The problem of nutrition security is getting worse in Africa, due to increasing population growth and poor progress in efforts directed at reducing food insecurity in many countries in the continent. The paper undertook an assessment of the food security situation and food consumption pattern in rural households in Ogun state, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 260 rural households from whom data were collected through structured questionnaire. The tools of analysis were descriptive statistics and food security index. The former described the consumption pattern, and households' sources of food availability, while the latter was used to analyse the food security situation. The result of the rural households' consumption pattern reveals that the rural households derived more of their energy from carbohydrates at the expense of other classes of food items. The result also shows that majority (75.5%) obtained their food through their own production and supplemented same with food purchased from the market to meet up with their family needs. Based on the recommended daily calorie intake (R) of 2,470 kcal, 59.6% of the rural households were food insecure while 40.4% were food secure. The calculated head count ratio (H) for the food insecure households was 0.6, confirming that almost 60% of households in the study area were food insecure. For secure households, the head count ratio (H) was 0.4, further confirming that only about 40% of households in the study area were food secure. The shortfall index and surplus index were 0.2787 and 0.3498 respectively, meaning that the energy requirement was less by about 27 percent and in excess of 34 percent for the food insecure and food secure households. The paper recommends that while enhancing production of arable crops - roots, tubers and cereals, a sensible balance of tilting towards meeting the requirements in the consumption of animal protein/legume, fats/oils, fruits and vegetables must be maintained to ensure food security. This policy thrust could be enhanced through mass education.


Almost all U.S. states allow individuals to disinherit their descendants for any reason or no reason, but most of the world's legal systems currently do not. This Article contends that broad freedom of testation is defensible because it allows elderly people to reward family members who are caregivers. The Article explores the common-law origins of freedom of testation, which developed in the shadow of the medieval rule of primogeniture, a doctrine of no contemporary relevance. The growing problem of eldercare, however, offers a justification for the twenty-first century. Increases in life expectancy have led to a sharp rise in the number of older individuals who require long-term care, and some children and grandchildren are bearing more of the caregiving burden than others. Recent econometric studies, not yet taken into account in legal scholarship, suggest a tendency among the American elderly to bequeath more property to caregiving children. A competent testator, rather than a court or legislature, is in the best position to decide how much care each person has provided and to reward caregivers accordingly. Law reform, therefore, should focus on strengthening testamentary freedom while ensuring that caregivers are adequately compensated in cases of intestacy.


A high proportion of prostate cancer has been shown to be hormone-dependent, in particular, dependent on testosterone (T) and dihydrotestosterone (OHT). The biosynthesis of the androgens is catalysed by the cytochrome P-450 enzyme 17a.-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase (P45017a) which is responsible for the conversion of pregnanes (for example progesterone) to . the androgens (for example androstenedione). However, the biosynthesis of OHT, the more potent androgen is catalysed by 5a-reductase (5aR). The inhibition of these two enzymes would therefore lead to the overall reduction in the level of T and OHT. Thereby leading to a decrease in the stimulation of androgen-dependent cancer cells.

Within the current study, the synthesis of a series of potential inhibitors is described. The compounds synthesised against P45017o were based upon the ability of the compounds to donate a lone pair of electrons to the iron atom within the haem group of the active site of P45017a. As such, compounds based on the Evan's chiral auxiliary were synthesised containing a phenylamine moiety. In the synthesis of the compounds, the initial R and S forms of the chiral auxiliary were initially alkylated (using sodium hydride and alkyl bromlde), followed by the nitration (with dilute fuming nitric acid) of the phenyl ring which was subsequently reduced (using palladium on charcoal and hydrogen gas) to give the phenylamine moiety. The reactions proceeded in moderate to good yield without many problems. The reactions were repeated with an alternative chiral auxiliary, namely, 4-methyl-5-phenyl-2- oxazolidinone, however, due to lack of time, only the initial alkylation step was undertaken and was found to proceed in good yield. The biochemical evaluation of the phenylamine based compounds using a literature based assay showed these compounds to be weak inhibitors of P45017a, with two compounds (of the range evaluated) showing close to 40% inhibition at 1mM.

The compounds targeted against 5aR, were based upon the ability of the _inhibitors to mimic the substrate and thereby allow themselves to be reduced by NAOPH, as such, they were based upon pyrrolidine-2,5-dione structure with a C=O moiety to mimic the 11[sup]5 functionality in T. The N-substituted pyrrolidine-2,5-dione was therefore reacted with the appropriate ester in the presence of sodium hydride. In general, the reactions proceeded well, however, the products were obtained in poor yield (ranging from 30% to 12%). Attempts to use an activated carbonyl group (e.g. the use of acyl chloride derivative of the esters) did not result in increased yield. The compounds synthesised were not evaluated against 5aR due to the lack of an assay system.


Spending time in the outdoors has been shown to have a number of benefits, including those related to academic, health and well-being, and social factors. Teachers are in an ideal position to deliver outdoor experiences to the children they work with, therefore it is important that trainee teachers develop their knowledge and understanding of how to provide outdoor learning experiences and make use of outdoor settings in their teaching. In order to support trainees in making effective pedagogical decisions, it is important to establish their opinions of teaching and learning, including their views of outdoor learning. This article presents the findings from a small-scale research study exploring the perceptions of outdoor learning held by trainee teachers at the start of their Initial Teacher Training (ITT) primary education degree programme. Findings show that at this early stage of training, trainees held mixed views on outdoor learning; they were generally positive but also appeared to be apprehensive and cautious about specific elements related to outdoor learning. Trainees were also asked to make suggestions as to how they felt their degree programme could support them further in this area. The article also offers suggestions as to how ITT may support trainees in developing understanding and knowledge of outdoor learning to inform their practice as both a trainee and future primary school teacher.


A solid‐state Au/Hg voltammetric microelectrode was used to measure, simultaneously and with millimeter spatial resolution, the vertical distributions of O2, Mn2+, Fe2+, HS−, and I− in the pore water of sediments from the Canadian continental shelf and slope. The electrode was used shipboard to analyze undisturbed sediment cores and in a sediment mesocosm to determine the three‐dimensional distribution of redox species in the sediment surrounding an actively irrigated worm burrow. In cores from Emerald Basin and Cabot Strait, O2 disappeared and Mn2+, Fe2+, and HS− appeared in the vertical sequence predicted on the basis of thermodynamics. In a core from the Scotian slope, O2 disappeared at ~14‐mm depth but Mn2+ was not detected over the 50‐mm depth examined with the probe. In all three cores, I− was detected in the pore water below the oxygen‐penetration depth. In none of the cores did the distributions of O2 and Mn2+ overlap. The thickness of the layer within which neither O2 nor Mn2+ could be detected ranged from 8 to 40 mm; we suggest that nitrate, not oxygen, is used to oxidize Mn2+. The upwarddirected Mn2+ gradients of 3.5 and 10 mol mm4 in the Emerald Basin and Cabot Strait sediments, respectively, drive manganese fluxes that are more than one order of magnitude lower than the O2 fluxes, which are estimated at 4‐S mmol mm−2 d−1. The three‐dimensional distributions of solutes in the pore water in the sediment surrounding an irrigated worm burrow demonstrate that both the O2‐penetration depth and the depth where Mn2+ is first detected are deeper in the vicinity of the worm burrow than away from it. This is consistent with the notion that irrigation brings oxygenated water into the worm tube, allowing oxygen to diffuse across the burrow wall into the sediment and react with Mn2+ and other reduced porewater constituents. Three‐dimensional heterogeneity in porewater composition cannot be detected by conventional one‐dimensional coring and slicing techniques. Because these latter techniques average the porewater composition in a large volume of sediment, they may indicate that the distributions of individual species overlap when in fact they do not.


Global Perspectives on the Biology and Life History of the White Shark was inspired by the International White Shark Symposium in 2010, and incorporates the most important contemporary research findings into a single peer-reviewed book. This beautifully illustrated reference represents a historic change in the context of White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) research. Formerly, the introduction of White Shark research papers included the obligatory statement that this species is rarely the focus of comprehensive studies and little is known of its basic biology and life history. Thanks to great strides in technology and an increased focus on this species, this timely book brings the White Shark from obscurity to the most studied shark in the ocean.


To increase output power of a He-Ne laser we propose to use the capacitive rf discharge and implement four channel structure. Most of experiments were carried out with a single laser tube from this structure to optimize the output mirror transmission, pressure and composition of the mixture. A laser tube of 2.8 mm inner diameter and 50 cm discharge length can give an output power of above 5.5 mW at 3.39 ${\mu}m$ . Four such tubes in "matrix" structure let us obtain 20 mW of output. Simplified models which can be used to evaluate the behavior of an equivalent electrical circuit with laser plasma and qualitative characteristics of output power of He-Ne laser were also described.


Effective thermal management of high power density batteries is essential for battery performance, life, and safety. This paper experimentally investigates direct mineral oil jet impingement cooling of the lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery pack. For the first time, experimental results of mineral oil-based cooling of batteries are reported. Both charging and discharging characteristics on temperature uniformity and of a Li-ion pack are considered. Temperature uniformity among cells, as well as within individual cells, is experimentally measured. As a baseline, cooling of the battery pack by free-convective airflow is also reported. Two different jetting configurations: (a) submerged jet and (b) direct-jet impingement are considered. For the highest charge-discharge rates considered (2C charge and 3C discharge), mineral oil nearly maintains uniform skin temperature among the cells (less than 1 °C) as well as within the cell. Based on the results obtained, modular jet oil cooling is an excellent cooling solution of lithium-ion packs applicable to stationary electrical storage and transportation applications.


The industrial sector accounts for about 30% of the global final energy use and accounts for about 115 EJ of final energy use in 2005. 1Cement, iron and steel, chemicals, pulp and paper and aluminum are key energy intensive materials that account for more than half the global industrial use.
There is a shift in the primary materials production with developing countries accounting for the majority of the production capacity. China and India have high growth rates in the production of energy intensive materials like cement, fertilizers and steel (12–20%/yr). In different economies materials demand is seen to grow initially with income and then stabilize. For instance in industrialized countries consumption of steel seems to saturate at about 500 kg/capita and 400–500 kg/capita for cement.
The aggregate energy intensities in the industrial sectors in different countries have shown steady declines – due to an improvement in energy efficiency and a change in the structure of the industrial output. As an example for the EU-27 the final energy use by industry has remained almost constant (13.4 EJ) at 1990 levels. Structural changes in the economies explain 30% of the reduction in energy intensity with the remaining due to energy efficiency improvements.
In different industrial sectors adopting the best achievable technology can result in a saving of 10–30% below the current average. An analysis of cost cutting measures for motors and steam systems in 2005 indicates energy savings potentials of 2.2 EJ for motors and 3.3 EJ for steam. The payback period for these measures range from less than 9 months to 4 years. A systematic analysis of materials and energy flows indicates significant potential for process integration, heat pumps and cogeneration for example savings of 30% are seen in kraft, sulfite, dairy, chocolate, ammonia, and vinyl chloride.
An exergy analysis (second law of thermodynamics) reveals that the overall global industry efficiency is only 30%. It is clear that there are major energy efficiency improvements possible through research and development (R&D) in next generation processes.
A comparison of energy management policies in different countries and a summary of country experiences, program impacts for Brazil, China, India, South Africa shows the features of successful policies. Energy management International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards are likely to be effective in facilitating industrial end use efficiency.
The effective use of demand side management can be facilitated by combination of mandated measures and market strategies.
A frozen efficiency scenario is constructed for industry in 2030. This implies a demand of final energy of 225 EJ in 2030. This involves an increase of the industrial energy output (in terms of Manufacturing Value Added (MVA)) by 95% over its 2005 value. Due to normal efficiency improvements the Business as Usual scenario results in a final energy demand of 175 EJ. The savings possibilities in motors and steam systems, process improvements, pinch, heat pumping and cogeneration have been computed for the existing industrial stock and for the new industries. An energy efficient scenario for 2030 has been constructed with a 95% increase in the industrial output with only a 17% increase in the
final energy demand (total final energy demand for industry (135 EJ)). The total direct and indirect carbon dioxide emissions from the industry sector in 2005 is about 9.9 GtCO 2 . Assuming a constant carbon intensity of energy use, the business as usual scenario results in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions increasing to 17.8 GtCO 2 annually in 2030. In the energy efficient scenario this reduces to 11.6 GtCO 2 . Renewables account for 9% of the final energy of industry (10 EJ in 2005). If an aggressive renewables strategy resulting in an increase in renewable energy supply to 23% in 2030 is targeted (23 EJ), it is possible to have a scenario of constant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the industrial sector
(at 2005 levels) with a 95% increase in the industrial output.
Several interventions will be required to achieve the energy efficient or constant GHG emission scenario. For the existing industry measures include developing capacity for systems assessment for motors, steam systems and pinch analysis, sharing and documentation of best practices, benchmarks and roadmaps for different industry segments, access to low interest finance etc. A new energy management standard has been developed by ISO for energy management in companies. Its adoption will enable industries to systematically monitor and track energy efficiency improvements. In order to level the playing field for energy efficiency a paradigm shift is required with the focus on energy services not on energy supply per se. This requires a re-orientation of energy supply, distribution companies and energy equipment manufacturing companies.
Planning for next generation processes and systems needs the development of long term research agenda and strategic collaborations between industry, academic and research institutions and governments.


Understanding how winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) seeds and seedling plants interact with crop residue in the seedbed is essential for development of planting recommendations for dryland conservation tillage systems. Field trials were conducted in 1990-1991 (Trial 1) and 1991-1992 (Trial 2) near Pendleton, OR, to determine the effects of seedbed crop residue, seed size, and cultivar on emergence, growth, and yield of winter barley. Seedbed residue cover (32-45%) did not affect seedling emergence rate in Trial 1. Seed-soil contact was apparently reduced in high-residue seedbeds, but emergence was reduced only when seed-zone water content was <120 g kg -1 in Trial 2. More water was present in the seedbed at the time of seeding in Trial 1 than in Trial 2. Low-residue seedbeds were drier than moderate- or high-residue seedbeds at the time of seeding in both trials. Final stand density and subsequent plant growth were not influenced by seedbed residue (up to 49% residue) in either trial. Spike production was reduced by high residue and test weight was reduced by moderate and high residue in Trial 1. Grain yield and plumpness were lowest when barley was sown in low residue in Trial 2. Seedlings produced from large seeds emerged more rapidly and produced higher density stands than small seeds in Trial 1 but not Trial 2. Plants grown from large seed were somewhat larger in spring, but seed size had no other effect on growth or yield. Grain plumpness was greater in plants grown from large seed in Trial 1 but not Trial 2. No differences in stand establishment were detected among the cultivars tested. Higher seedbed residues should not be viewed as detrimental to achieving good winter barley performance in conservation tillage svstems.


BACKGROUND
Sarcopenia involves age-related decreases in muscle strength and muscle mass, leading to frailty and disability in elderly people. When combined with obesity, it is defined as sarcopenic obesity (SO), which can result in more functional limitations and metabolic disorders than either disorder alone.

AIM
The aim of this study was to investigate body composition changes after elastic band resistance training in elderly women with SO.

DESIGN
Randomized single-blinded (assessor blinded) controlled pilot trial.

SETTING
Academic medical center.

POPULATION
Thirty-five elderly (>60 years old) women with SO.

METHODS
This pilot randomized controlled trial focused on elderly women with SO. The study group underwent progressive elastic band resistance training for 12 weeks (3 times per week). The control group received only a 40-minute lesson about the exercise concept. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was performed before and after intervention to evaluate body composition. Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used to analyze the differences within and between these groups.

RESULTS
In total, 35 elderly women with SO were enrolled and divided into study (N.=18) and control groups (N.=17). No difference was observed in age, biochemical parameters, or Body Mass Index between both groups. After the intervention, the fat proportion of body composition in the right upper extremity (P=0.03), left upper extremity (P=0.04), total fat (P=0.035), and fat percentage (P=0.012) had decreased, and bone mineral density (BMD) (P=0.026), T-score (P=0.028), and Z-score (P=0.021) had increased in the study group. Besides, statistical difference was observed in outcome measurements of right upper extremity (P=0.013), total fat (P=0.023), and fat percentage (P=0.012) between the groups.

CONCLUSIONS
Our study demonstrated that progressive elastic band resistance exercise can reduce fat mass and increase BMD in elderly women with SO, and that this exercise program is feasible for this demographic. Additional studies with larger sample sizes and longer intervention periods should be conducted.

CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT
Twelve weeks of progressive elastic band resistance exercise program is safe and effective for SO elder women.


Currently, the genus Chimarra Stephens (Trichoptera: Philopotamidae) is represented in the Oriental Region by 259 species. Of these, 61 species have been described or recorded from Vietnam. In this paper, 9 new species from Vietnam are described and illustrated (Chimarra aculeata, C. carinata, C. corneola, C. insolita, C. mina, C. prominens, C. rostrata, C. undulata, and C. ungula). In addition, 3 new country records are noted (Chimarra areli Malicky and Mey, Chimarra pipake Malicky and Chantaramongkol, and Chimarra suthepensis Chantaramongkol and Malicky), and 1 new species group (minuta Group) is proposed and populated. An additional species group (georgensis "Group"), with 1 new species from Vietnam, but otherwise only known from Africa, is discussed, but not formally defined. A table listing all known Vietnamese species of Chimarra is included, along with discussion of variability in the anal veins of the forewing found within this genus, and its relevance for defining subgenera and species groups.


This paper uses data collected in an extensive survey of farm costs in the Dong Nai River Basin of Vietnam to estimate the parameters of production functions for rice, vegetables, and coffee. These estimates are then combined with price information to estimate marginal value products for irrigation, fertilizer, labor, and other farm inputs. Comparing marginal value products of the various inputs across crops and with factor prices suggests there may be potential for improving resource allocation and farm incomes. One novel contribution is the consideration of water and irrigation—a concern of considerable interest amidst rising water scarcity in the region. Most notably, the results indicate that fertilizer is the primary constraint to increased yields and farm income. Across all crops the marginal return to phosphorous, for example, ranges from 6,000–20,000 Vietnamese dong (VND) (US$1 = VND1, 800).Making similar comparisons with irrigation water suggests there is potential for improving resource allocation by diverting water from vegetables and coffee toward rice production. The marginal return to irrigation water for rice production is VND 2,500. For coffee and vegetables, marginal returns are negative. For vegetables, preliminary evidence suggests that all irrigation water is not created equal—groundwater and sprinkler irrigation systems have marginal physical products more than double that of traditional sources.


Research: Practitioner | Curator | Educator is a co-authored book that identifies where we're at and where we might be going vis-a-vis the idea of research in the art school, higher education, museums and galleries, and the creative and cultural industries more generally. By way of this book, the authors want to ask why and how specific modes of practice (artistic practice, curating, and practices of pedagogy) operate, and what particular kinds of knowledges artistic research, the curatorial, and the educator generate and disseminate. Concerned for 'practice' in our knowledge-based polis, where knowledge – which includes practice as knowledge – is institutionalized and instrumentalized, at the same time we're interested in the potentialities of how '[practice] might be comprehended and described as a specific mode of generating and disseminating knowledge', and 'the particular kind of knowledge that can be produced within the artistic realm by… practitioners… who operate in its various places and spaces', as contributor Tom Holert puts it so eloquently. Throughout Research: Practitioner | Curator | Educator we foreground, celebrate, and question the idea of research, and especially as it relates to the figure of the practitioner, curator, and educator as researcher (as well as to practice, curating, and educating themselves as research and as praxis). As such, the book is hopefully useful for PhD students in art schools internationally, and those working across the Arts and Humanities in institutions of higher education, as well as additional publics engaged critically with the arts and culture. Contributors: Dr Žygimantas Augustinas (artist and Associate Professor, Vilnius Academy of Arts); Professor Tom Corby (artist, and Associate Dean [Research], Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, University of the Arts, London); Dr Tom Holert (artist, critic, and co-founder of the Harun Farocki Institut, Berlin); Dr Lolita Jablonskienė (Senior Curator, National Gallery of Art, Lithuania); Dr Vytautas Michelkevicius (curator, and Associate Professor, Vilnius Academy of Arts); Dr Ieva Pleikienė (Pro-Rector of Studies, Vilnius Academy of Arts); Dr Emily Pringle (Head of Research, Tate); and Dr Marquard Smith (Professor of Artistic Research, Vilnius Academy of Arts, and Programme Leader, MA Museums & Galleries in Education, UCL, London). This book is the third in a Series of collaborations between Vilnius Academy of Arts, Lithuania, and the National Gallery of Art, Lithuania. The titles of the four books in the Series are (1) Research: Practitioner | Curator | Educator (2) Decolonising: the Museum, the Curriculum, and the Mind (3) Do The Right Thing, and (4) What If? The Future of History in Post-Truth Times.


We first briefly present the terminology and criteria which are commonly used in the linguistic literature in relation with the distinction between nuclear cases and non-nuclear cases. We emphasize the specific position obliques occupy with respect to these criteria and give a short overview on how this is accounted for in different theoretical frameworks. We pay some attention to the definition of "event schemas" and provide a series of concrete examples of specific form-meaning correlates. In the last section we introduce the different papers of this volume on prepositional and adverbial phrases expressing semantic roles typically associated with oblique case, such as instrumental, causal, spatial, temporal, etc. roles.


The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between return and yield in the context of ex ante data from The Value Line Investment Survey and by examining the role of dividends as a proxy for risk. The use of ex ante data should substantially reduce the confounding of tax and information effects that has affected earlier studies. Heteroscedasticity is detected in the after-tax CAPM and found to be negatively related to yield and positively related to beta. Maximum likelihood methods are used to correct for heteroscedasticity and generate efficient coefficient estimates. Using data for each of the years 1973 through 1983, there is an overall positive relationship between expected return and yield. However, coefficient estimates of yield are highly variable from year to year. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DIVIDEND yields and security returns is currently a subject of extensive research in finance. Empirically, a positive relationship is found by Blume [5], Gordon and Bradford [12], Elton, Gruber, and Rentzler


Since 2005, the Thai government has, as a matter of policy, been seeking to increase production of biodiesel from oil palms. As a result, the number of oil palm plantations in the Northeast region has been growing, particularly in Nong Khai province. Nong Khai is a relatively remote, predominantly agricultural area and is the field site for this research. However, oil palm production is a complex and hotly contested issue both globally and in Thailand and it has ardent critics and supporters. For example, expanding oil palm production could, on the one hand, contribute to deforestation and a range of social problems that threaten traditional livelihoods, whilst on the other hand it could offer a source of renewable energy, alleviate poverty, and lead to a higher standard of living for farmers. The ultimate purpose of this study is to understand the changeover to oil palm production, specifically in the Thai context, through the development and application of a distinctive analytical approach. This approach is a synthesis of: the eight elements of farmers' decision-making (Ohlmer et al., 1998), the IDS Knowledge, Technology, and Society (KNOTS) team's framework on policy processes (Keeley and Scoones, 1999; 2001; 2003; KNOTS, 2006).

This analytical approach is used to investigate factors influencing farmers' decisions to take up oil palm cultivation, and the rationale behind the government's oil palm policy and how it is implemented in the Northeast Thailand. Approximately nine months were spent carrying out the research in three selected villages in Nong Khai province, using qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews, purposive sampling and snowballing techniques. The results show that economic security is an important factor for farmers in deciding to change over to oil palm cultivation. However, it has emerged that what farmers really want is to achieve a comfortable lifestyle and to live in the same locality as their children, which implies urban to rural migration. Other critical factors are characteristic of oil palm cultivation, such as long life-span and short harvesting period, governmental projects supporting oil palm production, the roles of inspirational local leaders and large-scale oil palm producers, the price of oil palm fruits, the links between farmers and local buyers, and the experiences of oil palm growers in the southern region of Thailand, as well as the low productivity and high production costs involved in rice cultivation, and the success of rubber plantations.

The findings also suggest that the oil palm policy processes in Nong Khai province do not have policy space for farmers to participate in the networks, or to design the oil palm policy that directly affects them. The policy was made in top-down in which the government only transferred oil palm knowledge through seminars and trainings. There were also issues concerning inequality amongst farmers and how that affects participation in the oil palm projects. Indeed, the OPPSP favours rich farmers, as they need a significant amount of capital to prepare for and maintain oil palm crops. Implementation of a 'farmer-first' approach is recommended in order to push the policy forward to serve resource-poor farmers properly. New behaviours and attitudes must be encouraged in most of the professionals encountered in this research.


A world that is accustomed to multidirectional flows of information through the means of capacious strands of fiber optics and satellites might not realize the intricacy and complexity of the networks of communications between Central Asia and Mughal India in the 16th and 17th centuries, based as they were on human relations, patronage, familial ties, and so on. This pioneering study by Richard Foltz fulfills a long-felt need to focus attention on these two important regions of the Islamic world and to draw attention to the interaction between them. As Foltz points out, this interaction was little-studied until recently due to several factors, chief among which was the limited access that scholars had to extant Central Asian works in the former Soviet Union. Having had the opportunity to look at these works as well as other important primary and secondary works from Iran and South Asia, Foltz astutely characterizes the regions of Central Asia and South Asia, at least among their elites, as constituting one world. This "one world" was, by and large, created when educated Muslims from Central Asia were drawn to Mughal India for economic and religious reasons. Foltz begins with a historical survey of the Perso-Islamic society, the three components of which were the Mughals of South Asia, the Safavids of Iran, and the Uzbeks of Central Asia. The Mughals, having inherited an already hybrid Perso-Indian culture, partook in a symbiotic relationship with the other two components. Although the Mughals nostalgically looked back at their former Central Asian homeland, the Persian culture always held a privileged position for them. Persian immigrants and their descendants comprised the elite cultural repertoires and military units of Mughal India. As far as Central Asia was concerned, Babur, the first Mughal emperor and a fifth-generation descendant of Tamerlane, often reminisced about his family's glory days in Central Asia. This generation gap was narrowed, in part, through the Mughal patronage of miniature art which showed that the Mughal right to rule the subcontinent was conferred upon them by the great Tamerlane himself. Art such as this fed the Mughal desire to legitimize their supremacy over their lost homeland. They thought of the Central Asians as their family members and not as foreigners. The Central Asians, impressed with India's wealth, held similar perceptions about the Mughals. The Mughals, however, were also quite shrewd when it came to diplomacy. Their perceived familial ties with Central Asia did not mean that they would blindly concede to the latter's wishes. When a Central Asian leader suggested to the Mughal emperor that a Sunni joint attack against the Shi'i Safavid state would be desirable, the Mughal emperor rebuked him. In spite of being of the Sunni persuasion, the Mughals had accumulated great favors from the Shi'i Safavids and thus wanted to act as bridge-builders between the two main divisions of Islam. One of the most fascinating chapters in this book deals with `Cultural Interchange' within this one world. …


There is increasing agreement that agricultural growth matters for poverty reduction and has a significance extending well beyond the agriculture sector. Examples of successful research and innovation support by DFID show the central role of science and research in technological innovation. Technology cannot be viewed in isolation from innovation in policies and institutions. These provide incentives for farmers to adopt new ideas and ensure that institutional structures enable delivery of technologies. Examples of how DFID is addressing these broader concerns highlight the importance of the public sector and also the role of the private sector and NGOs.


Mitochondrial dysfunction, caspase activation and caspase-dependent DNA fragmentation are involved in cell damage in many tissues. However, differentiated cardiomyocytes repress the expression of the canonical apoptotic pathway and their death during ischemia is caspase-independent. The atypical BH3-only protein Bnip3 is involved in the process leading to caspase-independent DNA fragmentation in cardiomyocytes. However, the pathway by which DNA degradation ensues following Bnip3 activation is not resolved. To identify the mechanism involved, we analyzed the interdependence of Bnip3, Nix and EndoG in mitochondrial damage and DNA fragmentation during experimental ischemia in neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocytes. Our results show that the expression of EndoG and Bnip3 increases in the heart throughout development, while the caspase-dependent machinery is silenced. TUNEL-positive DNA damage, which depends on caspase activity in other cells, is caspase-independent in ischemic cardiomyocytes and ischemia-induced DNA high and low molecular weight fragmentation is blocked by repressing EndoG expression. Ischemia-induced EndoG translocation and DNA degradation are prevented by silencing the expression of Bnip3, but not Nix, or by overexpressing Bcl-xL. These data establish a link between Bnip3 and EndoG-dependent, TUNEL-positive, DNA fragmentation in ischemic cardiomyocytes in the absence of caspases, defining an alternative cell death pathway in postmitotic cells.


We report on the development of a photoacoustic device for the detection of condensed-phase materials. A mid-infrared quantum cascade laser (QCL) was used for depth-profiling studies to distinguish among glycerol films and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) films deposited on photoresist-coated silicon wafers. The QCL was continuously tunable from 1015 cm−1 to 1240 cm−1, allowing for collection of photoacoustic vibrational spectra for these materials. Variation of the laser pulse repetition rate allowed for identification and molecular discrimination of glycerol, TEOS, and photoresist based solely on photoacoustic spectra collected at different film depths.


In this paper, we study the problem of efficient medium access control (MAC) among cognitive radio devices that are equipped with multiple radios and thus are capable of transmitting simultaneously at different frequencies (channels). We assume that radios contend on each channel using the carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) protocol. We study two MAC problems: (i) the allocation of the available channels among radios, and (ii) the optimal usage of each allocated channel by the radios occupying it. Both problems are studied in a game-theoretic setting, where devices aim to selfishly maximize their share of the available bandwidth. As for the first problem, we show that the ldquoprice of anarchyrdquo is close to 1, that is, Nash equilibria imply nearly system optimal allocations of the available channels. For the second problem, we design a game such that it admits a unique Nash equilibrium that is is both fair and Pareto-optimal. Furthermore, we propose simple mechanisms that enable selfish cognitive radio devices not only to coordinate efficiently on the available channels but also to optimally use every single allocated channel.


The Kola-Kanin Monocline has been recently recognized as a potentially prospective region for hydrocarbon discoveries. There may be good generating potential within Riphean grabens. Sedimentary sequences of the Riphean subplatform and Vendian terrigenous deposits could contain hydrocarbons. The top of the Riphean section is now a monoclinal surface dipping NE towards the South Barents Basin. The surface of the monocline is complicated by highs and ridges, which trend NW along the coast of the Kola Peninsula. Here, prospective plays may be present in the form of anticlinal and fault-controlled traps in Riphean to Carboniferous rocks, as well as in pinch-outs of Devonian and Carboniferous clastic rocks. In the central and northern parts of the monocline, prospects can be expected at accessible depths, mainly in Carboniferous to Permian carbonate build-ups, but also in Upper Devonian and Silurian build-ups: the Permian carbonates are the main exploratory targets. In the basinward part of the monocline, stratigraphic and lithologic traps may occur in Upper Permian clinoform sandstones and in Triassic sandbars.


Changing lifestyle and sedentary schedule have led to the substantial increase in major noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiac problems, cancers, diabetes, psychiatric disorders, and chronic respiratory diseases. Recent times have shown increased trends in incidence as well as prevalence of renal diseases. Hemodialysis is the most opted treatment modality for the patients of chronic renal diseases. Hence, the aim of the current chapter is to address the effect of renal diseases and its treatment on oral health. An extensive literature search from the year 2000 till 2015 was conducted to assess the effect of hemodialysis and renal diseases on various clinical parameters associated with oral health like dental caries, periodontal diseases, prevalence of calculus, etc. The literature review revealed that the dental health is compromised in the patients undergoing hemodialysis therapy. The oral health-related parameters get worsened with increasing duration of hemodialysis as well. The primary reason behind the debilitated periodontal condition among the patients may be attributed to the neglect of proper oral hygiene practices by the patient as they are preoccupied by more time-consuming and life-threatening kidney disease. A strong relation between oral health and hemodialysis has been observed. There is a need for further interdisciplinary research with emphasis on preventive dental treatment for the patients undergoing hemodialysis ensuring optimum outcome.


This text offers a truly innovative, integrative framework that examines the traditional functional HR areas from a strategic perspective. This text is organized into two sections. The first section, Chapters 1-7, examines the context of strategic HR and develops a framework and conceptual model for the practice of strategic HR. The second section, Chapters 8-14, examines the actual practice and implementation of strategic HR through a discussion of strategic issues that need to be addressed while developing specific programs and policies related to the traditional functional areas of HR (staffing, training, performance management, etc.). The integrative framework that requires linkage between, consistency among these functional HR activities, and the approach toward writing about these traditional functional areas from a strategic perspective distinguish the text from what is currently on the market.


Low power networks form a fundamental supporting communication platform for various "things" that help in realising the Internet-of-Things (IoT) vision of better, smarter, interconnected world. The IoT paradigm is an emerging area that comes with a number of challenges that requires rethinking of how conventional communication and computational mechanisms can be adapted for this new model where the Internet does not only connect end users but also physical entities, also known as smart devices. While the low power networks provide energy optimised solution for Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications and interaction between the smart entities, there are also some concerns around the conventional video encoding and streaming mechanisms suitability in such networks. In this paper we review widely adopted video encoders such as MPEG and H.264 and assess their suitability for the low power networks within different video streaming scenarios. In previous work we considered video steaming in low power networks related challenges and elicited a number of possible recommendations based on specific requirements associated with IoT. In this paper we present a discussion of applications where video streaming in IoT low power networks will play an important part, thus highlighting the need for adequate mechanisms to facilitate the deployment of these applications. Also, we present further discussions on the previously identified issues and provide some evaluation results assessing the viability of our recommendations. Furthermore, we discuss how the high error rate associated with wireless communications channels, combined with the low power networked resources, dictate different requirements and solutions for achieving acceptable quality of service.


When Louis XVI presented Benjamin Franklin with a snuff box encrusted with diamonds and inset with the King s portrait, the gift troubled Americans: it threatened to corrupt Franklin by clouding his judgment or altering his attitude toward the French in subtle psychological ways. This broad understanding of political corruption rooted in ideals of civic virtue was a driving force at the Constitutional Convention.For two centuries the framers ideas about corruption flourished in the courts, even in the absence of clear rules governing voters, civil officers, and elected officials. Should a law that was passed by a state legislature be overturned because half of its members were bribed? What kinds of lobbying activity were corrupt, and what kinds were legal? When does an implicit promise count as bribery? In the 1970s the U.S. Supreme Court began to narrow the definition of corruption, and the meaning has since changed dramatically. No case makes that clearer than "Citizens United."In 2010, one of the most consequential Court decisions in American political history gave wealthy corporations the right to spend unlimited money to influence elections. Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority opinion treated corruption as nothing more than explicit bribery, a narrow conception later echoed by Chief Justice Roberts in deciding "McCutcheon v. FEC" in 2014. With unlimited spending transforming American politics for the worse, warns Zephyr Teachout, "Citizens United" and "McCutcheon" were not just bad law but bad history. If the American experiment in self-government is to have a future, then we must revive the traditional meaning of corruption and embrace an old ideal."


Membrane technology begins to be widely employed in wastewater treatments with several advantages, such as compact system, and excellent treatability of water quality parameters. However, there are still drawbacks in membrane technology, such as high construction cost, high operating cost, and frequent backwash by membrane fouling. In order to reduce membrane fouling, ozone was applied in MBR (Membrane Bioreactor) system using synthetic wastewater. 0.7mg/l of ozone concentration at which microbial activity and effluent flux was highest was chosen for an optimum dose. It was found that ozone application reduced membrane fouling remarkably. A backwash period was about 2 weeks before ozone application, while it was extended to about 7 months after ozone was applied in MBR process. Not only backwash period was extended for a long period of time, but also removal rates of water quality parameters were enhanced by ozone application in wastewater treatment. Even though ozone was applied for more than 7months, there was no sign of membrane damage. It was revealed that appropriate ozone application may prevent membrane fouling from microbial activity, so that buildup of head loss may be suppressed, and backwash period may also be extended for a long period of time.


The purpose of this study is to empirically re-investigate the money-prices nexus for Malaysia through the cointegration and causality techniques. This study covered the monthly data from 1971:M1 to 2014:M8. The Maki multiple breaks cointegration test suggests that the variables are cointegrated. Furthermore, the MWALD test shows a unidirectional causal relationship run from money supply (M2) to aggregate prices, meaning that only the monetarist's view exist in the Malaysian economy. However, the time-varying causality tests indicate that inflation is not always a monetary phenomenon in Malaysia. Therefore, the contractionary monetary policy may not an effective instrument in managing inflationary behaviour in Malaysia.


Background/Purpose: The use of needleless positive pressure connector valves (PPVs) on venous access devices (VADs) has been shown to have possible benefits in decreasing VAD occlusion rates. Catheter-related bloodstream infec- tion (CRBSI) rates, however, have been variable. With this potential for improving patient outcomes, decreasing costs, and facilitating nursing care and catheter management, the use of PPV devices becomes both advantageous and desirable. Methodology: This was a randomized, prospective, parallel clinical study of 160 medical and surgical step-down unit patients requiring parenteral therapies. Patients were equally randomized to two study groups to assess the impact on occlusion and CRBSI rates, using a PPV versus a standard cap without PPV. VADs included both peripherally inserted catheters (PICCs) and midlines. Results: Seven VAD occlusions occurred; six in the experimental group, one in the control group (p = 0.43). Also, two CRBSIs occurred in the experimental group, with none in the control group (p = 0.497). All incidents occurred in double- lumen PICCs. The lack of statistical difference between the two groups for occlusions and CRBSIs indicates that the use of PPVs had no impact in preventing such outcomes. However, it was observed that the number of double-lumen PICCs and their dwelling time in the experimental group was significantly higher (p = 0.003). Conclusion: There was no difference in the rate of catheter occlusions or CRBSIs when using PPVs or standard caps. We consider that the study outcomes may be due to the study's small sample size, and we speculate that longer dwell time of double lumen catheters may have contributed to these outcomes. These observations deserve further investigation. However, the use of PPVs may still be advantageous from a nursing process perspective.


A vital aspect of an answer is the confidence that goes along with it. Misstating the level of confidence one has in the answer can have devastating outcomes. However, confidence assessment is rarely emphasized during typical engineering education. The confidence-based scoring method described in this study encourages students to both think about their answers in a different way and to evaluate their confidence in the answer. Each answer is scored based on whether the answer is right or wrong and whether the student is confident or not in that answer. Students generally appreciated the educational value as it made them more self-aware of their understanding. Overall, students were able to accurately assess whether their answer was right or wrong 77% of the time. Average self-assessment generally improved over time, but the degree of improvement varies based on student segments. The method also benefits instructors by indicating the topics that students tend to be less certain of, even if the students are getting the right answers, and identifies students that are either over or under confident.


[1] During the early Toarcian (∼183 Ma ago), a high rate of organic carbon burial globally over a brief interval of time has led to the recognition of a major oceanic anoxic event (OAE). A pronounced negative excursion in the carbon-isotope composition of marine organic matter, marine carbonate and terrestrial plant material is a key feature of this event but the precise timescale and cause(s) of this isotopic anomaly are debated. Associated with the negative carbon-isotope excursion is evidence for a coeval rise in seawater palaeotemperature, an increase in continental weathering rates, and the mass extinction of marine invertebrate species. The early Toarcian OAE provides evidence for the Earth's response during rapid climate change, and critical to our understanding of the event is a high-resolution timescale that allows us to quantify the rates, duration and lead/lag times of environmental processes. In this study, we present 2743 new high-resolution organic carbon, sulphur and carbonate concentration data from samples of well-preserved organic-rich mudrocks spanning the early Toarcian OAE in Yorkshire, UK. We have used these data to document the geochemical changes and significantly extend and refine the astronomical timescale across this event. Our detailed analysis of the relationship between astronomical forcing and carbon isotope changes in both Yorkshire and a section from Peniche, Portugal, indicates that astronomical forcing paced the timing of major shifts in δ13C and hence climate in both sections. Our analyses also demonstrate that there was a marked increase in the relative strength of astronomical forcing recorded at the onset of the OAE, and that the recorded nature of astronomical forcing changed during the event. Both the Yorkshire and Peniche cyclostratigraphies suggest that one astronomical forcing parameter paced environmental change through the δ13C event, and that this parameter was obliquity or precession.


In 1999, seven dark-bellied brent geese Branta bernicla bernicla were followed during spring migration from western Europe to Arctic Russia using satellite telemetry. For six of the birds we were also able to monitor their summer stay at the Taymyr Peninsula, and for five birds part of their autumn migration was recorded. In this article, we report on site use during summer and spring/autumn migration. We also describe migration routes and evaluate general migratory performance during autumn migration. All birds spent the summer within areas covered by the Great Arctic Reserve on the Taymyr Peninsula. None of the birds returned to the wintering area with young, so the sites used during summer were most likely used primarily for moulting. The birds remained at the same sites the whole summer until the start of autumn migration, indicating that the build-up of fuel stores for migration took place at the moulting sites. Autumn migration was conducted in a similar way as spring migration regarding routes and general migratory performance. Site use showed both a relatively large variation between individuals and seasons, as well as some degree of site fidelity as all birds returned for a longer stay in autumn to at least one of the areas they had used for more than two days in spring. Thus the migration of brent geese along the Arctic Ocean cannot be considered as a simple migration system with just a few key sites along the route, but instead it is a complex system with several localities used in different ways by different individuals. Most of the areas used by the satellite-tagged birds were previously known stopover areas, but some of them had not been recognised as being of importance for brent geese before. Most of the stopover areas do not have any kind of formal legal protection. It is suggested that further research should be carried out in the areas identified in this study to evaluate their importance and role in the migratory journeys of dark-bellied brent geese.


On the Archean Earth (4.0–2.5 Ga) the lack of a protective ozone layer meant that harmful ultraviolet radiation (UVR) reached the surface almost unattenuated. For survival, primitive photosynthetic bacteria would have required strategies preventing UV-induced damage to their DNA. At that time, a fraction of the planktonic cells were likely anoxygenic photosynthesizers that oxidized dissolved Fe(II) to Fe(III) during their metabolism. The result of their metabolism was most likely the ferric mineral precursors for the deposition of banded iron formations. Although Fe(III) (oxyhydr)oxide minerals absorb UV radiation while still transmitting higher wavelengths, it is unknown whether minerals produced by Fe(II) oxidizers could have acted as an in situ UVR sunscreen. Here we demonstrate that the anoxygenic phototrophic Fe(II) oxidizers Rhodopseudomonas palustris strain TIE-1 and Rhodobacter ferrooxidans strain SW2 form nanometer-sized grains of ferrihydrite that are loosely attached to the cell surfaces. These biogenic Fe(III) minerals were shown to protect the bacteria from UV-C irradiation, while cells grown in the absence of Fe(II) displayed diminished cell viability as a consequence of damage to their DNA. Importantly, this study implies that primitive Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria would have been able to produce their own UV screen, enabling them to live in the shallow photic zone of ancient oceans.


Activated carbons have both hydrophilic surface oxygen functional groups, which act as primary adsorption centers for water vapor, and hydrophobic graphene layers on which nonpolar species are primarily adsorbed. The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of oxygen surface functional groups, in activated carbons, on the adsorption characteristics of water vapor. Activated carbon G was oxidized using nitric acid and then heat treated in the range 387-894 K to produce a suite of adsorbents with varying oxygen contents in the range 0.4-21.5 wt % daf, but very similar porous structure characteristics, thereby minimizing effects due to changes in porous structure. The type and concentration of surface oxygen groups present in each sample were assessed using TPD, FTIR, Boehm titration, and analytical methods. Water vapor adsorption at low relative pressure was dramatically enhanced by the presence of functional groups, in particular, carboxylic groups. Kinetic profiles for each pressure increment were modeled using a set of nested kinetic models, which allow the adsorption kinetics to be analyzed in relation to the adsorption mechanism. Relationships between water adsorption kinetics at low surface coverage and the type and concentration of oxygen surface functional groups were observed. A two component double exponential kinetic model was used when carboxylic groups were present in significant amounts with a slow kinetic component associated with adsorption on these groups. In the case of carbons where carboxylic groups were only present in, at most, relatively small amounts, a stretched exponential kinetic model was used and the rate constants in the low-pressure region decreased linearly with increasing Henry's Law constant and oxygen content. The results indicate the importance of adsorbate-adsorbent interactions in water adsorption kinetics and are consistent with a site-to-site hopping mechanism between functional groups.


The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of the recent unprecedented dynamism in the hydropolitics of the Nile Basin for future basin-wide conflict prevention, resolution, management and cooperation. To this end, the paper first discusses why the Nile waters are a major source of conflict in the Nile Basin, and, then it highlights the past and present bilateral and multilateral attempts at conflict management within the basin and their impact on upstream-downstream relations. It argues that it is imperative to first give priority to the most contentious areas of the Nile Basin by capitalising on the current opportunities presented by Egypt's gesture of goodwill, to bring about effective basin-wide cooperation.


Background Ice hockey players are reportedly at increased risk to suffer hip injuries. This may be due to repetitive hip positions during the ice hockey skate stride. Objective To determine if specific tests used during a screening program can identify youth hockey players who are at risk of acetabular labral tears due to femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). Design Prospective screening study. Setting Clinical centre screened elite youth hockey players. Participants 20 asymptomatic male (average age of 17.6 SD=0.5) ice hockey players who had signed IRB approved consent. Assessment of risk factors Participants underwent impingement testing, Flexion Abduction External Rotation (FABER) test, and range of motion and hip strength assessment prior to an MRI (3T) to determine hip alpha angle (AA) and labral pathology. Main outcome measurements Positive clinical findings of impingement correlate with the presence of labral pathology and high AA. Results 14 players had a positive clinical exam (+impingement test or+FABER test or decreased hip internal rotation). Players with a positive clinical exam had a significantly higher AA compared to those with no positive signs (68° vs 61°; p<0.025). Players with a positive clinical exam were 12.5 times (95% CI 1.1 to 143) more likely to have an AA 65° or greater. 12 of the 14 participants with a positive clinical exam also had partial acetabular labral tears. Conclusion With this screening protocol, we were able to identify those patients with higher AA, which are considered at high risk. These players also demonstrated labral tears on MRI. We recommend that hip screening utilizing the impingement test, FABER test, and assessment of hip internal rotation be conducted as the initial screening of athletes with hip pain to assess for symptomatic FAI.


This study presents a new sensing paradigm of human and computer collaboration for structural health monitoring. The goal of this study is that, human pilots are able to "feel" wing's structure responses (especially impacts in this study) and determine impact locations and strength by using a vibro-haptic interface. Both hardware and software components have been developed for this haptic system. L-shape piezoelectric sensor arrays are deployed to measure the acoustic emission data caused by impacts and unique haptic feedback signals are generated after processing the measured data. These haptic signals are wirelessly transmitted to an arm wearable haptic interface, which provides the information on impact locations and intensity. Our experimental results demonstrate that human could detect impact events and judge whether subsequent damage would occur or not by only using haptic interfaces. In addition, human could notice errors such as those caused by algorithm or DAQ failures by feeling haptic feedback signals. Several important aspects of this study, including development of haptic interfaces, human training strategies, and extension of the haptic capability into damage detection are summarized in this paper. doi: 10.12783/SHM2015/20


»Globale Ungleichgewichte aus historischer Perspektive«. This paper examines the global imbalances in two eras of globalization. The main focus is on the medium-run factors that determine the current account balances. The results suggest that relatively rich countries with developed financial markets, high quality institutions and high proportion of dependent persons tend to run current account deficits (or lower surpluses) in both periods. On the other hand, the high initial level of net foreign assets increases the current account balance. This holds especially in the prewar period. The government budget balance has a positive effect on the current account balance in some instances. In the prewar period, the government budget balance plays the role only in the short-run, suggesting the importance of the short-run fluctuations in the current account balance. The twin deficits hypothesis plays a more important role in the second era of the globalization. However, it holds only for developing countries. These results suggest that the twin deficit hypothesis and the global savings glut hypothesis are not mutually exclusive.


The annual toll of losses resulting from poor pregnancy outcomes include half a million maternal deaths, more than three million stillbirths, of whom at least one million die during labour and 3.8 million neonatal deaths—up to half on the first day of life. Neonatal deaths account for an increasing proportion of child deaths (now 41%) and must be reduced to achieve Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4 for child survival. Newborn survival is also related to MDG 5 for maternal health as the interventions are closely linked. This article reviews current progress for newborn health globally, with a focus on the countries where most deaths occur. Three major causes of neonatal deaths (infections, complications of preterm birth, intrapartum‐related neonatal deaths) account for almost 90% of all neonatal deaths. The highest impact interventions to address these causes of neonatal death are summarised with estimates of potential for lives saved. Two priority opportunities to address newborn deaths through existing maternal health programmes are highlighted. First, antenatal steroids are high impact, feasible and yet under‐used in low resource settings. Second, with increasing investment to scale up skilled attendance and emergency obstetric care, it is important to include skills and equipment for simple immediate newborn care and neonatal resuscitation. A major gap is care during the early postnatal period for mothers and babies. There are promising models that have been tested mainly in research studies in Asia that are now being adapted and evaluated at scale including through a network of African implementation research trials.


A variationally optimised basis allows an accurate description of the quantum behaviour of ultra-cold atoms, even in the strongly correlated regime. A rescaling scheme corrects discrepancies caused by using a reduced Hilbert space. This approach also allows the modelling of experimentally realizable double-well potentials, which still reveals the maximally-entangled states seen in fixed basis models. Time dynamics of these double-well systems show macroscopic tunnelling between wells for bosons with a sufficient interaction strength. The many-body problem of interacting bosons in the highly-correlated regime is difficult. The number of basis states needed to describe this quantum system accurately quickly grows beyond computational reach. Rescaling the interaction strength proves a simple and effective method of calculating exact eigenvalues in a reduced Hilbert space. Bosonic systems in the double-well potential are investigated next. First, how different eigen-states depend on the interaction strength is examined. The variationally optimised method has advantages over a standard fixed basis method with the ability to model experimentally viable systems and explore more stronglycorrelated regimes. Secondly, tunnelling dynamics in the double well are studied, specifically for a system where all particles initially occupy a single well. Oscillations corresponding to collective tunnelling between wells are found in regimes where there are zero interactions or bosons lie in a maximally-entangled state. What governs the dynamics outside these two regimes is also considered.


This article considers the problems raised by a federal law - the "REAL ID Act" - that seeks to preclude judicial review of discretionary immigration law decisions. Discretion, the flexible shock absorber of the administrative state, must be respected by our legal system. However, as Justice Felix Frankfurter once wrote, discretion is, "only to be respected when it is conscious of the traditions which surround it and of the limits which an informed conscience sets to its exercise." The article suggests that judicial construction of the REAL ID Act will plumb the deep meaning of this qualification. The new law states, essentially, that constitutional claims or "questions of law" are reviewable while discretionary decisions are not. The question thus arises whether the venerable law/discretion dichotomy can withstand this much pressure. Can the law/discretion dichotomy legitimately function as a jurisdictional bar, as the line between the rule of law and unreviewable administrative practice? The article suggests not; for three reasons: 1. The law/discretion line - as a normative and a structural/procedural concept - is theoretically impossible to define with sufficient precision to base a jurisdictional preclusion upon it; 2. Historical legal practice in immigration law (and elsewhere) proves this point empirically; 3. Even if our legal system were able to surmount the first two points, the likely consequences of such a jurisdictional dichotomy would be exceedingly problematic for all concerned: noncitizens, their families, their communities, administrative actors, and federal judges. The necessary consequence of these three points, the article suggests, is that all attempts to create a bright line between law and discretion for jurisdictional purposes will fail, so long as tri-partite government survives. But in the meantime, the REAL ID Act, as it channels virtually all deportation appeals and many other immigration matters to the courts of appeals, will cause great mischief and will likely impede the sort of genuinely fertile judicial/legislative/executive conversation that could lead to a more workable immigration system. Important legal and factual issues will be buried beneath the jargon of discretionary preclusion, struggling to percolate to the courts of appeals. Therefore, the article concludes that either a more sophisticated jurisdictional statute or a more refined theory of discretion is needed.


In an American society both increasingly diverse and increasingly segregated, the signals children receive about race are more confusing than ever. In this context, how do children negotiate and make meaning of multiple and conflicting messages to develop their own ideas about race? Learning Race, Learning Place engages this question using in-depth interviews with an economically diverse group of African American children and their mothers. Through these rich narratives, Erin N. Winkler seeks to reorient the way we look at how children develop their ideas about race through the introduction of a new framework-comprehensive racial learning-that shows the importance of considering this process from children's points of view and listening to their interpretations of their experiences, which are often quite different from what the adults around them expect or intend. At the children's prompting, Winkler examines the roles of multiple actors and influences, including gender, skin tone, colorblind rhetoric, peers, family, media, school, and, especially, place. She brings to the fore the complex and understudied power of place, positing that while children's racial identities and experiences are shaped by a national construction of race, they are also specific to a particular place that exerts both direct and indirect influence on their racial identities and ideas.


This article provides a framework for addressing concerns about retributive justice in states recovering from national traumas and it uses South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) as its focal point. The article begins by providing an overview of the origins and operations of the TRC, and then explores several conceptual and legal challenges that the TRC faced. These challenges are important to understand for two purposes: first, they highlight the probable criticisms that might emerge as other recovering states consider the particularized amnesty proceedings that were the heart of the TRC; and second, they provide a particular illustration of what I call the social expressivist opposition to the TRC. The paper then engages the TRC's justification of the practice of particularized amnesty, a justification that emanates from the TRC's account of truth, reconciliation, and justice. Here, I scrutinize not only the theory of justice propounded by the TRC, but also the theory of restorative justice offered by some of the TRC's most astute defenders. This examination reveals deficiencies that should renew our interest in the conceptual resources inhering in retributivism as a theory of criminal justice. There is an obvious tension between the TRC's defence of particularized amnesty and the challenges launched against it by those who adhere to the social expressivist view. The paper thus seeks to mediate this conflict by outlining the confrontational conception of retributivism - an account that I offer to answer not only why retribution for wrongdoing is internally justified and obligatory, but why it is also the sole province of the state in modern society. The theory offered here, which is premised on familiar notions of equal human worth and liberty under law, assures that in the face of known wrongdoing, the state responds as our agent to diminish the evidence of unequal liberty claimed by perpetrators through their actions. One conclusion I draw from this theory is that retributivism, once properly understood, need not be viewed as inextricably dependent upon traditional concepts of proportionality. Thus, under certain circumstances, a retributivist vision of punishment can find an authentic expression in particularized amnesty proceedings. In particular, I indicate how the confrontational conception of retributive justice differs from others insofar as it limits what kind of leniency the state may demonstrate in response to gross violations of human rights. In short, the paper defends the thesis that particularized amnesty proceedings are compatible with retributive justice properly understood.


Examination of the underlying principles of creativity reveal theoretical aspects that have not been well explored in creativity facilitation software. Most significantly of these, there has been little investigation into exploiting the distinctions between early- and late-stage creative processes and the attendant differences in cognitive processing active at those times, nor into employing the structural scaffolding embedded within creative works and the manner in which these can be extracted and harnessed to define levels of abstraction through which the material can be viewed and manipulated.
The Wheelsong project was conceived to exploit these principles, in the service of devising more creatively facilitative music composition tools, by focusing on these earlier, exploratory stages of the creative process, and by privileging structure over minutiae, in alignment with the mode of cognition (and corresponding user needs) that dominate the exploratory phase.
Explorations conducted with Wheelsong demonstrate that the platform embraces broad stylistic and cultural ranges of output. Experiments comparing the creative merits of early-stage, fragmentary outputs produced by Wheelsong against those produced by traditional representation schemes show a substantial improvement in both subjective quality and diversity indicators adhering to the structurally produced candidates, as measured by human judges.


Lenticel discolouration (LD) is a common disorder of mango fruit around the world. It results in poor appearance and disappointment of consumers. LD is exacerbated by treatment of mango fruit with gamma irradiation for insect disinfestation. The issue is problematic on the relatively new mango cultivar 'B74' and may represent an oxidative browning process. With a view to reducing irradiationinduced LD on 'B74', postharvest wax (one and three layers; 75% carnauba wax) and antioxidant (100 mM ascorbic acid, 100 mM calcium chloride, 10, 50 and 100 mM calcium ascorbate) dip treatments were investigated. Treatment of green mature fruit with three layers of wax prior to exposure to 557 Gy gamma irradiation reduced LD by 40% relative to the non-waxed control. However, the fruit failed to ripen properly as evidenced by delayed skin colour change, retarded softening and increased skin browning as compared to the controls and fruit coated with one layer of wax. Treatment with one layer of wax did not reduce LD. Mechanistically, the responses suggest that air exchange plays a pivotal role in LD. A lowered oxygen concentration in the lenticels may reduce the disorder after irradiation treatment. Postharvest treatments with the various antioxidants failed to reduce LD. Rather, all antioxidant treatments at the test concentrations, except calcium chloride, significantly increased skin browning.


The studies presented in the cumulative part of this thesis illustrate the different steps to develop a polymer-driven antibody purification process. These peer-reviewed reports show in detail fundamental research, additional method development useful in the development of such a purification process as well as implementation of the final process. A strategy for analyzing copolymers, synthesized by a lab in house, was implemented with particular emphasis on copolymer composition analysis. This was especially important in the context of understanding how copolymer composition affects precipitation yield and selectivity. Compared to 1H-NMR composition analysis, the use of ATR infrared spectro-scopy enabled a cost-effective and fast analysis of copolymers and according adjustment of synthesis parameters.Besides the benefits for this project, the similar analytical power of IR compared to NMR was shown, also allowing small-scale companies to use such a technique. Following synthesis and synthesis optimization, basic research experiments were conducted, elucidating how ionic strength, polymer chain length, polymer chain flexibility, pH, pyhsico-chemical properties of copolymer and protein as well as copolymer composition affect precipitation behavior. Similar to relevant work in the literature, cited in the introduction section, increasing ionic strength led to reduced precipitation yields. Additionally to these known aspects, low ionic strength also resulted in reduced precipitation yield.We concluded polyelectrolyte chain conformation being rather stiff at low ionic strength to be the reason for these findings. At low ionic strength, charges at polyelectrolyte sub-units are not sufficiently shielded anymore, leading to a more expanded conformation of the polyelectrolyte. This would then impede interaction with the proteins. Comparing precipitation behavior of different anti-bodies, the required polyelectrolyte flexibility to allow for high precipitation yields depended on the charge density of the protein.[56] These new insights could also help in the design of polyelectrolytes with defined flexibility to control precipitation selectivity. Another important factor is polymer chain length, which does not only influence yield and selectivity. It also affects precipitation efficiency, meaning the number of polymer chains required to obtain precipitation of an antibody molecule.The use of polymer standards with defined molecular weight distribution revealed that the polymer chain length required per precipitated protein molecule is up to 25-times larger than the actual diameter of the specific protein. Moreover, comparing different types of polymers within this context, the defined length of polymer chain length differed among these copolymers. Under precipitation conditions strongly charged polymers allowed precipitation even with short defined lengths, meaning they enabled efficient precipitation. Moreover, a further adjustment of selectivity and yield can be achieved altering the copolymer composition. Compared to results by other working groups, cited in the introduction section, the use of these copolymers allowed higher salt tolerance and higher yields without prior dilution of the cell culture fluid.
Simultaneously, infrared spectroscopy was used as a process-assessment tool, determining the amount of antibody, host cell proteins as well as aggregated antibody before and after precipitation to analyze selectivity and yield.This was particularly important, as e.g. the use of ELISA-assays for HCP quantification is quite costly, especially during process development which requires a large number of these assays to be used. Regarding aggregation analysis and quantification, IR has already been used in the past, as shown by literature cited in the introduction section and was further advanced not only to provide information about the presence of aggregation but also to quantify the amount of aggregates in a sample. The results of these peer-reviewed reports were suitable in the context of this thesis and precipitation process development. Additionally as the here developed quantification procedures for antibody titer, aggregate level and host cell protein amount may also find suitable application as a general fast and cost-effective process-monitoring technique, they are currently under consideration for a patent application. Some further experiments were conducted showing that infrared spectroscopy can be used to distinguish antibodies from other proteins based on differences in secondary structure. These findings were, together with additional denaturation monitoring experiments, submitted for a book chapter. Moreover, they allowed comparison of the secondary structure of monoclonal antibodies before and after precipitation, to elucidate any changes to the protein secondary structure and thus harmful effects of this process.Integration of all these findings helped to implement a protein purification process based on precipitation. This process was then compared to protein A chromatography with respect to costs and effectiveness.The developed process can be used within the purification cascade and may replace at least in part existing initial chromatography-based purification processes. Compared to protein A affinity chromatography, costs are lower for future high titer cell culture systems used for antibody production.Yet, additional applications beyond antibody production are also feasible.


This paper describes an application of one-class support vector machine (SVM) novelty detection for detecting seizures in humans. Our technique maps intracranial electroencephalogram (EEG) time series into corresponding novelty sequences by classifying short-time, energy-based statistics computed from one-second windows of data. We train a classifier on epochs of interictal (normal) EEG. During ictal (seizure) epochs of EEG, seizure activity induces distributional changes in feature space that increase the empirical outlier fraction. A hypothesis test determines when the parameter change differs significantly from its nominal value, signaling a seizure detection event. Outputs are gated in a .one-shot. manner using persistence to reduce the false alarm rate of the system. The detector was validated using leave-one-out cross-validation (LOO-CV) on a sample of 41 interictal and 29 ictal epochs, and achieved 97.1% sensitivity, a mean detection latency of -7.58 seconds, and an asymptotic false positive rate (FPR) of 1.56 false positives per hour (Fp/hr). These results are better than those obtained from a novelty detection technique based on Mahalanobis distance outlier detection, and comparable to the performance of a supervised learning technique used in experimental implantable devices (Echauz et al., 2001). The novelty detection paradigm overcomes three significant limitations of competing methods: the need to collect seizure data, precisely mark seizure onset and offset times, and perform patient-specific parameter tuning for detector training.


ABSTRACT  The aim of this article is to explore similarities and differences in teacher candidates' perceptions of their opportunities to enact practice in university courses in five teacher education programmes, located in Norway, Finland, USA, Cuba, and Chile. Paper and pencil surveys were distributed among candidates (N = 488) to measure their perception of their opportunities to enact practice in campus courses. Across programmes, the students report the least opportunity to examine transcripts of classroom talk or student discussions. They report the most opportunity to talk about their field placement and to plan for their teaching. Using Analysis of Variance, differences between the programmes were studied. Students in a programme which has explicitly made efforts to connect theory and practice over a period of 15 years do report more opportunities to enact practice. Students from a programme that has been constantly working on improvements but not a major redesign conceptualised around coherence, report experiencing fewer opportunities to enact practice. We conclude that teaching practices closely linked to pupils' understanding might be in need of additional attention in teacher education programmes.


A delightfully discursive, Bill Bryson-esque and personal journey through the groves and the thickets of the English language, by our foremost scholar of the history and structure of the English language. David Crystal has been described (by the Times Higher Education Supplement) as a sort of 'latter day Dr Johnson', a populist linguist who has promoted the study of the English language in an academic and broadcasting career that has so far spanned 40 years and nearly 100 books. Now, in his first book for Harper Press, he has written an engaging travel book of more general appeal. Inspired by W. G. Sebald's 'The Rings of Saturn' and by Bill Bryson's books, he has combined personal reflections, historical allusions and traveller observations to create a mesmerising (and entertaining) narrative account of his encounters with the English language and its speakers throughout the world -- from Bangor to Bombay and from Stratford to San Francisco. 'By Hook or by Crook' is an attempt to capture the exploratory, seductive, teasing, tantalising nature of language study. As such, it will appeal to the ever -- growing market who like to be entertained as well as instructed.


According to Coldiretti, Italy still continues to hold the European Quality record in extra virgin olive oils with origin designation and protected geographical indication (PDO and PGI). To date, 46 Italian brands are recognized by the European Union: 42 PDO and 4 PGI (Tuscan PGI, Calabria PGI; Tuscia PGI and PGI Sicily). Specific regulations, introduced for these quality marks, include the designation of both the geographical areas and the plant varieties contributing to the composition of the olive oil. However, the PDO and PGI assessment procedures are currently based essentially on farmer declarations. Tuscan PGI extra virgin olive oil is one of the best known Italian trademarks around the world. Tuscan PGI varietal platform is rather wide including 31 specific olive cultivars which should account for at least 95% of the product. On the other hand, while the characteristics of other popular Italian extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs) cultivars from specific geographical areas have been extensively studied (such as those of Coratina based blends from Apulia), little is still known about Tuscan PGI EVOO constituents. In this work, we performed, for the first time, a large-scale analysis of Tuscan PGI monocultivar olive oils by 1H NMR spectroscopy and multivariate statistical analyses (MVA). After genetic characterization of 217 leaf samples from 24 selected geographical areas, distributed all over the Tuscany, a number of 202 micro-milled oil samples including 10 PGI cultivars, was studied. The results of the present work confirmed the need of monocultivar genetically certified EVOO samples for the construction of 1H-NMR-metabolic profiles databases suitable for cultivar and/or geographical origin assessment. Such specific PGI EVOOs databases could be profitably used to justify the high added value of the product and the sustainability of the related supply chain.


Abstract.— Garudella, a remarkable new genus of eucoiline wasp is described from Thailand, Laos, and the Republic of Congo. Four new species of Garudella are described as well: G. acothonaspis, G. afrotropica, G. algo, and G. alicae. Several autapomorphies distinguish this genus from other eucoiline genera: a distinctly protracted and broadened pronotal plate; a massive, posteriorly protruding propodeum; reduced posterior rim of metapleuron; reduced scutellar foveae and lack of lateral bar "windows"; and a generally reduced scutellar plate. In addition, the posterior of the head has a distinctly curved occipital impression, resulting in the cuticle surrounding the foramen magnum to be extruded into a neck-like process. The biology of Garudella is unknown, but based on phylogenetic inference from morphology, the presumed host could be a cyclorrhaphous Diptera in a saprophagous environment.


Although the development of pedestrian safety has been positive according to accident statistics, much remains to achieve Vision Zero goal. The project's aim has been to describe the extent and nature of pedestrian safety problems. According to the national traffic accident register of the Swedish Road Administration regarding road traffic accidents reported to the police, STRADA-polis, during the period 2003-2007, 285 pedestrians were killed and 1,800 were reported to have been severely injured. Of the fatalities, on average 57 annually, over two thirds had been hit by a passenger car, and in addition it is usual to have been hit by a lorry or a bus. The road safety of pedestrians is also described via the national inpatient register of the National Board of Health and Welfare (PAR) for the period 1998-2007. People who die within 30 days have been excluded, as well as those with a treatment period < 1 day. During this period, the total number of injuries in road traffic is given as 6,433, on average just under 650 annually. The average treatment period is longest if the pedestrian had been hit by a heavy lorry or a bus. The "pedestrian-only" accidents (pedestrians in road/street environment incl. footways injured without the involvement of vehicles) account for many injuries according to the inpatient register. When those which, according to the coding, occurred in connection with sports/exercise are excluded, there remain 19,656 injuries over the period 1998-2007, on average almost 2,000 injuries annually. The annual variation has however been very large. The most common cause of "pedestrian-only" casualties was slipping/stumbling/tripping without the presence of ice/snow.


Efforts to increase productivity, reduce time to market, reduce costs and desire for increased functionality on a chip are driving semiconductor companies to consider SoC (System-on-a-chip) design. SoC offers the additional benefit of improving performance and design freedom. SoC designs are smaller, energy efficient and cheaper than the multi-chip solutions. Silicon manufacturing technology has improved to an extent where one can create a reliable chip with millions of transistors. Design of these complex systems, on the other hand, is taking longer and is much costlier even when the technology allows integration of the million transistor chips. Keeping these design costs low and reducing development cycle time is vital for any chip design company. Hence, companies need to delicately balance the design costs versus benefits for SoC design. Design turn-around time (TAT) even for large complex designs has been significantly improved by EDA tools despite the complexity added by the ever shrinking device geometries. However, other non technical issues and external dependencies in SoC design such as working with multi-disciplinary design teams, external IP (Intellectual Property) vendors, Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tool vendors and IP protection issues increase the risk of missing project goals and timeline. This paper will address both the technical and non-technical issues that arise when moving to SoC design and provide recommendations on how to address some of the non-technical issues involved.


The Emerging Risks Unit (EMRISK) was requested by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to develop a system for the routine monitoring of data from the Rapid Alert System on Food and Feed (RASFF), with the main objective of detecting potentially relevant patterns of notifications and a timely reporting. The RASFFDatabase, maintained by the European Commission (EC), includes detailed information on food safety events notified by the members of the RASFF-network. EMRISK has developed a system that enables the provision of up-to-date statistics (e.g. frequency tables and graphs) from the RASFF-Database. The core system is based on IT applications to produce alerts of new or re-emerging hazards and ad hoc reports. The IT tools developed are used by EMRISK for its monitoring activities and to provide a fast response to specific requests received from EFSA"s scientific Units. The evaluation of the RASFF-Database as a potential source of information for the identification of emerging risks indicates that this source of information, largely based on surveillance and inspection programs driven by the existing legislation, can be useful mainly for the identification of re-emerging hazards. Some of the tools developed by EMRISK in this system (e.g. the excel pivot-tool for ad hoc reports) could be useful not only for EFSA, but also for the EC and the Member States to exploit the data notified within the RASFF-network. The report includes a handbook for the tools developed.


The puzzle of why the cycle of poverty persists and upward socioeconomic mobility is so difficult has long captivated scholars and the public alike. Yet with all of the attention that has been paid to poverty, the crucial role of the law, particularly state and local law, in perpetuating poverty is largely ignored. This Article offers a new theory of poverty, one that introduces the concept of legal immobility. Legal immobility considers the cumulative effects of state and local laws as a mechanism through which poverty is perpetuated and upward socioeconomic mobility is stunted. The Article provides an initial description and normative account of this undertheorized aspect of our laws and argues that in order to fully understand poverty, a more complete understanding of the relationship between law and poverty is needed. After discussing several examples of laws that can contribute to legal immobility (everything from state and local tax laws to occupational licensing laws), the Article offers a three-prong theory to help understand the distinct pathways through which individual laws that contribute to legal immobility function: (1) calculated exploitation; (2)
gratuitous management; and (3) routine neglect. This framework provides a guide for future work to build on legal immobility theory. By bringing to light the cumulative effects of local and state laws in perpetuating poverty, the goal is for legal immobility theory to ultimately help lawmakers develop
new structural approaches to tackling poverty.


This article traces the history of the regulation of torture in Israel, and shows how it foreshadowed the legal understanding of torture in the United States in the wake of "The War on Terror." Part I of the article demonstrates how the celebrated Israeli Supreme Court decision in Public Committee v. Israel, traditionally understood as a bold prohibition of torture, should instead be seen as institutionalizing and managing torture. Since Public Committee, the Israeli executive and the judiciary worked hand in glove to protect this regime, which we label necessity management. Part II of the article revisits the Landau Commission, convened to investigate torture in the Israeli security services, which ultimately legitimated physical interrogation techniques. We argue that the roots of necessity management, which developed after Public Committee, are already spelled out in the Landau Commission report. These rules emerge from the needs of preserving an undemocratic regime of military occupation. Public Committee, in which the Israeli Supreme Court seemingly struck down the Landau Commission's conclusions, actually cleared the way for implementing these conclusions behind a veil of prosecutorial discretion. Part III articulates some of the theoretical assumptions underlying the regime of necessity management. We argue that this regime, which originated in the undemocratic political context of occupation, foreshadowed protections for torturers under the Bush and the Obama administrations.


Sustainable expansion of global aquaculture depends on a thorough understanding of environmental impacts. Open-water culture operations produce waste food and faeces, the benthic impacts of which are a focus of regulation. Seabed interactions of wastes are complex, depending on current velocity, seabed substrate and waste material characteristics. The accuracy achieved in modelling intensity and spatial extent of impacts is contingent upon the representation of this interaction and its implications for resuspension. We used benthic flumes to study re suspension processes at 11 salmon aquaculture sites, covering a range of sediment types. Erosion rates and critical entrainment stress were computed at the cage edge and between 100 and 500 m away, characterising seabed erodibility in highly impacted and less impacted sediments. Heavily impacted cage-edge sediments had an erosion threshold (mean 0.02 N m−2) that was an order of magnitude lower, and markedly less heterogeneous, than that of nearby less impacted sediments (mean across sites 0.19 N m−2). This likely reflects a seabed which was smothered by waste material close to the depositional centre. Further out, the covering of waste material is less continuous, thinner, and more admixed with underlying sediments. Bed erosion rates were found to be a linear function of excess stress. The results provide important information on how benthic flumes can be deployed to collect spatial and temporal data for parameterisation of erosion and entrainment processes in numerical waste transport simulation models such as DEPOMOD, and the comparatively large field-based dataset should contribute to the goal of allowing a more realistic representation of particulate waste in these models.


This study explores the theological significance of Jaulung Wismar Saragih (1888-1968), the first-generation Christian, ordained pastor and theologian from the Simalungun ethnic group. He was also the first local person to translate the Bible into his local language in the Indonesian context. Saragih's theological thinking foregrounded Indonesian postcolonial contextual theology regarding the identity and role of the church for social transformation in the context of religious pluralism and the struggle for gender justice, human freedom, and dignity. This study is an appreciative inquiry from a postcolonial theo-historical and biographical reconstruction of Saragih's contextual theology and its public theological implications for contemporary Indonesia.


The presence of cancer stem cells in both solid and hematopoietic malignancies, has been recently linked to their pathogenesis. Sarcomas are rare, and diversely characterized by degrees of mesenchymal differentiation. The aim of the current study was to demonstrate whether the human sarcoma cell lines, osteosarcoma MG63, Ewing's sarcoma HTB166, fibrosarcoma HT1080, possess the stem-like properties which may contribute to the drug-resistance. All cell lines possessed an ability to form spherical, clonal expanding colonies (sarcospheres) in anchorage-independent, serum-starved conditions. Sarcospheres showed the stem-like properties with the ability of self-renewal, and increased expression of the stem cell-related genes such as Nanog, OCT3/4 SOX2 and DNA repair enzyme genes, MLH1 and MSH2. Sarcospheres showed strong resistance to doxorubicin and cisplatin, and caffeine, a DNA repair inhibitor, enhanced the efficacy of those drugs, suggesting that the drug resistance in sarcosphere cells was partly related to the efficient DNA repair ability. These results indicate that human sarcoma cell lines contain stem-like cell populations with strong drug resistance, and DNA repair inhibitor could enhance the efficacy of chemo-drugs against sarcomas.