres may have been blurred, considerable limitations were set on the extent to which female shareholders could participate fully in the governance of joint stock companies.


In comprehensive passenger transportation terminal, the passenger congestion is one of major problems and thus many ways have been taken to mitigate it. It is believed that an appropriate selection of congestion mitigation strategies comes from the sound understanding of the congestion characteristics. In this paper we analyzed the main reasons, simulated the process of its formation and aggravating by AnyLogic. Then we obtained the data about the varying passenger flow density changing along with time and place. Based on the simulation data, we research the characteristics of the congestion occurred in the transportation terminal from the perspective of the passenger flow density, which offers some references to mitigate the congestion.


Newborns ingest maternal E. coli strains that colonize their intestinal tract around the time of delivery. E. coli strains with the ability to translocate across the gut invade the newborn's bloodstream, causing life-threatening bacteremia. The methodology presented here utilizes polarized intestinal epithelial cells grown on semipermeable inserts to assess the transcytosis of neonatal E. coli bacteremia isolates in vitro. This method uses the established T84 intestinal cell line that has the ability to grow to confluence and form tight junctions and desmosomes. After reaching confluence, mature T84 monolayers develop transepithelial resistance (TEER), which can be quantified using a voltmeter. The TEER values are inversely correlated with the paracellular permeability of extracellular components, including bacteria, across the intestinal monolayer. The transcellular passage of bacteria (transcytosis), on the other hand, does not necessarily alter the TEER measurements. In this model, bacterial passage across the intestinal monolayer is quantified for up to 6 h post-infection, and repeated measurements of TEER are made to monitor the paracellular permeability. In addition, this method facilitates the use of techniques such as immunostaining to study the structural changes in tight junctions and other cell-to-cell adhesion proteins during bacterial transcytosis across the polarized epithelium. The use of this model contributes to the characterization of the mechanisms by which neonatal E. coli transcytose across the intestinal epithelium to produce bacteremia.


Whether or not animal therapy provides positive therapeutic benefits to the elderly living in long-term care facilities remains inconclusive. Therefore, based on the study of Crowley-Robinson, Fenwick and Blackshaw (1996) this current study investigated whether the presence of a resident pet, visiting pet or no pet in residential homes, caused differences within elderly residents' mood states.
Additionally, it considered their gender and liking of animals, to examine whether animal therapy benefited one individual more than another. The Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire was employed to measure the mood states tension, depression, anger, vigour, fatigue and confusion, as well as a Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) score, which were analysed using a between-subjects Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA).
The results found no significant main effect of pet presence on any of the mood states or TMD score, thus one pet presence did not cause more positive mood states than another. Gender was found to have a significant main effect on tension, with females being significantly tenser than males.
No significant interaction between gender and pet presence was found, meaning pet presence did not benefit the mood states of one gender more than the other and, due to a limited, uneven sample size, the data for whether the participants liked animals or not was not analysed.
Therefore, inconclusive findings continue as to whether animal therapy provides the elderly with positive therapeutic benefits. Although, this does indicate that elderly residents living in long-term care facilities with no pet are not at a disadvantage.


The Mechanisms and Triggering of Earthquakes in the Ridge-Transform Environment Danielle Frances Sumy The theory of plate tectonics introduced a paradigm shift in the way we view and study our planet. Many of the world's plate boundaries, however, are beneath our oceans making data collection, the key to furthering our knowledge about these zones, difficult. Recent advances in research vessels, seismic data acquisition techniques, and equipment built to withstand the temperatures and pressures within the oceans and on the seafloor, have made a huge impact in helping us understand the complicated structure and dynamics of our Earth. In the field of seismology, precise earthquake locations can illuminate regions of active seismic deformation, and help us better understand the orientation, mechanics, and kinematics of plate boundary zones. Although ocean bottom seismometers have been in use since the late 1930s, the instruments did not have the recording capacity and endurance to withstand being placed on the seafloor for a large span of time. Today, ocean bottom seismometers are deployed in densely spaced arrays that record seismic signals for approximately a year. The highprecision seismic data now available can help us redefine plate boundaries and further our understanding of the internal processes and deformation within these zones. In this dissertation, I aim to use ocean bottom seismometer data to explore the Pacific-North America plate boundary within the Gulf of California, and the internal workings of the 9o50'N East Pacific Rise hightemperature hydrothermal system. The first chapter of my dissertation uses data collected from an ocean bottom seismometer array deployed along the plate boundary within the Gulf of California from October 2005 to October 2006. In this study, I detect and locate ~700 earthquakes mainly located on the NW-SE striking oceanic transform faults that delineate the plate boundary. In addition, we calculate regional moment tensors for ~30 of these events, and find that the majority are rightlateral strike-slip events consistent with observed transtensional plate motion. Chapter 2 investigates the relationship between tides and ~3500 microearthquakes recorded on six ocean bottom seismometers deployed in the vicinity of the 9o50'N East Pacific Rise high-temperature hydrothermal vent system from October 2003 to April 2004. I find unequivocal evidence for tidal triggering of microearthquakes with maximum extensional stresses induced by the solid Earth tide at this site. Although tides are not the underlying cause of earthquake nucleation within the region, the modulation of microearthquakes by these small amplitude tidal stresses indicates that the hydrothermal system is a high-stress environment that is maintained at a critical state of failure due to on-going tectonic and magmatic processes. In Chapter 3, I further investigate the role of tides in triggering microearthquake activity at the 9o50'N East Pacific Rise high-temperature hydrothermal vent site, and observe systematic along-axis variations between peak microearthquake activity and maximum predicted tidal extension. I interpret this systematic triggering to result from pore-pressure perturbations propagating laterally through the hydrothermal system, and from this result and a onedimensional poroelastic model, I provide an estimate of bulk permeability at this site. This observation may allow for more sophisticated investigations into the heat and chemical exchange between the newly formed oceanic crust and hydrothermal fluids, and may provide insight into the plumbing supporting the subsurface biosphere.


Background: New antimicrobial substances are increasingly needed to face issues of antibacterial resistance, and plants are one of the potential sources of these substances. The Tengger people of East Java, Indonesia empirically possess the knowledge of medicinal plants that need to be documented and assessed further for their potencies. Objectives: This study aimed to find plants with the potency of antimicrobial activity, by quantifying ethnomedicinal data from The Tengger people. Materials and Methods: In this study, snowball sampling was chosen as the sampling method. Information about medicinal plants was obtained by interview with a semi-structured questionnaire, and four indices namely: ethnobotanical richness, use-value index, fidelity level, and knowledge value index were used for quantifying the information gathered from the respondents. Results: The results showed that four plants had prominent values of indices, which were adas (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.), jambu wer (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch), sempretan (Eupatorium sp.), and kayu ampet (Astronia macrophylla L.). Those four plants were recognized by The Tengger people for their medicinal properties, which were anti-diarrhea (jambu wer and sempretan), cough reliever (adas), and wound remedies (sempretan). Conclusion: The plants had the potency to be explored further for their antimicrobial activity. Further exploration is needed to find new active compounds responsible for antimicrobial activity. Key words: Antimicrobial Plants, Ethnomedicine, Ethnopharmacy, Tengger, Indigenous, Indonesia.


Twenty-five years aft er the end of state socialism in Central and Eastern Europe, how useful is the category of postsocialism? In this article, I suggest one possible answer to this question through a discussion of how this category emerged during ethnographic fieldwork on aging, personhood, and memory in Wroclaw and Poznan, Poland. A binary Cold War framework that opposes socialism to postsocialism and East to West does not suffi ciently explain the complexities of processes by which persons and social relations are created and transformed. However, "postsocialism" is defensible as an ethnographic, rather than analytic, category because these binary categories shape people's expectations, hopes and imaginations. Ethnographic fieldwork in a range of institutional and non-institutional contexts found that older people were often understood as relics of the socialist past, that some older people look to the "West" for moral exemplars, and that national narratives of suffering provide moral frameworks for older Poles' life histories. By interpreting these findings through a theoretical framework that centers on the processual formation of personhood and relatedness, this article thus helps anthropologists of Central and Eastern Europe create research imaginaries that escape dominant binary frameworks.


Improving the mental health of the people in Wales lies at the heart of the Welsh Assembly Government's public health agenda and the current reforms of the National Health Service in Wales. However, relative to its importance as a health problem, spending on mental health is disproportionately low. Statutory authorities in Wales highlight the importance of listening to, and learning from, service users and carers. This is seen as a way of improving services within the limited funding that is available. The aims of this study were to describe the ways in which mental health service users and carers are currently involved in mental health services across Wales; and to consider the need for an all-Wales mental health service user and carer 'national mechanism' to promote genuine partnership. Eight focus groups were held across Wales attended by mental health service users and carers. There is a clear picture of the level and nature of participation, evidence of good practice and user and carer based aspirations for future participation. There is an untapped source of energy and experience that could help transform mental health services for the good of all. To ignore this would be to miss an opportunity to improve the quality of care for all those dependent upon these services, both patients and carers.


The performance of China's economy in the last thirty years is an ongoing debate. After the economic reforms in 1978, China has emerged as the fastest-growing major economy with an average annual GDP growth rate of 9.83%. Capital formation is the major driver to cause China's rapid growth and contributes 54.28% in total DGP growth in 2008. TFP growth plays the second important role to boost China's economic growth. Because of highly investment-driven economy pattern, China needs to faces three major challenges like structural imbalance, environment stains and income inequality. However, addressing the structural imbalance will be the key word in government economic growth plan. Traditional pattern of economic growth needs to be replaced if China wants to keep an efficiency growth in the future.


Capacitor bushings are one of the key components in power transformers. Although their price is a negligible part of the total price of the power transformer, their quality has a significant effect on performance and reliability of power transformers. In high voltage capacitor bushings, the intensity of voltage and electric field on bushing abacus is very high. This high intensity is also observed in flange parts. The amount of multi layer insulator among the electrodes or floating plates in capacitor bushing make equi-potential surfaces and reduction of electric field in these areas can greatly improve the capacitor bushing performance. In this paper, we investigate the reduction of field intensity and electrical tension and also improvement in voltage control by displacing floating plates which are in the form of aluminum foils stick to impregnated paper. To calculate the field intensity, we used the MAXWELL software using FEM (Finite element method). Using this new method of placing capacitor core its effect on voltage profile reduction and field electrical tension is shown. Over voltage and pollution effects are also investigate on power transformer bushings.


Report of 173 patients with colorectal carcinoma, who were submitted to a multivisceral resection. After curative operation a histologically proven infiltration of neighbouring organs could be seen in 55% of cases, whereas in the other patients only inflammatory adhesions were identified. Postoperative surgical complications were observed in 11.4% and were identical with the level of complications in conventionally operated patients. Also comparable were the postoperative mortality rates (3.6%/3.4%). The 5-year survival rate of all multiviscerally resected patients was 42%, after curative resection 51%. The UICC-stage related survival rates were 58% and 43% in stage II and III, versus 60% and 41% after conventional resection. The identical operative risk and identical survival rates justify the application of multivisceral resection in the treatment of colorectal carcinoma.


An effective fetching of the most relevant documents from the web is difficult due to the vast amount of information in all types of formats. The vast amount of data is very difficult to understand by machines, but humans can easily understand. The semantic web is a web of data that make capable machines to understand the data on web pages and also known as Web 3.0. Semantic Web is a way to increase the accuracy of information retrieval systems. Web mining is the application of data mining to extract knowledge from web data using data mining techniques, including web documents, hyperlinks between documents, usage logs of web sites etc. The semantic web mining is aimed at combining both the semantic web and web mining. The main aim is turning unstructured data into machine understandable data using semantic web tools so machine can respond to human queries in less time and avoid tedious work and automatically extract knowledge hidden in the vast amounts of web data using web mining tools. This paper focuses on the various Semantic-web approaches and challenges. General Terms: Semantic web, Web mining and semantic web approaches.


Isotope studies of freshwater aquatic habitats have shown that epiphytic algae in the form of periphyton provides much of the source material for the biomass of secondary aquatic producers. Consequently, methods that can quantify the seasonal abundance of periphyton are important spatial inputs for wetland management and conservation planning processes for tropical floodplains. In this study, estimation of the seasonal spatial variability in floodplain macrophyte and periphyton abundance was made for the floodplains of the Kakadu region in northern Australia. Statistical modelling, using remotely sensed information, was applied to predict the seasonal distributions of macrophyte structural types, which were then combined with the field measurements of periphyton biomass to produce seasonal distributions of floodplain periphyton biomass per unit area. The seasonal spatial distribution of periphyton was strongly influenced by the seasonal variation in macrophyte abundance. Vertical emergent macrophytes (mainly aquatic grasses), covering 70% of the floodplain in May, had the lowest periphyton abundance. Submerged macrophytes, covering 10–15% of the floodplains, had the greatest periphyton abundance. The submerged macrophytes occupied open water areas, mainly in the deeper backswamp areas on the edges of the floodplains, and these areas maintained high periphyton abundance into the dry season. This study provides explicit spatial representation of the seasonal dynamics of tropical floodplain macrophyte and periphyton abundance and presents an approach that can be applied to map 'hotspots' of floodplain periphyton abundance. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Between May and June 2011, the growth performance and phenological characteristics of local barred chicken of the Western Highland Cameroon was carried out in the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Dschang. The data on body weight, body measurements and carcass characteristics were collected on 120 chickens. Matrices correlation and regression curves of body weight on body measurements were established. The results revealed high variability in morphological and biometric characters of barred chicken. At 20 weeks, the average body weight was 1204.09 and 1566.87 g respectively for female and male. The values of the different measurements were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in males as compared to the females. Otherwise, the correlation coefficients of body weight on body measurements were positive in females (0.52 to 0.67). In males, they were positive and weak (0.28 to 0.50) as compared to the females. The characters that can be used to predict weight in males were thoraxic perimeter, tarsus and body length but with a rather low accuracy. Appart from the carcass yield, weight of gizzard, abdominal fat and breast muscle which were comparables between males and females, all other parameters studied including carcass characteristics and various visceral organs were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in males as compared to the females. Keywords : Growth performance, Phenological characteristics, Local barred chicken


Studies of the internal structure of asteroids, which are crucial for understanding their impact history and for hazard mitigation, appear to be in conflict for the S-type asteroids, Eros, Gaspra, and Ida. Spacecraft images and geophysical data show that they are fractured, coherent bodies, whereas models of catastrophic asteroidal impacts, family and satellite formation, and studies of asteroid spin rates, and other diverse properties of asteroids and planetary craters suggest that such asteroids are gravitationally bound aggregates of rubble. These conflicting views may be reconciled if 10–50 km S-type asteroids formed as rubble piles, but were later consolidated into coherent bodies. Many meteorites are breccias that testify to a long history of impact fragmentation and consolidation by alteration, metamorphism, igneous and impact processes. Ordinary chondrites, which are the best analogs for S asteroids, are commonly breccias. Some may have formed in cratering events, but many appear to have formed during disruption and reaccretion of their parent asteroids. Some breccias were lithified during metamorphism, and a few were lithified by injected impact melt, but most are regolith and fragmental breccias that were lithified by mild or moderate shock, like their lunar analogs. Shock experiments show that porous chondritic powders can be consolidated during mild shock by small amounts of silicate melt that glues grains together, and by friction and pressure welding of silicate and metallic Fe,Ni grains. We suggest that the same processes that converted impact debris into meteorite breccias also consolidated asteroidal rubble. Internal voids would be partly filled with regolith by impact-induced seismic shaking. Consolidation of this material beneath large craters would lithify asteroidal rubble to form a more coherent body. Fractures on Ida that were created by antipodal impacts and are concentrated in and near large craters, and small positive gravity anomalies associated with the Psyche and Himeros craters on Eros, are consistent with this concept. Spin data suggest that smaller asteroids 0.6–6 km in size are unconsolidated rubble piles. C-type asteroids, which are more porous than S-types, and their analogs, the volatile-rich carbonaceous chondrites, were probably not lithified by shock.


In his essay on the thesis of my book, Alexander Zahar objects to my characterization of customary international law as one of the sources of the international law on climate change and, in particular, to my conclusion about the relevance of the no-harm principle. I disagree. In the first part of his essay, Zahar's analysis of the no-harm principle is limited to arguments by analogy, but a valid international legal argument can be based on deduction from axiomatic premises of the international legal order. In the second part of his essay, Zahar claims that the UNFCCC regime excludes the application of the no-harm principle when, in reality, the UNFCCC regime really seeks to facilitate the implementation of general international law.


Purpose: North Koreans could be at higher risk for their bone health because of previous periods of severe famine and the continuing low availability of food. This study determined the bone mineral density (BMD) status and its relationship with dietary behaviors and nutrient intake of North Korean refugees (NKR) in South Korea (SK). Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed 110 female NKR from a NORNS cohort of a non-probability sample of adult NKR in Seoul. BMD examined by DEXA was used to divide participants into the normal group (NG) and the non-normal group (NNG) according to the WHO guideline. A self-administered questionnaire included questions on age, the socioeconomic situation in North Korea (NK) and SK, the food security in NK and SK, and the health behaviors, dietary behaviors, and food frequency questionnaire administered in SK. A one-day 24-hr recall was conducted and the results were analyzed by using CanPro. SPSS was used to analyze whether BMD and related dietary behaviors and nutrient intakes differed according to the groups. Results: NG (62.7%) was significantly younger and had a lower abdominal obesity score than NNG (p < 0.001). While 14.5% of NG reported experiencing menopause, all of NNG reported experiencing menopause. The NG more frequently consumed the dairy group of foods (9.6 times a week) than did the NNG (4.8 times a week) after the statistics were adjusted for age (p < 0.007). The NG consumed significantly more animal protein and animal calcium than did the NNG (p =0.01, p =0.009, respectively). Calcium intake was low with 49.3% of NG, and 78.0% of the NNG reported consuming calcium lower than the estimated average requirement. Only calcium showed an index of nutrient quality lower than one in both groups. Conclusion: These results showed that NKR women and possibly all North Korean women are at high risk for bone health and they consumed low levels of bone-related nutrients, and this should be considered for the nutrition policy for NKR and North Korea.


Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology provides considerable performance in many indoor localization problems thanks to its very wide spectrum and high-resolution characteristics. In this paper, we propose using the horizontal dilution of precision (HDOP) to decrease the localization error in indoor environments for UWB localization systems. To achieve this aim, first we determine the positioning accuracy of a commercially available UWB positioning system using laboratory experiments. Next, the results of the position estimations obtained by the HDOP are compared with the experimental results acquired by the UWB positioning system. Finally, we investigate a detailed comparison with the least squares (LS), nonlinear regression (NLR), and iterative nonlinear regression (INR) techniques. In terms of the mean position estimation error, the proposed HDOP technique increases the performance of the UWB positioning system and the LS algorithm by approximately 10% and 3%, respectively. In addition, while the proposed HDOP technique provides localization for all of the test points, both the NLR and INR algorithms perform below the expected levels at the same points.


A novel paradigm for managing the digital process is presented. Under this paradigm, design is seen as a process in which abstract models of design tools are applied to abstract models of design states in a simulated or planning space, until a sequence of design tasks has been constructed to completion. Important parameters of the hypothetical design represented by the terminal states are then estimated. Either the planning is then repeated, or the sequence, or plan, is then executed, or carried out, in an execution space. This execution is monitored for violation of expectations; if violations occur, control is returned to the planner. The knowledge base of the planner is populated with register-transfer level (RTL) concepts for digital system design; it can also be populated with other knowledge sets. The planner forms part of the USC advanced design automation (ADAM) system. >


Introduction Reconstructing species trees for rapid radiations, as in the early diversification of birds, is complicated by biological processes such as incomplete lineage sorting (ILS) that can cause different parts of the genome to have different evolutionary histories. Statistical methods, based on the multispecies coalescent model and that combine gene trees, can be highly accurate even in the presence of massive ILS; however, these methods can produce species trees that are topologically far from the species tree when estimated gene trees have error. We have developed a statistical binning technique to address gene tree estimation error and have explored its use in genome-scale species tree estimation with MP-EST, a popular coalescent-based species tree estimation method. The statistical binning pipeline for estimating species trees from gene trees. Loci are grouped into bins based on a statistical test for combinabilty, before estimating gene trees. Rationale In statistical binning, phylogenetic trees on different genes are estimated and then placed into bins, so that the differences between trees in the same bin can be explained by estimation error (see the figure). A new tree is then estimated for each bin by applying maximum likelihood to a concatenated alignment of the multiple sequence alignments of its genes, and a species tree is estimated using a coalescent-based species tree method from these supergene trees. Results Under realistic conditions in our simulation study, statistical binning reduced the topological error of species trees estimated using MP-EST and enabled a coalescent-based analysis that was more accurate than concatenation even when gene tree estimation error was relatively high. Statistical binning also reduced the error in gene tree topology and species tree branch length estimation, especially when the phylogenetic signal in gene sequence alignments was low. Species trees estimated using MP-EST with statistical binning on four biological data sets showed increased concordance with the biological literature. When MP-EST was used to analyze 14,446 gene trees in the avian phylogenomics project, it produced a species tree that was discordant with the concatenation analysis and conflicted with prior literature. However, the statistical binning analysis produced a tree that was highly congruent with the concatenation analysis and was consistent with the prior scientific literature. Conclusions Statistical binning reduces the error in species tree topology and branch length estimation because it reduces gene tree estimation error. These improvements are greatest when gene trees have reduced bootstrap support, which was the case for the avian phylogenomics project. Because using unbinned gene trees can result in overestimation of ILS, statistical binning may be helpful in providing more accurate estimations of ILS levels in biological data sets. Thus, statistical binning enables highly accurate species tree estimations, even on genome-scale data sets. Gene tree incongruence arising from incomplete lineage sorting (ILS) can reduce the accuracy of concatenation-based estimations of species trees. Although coalescent-based species tree estimation methods can have good accuracy in the presence of ILS, they are sensitive to gene tree estimation error. We propose a pipeline that uses bootstrapping to evaluate whether two genes are likely to have the same tree, then it groups genes into sets using a graph-theoretic optimization and estimates a tree on each subset using concatenation, and finally produces an estimated species tree from these trees using the preferred coalescent-based method. Statistical binning improves the accuracy of MP-EST, a popular coalescent-based method, and we use it to produce the first genome-scale coalescent-based avian tree of life.