ABSTRACT In this study, we determined the boundaries of a 99-kb deletable element of Shigella flexneri 2a strain YSH6000. The element, designated the multiple-antibiotic resistance deletable element (MRDE), had recently been found to contain a 66-kb pathogenicity island (PAI)-like element (designated the SRL PAI) which carries the Shigella resistance locus (SRL), encoding resistance determinants to streptomycin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and tetracycline. The YSH6000 MRDE was found to be flanked by two identical IS91 elements present at the S. flexneri homologs of the Escherichia coli genesputA and mdoA on NotI fragment D. Sequence data from two YSH6000-derived MRDE deletants, YSH6000T and S2430, revealed that deletion of the MRDE occurred between the two flanking IS91 elements, resulting in a single IS91 element spanning the two original IS91 loci. Selection for the loss of tetracycline resistance confirmed that the MRDE deletion occurred reproducibly from the same chromosomal site and also showed that the SRL PAI and the SRL itself were capable of independent deletion from the chromosome, thus revealing a unique set of nested deletions. The excision frequency of the SRL PAI was estimated to be 10−5 per cell in the wild type, and mutation of a P4-like integrase gene (int) at the left end of the SRL PAI revealed that int mediates precise deletion of the PAI.


Adults with malaria in Sri Lanka were treated with parenteral chloroquine diphosphate, either 2.5 mg base/kg intramuscularly at 0, 1, 12, 13, 24, and 25 hours or 5 mg base/kg subcutaneously at 0, 12, and 24 hours. Both regimens were completed with oral chloroquine phosphate, 5 mg base/kg, at 36 and 48 hours. Mean peak chloroquine concentrations in the first 12 hours, which were 0.5 (range 0.3-0.6) mg/l (1.4 (0.9-1.7) mu mol/l) [corrected] with the intramuscular regimen and 0.3 (0.2-0.4) mg/l (1.0 (0.7-1.3) mu mol/l) [corrected] with the subcutaneous regimen (p less than 0.05), were reached in median times of 90 (65-90) minutes and 30 (30-60) minutes respectively (p less than 0.05) after the start of treatment. The mean area under the plasma concentration curve for the first 12 hours was 1.4 (0.9-2.1) mg/l.h (4.5 (2.8-6.4) mu mol/l.h) [corrected] after intramuscular administration and 1.8 (0.8-2.3) mg/l.h (5.7 (2.7-7.2) mu mol/l.h) [corrected] after subcutaneous administration (p greater than 0.1). Mean maximum plasma concentrations were higher after intramuscular administration (0.6 (0.4-0.8) mg/l (1.7 (1.3-2.5) mu mol/l)) [corrected] than after subcutaneous administration (0.4 (0.4-0.5) mg/l (1.3 (1.3-1.5) mu mol/l)) [corrected] (p less than 0.05), but both regimens produced satisfactory plasma profiles. Chloroquine resistance was found in the only case of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Chloroquine is absorbed rapidly after divided dose intramuscular injection and single dose subcutaneous injection and does not cause hypotension or neurotoxicity in adults. Similar regimens should be evaluated in children before the parenteral use of this drug is abandoned.


How useful is the distinction between cosmopolitans and locals in understanding the place of mobility and travel within contemporary youth transition? In this article we draw on a qualitative longitudinal study of young people in the UK, suggesting that localities have their own particular economy of mobility, operating at levels of the material, cultural and fantasy. In different localities young people are tied to the immediacy of physical and social space to differing degrees, and factors such as ethnicity, gender, sexuality and social class are significant in this. We illustrate and explore these themes through two longitudinal case histories in order to see how resources and agency are animated in practice. We conclude by arguing against the use of fixed typologies, suggesting that young people are torn between competing forces in relation to notions of home, tradition and fixedness on one hand and of mobility, escape and transformation on the other. The ways in which these tensions are negotiated at the biographical level are firmly embedded in gendered projects of self, through which young people work towards the kinds of men and women that they will be, drawing on family, community and cultural resources in the process.


With 25% of the UK population predicted to be obese by 2010, the costs to individuals and society are set to rise. Due to the extra economic and social pressures obesity causes, there is an increasing need to understand what motivates and prevents consumers from eating a healthy diet so as to be able to tailor policy interventions to specific groups in society. In so doing, it is important to explore potential variations in attitudes, motivation and behaviour as a function of age and gender. Both demographic factors are easily distinguished within society and a future intervention study which targets either, or both, of these would likely be both feasible and cost-effective for policy makers. As part of a preliminary study, six focus groups (total n = 43) were conducted at the University of Reading in November 2006, with groups segmented on the basis of age and gender. In order to gather more sensitive information, participants were also asked to fill out a short anonymous questionnaire before each focus group began, relating to healthy eating, alcohol consumption and body dissatisfaction. Making use of thematic content analysis, results suggested that most participants were aware of the type of foods that contribute to a healthy diet and the importance of achieving a healthy balance within a diet. However, they believed that healthy eating messages were often conflicting, and were uncertain about where to find information on the topic. Participants believed that the family has an important role in educating children about eating habits. Despite these similarities, there were a number of key differences among the groups in terms of their reasons for making food choices. Older participants (60+ years old) were more likely to make food choices based on health considerations. Participants between the ages of 18–30 were less concerned with this link, and instead focused on issues of food preparation and knowledge, prices and time. Younger female participants said they had more energy when they ate healthier diets; however, very often their food choices related to concern with their appearance. Older female participants also expressed this concern within the questionnaire, rather than in the group discussions. Overall, these results suggest that consumer motivations for healthy eating are diverse and that this must be considered by government, retailers and food producers.


Additional is available at the end of the chapter Abstract In China, the malaria elimination program was launched in 2010 with the objective to eliminate this disease by 2020. Large-scale malaria control and elimination actions have been conducted with significant success since inception of the nationwide program. The incidence of locally acquired malaria has declined sharply along with the concomitant decrease of malaria-endemic areas from 762 counties reporting malaria in 2010 to just two counties adjacent to border areas (Yunnan, China-Myanmar and Tibet, China-India) in 2016. In total, 1723 counties (79%) and 134 prefectures (52%) had completed the malaria elimination internal assessment by the end of 2016. The year 2017 was the first year with out report of indigenous malaria cases throughout the country. Hence, this chapter is meant to share the lessons learned from malaria elimination in China benefiting countries on the way to malaria elimination.


This original study offers, for the first time, an analysis of the characterization of Esther as she is portrayed in each of the three primary versions of the book of Esther-the Masoretic text, the Septuagint text, and the Greek a text. This study of characterization has implications beyond itself. It permits a reasssessment of relations between the book of Esther and other literature of the time, it sheds light on the place of origin of the ancient versions of Esther, and it raises serious feminist and canon-critical questions about the role of the book.


Based upon a close reading of Michael Lermontov's A Hero of our Time (1841), this investigation forms a case study in psychological analysis. Pechorin's enigmatic nature is analyzed as a web-like manifestation of complex contradictions, deceptions, delusions, and outright lies. A paradoxical, self-analytical cynic, torn between passion and reason, he is exposed as a sceptical and pessimistic idealist, attempting to rationalise his egotistical emotions. Reflected in others are those very same Byronic physical weaknesses, vices, and myopia which he is striving to eradicate in himself. Yet, he is blinded by a gross misunderstanding of intentions and, like Tatyana in Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, falls victim to his own deceptive Romantic imagination. Despite his unquenchable thirst for power and influence, Pechorin refuses responsibility for his actions, seeking logical explanations for his uncontrollable, child-like passions. He remains wholly dependent upon Vera's love – that Tolstoyan life-giving force for truth and selflessness; it is she alone who fully understands his defects. In his journal of past events Pechorin, the opportunist, resorts to fate as an excuse for justifying his immoral acts, enabling him to interfere in the lives of others and then to distort the facts to exonerate his means. However, he actually doubts the sovereignty of predestination when, in Fatalist, he is still unaware of the consequences of his deeds. Deceived by his environment, his ideas are inadequate to explain both himself and his surroundings.


— The microdistribution of ten numerically dominant species in a fish community at a rocky island in Lake Victoria was studied using invasive sampling. All were haplochromine cichlids. The community was characterized by high fish densities and by a dominance of Aufwuchs feeders. Species were non-randomly distributed, showing significant associations with water depth and other topographic parameters. Species occupied unique positions in a network of recurrent species groups. Niche partitioning through differential microdistribution was even more subtle than that reported for Lake Malawi's rock-dwelling cichlids. Species-specific microdistribution fitted qualitative predictions from ideal free distribution models with asymmetrical interference competition for food. No evidence was found for interspecific contest competition for space. Temporal niche shifts have been observed between periods of high and low water levels. Owing to a combination of reduced habitat availability with niche expansion in most species, niche overlap was larger during the lowwater period.


RBP7 is a member of the cellular retinol-binding protein (CRBP) family and previous data suggested a link between CRBPs and the malignant transformation of colon cancer cells. Here, we investigated the potential of RBP7 as a predictive biomarker for patients with colon cancer and determined its functional relevance for tumor progression. We analyzed RBP7 protein and mRNA expression in independent tissue collections of colon cancers with recorded follow-up data, including data from TCGA. We used gene set enrichment analyses to characterize its functional role. Effects of RBP7 on migration and invasion were determined in transwell assays. High expression of RBP7 was an independent biomarker of poor cancer specific survival in early and late stage colon cancer, and linked to colon cancer progression. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed a strong association of RBP7, colon cancer invasion and epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT). Ectopic expression of RBP7 increased migration and invasion of colon cancer cells. Our findings demonstrate that RBP7 is a strong prognostic biomarker in colon cancer that functionally contributes to the malignant phenotype of colon cancer cells. This may aid in risk stratification for the therapeutic management of patients with colorectal cancer.


Abstract. Fires are an important factor involved in the disturbance of forest ecosystems, causing resource damage and the loss of human life. Evaluating forest fire probability can provide an effective method to minimize these losses. In this study, a comprehensive method that integrates remote-sensing data and geographic information systems is proposed to evaluate forest fire probability. In our analysis, we selected four probability indicators: drought index, vegetation condition, topographical factors and anthropogenic factors. To evaluate the influence of anthropogenic factors on fire probability, a distance analysis from fire locations to settlements or roads was conducted to see which distance was associated with a higher probability. The forest fire probability index (FFPI) was calculated to assess the probability level in Heilongjiang Province, China. According to the FFPI, five classes were identified: very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. A receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve was used as the validation method, and the results of the ROC analysis showed that the proposed model performed well in terms of forest fire probability prediction. The results of this study provide a technical framework for the Department of Forest Resource Management to predict occurrence of fires.


Zoning decisions related to residential lot size and density affect residential land value. Effects of size on residential parcel value in Roanoke County, VA, are estimated with fixed effects hedonic models. Parcel size; elevation; soil permeability; proximity to urban areas, malls, and roads; and location influence parcel value, but the effects vary by value of construction and development status. Parcel value per square meter declines with increasing parcel size. The estimated relationships could be used to evaluate zoning decisions in terms of land values and tax revenues if model estimation uncertainties and responses by developers to zoning strategies are considered.


"Using district-level data for 1992, 1995, and 1999, the study estimated effects of different types of government expenditure on agricultural growth and rural poverty in Uganda. The results reveal that government spending on agricultural research and extension improved agricultural production substantially. This type of expenditure had the largest measured returns to growth in agricultural production. Agricultural research and extension spending also has the largest assessed impact on poverty reduction. Government spending on rural roads also had substantial marginal impact on rural poverty reduction. The impact of low-grade roads such as feeder roads is larger than that of high-grade roads such as murram and tarmac roads. Education's effects rank after agricultural research and extension, and roads. Government spending in health did not show a large impact on growth in agricultural productivity or a reduction in rural poverty, but in part because of difficulties in measuring some of the impacts of this type of investment. Additional investments in the northern region (a poor region) contribute the most to reducing poverty. The poverty-reduction effect of spending on infrastructure and education is particularly high in this region. However, it is the western region (a relatively well-developed region) where most types of investment have highest returns in terms of increased agricultural productivity." Authors' Abstract


This most influential journal of Arab political opinion was created, inspired and sustained by the famous Arab activist, Amir Shakib Arslan. Published in French from Geneva, it was banned from French North Africa in the 1930s, but widely read in Arab and European capitals. La Nation Arabe is a remarkable and important document in the history of Arab-Islamic politics, and a virtually complete set of this rare journal has been assembled from surviving originals. Within its first year, the journal became the spearhead of an international propaganda campaign against the French Berber dahir in Morocco, which La Nation Arabe successfully portrayed as an imperialist attempt to remove the Berbers from the jurisdiction of the shariah. The success of La Nation Arabe in orchestrating the campaign against the Berber dahir brought widespread publicity to the new journal and established its reputation as an effective opponent of European imperialism.


Open source intelligence (OSINT) and web reconnaissance are rich topics for infosec professionals looking for the best ways to sift through the abundance of information widely available online. In many cases, the first stage of any security assessment-that is, reconnaissance-is not given enough attention by security professionals, hackers, and penetration testers. Often, the information openly present is as critical as the confidential data. Hacking Web Intelligence shows you how to dig into the Web and uncover the information many don't even know exists. The book takes a holistic approach that is not only about using tools to find information online but also how to link all the information and transform it into presentable and actionable intelligence. You will also learn how to secure your information online to prevent it being discovered by these reconnaissance methods. Hacking Web Intelligence is an in-depth technical reference covering the methods and techniques you need to unearth open source information from the Internet and utilize it for the purpose of targeted attack during a security assessment. This book will introduce you to many new and leading-edge reconnaissance, information gathering, and open source intelligence methods and techniques, including metadata extraction tools, advanced search engines, advanced browsers, power searching methods, online anonymity tools such as TOR and i2p, OSINT tools such as Maltego, Shodan, Creepy, Search Diggity, Recon-ng, Social Network Analysis (SNA), Darkweb/Deepweb, data visualization, and much more. Provides a holistic approach to OSINT and Web recon, showing you how to fit all the data together into actionable intelligence Focuses on hands-on tools such as TOR, i2p, Maltego, Shodan, Creepy, Search Diggity, Recon-ng, FOCA, EXIF, Metagoofil, MAT, and many more Covers key technical topics such as metadata searching, advanced browsers and power searching, online anonymity, Darkweb / Deepweb, Social Network Analysis (SNA), and how to manage, analyze, and visualize the data you gather Includes hands-on technical examples and case studies, as well as a Python chapter that shows you how to create your own information-gathering tools and modify existing APIs


To make use of the term 'fall of man' is perhaps ironic; it is associated with a Miltonic, Judeo-Christian 'fall', which has a semantic implication of the sort against which Nietzsche battles when he begs for the 'death of God' to be absorbed into society's reasoning. The sacred theological 'fall' of man from the faultless prelapsarian Eden to the fallible realism of Earth is far from how Blake, and indeed Nietzsche, understands man's sacrilegious 'fall' to his present state. Within this essay, Blake will take centre stage, as his poetry and prose imaginatively envisions and explores this 'fall; most of my conclusions will be drawn from examination of his work. Nietzsche, although immeasurably valuable in his own right, will be used within this essay as a useful counterpart to clarify and assess Blake's ideas; in some cases he will take Blake's ideas further.


Aung San Suu Kyi is known for her courageous stand for democracy and human rights inside Burma (now Myanmar). Forced to endure many years of house arrest by the military junta, she continues to act as a focus for change inside the country now that she is free. Such is her determined action for the best interests of Burma that she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. One of the very few people she has trusted enough to take her message to the wider world is Alan Clements. The Voice of Hope offers unquestionably the most wide-ranging collection of her views on the political situation inside Burma, her non-violent approach to democracy and human rights, her Buddhist beliefs, her family, and how she keeps a sense of meaning and purpose under the most difficult conditions.


This probing collection of essays assesses the wide influence of W. J. Cash and the profound effect of his classic dissection of southern history. Perhaps more than any other historian, W. J. Cash revolutionized the interpretation of southern identity. In 1941, when he published The Mind of the South, he exploded the correlated myths of the Cavalier South and the New South and gave historiography a new gauge for examining Dixie. In the half century since its publication, Cash's book has lain in the path of every historian of the South. Not all, however, have expressed unified opinions about him and his influence, though few can deny how in the past fifty years his indelible and authoritative work has shaped the writing of southern history. In The Mind of the South: Fifty Years Later eleven scholars examine this classic study and assess its enduring importance. Bruce Clayton begins by discussing the biography of Cash and tracing his sources. In the subsequent five essays Cash is praised, evaluated, criticized, defended, classified, and acknowledged to be the lion in the crossroads of southern historiography.


This study focuses not on individual Lives or pairs of Lives, but on the book as a whole and its articulation across the full corpus. It argues that the Plutarchan book consists of up to four distinct sections: prologue, first Life, second Life, synkrisis. Each of these sections has a fairly consistent internal structure, and each has a distinct set of strategies for opening, for closure, and for managing the transition from one section to the next. Prologues provide an introduction to both Lives, and are clearly delineated from them, even though in our manuscripts they appear as part of the first Life; in fact, there is often a stronger break between prologue and first Life than there is between the two Lives themselves. Prologues usually begin with generalized reflections, to be followed only later by the naming of the subjects and a statement of their similarities. Most Lives begin with a thematically organized section (the 'proemial opening'), which surveys the subject's life as a whole, not just their youth, and which is marked off with varying degrees of distinctness from the narrative that follows. Crucially, proemial openings do not narrate and the logic of their structure is not chronological. Closure in many Lives is signalled by 'circularity' and sometimes by a closural or transitional phrase, though first Lives are different here from second Lives. Synkriseis are structured both by a series of themes on which the two subjects are compared, and by a two-part, agonistic structure in which first one of the subjects is preferred, then the other. Synkriseis may also recall the prologue; both prologue and synkrisis operate at the level of the book, and between them frame and weld together the two Lives.


Introduction A common perception is that healthful foods are more expensive than less healthful foods. We assessed the cost of beverages and foods served at YMCA after-school programs, determined whether healthful snacks were more expensive, and identified inexpensive, healthful options. Methods We collected daily snack menus from 32 YMCAs nationwide from 2006 to 2008 and derived prices of beverages and foods from the US Department of Agriculture price database. Multiple linear regression was used to assess associations of healthful snacks and of beverage and food groups with price (n = 1,294 snack-days). We identified repeatedly served healthful snacks consistent with Child and Adult Care Food Program guidelines and reimbursement rate ($0.74/snack). Results On average, healthful snacks were approximately 50% more expensive than less healthful snacks ($0.26/snack; SE, 0.08; P = .003). Compared to water, 100% juice significantly increased average snack price, after controlling for other variables in the model. Similarly, compared to refined grains with trans fats, refined grains without trans fat significantly increased snack price, as did fruit and canned or frozen vegetables. Fresh vegetables (mostly carrots or celery) or whole grains did not alter price. Twenty-two repeatedly served snacks met nutrition guidelines and the reimbursement rate. Conclusion In this sample of after-school programs, healthful snacks were typically more expensive than less healthful options; however, we identified many healthful snacks served at or below the price of less healthful options. Substituting tap water for 100% juice yielded price savings that could be used toward purchasing more healthful foods (eg, an apple). Our findings have practical implications for selecting snacks that meet health and reimbursement guidelines.


Abstract The article looks at fiscal constraints adopted by the U.S. States. It questions the ability of those rules to determine sound budgetary policies. To assess this point it analyses, in the general part, the major kind of constraints so far adopted. Of each major category the focus is upon institutional weaknesses that create the room for the adoption of circumventing practices. The following section focuses instead on three case studies, to show examples of the way in which the constraints influenced policy-making without mining the ability of government to adopt unbalanced budgetary policies. The weaknesses are combined with the adoption of a deferential approach by the Courts that generally legitimized the accounting devices adopted by the States. The outcome is a system in which budget policies are influenced by several factors that go beyond the institutional framework. On the other side, legal boundaries create distortions and unwanted effects in policies implemented by the States.


Traditional, general-purpose operating systems strictly separate user processes from the kernel. Processes can only communicate with the kernel through system calls. As a means to ensure system security, system calls inevitably involve performance overhead. Direct User Callback from the Kernel, or DUCK, is a framework that improves the performance of network-centric applications by executing a part of application code directly from inside the kernel. Because the code runs in kernel mode and can access kernel memory directly, DUCK is able to eliminate two important sources of system call overhead, namely mode switches and data copying. One issue with DUCK is how to design an application programming interface (API) that is general, efficient, and easy to use. In this thesis, we present the design of the DUCK API, which includes functions for both direct user code execution and zero-copy buffer management. We have implemented DUCK prototypes on the Solaris/SPARC platform. An efficient way to implement direct user code invocation is through memory sharing between the kernel and user processes. However, because Solaris/SPARC separates the user and kernel address spaces, achieving memory sharing is difficult. In the thesis, we study the SPARC architecture and the Solaris virtual memory subsystem, and discuss three potential approaches to support memory sharing required by DUCK. We proceed to present micro-benchmark experiments demonstrating that our DUCK prototype implementation is capable of improving the peak throughput of a simple UDP forwarder by 28% to 44%.


This paper characterizes the optimal linear financial transaction tax in an equilibrium model of competitive financial markets. When belief disagreement induces excess trading on assets in fixed supply, two main results arise. First, the optimal tax is positive: although a (small) transaction tax discourages all trades equally, the reduction in fundamental trading creates a second-order welfare loss, while the reduction in non-fundamental trading creates a first-order gain. Second, the cross-sectional covariance between investors' beliefs and investors' equilibrium portfolio tax sensitivities becomes the relevant sufficient statistic for the optimal tax, which does not depend on the actual payoff distribution. I find additional results. First, in dynamic environments, controlling for the level of static disagreement, the optimal tax is lower when investors alternate between being buyers and sellers over time. Second, when financial markets determine production in a Walrasian sense, as in a q-theory environment, a marginal tax increase creates an additional first-order distortion (positive or negative). Third, when financial markets determine production by diffusing information, a marginal tax increase creates an additional first-order loss, due to a learning externality.


This paper presents and analyzes data collected from United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) reports and a series of FOIA requests for the period from 1996 to 2017. This is the ninth in a succession of studies of the impact of continuing patent applications on USPTO's performance. The data and analyses is set forth in three parts — the number, types, and disposition of patent applications being examined by the USPTO (the USPTO's "input"); the number of applications allowed and patents issued by the USPTO (the USPTO's "output"); and the number of pending applications and the average pendency for an application (the "difference" or commonly referred to as the USPTO's "backlog").
Highlights of this update include the fact that Application Allowance Rates corrected for Refiled Continuing Applications have continued to increase, reaching 96% in FY 2017, approaching the record 99% in FY 2001. Consistent with the increase in Application Allowance Rates, the number of Applications Allowed (340,388) and Patents Issued (316,973) rose to record levels. The number of Abandoned Applications that were Refiled continued to increase to 197,581, double those that were Not Refiled. The number of Applications Allowed (340,388) was nearly three and one-half times the number of Applications Abandoned Without Refiling (98,991). UPR Application Backlogs declined slightly as a consequence of the increase in Application Allowances.


In this study, we attempt to formulate a constraint-based account of stress in Cairene Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), within the Harmonic Serialism framework (HS). The study demonstrates that metrical foot construction in Cairene MSA falls in line with the main tenets of HS. No secondary stresses are attested in Cairene MSA, mainly because building more feet does not improve harmony. The constraint hierarchy which we developed accounts for all the stress patterns of this variety of MSA. The interaction between key constraints, namely NONFINALITY, RIGHTMOST, and ALIGN-LIGHTSTRAY(R) takes care of attaining the correct stress placement in this variety of Arabic. FT-BINμ is ranked below in the hierarchy since degenerate feet are allowed to surface in Cairene MSA carrying the main stress of the word. NON-FINALITY is ranked among the high ranked constraints since the head foot is never word-final in Cairene MSA. Superheavy syllables which are attested word finally in Cairene MSA are accounted for as well. The study shows that a parallel evaluation of inputs is also possible in standard parallel Optimality Theory (OT). Both HS and parallel OT fare equally with regard to the absence of secondary stresses in Cairene MSA. The former justifies the absence of secondary stresses to the lack of harmonic improvement and the latter achieves the same as a result of the conflicting constraints. The study includes six sections; the first section introduces the theoretical background. The section provides the constraints necessary to account for stress in Cairene MSA and the Harmonic Serial account is presented in the third section. Superheavy syllables in Cairene are dealt with in the fourth section. The parallel OT account is outlined in the fifth section. The sixth section provides the conclusion.


Standard macroeconomic analysis of inequality focuses on the optimal choice of progressive taxation. However, early childhood environment has been shown to significantly impact adult outcomes. Using children's time diaries, we show that parental quality time with children is strongly associated with children's skills—which is later associated with their education. To compare the quantitative role of standard policies to ones that target early childhood, we extend the standard general-equilibrium heterogeneous-agent life-cycle model with earnings risk and credit constraints to allow for endogenous education, parental time and money investments towards children's skill development, and family transfers. The model includes two types of college majors: STEM and non-STEM. We evaluate three policies: progressive taxation, college tuition subsidies, and parenting education. Progressive taxation is the most effective at reducing disposable income inequality, but it does not promote the development of skills necessary to increase college graduation or social mobility. College subsidies promote only non-STEM graduation, since STEM is a better alternative only for high-skilled individuals. Parenting education is the most effective at increasing intergenerational mobility and the only one able to promote STEM graduation.


We study iterated matching of soulmates [IMS] — the process of matching coalitions that are the favorite for each member (soulmates), coalitions of soulmates in the remaining group, and so on. Coalitions produced by IMS belong to any stable partition and mechanisms that implement IMS give players in these coalitions (or who at least believe they are) no incentive to deviate from truthful preference reporting, even jointly. When everyone is matched by IMS, these mechanisms are stable and have a truthful strong Nash equilibrium. Furthermore, we show, using real-world data and simulation, that scenarios in which many people are matched by IMS are common under natural kinds of preferences.


This innovative text focuses on an American icon, central to United States culture, that is rapidly becoming a global expression of prosperity - the credit card. George Ritzer explains what the credit card tells us, both good and bad, about the essence of the modern US and why and how the credit card is helping to transform much of the world. Drawing on the insights of both classic and contemporary social thinkers, including Georg Simmel, C Wright Mills, Karl Marx and Max Weber, as well as micro-macro, agency-structure and Americanization theories, Ritzer also reveals to students the powerful insights gained from using the sociological 'imagination' applied to a topic that students know about and are interested in.


In the planetary automatic transmission design, efficiency is one of the primary performance indicators determining the final selection from multiple candidates. However, efficiency evaluation is the last step of conceptual design, thereby causing the trial result is often known at the end of the design. A new methodology based on geometry is presented for multistage planetary automatic transmission design, ranging from clutching sequence synthesis to efficiency evaluation. The emphasis is placed on a unified model for design steps with different analysis principles to predict power transfer characteristics earlier. Some new results and improvements are also presented, such as general speed ratio (SR) change law, simultaneous traversal of different shift types, and the efficiency formula. An example is provided to illustrate the applicability to a 3-DOF planetary automatic transmission and shows that early identification of power transfer characteristics can lock in necessary subsequent calculations, thereby eliminating unnecessary analysis and speeding up the design process.


While many in the West regard feminism and Islam as a contradiction in terms, many Muslims in the East have perceived Western feminist forces in their midst as an assault upon their culture. In this career-spanning collection of influential essays, Margot Badran presents the feminisms that Muslim women have created, and examines Islamic and secular feminist ideologies side by side. Borne out of over two decades of work, this important volume combines essays from a variety of sources, ranging from those which originated as conference papers to those published in the popular press. Also including original material written specifically for this book, Feminism and Islam provides a unique and wide-ranging contribution to the field of Islam and gender studies.


Abstract.
 Making a detour can be advantageous to a migrating bird if fuel-deposition rates at stopover sites along the detour are considerably higher than at stopover sites along a more direct route. One example of an extensive migratory detour is that of the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), of which large numbers of juveniles are found during fall migration in western Alaska. These birds take a detour of 1500–3400 km from the most direct route between their natal range in northeastern Siberia and nonbreeding areas in Australia. We studied the autumnal fueling rates and fuel loads of 357 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers captured in western Alaska. In early September the birds increased in mass at a rate of only 0.5% of lean body mass day-1. Later in September, the rate of mass increase was about 6% of lean body mass day-1, among the highest values found among similar-sized shorebirds around the world. Some individuals more than doubled their body mass because of fuel deposition, allowing nonstop flight of between 7100 and 9800 km, presumably including a trans-oceanic flight to the southern hemisphere. Our observations indicated that predator attacks were rare in our study area, adding another potential benefit of the detour. We conclude that the most likely reason for the Alaskan detour is that it allows juvenile Sharp-tailed Sandpipers to put on large fuel stores at exceptionally high rates.


With a growing focus placed on so-called "hedge fund" strategies, a few investors have started to wonder whether their outperformance might not be fully attributable to the implicit or explicit leverage that characterizes them. Thus, would it make sense for investors simply to seek the excess returns hedge funds provide by replicating the leverage inside their own portfolios, rather than investing in the strategies themselves? Though the hypothesis that one might replace hedge fund strategies with internal portfolio leverage might be sensible, it would be harder to execute if one could not demonstrate that leveraging selected factor exposures is an important explanation for the value added they generate. What if one concluded that any such leverage is applied to specific, and thus not systematic, manager insights—in other words, that it would be much less straightforward if portfolio leverage related to "alpha" rather than "beta"? If that were the case, one would be left with one of two plausible alternatives. One could first attempt to find a way to leverage the "alpha" of a traditional (implicitly, active and long only) manager all the while neutralizing the associated additional market risk. Alternatively, assuming that one really needs exposure to those excess returns, one would need to develop a strategy to invest in the so-called hedge fund sector, finding a way to satisfy oneself that this alpha can be earned regularly and in as fee-efficient a manner as possible.


As library budgets continue to lag behind increases in the cost of scholarly information in the geosciences, it becomes increasingly important for librarians to make good choices in collection development. One way to get more information about books to make an informed acquisition decision is through reading reviews, and especially timely reviews. Whereas the major book review indexes only cover geoscience titles sporadically, the authors decided to undertake a full study of the literature in earth and atmospheric sciences to find out which journals contain book reviews, and how old the books are that are reviewed. This study is modeled after the article, "Locating Book Reviews in Agriculture and the Life Sciences," by Kathleen Clark and Brent Mai, and incorporates Lura Joseph's, "Sources of Book Reviews in the Geosciences" (http://door.library.uiuc.edu/gex/bookreviews.html). This study examines 263 earth and atmospheric sciences journal titles which include book reviews. Of these, 247 are primarily in earth sciences, with the remaining 16 in atmospheric sciences. For this study, journal issues published in 2002 are examined. Of the journals listed in this study, 42 % review books that are equal to or less than one year old. The reviews average over one page in length and all are signed by the reviewers.


Staphylococcus aureus is an ubiquitous and versatile Gram-positive bacterium capable of producing a wide range of diseases in humans. Within the last ten years there has been a surge of infections caused by hyper-virulent strains of community-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus (CA-MRSA) distinct from previously characterized healthcare-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA). In particular, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) type USA300 has emerged as the prominent circulating strain of CA-MRSA in the United States. How S. aureus recognizes environmental signals during infection and responds to promote bacterial survival is clearly an important aspect of pathogenesis but remains incompletely defined. It is believed S. aureus recognizes extracellular signals and subsequently alters gene transcription in response via the collective influence of 16 bacterial two-component gene-regulatory systems. This investigation examines the role of one of these two-component systems, saeR/S, in USA300 pathogenesis. An isogenic deletion mutant of saeR/S generated in USA300 (USA300∆saeR/S) demonstrated this two-component system is critical to USA300 infection by upregulating transcription of numerous virulence genes. 5' RACE analysis identified transcript start sites for genes strongly regulated by saeR/S. Sequence alignment upstream from transcript start sites revealed a conserved partially palindromic 17 bp sequence specific to promoter regions under strong saeR/S regulation and EMSAs confirmed direct binding of recombinant SaeR to this conserved sequence. In particular, strong saeR/S dependent transcription of the pore-forming hla toxin and robust SaeR binding to the hla promoter prompted further studies examining the importance of this virulence gene during USA300 pathogenesis. An isogenic deletion mutant of hla in USA300 (USA300∆hla) was generated and used to demonstrate saeR/S-dependent transcription of hla is critical to USA300 pathogenesis during murine models of soft-tissue infection. Though hla did not influence saeR/S-mediated plasma membrane damage on polymorphonuclear leukocytes, this toxin induced pore formation on human T cells and promoted rapid human T cell proliferation. Collectively this study demonstrates saeR/Sdependent transcription of virulence factors is critical to USA300 pathogenesis. In particular, the saeR/S-mediated regulation of the potent pore-forming hla toxin is a primary effector of USA300 pathogenesis that causes human T cell plasma membrane damage and induces rapid human T cell proliferation.


In 2010, Justice Department Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer proclaimed "a new era of FCPA enforcement; and we are here to stay." This new era has already witnessed several developments worthy of discussion and examination.In Part I of this article, I agree that a new era of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") enforcement has indeed arrived; and I demonstrate, using 2010 FCPA enforcement actions and related developments, how big FCPA enforcement has become. That a new era of FCPA enforcement has arrived, begs the question however of why it has arrived given that the FCPA itself has not changed since 1998. I demonstrate that much of the largeness of FCPA enforcement in 2010 was the result of bold enforcement theories that seemingly conflict with congressional intent in enacting the FCPA. Part I of this article also demonstrates that FCPA enforcement in 2010 was more than just big and bold: it was also bizarre. Among other things, FCPA enforcement suffers from several inherent contradictions; and despite lofty anti-bribery rhetoric from the enforcement agencies, bribery and corruption is tolerated by certain companies in certain industries and for other strategic reasons.Against the backdrop of a big, bold, and bizarre year in FCPA enforcement, Part II of this article highlights how 2010 was also defined by increased scrutiny of the FCPA itself and FCPA enforcement by the judiciary, Congress, the FCPA bar, and international monitor groups. This scrutiny crested in November 2010 when a Senate committee held oversight hearings on the FCPA, during which certain Senators also expressed concerns regarding the FCPA's new era and a desire to reform the FCPA.Part III of this article highlights 2010 developments related to the FCPA and FCPA enforcement, such as debarment issues and passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.This article concludes with Part IV, a look at the road ahead, as this new era of enforcement begins.


Purpose: Emergency pulse checks are challenging in the out of hospital resuscitation setting even when carried out by trained rescuers. As a consequence, current European Resuscitation Council (ERC) guidelines have eliminated pulse checks for lay responders or even minimally trained operators. A hemodynamic sensing technique, capable of automatically diagnosing cardiac arrest, together with current electrocardiogram (ECG) algorithms embedded in a Public Access Defibrillator (PAD), would aid in the management of collapsed patients. An impedance cardiogram (ICG) recorded via defibrillator pads could be used and may provide opportunities for improvement over ECG alone: an ICG+ECG algorithm could be more accurate for the detection of Pulseless Electrical Activity (PEA) and provide advice about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Algorithms reported in the literature offer impressive results by coupling the ECG and ICG. However, the required analysis may not be feasible in an emergency setting, when limited by the low processing power in any compact and low cost PAD.Methods: A retrospective analysis of ECG+ICG recorded in cardiac arrest patients and controls was used to train an algorithm to detect PEA. Data were collected following ethical approval and were marked and documented by trained physicians. Segments where CPR was administered were excluded. ECG+ICG were recorded in 132 cardiac arrest patients (53 training, 79 validation) and 97 controls (47 training, 50 validation).The detection of QRS complexes in the ECG, using a modified Pan-Tompkins approach, triggers the analysis of the ICG signal in order to detect the changes in impedance which could be masked by artifacts originating from gasping and ventilation. A threshold for the changes in the high pass filtered ICG (fc=1.5Hz) was used as a discriminator.Results: The diagnostic algorithm indicated PEA with sensitivities and specificities (95% confidence intervals) of 89.4% (88.4 –90.5) and 94.5% (94.2 –94.8) for the validation set.Conclusions: An algorithm to detect PEA, embedded in a compact PAD which simultaneously assesses ECG+ICG in real time offers encouraging results.


Previous research on the relationship between diet and health has increased consumer interest in the nutritional content of specific foods. Federal programs, such as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and The Food Pyramid, have had similar impacts. A 1994 mail survey of 3,080 Louisiana households in eight rural and urban parishes examined consumer awareness of the nutritional labeling of fresh meats and its importance. Rural respondents placed more emphasis on nutritional labeling than did urban respondents. The respondents also ranked three descriptive terms (lean, extra lean and low fat) for fat content as defined by the USDA. Eighteen percent of households ranked them correctly with white households displaying better ranking capability. These results tend to justify an earlier decision by Congress to implement legislation covering the nutritional labeling of fresh meats.


Purpose To evaluate the effect of Ramadan fasting on body water status markers of rugby players at basal condition and following a simulation of rugby sevens match. Methods Twelve recreational rugby sevens players played three matches: one day before Ramadan (before Ramadan), at the end of the first week of Ramadan (Beg-R) and at the end of Ramadan (End-R). Before and immediately after each match, body weight was determined and blood samples were taken for the measurement of body water status markers. Total body water was measured with an impedancemeter only before matches. Results At rest, an increase in hematocrit (+4.4%, P=0.03), hemoglobin (+3.4%, P=0.01) and plasma osmolarity (+2.8%, P<0.001) was noticed at End-R compared to before Ramadan. Total body water measured before Ramadan did not differ significantly from that of Ramadan. After the match, values of hematocrit and plasma osmolarity increased significantly at End-R (+1.4%, P=0.02; +3.1%, P<0.001 respectively) compared to before Ramadan. Although, hemoglobin measured after matches occurring during Ramadan did not differ from those of before Ramadan. In response to matches, the change of percentage of body water status markers did not differ during each period of the investigation. Conclusions The present results show that Ramadan fasting induces dehydration at basal conditions. Also, rugby sevens match played during Ramadan did not exacerbate the magnitude of responses to matches of blood and body water status markers.


In many mechanical engineering undergraduate curriculums, there are topics that are vital to the students' future careers in the manufacturing and design workforce that are not taught in-depth. As one of those topics, Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing, or GD&T, is vital to companies who develop and manufacture products because it allows one to communicate with other team members in order to produce and inspect manufactured parts. GD&T is filled with intricate concepts that are hard to grasp without repetition and practice. An active learning intervention was developed and deployed in a mechanical engineering undergraduate class at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The active learning interventions were developed to assist students in learning basic manual inspection methods and communicating through a part drawing. The goal was for the students to obtain a foundational, hands-on understanding of GD&T and implement their learnings onto a part drawing and inspection plan. The results of this intervention were based on a Knowledge Assessment, self-reported Self-Efficacy Survey, and an Exit Survey. These assessments revealed that the GD&T intervention had a significant impact on the students' knowledgebase of the topic and their ability to perform identification and inspection tasks used in the workforce. This paper discusses the intervention structure and its potential applications for engineering education in the workforce.


We propose the Normalized Relevance Distance (NRD): a robust metric for computing semantic relatedness between terms. NRD makes use of a controlled reference corpus for a statistical analysis. The analysis is based on the relevance scores and joint occurrence of terms in documents. On the basis of established reference datasets, we demonstrate that NRD does not require sophisticated data tuning and is less dependent on the choice of the reference corpus than comparable approaches.


A simple and practical spatial–temporal disaggregation scheme to convert observed daily rainfall to hourly data is presented, in which the observed sub-daily temporal profile available at one gauge is applied linearly to all sites over the catchment to reproduce the spatially varying daily totals. The performance of the methodology is evaluated using an event-based, semi-distributed, nonlinear hydrological rainfall–runoff model to test the suitability of the disaggregation scheme for UK conditions for catchment sizes of 80–1,000 km2. The joint procedure is tested on the Lee catchment, UK, for five events from a 12 year period of data from 16 rain gauges and 12 flow stations. The disaggregation scheme generally performs extremely well in reproducing the simulated flow for the natural catchments, although, as expected, performance deteriorates for localized convective rainfall. However, some reduction in performance occurs when the catchments are artificially urbanised.


The Coaltech Research Association funded an airborne magnetic and radiometric survey over the Karoo-age Ellisras Basin in the Northern Province of South Africa in 2008. The Waterberg Coalfield, which is destined to become the major source of energy in South Africa in the future, is situated in this sedimentary basin. Interpretation of the processed geophysical datasets has added significantly to our understanding of the structure of the Ellisras Basin, in addition to providing additional constraints on lithological and structural mapping. The filtered magnetic and ternary radiometric images have yielded abundant information that will be important in future mapping. Two-dimensional modelling of the magnetic data has provided a new confirmation of the half-graben model for the structure of the Ellisras Basin. The Zoetfontein Fault Zone (ZFZ), which forms the northern boundary of the basin against Archaean Limpopo Belt rocks, is block-faulted and generally steeply dipping. The thickest development of the Karoo Supergroup rocks is against this fault, attaining up to 550 m. The sediment thickness decreases gradually to the south, indicating an asymmetric basin fill. The present southern boundary of the basin is formed by the Eenzaamheid Fault Zone, south of which the ~2.0G a Waterberg Group rocks are developed. Despite its economic importance, the Ellisras Basin has not been well-studied, and there is a need to correct this in the near future as South Africa becomes more reliant on energy from the Waterberg Coalfield.


Abstract Digital mapping methods for capturing and visualising field data are increasingly used in industry and provide alternatives to the traditional mapping techniques that students learn in their academic courses. Over the past two years, a range of digital mapping and 3-D visualisation methods have been introduced into the teaching programme in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Durham and are used in preparation for field classes, during fieldwork and in post-field class activities. The introduction of digital mapping into fieldwork classes provides the opportunity to use research results to enhance student learning and understanding of the natural environment, encourage more rigorous and quantitative data collection and increase student awareness of industry practice. We recommend this approach as one way to achieve stronger links between teaching and research in Earth Science departments.


A metamorphosed ultramafic rock, penetrated by the KTB pilot hole at a depth of 1382.36 m, contains the assemblage Ca-amphibole — anthophyllite — chlorite — talc, formed at about 630°C/10 kbar under conditions of the high-P amphibolite facies. EMP analyses of the Ca-amphibole yielded magnesiohastingsite (to pargasite) compositions with (Al+Fe 3+ +Cr+Ti) [6] of 1.0-1.2 p.f.u. and (Fe 2+ +Mn)/(Mg+Fe 2+ +Mn) ratios of 0.10-0.16, while coexisting anthophyllite has (Al+Fe 3+ +Cr+Ti) [6] ≤ 0.16 and (Fe 2+ +Mn)/(Mg+Fe 2+ +Mn) ratios of 0.21-0.29. Chlorite is clinochlore with Al [4] /(Al [4] +Si) of 0.27-0.30 and Fe 2+ /(Fe 2+ +Mg) of 0.12-0.14. TEM investigations revealed, for the first time, a complex lamellar intergrowth in the sequence talc → anthophyllite → anthophyllite/cummingtonite intercalations → anthophyllite → Ca-amphibole. This lamellar intergrowth is about 15 μm in width, but individual cummingtonite lamellae intercalated with dominant anthophyllite are only 1 μn wide. All the amphiboles share the directions b * and a * ; anthophyllite and the monoclinic amphiboles are intergrown along (100); anthophyllite and talc are intergrown with (100) Ath //(001) Tlc . In other areas anthophyllite and chlorite are intergrown with a * Ath // c * Chl and b * Ath // b * Chl and Ca-amphibole exsolves lamellae of cummingtonite //(100). With one possible exception, cummingtonite has the space group C 2/ m . Anthophyllite displays chain multiplicity faults //(010), anthophyllite and cummingtonite chain arrangement faults //(100). Microstructures suggest that anthophyllite was formed at the expense of cummingtonite that is interpreted as a high-T precursor phase testifying to a possible earlier, granulite-facies metamorphic stage. During the retrograde P-T path, on cooling presumably below 500-550°C, anthophyllite exsolves platelets or lamellae of gedrite with {hk0} composition planes. Orientations close to {230} and {110} have been recorded, so far not described in the literature. Alteration products of biotite are composed of clinochlore and a sheet silicate intermediate in composition between chlorite and biotite, i.e. , with partly high K contents, but with chlorite metric.


An investigation of the nature of the flow field behind a rectangular wing of circular arc cross section has been conducted in the Langley 9-inch supersonic tunnel. Pitot- and static-pressure surveys covering a region of flow behind the wing have been made together with detailed pitot surveys throughout the region of the wake. In addition, the flow direction has been measured by means of a weathercocking vane. Theoretical calculations have been made to obtain the variation of both downwash and sidewash with angle of attack by using the superposition method of Lagerstrom, Graham, and Grosslight. In addition, the effect of wing thickness on the sidewash with the wing at 0 degree angle of attack has been evaluated.


One of the core treaties signed by members of the World Trade Organization is General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). This is the first multilateral and legally enforceable liberalisation agreement covering trade in services, including tourism, aims to eliminate discriminatory barriers to service trade and increase markets for investment. The subject of considerable controversy, the GATS has been criticised by human rights, environmental and developing world activist groups, many of whom see it as nothing more than a front for corporate domination of global markets. Supporters, on the other hand, see the GATS potential in overcoming trade disputes and hold out the promise of regional development and employment through increased foreign investment. This paper aims to outline the GATS, examine its legal principles and explain the enthusiasm of its supporters and the concerns of the critics, especially in the context of situation of new EU members states. Furthermore, it considers the potential impact of the GATS on sustainability tourism. Ukraine applied for WTO membership in 1993, and the Working Party concluded the negotiations on 25 January 2008 under the chairmanship of Chile's Ambassador Mario Matus. The General Council approved the Working Party report, the market access schedules on goods and services, the General Council Decision and the Protocol of Accession. After several years of economic reforms and multilateral negotiations Ukraine became the WTO's 152 member on 16 May 2008. It is very important for future Ukraine's economic and trade policy to gather information about past experiences of priors WTO's members concerning the impact of liberalization on tourism


The key comparison EURAMET.L-K1.2011 on gauge blocks was carried out in the framework of a EURAMET project starting in 2012 and ending in 2015. It involved the participation of 24 National Metrology Institutes from Europe and Egypt, respectively. 38 gauge blocks of steel and ceramic with nominal central lengths between 0.5 mm and 500 mm were circulated. The comparison was conducted in two loops with two sets of artifacts. A statistical technique for linking the reference values was applied. As a consequence the reference value of one loop is influenced by the measurements of the other loop although they did not even see the artifacts of the others. This influence comes solely from three "linking laboratories" which measure both sets of artifacts. In total there were 44 results were not fully consistent with the reference values. This represents 10% of the full set of 420 results which is a considerable high number. At least 12 of them are clearly outliers where the participants have been informed by the pilot as soon as possible. The comparison results help to support the calibration and measurement capabilities (CMCs) of the laboratories involved in the CIPM MRA. Main text To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCL, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).


Two related ligands that activate the same receptor have different effects on immune system stimulation and inflammation. This Podcast features a conversation with the senior author of a Research Article published in the May 3 issue of Science Signaling. Thomas Mitchell discusses his group's identification of the mechanism through which monophosphoryl lipid A (MLA) stimulates the immune system without triggering inflammation. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and MLA both bind to and activate Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), but only LPS stimulates a toxic inflammatory response. Embry et al. now show that whereas LPS triggers two pathways downstream of TLR4, MLA triggers only one of these and does not lead to activation of the inflammasome.


Anomaly detection is an important problem with many applications in industry. This paper introduces a new methodology for detecting anomalies in a real laser heating surface process recorded with a high-speed thermal camera (1000 fps, 32×32 pixels). The system is trained with non-anomalous data only (32 videos with 21500 frames). The proposed method is built upon kernel density estimation and is capable of detecting anomalies in time-series data. The classification should be completed in-process, that is, within the cycle time of the workpiece.


GUIDELINES Letters to the Editor, discussing material recently published in the Journal, are welcome. They will have the best chance of acceptance if they are received within 8 weeks of an article's publication. Letters to the Editor may be published with a response from the authors of the article being discussed. Discussions beyond the initial letter and response will not be published. Letters submitted pertaining to published Discussions of articles will not be printed. Letters to the Editor are not usually peer reviewed, but the Journal may invite replies from the authors of the original publication. All Letters are published at the discretion of the Editor. Letters submitted should pose a specific question that clarifies a point that either was not made in the article or was unclear, and therefore a response from the corresponding author of the article is requested. Authors will be listed in the order in which they appear in the submission. Letters should be submitted electronically via PRS' enkwell, at www.editorialmanager.com/prs/. We reserve the right to edit Letters to meet requirements of space and format. Any financial interests relevant to the content of the correspondence must be disclosed. Submission of a Letter constitutes permission for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and its licensees and asignees to publish it in the Journal and in any other form or medium. The views, opinions, and conclusions expressed in the Letters to the Editor represent the personal opinions of the individual writers and not those of the publisher, the Editorial Board, or the sponsors of the Journal. Any stated views, opinions, and conclusions do not reflect the policy of any of the sponsoring organizations or of the institutions with which the writer is affiliated, and the publisher, the Editorial Board, and the sponsoring organizations assume no responsibility for the content of such correspondence. The Journal requests that individuals submit no more than five (5) letters to Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in a calendar year.


The logit outputs of a feedforward neural network at initialization are conditionally Gaussian, given a random covariance matrix defined by the penultimate layer. In this work, we study the distribution of this random matrix. Recent work has shown that shaping the activation function as network depth grows large is necessary for this covariance matrix to be non-degenerate. However, the current infinite-width-style understanding of this shaping method is unsatisfactory for large depth: infinite-width analyses ignore the microscopic fluctuations from layer to layer, but these fluctuations accumulate over many layers. To overcome this shortcoming, we study the random covariance matrix in the shaped infinite-depth-and-width limit. We identify the precise scaling of the activation function necessary to arrive at a non-trivial limit, and show that the random covariance matrix is governed by a stochastic differential equation (SDE) that we call the Neural Covariance SDE. Using simulations, we show that the SDE closely matches the distribution of the random covariance matrix of finite networks. Additionally, we recover an if-and-only-if condition for exploding and vanishing norms of large shaped networks based on the activation function.


The magnetic properties of the first row transition metal oxides are wide and varied and have been studied extensively since the 1930's. Observations that the magnetic properties of these material types change with the dimension of the sample have stimulated many theoretical and experimental studies of the systems involved. As sample sizes decrease towards the nanoscale long range crystallographic order is no longer possible. However, the application of mesoporous silica samples as hard exo-templates to direct the formation of mesoporous metal oxides has provided a new opportunity to explore the influence of scale of crystallographic order further. These types of samples have pore systems running through the material on the mesoscale (diameter between 2 nm to 50 nm) with pore walls truly in the nanoscale region (7 nm to 9 nm thick) crystallographically ordered over large scale distances. The work presented in this thesis presents magnetic and crystallographic studies of a variety of the first row transition metal oxides from chromium to nickel in three dimensional mesoporous forms predominantly using SQUID magnetometry and neutron powder diffraction. Rietveld refinements of diffraction data from hematite and eskolaite (α-Fe2O3 and Cr2O3) show that the samples have space groups identical to their bulk counterparts, however slight differences in lattice parameters are observed. Refinement of magnetic properties has also been performed and compared to magnetic property measurements. Of particular interest are results from a mesoporous hematite which show suppression of a well defined first-order magnetic phase transition (the Morin transition). This suppression has been studied extensively with neutron powder diffraction and preliminary inelastic neutron spectroscopic measurements. Comparisons with hematite nanoparticles which also show the suppression of the Morin transition can be drawn. Parametric neutron powder diffraction studies on Co3O4 and NiO samples shows that the Néel ordering temperatures are lowered as the mesoporous structure is imposed. This too was observed in eskolaite. Other studies have been carried out on mesoporous α-MnO2 (magnetometry) and nanoscale Li1+xMn2–xO4 (X-ray photo electron spectroscopy) with comparisons to their bulk counterparts and finally nanoparticulate hausmannite Mn3O4 (magnetometry and muon spin relaxation) which exhibits spin-glass type behaviour.


In testimony on February 3, 1992 before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the United States Senate, Richard F. Syron, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, proposed a mechanism to help relieve current credit availability problems by making existing FDIC guarantees of loans transferable throughout the private financial system. This article examines Mr. Syron's rationale for the proposal and how it might work. ; Under this scheme, when performing nonperforming loans are placed in the equivalent of "bad banks" by the FDIC, the borrower could transfer the loan to any willing financial institution, bringing along the same government guarantee on the loan that is currently extended to acquirers of failed banks--in effect, making the put transferable. The resulting competition for "puttable" failed bank assets would provide a market for performing nonperforming loans that would reduce the number of liquidated loans and potentially reduce costs to the FDIC.


During 2005 to 2010 74 Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETLs) were funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). As the name suggests, the aim of the CETL initiative was to reward and develop expertise in teaching and learning linked to particular areas of excellence. The CETL where the authors of this paper worked focused on developing Assessment for Learning (AfL) practices (McDowell et al., 2008). The paper discusses the findings from three research projects undertaken at the CETL which can be grouped under the broad theme of the exploration of assessment practices and academic development.However, while we are all interested in the ways academics learn to assess, the disciplinary/research backgrounds and theoretical assumptions we bring to our respective projects are quite different. Hodkinson and Macleod (2010) discuss conceptualisations of learning by referring to metaphors which are commonly used 'when learning is thought about' (p.174): learning as acquisition, as participation, as construction, as formation and as becoming. They argue that each metaphor assumes particular approaches to understanding and researching learning, and this also applies to the projects drawn on for this paper. The projects which have generated the data considered in this paper are, on the one hand, underpinned and informed by different conceptualisations of learning, bodies of literature and methodologies. On the other hand, the institutional context within which the data were collected and the data collection methods, i.e. semi-structured interviews, are the same. This paper also explores the benefits and challenges of working collaboratively on HE research questions from different theoretical perspectives. We would like to argue that that using data generated by all three projects is a legitimate, albeit unusual, way of advancing our understanding of learning in the academic workplace since it allows us to focus on the interface between informal and formal learning rather than discussing one type of learning at the expense of the other.


We identify the ages that constitute sensitive (or critical) periods in children's development towards their adult health status, skills, and human capital. For this, we use data on families migrating into Sweden from countries that are poorer, with less healthy conditions. Late-life health is proxied by adult height and other adult outcomes. The relation between siblings' ages at migration and their adult outcomes allows us to estimate the causal effect of conditions at specific childhood ages. We effectively exploit that, for siblings, the migration occurs simultaneously in calendar time but at different developmental stages (ages). We find evidence that the period just before the puberty growth spurt constitutes a critical period for adult height and we find related critical periods for adult cognition, mental health, and education.


Objective. This study determined hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) awareness among managers of food-producing small and micro enterprises (SMEs) as well as selected aspects of the knowledge, attitude and practices of respective food handlers regarding food safety. Setting. SMEs within a 30 km range of Tygerberg Academic Hospital. Methods. SMEs were divided into two categories: those providing food to clients at risk of illness (N = 64) and to clients free of illness (N = 81). SMEs were randomly selected and managers/employees completed validated questionnaires regarding HACCP (145 managers) and food safety (159 food handlers). Results. Only 6% of managers reported awareness of HACCP being mandatory in South Africa. More than 70% of managers and food handlers had received no formal training regarding food safety. The perception
that food safety control should focus on general cleanliness still prevailed among 57.2% of managers. Food handlers achieved an unsatisfactory score (46.0%) on the basic principles of food safety. Ignorance among food handlers regarding important risk factors was as follows: ways of identifying contaminated food likely to cause food poisoning (77.5%), period of keeping prepared food safe (50.9%), correct way of cooling food (63.1%) or
reheating food (84.9%), reason for checking date codes (68.1%) and use of a thermometer (90.6%). There was no significant difference in the results obtained between food handlers in SMEs providing food to healthy clients or clients at risk of illness.
Conclusion. Creating awareness and understanding of HACCP among managers of SMEs and education regarding the control of risk factors remain crucial. South African Journal Clinical Nutrition Vol. 20 (2) 2007: pp. 50-61


The present thesis is concerned with a novel approach towards the design of
artificial aldolase mimics.
The introductory chapter provides an overview of previous strategies and
approaches that have been employed in the design and synthesis of artificial
enzyme systems.
Following on from a brief introduction to previous work within our own group,
Chapter 2 presents and discusses the preparation and reactivity of a number of
novel polymeric systems which are capable of catalysing the aldol reaction. The
strategy adopted consisted of the preparation of regiochemically defined
alternating co-polymers wherein each of the two monomers, an N-alkylated
maleimide and a para carboxamide styrene possessed either a carboxylic acid or
an amino group and were hence capable of functioning as Class I aldolase
mimetics.
A complementary strategy has also been undertaken wherein both functional
groups involved in catalysis are attached to a single monomer, and subsequently
subjected to ring opening metathesis polymerisation. This approach guaranteed
attachment of these two groups in a fixed 1:1 ratio and had the added advantage of
acting as organocatalysts in their own right. For this purpose, systems based on 7-
azabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene, tropane alkaloid like derivatives and a functionalised
norbornene were studied. Preliminary work towards functionalised bispidinone
derivatives were also considered within this framework.
Chapter 3 provides a formal description of the detailed experimental results and
procedures used.


Abstract. Four cores from Balkans lakes Ohrid and Prespa were examined for recognition of tephra layers and cryptotephras, and the results presented along with the review of data from other two already published cores from Lake Ohrid. The six cores provide a previously unrealised tephrostratigraphic framework of the two lakes, and provide a new tephrostratigraphic profile (composite) for the Balkans, which spans from the end of the Middle Pleistocene to the AD 472. A total of 12 tephra layers and cryptotephras were recognised in the cores. One is of Middle Pleistocene age (131 ka) and correlated to the marine tephra layer P-11 from Pantelleria Island. Eight volcanic layers are Upper Pleistocene in age, and encompass the period between ca. 107 ka and ca. 31 ka. This interval contains some of the main regional volcanic markers of the central Mediterranean area, including X-6, X-5, Y-5 and Y-3 tephra layers. The other layers of this interval have been related to the marine tephra layers C20, Y-6 and C10, while one was for the first time recognised in distal areas and correlated to the Taurano eruption of probable Vesuvian origin. Three cryptotephras were of Holocene age. Two of which have been correlated to Mercato and AD 472 eruptions of Somma-Vesuvius, while the third has been correlated to the FL eruption from Mount Etna. These recognitions provide a link of the Ohrid and Prespa lacustrine successions to other archives of the central Mediterranean area, like south Adriatic, Ionian, and south Tyrrhenian seas, lakes of southern Italy (Lago Grande di Monticchio, Pantano di San Gregorio Magno and Lago di Pergusa) and Balkans (Lake Shkodra).


This dissertation is a study of painting from China's Jin dynasty (1115 – 1234). It presents a systematic analysis of painted works on silk, paper, and temple and tomb walls. Although the Jin dynasty lasted for 119 years, Jin painting is treated often as a footnote to the more highly revered painting of the Northern and Southern Song dynasties (960 – 1279). This marginalization is largely due to the lack of paintings on silk and paper which traditionally form the core of Chinese painting history, and is compounded further by the fact that the Jin was ruled by an ethnically non-Han group, the Jurchen. This dissertation establishes Jin painting as its own cultural phenomenon and seeks an understanding of Jin painting beyond silk. First, the dissertation suggests that in order to grasp the richness and diversity of Jin painting history, we must examine the interfaces between different painting contexts and cultures. Second, this dissertation proposes an alternate framework for understanding Jin painting based on geographic regions and centers of painting culture, rather than dynastic chronology. These arguments are outlined in four chapters The first chapter addresses paintings on silk and paper and brings together a core group of Jin landscape paintings. The second chapter examines tomb murals and how northern funerary painting traditions were preserved and permutated in Jin China. The third chapter examines the twelfth century temple hall murals at Yanshansi and highlights the murals' place as a crossroads between regional painting idioms and courtly painting. Finally, the fourth chapter examines landscape murals from Yulin Cave 3 created under the Xia state (1038 – 1227) and suggests that there was a shared visual culture in twelfth-to-thirteenth-century north and northwestern China. This shared visual culture allows Jin and Xia painting to be viewed within a framework that does not revolve around the dichotomy of Northern and Southern Song court and literati painting. In doing so, this dissertation situates Jin painters as central, active participants in Chinese painting history and demonstrates the flourishing of painting beyond silk and paper under Jurchen rule. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group East Asian Languages & Civilizations First Advisor Nancy S. Steinhardt Subject Categories Asian Studies | History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2679 BEYOND SILK: A RE-EVALUATION OF JIN PAINTING (1115 – 1234) Gabrielle J. Niu A DISSERTATION in East Asian Languages and Civilizations Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2018 Supervisor of Dissertation _______________________ Nancy S. Steinhardt, Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations Graduate Group Chairperson __________________________ Christopher Atwood, Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations Dissertation Committee: Victor H. Mair, Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations Adam Smith, Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations Brian Vivier, Chinese Studies Librarian


IMPORTANCE
Metabolomics is the broad and parallel study of metabolites within an organism and provides a contemporaneous snapshot of physiologic state. Use of metabolomics in the clinical setting may help achieve precision medicine for those who have experienced trauma, where diagnosis and treatment are tailored to the individual patient.

OBJECTIVE
To examine whether metabolomics can (1) distinguish healthy volunteers from trauma patients and (2) quantify changes in catabolic metabolites over time after injury.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
Prospective cohort study with enrollment from September 2014 to May 2015 at an urban, level 1 trauma center. Included in the study were 10 patients with severe blunt trauma admitted within 12 hours of injury with systolic blood pressure less than 90 mm Hg or base deficit greater than 6 mEq/L and 5 healthy volunteers. Plasma samples (n = 35) were obtained on days 1, 3, and 7, and they were analyzed using mass spectrometry.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Principal component analyses, multiple linear regression, and paired t tests were used to select biomarkers of interest. A broad-based metabolite profile comparison between trauma patients and healthy volunteers was performed. Specific biomarkers of interest were oxidative catabolites.

RESULTS
Trauma patients had a median age of 45 years and a median injury severity score of 43 (interquartile range, 34-50). Healthy fasting volunteers had a median age of 33 years. Compared with healthy volunteers, trauma patients showed oxidative stress on day 1: niacinamide concentrations were a mean (interquartile range) of 0.95 (0.30-1.45) relative units for trauma patients vs 1.06 (0.96-1.09) relative units for healthy volunteers (P = .02), biotin concentrations, 0.43 (0.27-0.58) relative units for trauma patients vs 1.21 (0.93-1.56) relative units for healthy volunteers (P = .049); and choline concentrations, 0.17 (0.09-0.22) relative units for trauma patients vs 0.21 (0.18-0.22) relative units for healthy volunteers (P = .004). Trauma patients showed lower nucleotide synthesis on day 1: adenylosuccinate concentrations were 0.08 (0.04-0.12) relative units for trauma patients vs 0.15 (0.14-0.17) relative units for healthy volunteers (P = .02) and cytidine concentrations were 1.44 (0.95-1.73) relative units for trauma patients vs 1.74 (1.62-1.98) relative units for healthy volunteers (P = .05). From trauma day 1 to day 7, trauma patients showed increasing muscle catabolism: serine levels increased from 42.03 (31.20-54.95) µM to 79.37 (50.29-106.37) µM (P = .002), leucine levels increased from 69.21 (48.36-99.89) µM to 114.16 (92.89-143.52) µM (P = .004), isoleucine levels increased from 20.43 (10.92-27.41) µM to 48.72 (36.28-64.84) µM (P < .001), and valine levels increased from 122.56 (95.63-140.61) µM to 190.52 (136.68-226.07) µM (P = .004). There was an incomplete reversal of oxidative stress.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Metabolomics can function as a serial, comprehensive, and potentially personalized tool to characterize metabolism after injury. A targeted metabolomics approach was associated with ongoing oxidative stress, impaired nucleotide synthesis, and initial suppression of protein metabolism followed by increased nitrogen turnover. This technique may provide new therapeutic and nutrition targets in critically injured patients.


This paper presents an Artificial Neural Network (ANN)-based building-level hourly electrical load forecasting method that takes into account HVAC set points as one of the input parameters, in addition to the historical building load and outdoor weather data. The data presented in this paper deal with cooling load only. ANN is used to train and test the dataset, and the ANN-based load forecasting model provides the predicted load for each hour of the day. Three training algorithms are explored, including Levenberg-Marquardt, Scaled Conjugate gradient back-propagation and Bayesian Regularization (BR). Findings indicate that the BR-based neural network offers the best performance in terms of forecasting accuracy. In addition, a case study using a commercial building in Chicago, Illinois is presented where performances of the developed ANN-based models are compared. The forecasting error is around 5% or less for hour-ahead load forecasting, and around 8% or less for 12-hour ahead load forecasting.


Challenges to the expansion of local initiatives aimed at local environmental protection question the powers delegated to municipal governments from the state. New York case precedent suggests that express and implied police power authority conferred from the state to municipalities is a broad concept and includes the power to protect natural resources, scenic views, and other environmental concerns. Through the use of this power, localities are better able to meet the environmental challenges they are faced with by using innovative grass-roots initiatives.


Maintaining environmental stability in a dynamic system is often a very important task for a control system. Swings in environmental conditions can be harmful to equipment and cause inefficiencies in the system. These swings are present throughout our lives, in your living room for example, when you set the thermostat to 68 degrees the actual temperature cycles above and below 68 degrees. This project uses a Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) in an Aquarium Control System to reduce the swings in temperature, ph level, and conductivity. The results of testing the online system and simulations show that the RNN does reduce these swings.


Music videos are available on more channels, in more formats, and in more countries than ever before. While MTV—the network that introduced music video to most viewers—is moving away from music video programming, other media developments signal the longevity and dynamism of the form. Among these are the proliferation of niche-based cable and satellite channels, the globalization of music video production and programming, and the availability of videos not just on television but also via cell phones, DVDs, enhanced CDs, PDAs, and the Internet. In the context of this transformed media landscape, Medium Cool showcases a new generation of scholarship on music video. Scholars of film, media, and music revisit and revise existing research as they provide historically and theoretically expansive new perspectives on music video as a cultural form.

The essays take on a range of topics, including questions of authenticity, the tension between high-art influences and mass-cultural appeal, the prehistory of music video, and the production and dissemination of music videos outside the United States. Among the thirteen essays are a consideration of how the rapper Jay-Z uses music video as the primary site for performing, solidifying, and discarding his various personas; an examination of the recent emergence of indigenous music video production in Papua New Guinea; and an analysis of the cultural issues being negotiated within Finland's developing music video industry. Contributors explore precursors to contemporary music videos, including 1950s music television programs such as American Bandstand , Elvis's internationally broadcast 1973 Aloha from Hawaii concert, and different types of short musical films that could be viewed in "musical jukeboxes" of the 1940s and 1960s. Whether theorizing music video in connection to postmodernism or rethinking the relation between sound and the visual image, the essays in Medium Cool reveal music video as rich terrain for further scholarly investigation.

Contributors . Roger Beebe, Norma Coates, Kay Dickinson, Cynthia Fuchs, Philip Hayward, Amy Herzog, Antti-Ville Karja, Melissa McCartney, Jason Middleton, Lisa Parks, Kip Pegley, Maureen Turim, Carol Vernallis, Warren Zanes


ABSTRACT We undertook assessment of hearing in patients with cystic fibrosis who were taking part in a large randomized controlled trial of once- versus three-times-daily tobramycin for pulmonary exacerbations of cystic fibrosis (the TOPIC study). All patients were eligible to have standard pure tone audiometry performed across the frequency range of 0.25 to 8 kHz. High-frequency pure tone audiometry over 10 to 16 kHz was also performed with a subset of patients. Audiometry was undertaken at the start of tobramycin treatment, at the end of a 14-day course of treatment, and at follow-up 6 to 8 weeks later. We enrolled 244 patients, of whom 219 (125 children and 94 adults) completed treatment. Nineteen patients were excluded from analysis due to abnormal baseline audiometry. Complete pre- and posttreatment standard audiological data were obtained for 168/219 patients. We found no significant differences in hearing thresholds when they were assessed at the baseline, at the end of treatment, and at follow-up 6 to 8 weeks later were compared. In addition, no significant differences in hearing thresholds were detected between treatment regimens. Similar results were obtained for the subset of 63/168 patients who underwent high-frequency audiometry. We conclude that for a single 14-day course of tobramycin treatment in patients with cystic fibrosis with no preexisiting auditory deficit, no measurable effect on hearing was apparent with either once- or three-times-daily treatment. Estimation of the cumulative cochleotoxic risk in cystic fibrosis patients due to repeated aminoglycoside therapy, as evidenced by the patients excluded from this study due to hearing loss, also requires further characterization.


OBJECTIVES
Paraffin-embedded tumor samples are valuable in the study of cancer for routine staging, tumor marker analysis, and in retrospective studies to test new prognostic and predictive biomarkers. Their utility in retrospective pharmacogenetic analysis of clinical trials has yet to be evaluated. We set out to establish genotyping methods for relevant genes from archival tumor samples and determine if fixation, processing or somatic changes in the tumor might affect our ability to identify germ-line polymorphisms.

METHODS AND RESULTS
To establish the assays, paraffin blocks were made using pellets prepared from eight tumor cell lines. DNA was isolated from viable cells and from sections from these blocks, and genotyped for polymorphisms in CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP3A5 and MDR1 using conventional PCR-RFLP assays. This demonstrated that fixation and processing did not alter the genotypes obtained (100% concordance). Next, sections were obtained from paraffin-embedded archival breast samples from 10 patients for whom gDNA isolated from peripheral blood was available for comparison. Concordance was complete with the same genotype being obtained for 100% of the samples tested. Attempts to extend these methods for the study of hematoxylin/eosin or immunohistochemically stained sections were not successful since the staining inhibited the PCR reactions. Only 25 of 50 samples were successfully amplified and of those only 14 produced accurate genotypes.

CONCLUSIONS
Accurate genetic testing for polymorphisms in several genes of pharmacogenetic importance can be obtained from archival paraffin-embedded tumor samples. Thus, pharmacogenetic analysis can be applied to existing cancer therapy trials to test associations between these polymorphisms and treatment response.


The factorial survey is a method of data collection that combines the advantages of survey research and the advantages of experimental designs. Respondents react to hypothetical descriptions of objects or situations (vignettes) instead of answering single-item questions. By varying each dimension of the vignettes in an experimental design, the dimensions' impact on respondents' judgments or decisions can be estimated accurately. Thus, the method is able to identify the effect of single factors which are often confounded in reality. So far, only few methodological studies address questions of measurement validity when a factorial survey design is used. The article provides a brief overview of the use of the factorial design in the social sciences and points our still unresolved methodological questions. Using experimental data specifically designed for this purpose our analyses consider the stability of respondents' judgments with respect to the number of dimensions presented in the vignettes, possible learning effects and 'implausible' or 'illogical' cases (vignettes describing objects or situations which are rare or even impossible). We test several hypotheses regarding the complexity of vignettes and the consistency of judgments. According to our results, a high complexity of vignettes and implausible cases cause respondents to consider fewer dimensions in their judgments; we find smaller influences of vignette variables while the consistency of the judgments remains the same. Finally, we discuss the practical consequences of these results.


This article applies systems analysis to two ends. First, it identifies simple changes that would make the court system transparent. Second, it projects transparency's consequences. Transparency means that both the patterns across, and details of, case files are revealed to policymakers, litigants, and the public in easily understood forms. Government must make two changes to achieve court system transparency. The first is to remove the existing restrictions on the electronic release of court documents, including the requirements for registration, separate requests for each document, and monetary payment. The second - already being implemented in the federal courts - is to require the use of data-enabled forms. Once these changes are in place, institutions and private parties will process the available data at the parties' own expense. That processing will generate millions of real-time views of court system operation using automatically-updated regression analyses and both textual and graphical data displays. The effect would be a renaissance. Corruption, incompetence, inefficiency, prejudice and favoritism would be exposed and wither. Litigation would be cheap and easy because parties could see all court files in the system and copy the work of others. Policy makers could see the human consequences of the laws they enact and adjust accordingly. Lawyers could predict the outcomes of their cases, making litigation less necessary. Citizens would for the first time be able to derive and see the real rules by which they are governed. Transparency would have a minimal effect on privacy. The data processed are already public record and adequate privacy protections are already provided through sealing orders and redaction requirements. Transparency would generate pressures on judges and court administrators, but the effects of those pressures would be generally positive. Limitations on the public enforcement of private arbitration awards might be necessary to prevent parties from opting out of the transparent system.


Introduction: The liver is the organ most commonly affected by hydatid disease and is involved in up to 70% of cases. Surgical management can be open or laparoscopic; it can vary from a radical procedure such as hepatic resection or pericystectomy or a more conservative approach such as partial cystectomy. Bile leak after surgery can occur in between 13% and 26% of cases. Case Description: We present the case of a 47-year-old patient who was diagnosed with 2 large hydatid liver cysts in segments V and VI and segments II and III, respectively. She underwent laparoscopic pericystectomy for both cysts and was discharged 2 days later. She presented after 10 days complaining of abdominal pain and fever. Computed tomography scan of the abdomen showed a 6 7–cm collection at the surgical site of segments II and III. A percutaneous drain was inserted and drained 60 mL of dark bilious fluid. The patient did well after drainage and was discharged home after 6 days. Discussion: Irrespective of the surgical treatment chosen, bile leaks may complicate any procedure and must always be considered seriously. Although there have been numerous studies concerning bile leak after open surgery, there are only a few describing bile leaks after laparoscopic surgery. Managing bile leaks after hydatid cyst excision is still a matter of debate. Some physicians would advocate conservative management; other physicians would recommend a further procedure such as sphincterotomy or biliary stenting after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.


Can different social groups develop different demands for social insurance of risks to health and work? We study this issue across language groups in Switzerland. Language defines social groups and Swiss language groups are separated by a clear geographic border. Actual levels of social insurance are identical on either side of the within state segments of the language border. We can therefore study the role of culture in shaping the demand for social insurance. Specifically, we contrast at the language border actual voting decisions on country-wide changes to social insurance programs. Key results indicate substantially higher support for expansions of social insurance among residents of Latin-speaking (i.e. French, Italian, or Romansh) border municipalities compared to their German-speaking neighbors in adjacent municipalities. We consider three possible explanations for this finding: informal insurance, ideology, and the media. We find that informal insurance does not vary enough to explain stark differences in social insurance. However, differences in ideology and segmented media markets are potentially important explanatory factors.