Traditional learning-based coreference resolvers operate by training the mention-pair model for determining whether two mentions are coreferent or not. Though conceptually simple and easy to understand, the mention-pair model is linguistically rather unappealing and lags far behind the heuristic-based coreference models proposed in the prestatistical NLP era in terms of sophistication. Two independent lines of recent research have attempted to improve the mention-pair model, one by acquiring the mention-ranking model to rank preceding mentions for a given anaphor, and the other by training the entity-mention model to determine whether a preceding cluster is coreferent with a given mention. We propose a cluster-ranking approach to coreference resolution, which combines the strengths of the mention-ranking model and the entity-mention model, and is therefore theoretically more appealing than both of these models. In addition, we seek to improve cluster rankers via two extensions: (1) lexicalization and (2) incorporating knowledge of anaphoricity by jointly modeling anaphoricity determination and coreference resolution. Experimental results on the ACE data sets demonstrate the superior performance of cluster rankers to competing approaches as well as the effectiveness of our two extensions.


A fragment of the p75 neurotrophin receptor appears to regulate transcription in the nucleus. The p75 neurotrophin receptor binds to all members of the neurotrophin family and can interact with other receptors to promote signaling. On its own, p75 can also produce signals, which appear to require its proteolysis by a presenilin-dependent γ-secretase. In the case of the receptor Notch, such cleavage produces an intracellular domain (ICD) fragment that moves to the nucleus to regulate gene expression. Parkhurst et al. present evidence that the p75 ICD may similarly regulate gene expression. The authors created a fusion protein with p75 containing a transcriptional activator that would cause expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) if that C-terminal fragment of the receptor reached the nucleus. Production of GFP was detected in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells transfected with the receptor construct, and this was prevented by inhibition of γ-secretase. In PC12 cells (a cell line with neuronal characteristics), the endogenous p75 protein or its ICD fragment was detected in the nucleus by immunofluorescence microscopy or cell fractionation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments with an antibody to the ICD of p75 revealed association of the ICD with the promoter of the gene encoding cyclin E1 when PC12 cells were treated with nerve growth factor for 3 hours. Furthermore, overexpression of the p75 ICD in HeLa cells (a human cancer-derived cell line) decreased transcription of the gene encoding cyclin E1. The ICD can interact with multiple intracellular proteins and may thus influence numerous signaling events. Nevertheless, the experiments from Parkhust et al. indicate that a primary action of the p75 ICD (and possibly fragments of the related receptors) may be direct regulation of transcription in the nucleus. C. N. Parkhurst, N. Zampieri, M. V. Chao, Nuclear localization of the p75 neurotrophin receptor intracellular domain. J. Biol. Chem. 285, 5361–5368 (2010). [Abstract] [Full Text]


The article situates the Estonian discourse of national identity in the country's pursuits of EU and NATO membership. It first outlines the assumptions, concepts, and rhetorical devices through which the notion of national identity is constructed in discussions of international integration, and then highlights the policy ramifications of the identity discourse. The article concentrates on the three closely linked concepts - civilizational conflict, national territorial sovereignty, and security - that together constitute a core of identity debates in Estonia. While national identity in Estonia has hitherto been examined in the context of ethnic relations between the Estonian and the non-Estonian populations, this article analyzes identity debates, including issues of ethnicity, in the context of the country's pursuits of international integration. As identity is a central concept in Estonia's foreign, security, citizenship, and minority rights policies, the article exposes the claims that underpin these policies. The Estonian identity discourse contains strong arguments in favor of EU membership, yet several of its fundamental premises discursively construct this membership as harmful to Estonia. Both pro- and contra-EU arguments pivot particularly on claims about geopolitical and cultural threats. On the one hand, international integration is constructed as a security measure against the Russian threat. On the other hand, insofar as supranational institutions pressure Estonia to naturalize its Russian-speaking residents, who are construed as representatives of the Russian threat, international integration is also depicted as dangerous to Estonian identity. Estonian identity narratives thereby contradict governmental rhetoric of ethnic and European integration.


In contrast to most mammalian species, Canis familiaris (the domestic dog) shows extreme diversity in body size. Sutter et al. show that a single allele of the gene encoding insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is shared by all small dog breeds but is nearly absent from giant dog breeds, implying that sequence variation in the IGF-1 gene plays a causal role in dog size. Discovery of the IGF-1 gene was facilitated by its localization within a genomic signature, or haplotype block, that probably arose as a result of centuries of dog breeding by humans. N. B. Sutter, C. D. Bustamante, K. Chase, M. M. Gray, K. Zhao, L. Zhu, B. Padhukasahasram, E. Karlins, S. Davis, P. G. Jones, P. Quignon, G. S. Johnson, H. G. Parker, N. Fretwell, D. S. Mosher, D. F. Lawler, E. Satyaraj, M. Nordborg, K. G. Lark, R. K. Wayne, E. A. Ostrander, A single IGF1 allele is a major determinant of small size in dogs. Science 316, 112-115 (2007). [Abstract] [Full Text]


This paper addresses the question to which extent the complementarity between education and training can be attributed to differences in observable characteristics, i.e. to individual, job and firm specific characteristics. The novelty of this paper is to analyze previously unconsidered characteristics, in particular, personality traits and tasks performed at work which are taken into account in addition to the standard individual specific determinants. Results show that tasks performed at work are strong predictors of training participation while personality traits are not. Once working tasks and other job related characteristics are controlled for, the skill gap in training participation drops considerably for off-the-job training and vanishes for on-the-job training.


Cinnamomum camphora is an important timber and economic tree species in southern China. The leaves of C. camphora are a renewable biological resource and are an important resource for the comprehensive development and utilization of eucalyptus. The composition and functional characteristics of ethanol extracts from leaves of three chemotypes C. camphora were elucidated by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS). The results showed that the known contents of volatile organic components (VOCs) detected in the three chemotypes leaves accounted for 98.428%, 45.185% and 97.907% of the total essential oil respectively, and two of them were identified, namely aromatic camphor (Linalool 66.774%) and camphor type (Camphor 47.483%). However, a special component with 53.070% content in the one chemotypes was not identified. Its second-rich component is trans-(+)-Nerolidol, with a content of 17.725%. More substances were detected in Camphor type than those of the other two chemotypes, and there were more VOCs at low distillation points. The unknown chemotypes of C. camphora are more abundant in VOCs than that of distillation points. Meanwhile, some bioactive components including 3-Hexen-1-ol, (Z)-, Eucalyptol, Caryophyllene, Humulene and Caryophyllene oxide were detected in three chemotypes of C. camphora.


Objectives To examine mortality from digestive cancers in a Chinese miner cohort and to explore the exposure–response relationship between chrysotile mining dust and site-specific digestive cancers. Methods A cohort of 1539 asbestos miners was followed for 26 years. Information on vital status and death causes was collected from personnel records and hospitals. Underlying causes of death from cancers were determined by combination of clinical manifestations and pathological confirmation. Individual cumulative dust exposures were estimated based on periodic dust measurements of different workshops, individuals' job title and employment duration, and treated as a time-dependent variable. Standardised mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated according to Chinese national data and stratified by exposure (levels 1–3, from low to high). Cox proportional hazard models were constructed to estimate HRs in relation to cumulative exposure with adjustment of smoking. Results Fifty-one deaths from digestive cancers were identified in the cohort, giving an SMR of 1.45 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.90). There was a clear exposure–response relationship between asbestos dust exposure and mortality from stomach cancer, with SMR of 2.39 (95% CI 1.02 to 5.60) and 6.49 (2.77 to 15.20) at exposure levels 2 and 3, respectively. The clear relationship remained in multivariate analysis, in which workers at the highest exposure level had HRs of 12.23 (95% CI 8.74 to 17.12). In addition, excess mortality from oesophageal and liver cancers was also observed at high exposure levels. Conclusions This study provides additional evidence for the association between exposure to chrysotile mining dust and excess mortality from digestive cancers, particularly stomach cancer.


In order to obtain a reasonably accurate and easily implemented approach to many-electron calculations, we will develop a new Density Functional Theory (DFT). Specifically, we derive an approximation to electron density, the first term of which is the Thomas-Fermi density, while the remaining terms substantially correct the density near the nucleus. As a first application, this new result allows us to accurately calculate the details of the self-consistent ion cores, as well as the ionization potentials for the outer s-orbital bound to the closed-shell ion core of the Group III, IV and V elements. Next, we demonstrate that the new DFT allows us to separate closed-shell core electron densities from valence electron densities. When we calculate the valence kinetic energy density, we show that it separates into two terms: the first exactly cancels the potential energy due to the ion core in the core region; the second represents the residual kinetic energy density resulting from the envelopes of the valence electron orbitals. This kinetic energy cancellation in the core region and the residual valence kinetic energy term allow us to write a functional for the total valence energy dependant only on the valence density. This equation provides the starting point for a large number of electronic structure calculations. Here, we use it to calculate the band structures of several Group IV and Group III-V semiconductors.


Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in applications of wireless sensor and actor networks (WSANs). In these applications, a set of mobile actor nodes are deployed in addition to sensors in order to collect sensors' data and perform specific tasks in response to detected events/objects. In most scenarios, actors have to respond collectively, which requires interactor coordination. Therefore, maintaining a connected interactor network is critical to the effectiveness of WSANs. However, WSANs often operate unattended in harsh environments where actors can easily fail or get damaged. An actor failure may lead to partitioning the interactor network and thus hinder the fulfillment of the application requirements. In this paper, we present DARA, a distributed actor recovery algorithm, which opts to efficiently restore the connectivity of the interactor network that has been affected by the failure of an actor. Two variants of the algorithm are developed to address 1- and 2-connectivity requirements. The idea is to identify the least set of actors that should be repositioned in order to reestablish a particular level of connectivity. DARA strives to localize the scope of the recovery process and minimize the movement overhead imposed on the involved actors. The effectiveness of DARA is validated through simulation experiments.


Climate change (CC) increases the frequency of flood and drought and is a significant threat to smallholder rice farming in Indonesia. Adapting to these changes is crucial to minimize the damages to the Indonesian food system. Accordingly, the Indonesian government has formulated National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) to mitigate the effect of climate change on priority sectors, including rice farming. To this end, the Indonesian government included climate change adaptation into the National Development Plan (2019–2024). Selecting the appropriate beneficiaries of this program is crucial to improve the efficacy of Indonesian climate policy. In the case of rice farming, farmers with a high probability to adapt are the appropriate beneficiaries of this program. Thus, this chapter aimed to identify the characteristics of Indonesian smallholder rice farmers with a high probability to adapt to climate change. To this end, this chapter used the findings of the study on 87,330 rice farmers in Indonesia. Education, gender, land tenure security, presence of irrigation infrastructure, application of chemical fertilizer, cropping system, access to extension services, and participation in farmer group are significant determinants of adaptation practices. The finding suggests that prioritizing farmers based on these characteristics are crucial to improve the efficacy of climate policy.


The Keap1-Nrf2 pathway regulates a wide range of cytoprotective genes, and has been found to serve a protective and beneficial role in many body systems. There is limited information available, however, about its role in bone homeostasis. While Nrf2 activation has been suggested as an effective method of increasing bone mass and quality, there have been conflicting reports which associate Keap1 deficiency with detrimental phenotypes. As Keap1 deletion is a common method of Nrf2 activation, further study should address the impacts of various methods of regulating Nrf2 expression. Also, little research has been conducted on the specific pathways by which Nrf2 activation improves bone quality. In this study, the effects of alterations to Nrf2 activation levels were explored in two specific and varied scenarios. In the first experiment, moderate Nrf2 activation was achieved via partial deletion of its sequestering protein, Keap1, in an aging mouse model. The hypothesis tested here is that moderate Nrf2 activation improves bone quality by affecting bone metabolism and response to mechanical loading. The results of this first experiment suggest a subtle, sex-specific effect of moderate Nrf2 activation in aging mice which improves specific indices of bone quality to varying degrees, but does not affect loading-induced bone formation. It is likely that the overwhelming phenotypic impacts associated with aging or the systemic effects of global Keap1 deficiency may increase the difficulty in parsing out significant effects that can be attributed solely to Nrf2 activation. In the second experiment, a cell-specific knockout of Nrf2 in the osteocytes was achieved using a Cre/Lox breeding system. The hypothesis tested here is that osteocyte-specific deletion of Nrf2 impairs bone quality by affecting bone metabolism and response to mechanical loading. The results of this experiment suggest an important role of Nrf2 in osteocyte function which improves certain indices of bone quality, which impacts male and female bones in different 7 ways, but did not significantly impact loading-induced bone formation. Further studies should modify the method of Nrf2 activation in an effort to refine the animal model, allowing the effects of Nrf2 to be isolated from the potential systemic effects of Keap1 deletion. Future studies should also utilize other conditional knockout models to elucidate the effects of Nrf2 in other specific cell types.


Carbon Capture & Storage is widely recognised as a vital technology which will play a significant role
in the generation of low carbon electricity. CCS has the potential to reduce the carbon emissions of fossil fuelled power stations by as much as 90% as well as offering the only realistic solution to heavy industrial emitters such as steel mills, petrochemical refineries and cement manufacturing plants.
Projects which can combine capture of emissions from power generation as well industrial emitters will enable the development of CO2 transport infrastructure which
can act to safeguard existing employment in carbon-intensive industries within the UK and
EU. CCS development zones can also attract new energy intensive industries to locate into an area with an established network of CO2 pipelines. That means low marginal costs to connect into a guaranteed network for transportation and storage of captured CO2.
Recent studies examining the levelised cost of electricity have consistently demonstrated that CCS will be competitive with renewable generation technologies such as offshore wind. CCS provides a low-carbon solution to the issue of intermittency which is inevitable with wind power, thereby helping to address the need for energy
security in a future which will
see a growth in the percentage of power generation from renewable sources. Fossil fuels will be part of the energy and industry system for many decades to come. CCS is the only viable option for abating those CO2 emissions.
The creation of a CCS industry in the UK will provide opportunities
for economic growth through
the retention of many thousands
of high-value jobs, creation of thousands of new jobs, increased manufacturing activity, as well as retention of the UK's world leading oil & gas supply chain for home investment and billions of pounds in export services.


In 1912 C. Louis Leipoldt voyaged to the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia, where his father had been a missionary. On this voyage he kept a diary, wrote 18 poems and published a travelogue, Uit my Oosterse dagboek, in the foreword to which he mentions that he is omitting two controversial chapters. The Dutch-born journalist G. Seubring toured through the East Indies in 1939-1940 and published an account of his travels, Die gordel van smarag, in Pretoria in 1945. After 1994 South African interest in Indonesia and in Leipoldt's voyage to the East revived. In particular, J.C. Kannemeyer and the author Elsa Joubert have shown considerable interest in Leipoldt's contact with the East. Joubert toured Java and Bali in 1995 and traced Leipoldt's 1912 route. She subsequently published Gordel van smarag. 'n reis met Leipoldt (1997), in which she dwells i.a. on Leipoldt's omitted chapters. She found four in the Leipoldt papers. Three of these would have been controversial in 1932. Joubert deplores the fact that Leipoldt did not publish these chapters, but the author considers her reproaches unreasonable.


IL-2 gene transcription is affected by several nuclear proteins. We asked whether dexamethasone (Dex) and cyclosporin A (CsA) inhibit IL-2 gene transcription by interfering with the activity of nuclear proteins that bind to the IL-2 promoter. Nuclear extracts from primary human T lymphocytes were analyzed by electrophoretic DNA mobility shift assays. Both Dex and CsA inhibited the binding of transcription factors AP-1 and NF-AT, but not of NF-kB and OCT-1/OAF, to their corresponding sites on the IL-2 gene promoter. To correlate changes in nuclear factor binding in vitro with transcriptional activity in vivo and define the structural requirements for IL-2 promoter repression, we used transient DNA transfections. Jurkat cells were transfected with plasmids containing either the intact IL-2 promoter or its AP-1, NF-AT, and NF-kB motifs. Dex inhibited the IL-2 promoter and the AP-1, but not the NF-AT and NF-kB plasmids. In contrast, CsA inhibited the IL-2 promoter and the NF-AT, but not the AP-1 and NF-kB plasmids. These results suggest that in human T lymphocytes both Dex and CsA inhibited IL-2 gene transcription through interference with transcription factors AP-1 and NF-AT. We propose that, while maximum inhibition may involve interaction with both transcription factors, AP-1 is the primary target of Dex.


Multi-path routing establishes multiple paths between a source and destination node in a network. This helps in achieving reliability in mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs). To achieve efficient, secure and reliable multi-path routing for MANETs, we propose a routing mechanism that uses cross-layer strategies. The cross-layer strategy involves incorporating feedback and information from layers below the network layer to make decisions at the network layer. We also propose a path evaluation mechanism for the paths returned by the proposed multi-path routing mechanism.


How does a revolt come about and what does it leave behind? What impact does it have on those who participate in it and those who simply watch it? Is the Greek revolt of December 2008 confined to the shores of the Mediterranean, or are there lessons we can bring to bear on social action around the globe? Revolt and Crisis in Greece: Between a Present Yet to Pass and a Future Still to Come is a collective attempt to grapple with these questions.


Have carers noticed any difference since the Care Act (2014) came in? That is
the question this report tries to answer. The answer? Not yet.
Carers provide the bulk of care in our country. Three in five of us will become
carers at some point in our lives. Without carers our NHS and social services
would be overwhelmed. But many carers pay a heavy price for their caring role
in both their health and their wealth.
We were told by many of those who contributed to our work that the Care Act is
an important piece of social reform but its potential is far from being realised.
The Care Act puts carers on an equal footing with those who have care needs.
This parity in law is new, some even say revolutionary. Councils have a duty to
promote the wellbeing of carers and to prevent burn out and crisis.
What we found is a mixed picture. There are beacons of good practice, but
there is plenty of darkness too. For many of the carers who responded to
Carers Trust call for evidence the response was stark, no, the Act had made no
difference. Indeed, for many it was news to them that there were new rights.
Some told us that it was too early to review the impact of the Act. We disagree.
This was never going to be a full-blown evaluation but it is a first snapshot, a
baseline, that can be used to measure progress. It also offers the opportunity
to provide encouragement and warnings about the ongoing implementation of
the legislation.
We heard during the course of our evidence gathering that the 1948
National Assistance Act, which the Care Act replaced, took almost a decade to
become embedded and supplant the Poor Law mind-set of many charged with
its implementation.
The same can be said today about the Care Act. More work is needed to
impress upon those responsible for the day-to-day implementation of the
Act that business as usual is not good enough. The Care Act raises the bar.
It expects decision-makers to look at the wellbeing of the carer and where
necessary take a whole family approach.
3
We found evidence that when it comes to assessment the law is either poorly
understood or ignored. Too often it appears that carers are fobbed off with a
one-off payment as if that discharges the obligation to promote their wellbeing.
We remain optimistic about the transformative potential of the Care Act.
This report should be essential reading for Directors of Adult and Children's
Services, and Directors of Public Health. It has messages for the NHS too.
Above all it is about making improvements for carers themselves.


Microbial transglutaminase is favoured for use in industry over the mammalian isoform, and hence has been utilized, to great effect, as an applied biocatalyst in many industrial areas including the food and textiles industries. There are currently only a limited number of microbial TGase sources known. A number of organisms have been screened for transglutaminase activity using biochemical assays directed towards TGase catalyzed reactions (amine incorporation and peptide cross-linking assay). Of those organisms screened, TGase was identified in a number of isolates including members of the Bacillus and Streptomyces families. In addition, a protein capable of performing a TGase-like reaction was identified in the organism Pseudomonas putida that was deemed immunologically distinct from previously described TGase isoforms, though further work would be required to purify the protein responsible. The genuses Streptoverticillium and Streptomyces are known to be closely related. A number of micro-organisms relating to Streptomyces mobaraensis (formerly Streptoverticillium mobaraensis) have been identified as harboring a TGase enzyme. The exact biological role of Streptomyces TGase is not well understood, though from work undertaken here it would appear to be involved in cell wall growth. Comparison of the purified Streptomyces TGase proteins showed them to exhibit marginally different characteristics in relation to enzymatic activity and pH dependency upon comparison with Streptomyces mobaraensis TGase. In addition, TGase was identified in the organism Saccharomonospora viridis that was found to be genetically identical to that from S. mobaraensis raising questions about the enzymes dissemination in nature. TGase from S. baldaccii was found to be most diverse with respect to enzymatic characteristics whilst still retaining comparable E(y-glutamyl) lysine bond formation to S. mobaraensis TGase. As such S. baldaccii TGase was cloned into an expression vector enabling mass production of the enzyme thereby providing a viable alternative to S. mobaraensis TGase for many industrial processes.


Introduction: Liver and kidney affection is a life-threatening disease caused by factors including drug-based treatment. Treatment based on methotrexate could result in liver and kidney damages. The study evaluates the preventive effects of Sorindeia juglandifolia leaves on methotrexate-induced liver and kidney impairment in rat. Methods: Healthy rats divided into 6 groups daily received distilled water, methotrexate (20 mg/kg), sub-cutaneous injection of L-carnitin (500 mg/kg) and methotrexate and the plant extract doses of 150, 250 and 350 mg/kg and methotrexate for 10 days. During treatment, body weight was recorded. At the end of the treatment, animals were sacrificed; venous blood were collected for haematological and biochemical analysis. Liver and kidney were collected for oxidative markers and histological examination. Results: The consecutive treatment of animals with plant extract and methotrexate showed a significant prevention of the body weight decrease and enhancement of the relative weight of liver and kidney. Sorindeia. juglandifolia extract also protected from the significant increase in transaminase activities, bilirubin and protein level, hypercholesterolemia, atherogenic index, and in the kidney from hypercreatininemia and the increase in serum urea level. The extract prevented the decrease of sodium level and glomerular filtration. Plant extract improved reactive oxygen species detoxification agents and protected from the histological disorganization of the liver and kidney tissues, observed in the MTX control. Conclusion: Sorindeia juglandifolia leaves extract expressed hepatorenal protective properties and could be useful to prevent liver and kidney damage induce by methotrexate.


Pale (Vincetoxicum rossicum) and black swallow-wort (V. nigrum) are perennial, twining vines that are increasingly invasive in natural and managed ecosystems in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Both species, introduced from Europe in the 1800s, are listed as noxious weeds or banned invasive species by the USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Service. Observations by C. Southby, a local naturalist, over several years at a meadow populated by pale swallow-wort in Powder Mill Park, Monroe County, NY, revealed a gradual disappearance of pale swallow-wort with restoration of native grasses and some dicotyledonous plant species, in a 6.7-m-diameter area. Diseased swallow-wort plants had extensive yellowing and wilting of foliage, likely due to splitting of the basal stem, with white mycelium throughout the stem and crown; small, reddish brown sclerotia were evident, but roots were not affected. Stem tissue sections from 20 symptomatic plants were vacuum infiltrated with 2% NaOCl for 20 min, then plated onto malt yeast agar and potato dextrose agar amended with 60 mg/liter of penicillin and 80 mg/liter of streptomycin, resulting in development of fast-growing, white mycelium which then formed numerous, irregularly shaped (2 to 4 mm diameter), reddish brown sclerotia at the plate edges. Two individual cultures were identified as S. rolfsii (1) based on size, shape, and color of the sclerotia and presence of characteristic clamp connections in the mycelium. The isolate was suspected to be S. rolfsii var. delphinii due to the reported inability of S. rolfsii to persist in regions with extremely low winter temperatures (4), but molecular data showed otherwise. Sequences of the 18S gene (GenBank JN543690), internal transcribed spacer region (JN543691), and 28S gene (JN543692) of the ribosomal DNA identified the isolate, VrNY, as S. rolfsii (2,3). Pathogenicity tests were conducted with individual 2-month-old seedlings of V. rossicum and V. nigrum grown in steam-sterilized Metromix 360 in SC10 polypropylene conetainers in a growth chamber with a diurnal cycle of 25/20°C, a photoperiod of 14-h light/10-h dark, and fertilized at 3 week intervals. Two independent replications of 12 plants of each species were each inoculated at the stem base with a 4-mm-diameter mycelial agar plug from the growing edge of a colonized plate. The agar plug was held in place with 5 g of sterile sand. Control plants (12 of each species per replication) were treated with sterile agar plugs. Plants for each treatment were placed within a clear plastic bag to maintain 90% relative humidity for 72 h, and then removed from the bags. Disease symptoms developed over 21 days, with >90% of inoculated plants showing symptoms within 2 weeks. Control plants were symptomless. Incidence of mortality was 66 and 60% for V. rossicum and V. nigrum, respectively, by 3 weeks. The fungus reisolated from diseased stem and crown tissue produced characteristic mycelium with irregular sclerotia, consistent with those of S. rolfsii. Since spread of this fungus is based on movement of soilborne sclerotia, this isolate may offer potential as a bio-herbicide for control of swallow-wort in natural ecosystems if the isolate can be demonstrated to have a host range restricted to this invasive weed. References: (1) B. A. Edmunds and M. L. Gleason. Plant Dis. 87:313, 2003. (2) C. E. Harlton et al. Phytopathology 85:1269, 1995. (3) I. Okabe and N. Matsumoto. Mycol. Res. 107:164, 2003. (4) Z. Xu et al. Plant Dis. 92:719, 2008.


Objective
More than a third of the U.S. population of older adults is obese. The present study tests the Dyadic Biopsychosocial Model of Marriage and Health, which hypothesizes that, among married couples, individual and partner chronic stress predicts increased waist circumference and these links are exacerbated in negative quality marriages.

Method
Participants were from the nationally representative longitudinal Health and Retirement Study (HRS). A total of 2,042 married individuals (in 1,098 married couples) completed psychosocial and waist circumference assessments in 2006 and 2010. Analyses examined whether negative marital quality and chronic stress in Wave 1 (2006) were associated with changes in waist circumference over time.

Results
Actor-partner interdependence models revealed that greater partner stress, rather than individuals' own reports of stress, was associated with increased waist circumference over time. Higher perceived negative marital quality among husbands and lower negative marital quality among wives exacerbated the positive link between partner stress and waist circumference.

Discussion
Consistent with the Dyadic Biopsychosocial Model of Marriage and Health, partner stress has direct associations with waist circumference among couples and this link is moderated by negative marital quality. Thus, dyadic perceptions of stress and negative marital quality are important to consider for understanding marriage and obesity.


The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) recently released its report in defense of the humanities, "The Heart of the Matter: The Humanities and Social Sciences for a Vibrant, Competitive, and Secure Nation" (2013). The full report is available at the AAAS's website and provides us with strong motivation to continue to push for what Spanish and Portuguese educators hold dear: it is no secret to us that language learning, international experience, and cross-cultural studies are the gateway to enhanced literacy, leadership development, increased innovation, research, and discovery across borders and in our local communities. Our profession truly is engaged in building twenty-first-century skills through promoting languages and cultures and through guiding students to activate critical thinking in all they do (at all levels). I cannot think of a more innovative research area than what I will dub "Spanglish Studies." Besides considering research on Spanglish as a product, the collective wisdom in this field has wide-reaching societal repercussions and applications. In this issue of Hispania, I am pleased to call attention to the AATSP's on-going presence at the Modern Language Association (MLA). You will find contributions from the MLA panel (Boston 2013) on Spanglish in this issue in a special section. Organized and hosted by Domnita Dumitrescu, Hispania's Book/Media Review Editor and notable Spanglish Studies specialist, the lively session titled "'Spanglish' and Identity within and outside of the Classroom" included panelists Regan Postma, Ana Sánchez-Muñoz, and Robert Train, who have summarized and penned their remarks from the AATSP-sponsored panel here in this current issue. Their essays form part of Hispania's continuing attention to this controversial topic by a wide variety of scholars. You will read studies with observations that are pedagogical, historical, cultural, linguistic, demographic, literary, and more. Also not to be missed in this issue are two full-length articles on Spanglish—one appears in the literature section (see Alvarez) and the other in linguistics (see Dumitrescu). Indeed, Spanglish is a highly interdisciplinary topic of timely interest that considers languages in contact, issues of identity, societal relations, and much more. I invite you to read the vibrant and diverse articles in this issue in general and about Spanglish from a variety of perspectives.


The Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) has been inhabited for millennia by a heterogeneous populace. However, in the wake of World War II, when independence movements began to gain momentum in these French colonies, the dominant national discourses attempted to define the national identities by exclusion. One rallying cry from the 1930s was "Islam is my religion, Arabic is my language, Algeria is my fatherland". In this incisive postcolonial study, Jarrod Hayes uses literary analysis to examine how Francophone novelists from the Maghreb engaged in a diametric nation-building project. Their works imagined a diverse nation peopled by those who were excluded by the dominant discourses, especially those who did not conform to traditional sexual norms. By incorporating representations of marginal sexualities, sexual dissidence, and gender insubordination, Maghrebian novelists imagined an anticolonial struggle that would result in sexual liberation and envisioned nations that could be defined and developed inclusively.


Three-beam interference lithography represents a technology capable of producing two-dimensional periodic structures for applications such as micro- and nanoelectronics, photonic crystal devices, metamaterial devices, biomedical structures, and subwavelength optical elements. In the present work, a systematic methodology for implementing optimized three-beam interference lithography is presented. To demonstrate this methodology, specific design and alignment parameters, along with the range of experimentally feasible lattice constants, are quantified for both hexagonal and square periodic lattice patterns. Using this information, example photonic crystal rodlike structures and holelike structures are fabricated by appropriately controlling the recording wavevector configuration along with the individual beam amplitudes and polarizations, and by changing between positive- or negative-type photoresists.


In this paper, we argue that energy should be seen as a critical aspect of changing historical regimes in the social production of space. We suggest the common definition of energy as the 'capacity to do work' ignores key aspects of the space required for energy in the first place (particularly the concept of power density). Articulating the basic spatial concept of power density with a historical–geographical materialist understanding of energy regimes, we argue that industrial capitalism is defined by an intensive vertical reliance upon subterranean stocks of energy that require relatively little surface land to harness. Previous modes of production were characterised by a more 'horizontal' reliance upon extensive territory (e.g. forests) to meet fuel needs. While attentive to the spatialities of overall energy complexes, we focus in particular on how the spatialities of energy sources affect the production of space in major and distinctive ways. Drawing from environmental and economic history, we argue the use of fossil fuels ushered in a 'subterranean energy regime' that not only relied on underground stocks of energy, but substantially relieved the societal demand for land-based and spatially extensive sources of fuel (i.e. wood and other organic sources). The use of subterranean fuel (first coal) not only powered machines, but revolutionised 'heat-process' industries like iron smelting that dramatically expanded the steel and other metal industries; thus, transforming the built environment. We then consider the spatial and land-use implications of a transition away from this subterranean regime to renewable energy sources (solar and wind). A return to the surface for energy would not be biological as in pre-industrial times, but industrial in the sense that these systems require industrial production. Moreover, the spatially extensive nature of such energy technologies should raise important political questions about existing land-use patterns and livelihoods, particularly in rural areas.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of haploidentical allogeneic hemopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in severe aplastic anemia (SAA) and prophylaxis of complications involved.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
8 patients with clinically diagnosed SAA (5 cases of SAA-I and 3 cases of SAA-II) were recruited, with the parents as the donors of hemopoietic stem cells. The conditioning regimen before HSCT included cyclophosphamide, fludarabine, pig anti-human lymphocyte immune globulin (p-ALG) and/or total body irradiation (TBI). The recipients received short-term methotrexate (MTX), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), and cyclosporin A (CsA) for graft versus host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis. Subsequent to successful allo-HSCT, the hematopoietic reconstitution was observed, coupled with periodical surveillance of the chimerism rate, the occurrence, and severity of postoperative complications as infection, GVHD, veno-occlusive disease (VOD), hemorrhagic cystitis (HC), cytomegalovirus (CMV) as well as the long-term survival rate, etc.

RESULTS
We found that hematopoietic reconstruction was achieved in all of the 8 patients with the average time of 14.8d for absolute neutrophil count (ANC) > 0.5×109/L, and the average time of 15.0d for platelet count was more than 20×109/L. Follow-up for 1 month later revealed that DNA chimeric rate of donor cells was 95%-100%. The complications were aGVHD in 7 cases including 5 cases of grade I-II (62.5%), 1 case of grade III (12.5%) and 1 case of grade IV (12.5%), as well as chronic graft versus host disease (cGVHD) in 2 patients, including 1 case (12.5%) localized in the oral cavity and 1 case (12.5%) with extensive type cGVHD in the whole body skin. No VOD or HC was observed, and no transplantation-related death occurred at median following-up of 8.5 months (2 to 18 months).

CONCLUSIONS
Allo-HSCT is safe and effective in patients with SAA and has great clinical perspective.


Novel is inherently full of linguistic and paralinguistic subtleties. More than one actor is usually presented in novel; each of them has its own tone and speech by which they enter into interaction and dialog with each other. Through these conversations some parts of the actors' identity along with the author's intention is revealed to readers. This issue could be considered relevant to Bakhtinian concepts of dialogism and polyphony. According to Bakhtin, each narrative personality has its own voice (Ahmadi, 1393, p. 109) and finally all these different voices together form the literary text. Recognizing and reflecting these two phenomena in literary translation has great significance as it results in creating almost the same aesthetic-affective impact of the original text. In this qualitative-analytical study, the way of reflecting and transferring these features in translation is investigated; to this end, a contrastive analysis was applied to two different translations of Le pere Goriot by Balzac. The results indicate that the translator's awareness of coexisting voices in a text and ability to distinguish the various registers and tones of the actors end in preservation of dialogic and polyphonic nature of the original text; consequently by avoiding homogenization a more faithful translation has been provided.


Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) has been described in patients with lymphoid neoplasm with an etiologic relationship between the emergence of autoantibodies and lymphocyte dysfunction. Autoimmune disorders are less to develop in patients with other neoplasm like chronic myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeloid leukemia. Few reports have been documented the development of immune hemolytic anemia in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. We herein, present the case of de novo acute myelomonocytic leukemia associated with autoimmune hemolytic anemia. The patient has no previous medical history of anemia and Hb level at presentation was normal. She received chemotherapy containing Adriamycin plus Cytarabine. She showed marked improvement of anemia after steroid therapy with subsidence of all the clinical and laboratory manifestations of hemolysis when the patient went into remission. AIHA should be considered as one cause of anemia in


In the recent days most of the people possess their own vehicle globally. Protection of vehicle from theft, avoidaccidents, immediate message transfer and care if accidents takes place play an vital role in this era. Theft which is one of the undesirable practices happens everywhere. Theft happens mostly while parking and driving through insecure places. So protection of vehicle is a vital requirement of motorists from theft. In this project effort has been taken to develop automobile location based system using GSM. This system alerts by sending a short message (SMS) to the owner of the vehicle when the engine is turned on. Immediately, the owner sends the message to turn off the engine in order to prevent the vehicle from theft. The notification is done with the help of GSM MODEM. In addition to the theft control system, the system also sends an appropriate message if an accident occurs. Air Bag System integrated with automobile location based system is used to sense the release of air bags during accident. Immediately a message will be sent to the police/emergency ambulance service for speedy action. This system has been designed and developed in a simple cost effective for USD 80 in a reliable manner.


Iron deficiency affects 40%-50% of pregnancies. Iron is critical for early neurodevelopmental processes that are dysregulated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We examined maternal iron intake in relation to ASD risk in California-born children enrolled in a population-based case-control study (the Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) Study) from 2003 to 2009 with a diagnosis of ASD (n = 520) or typical development (n = 346) that was clinically confirmed using standardized assessments. Mean maternal daily iron intake was quantified on the basis of frequency, dose, and brands of supplements and cereals consumed each month from 3 months before pregnancy through the end of pregnancy and during breastfeeding (the index period), as reported in parental interviews. Mothers of cases were less likely to report taking iron-specific supplements during the index period (adjusted odds ratio = 0.63, 95% confidence interval: 0.44, 0.91), and they had a lower mean daily iron intake (51.7 (standard deviation, 34.0) mg/day) than mothers of controls (57.1 (standard deviation, 36.6) mg/day; P = 0.03). The highest quintile of iron intake during the index period was associated with reduced ASD risk compared with the lowest (adjusted odds ratio = 0.49, 95% confidence interval: 0.29, 0.82), especially during breastfeeding. Low iron intake significantly interacted with advanced maternal age and metabolic conditions; combined exposures were associated with a 5-fold increased ASD risk. Further studies of this link between maternal supplemental iron and ASD are needed to inform ASD prevention strategies.


Recently, philosophers and psychologists defending the embodied cognition research program have offered arguments against mindreading as a general model of our social understanding. The embodied cognition arguments are of two kinds: those that challenge the developmental picture of mindreading and those that challenge the alleged ubiquity of mindreading. Together, these two kinds of arguments, if successful, would present a serious challenge to the standard account of human social understanding. In this paper, I examine the strongest of these embodied cognition arguments and argue that mindreading approaches can withstand the best of these arguments from embodied cognition.


summary This study explores the small-sample properties of five estimators (the unrestricted maximum likelihood estimator, the shrinkage restricted estimator, the shrinkage preliminary test estimator, the shrinkage estimator and the positiverule shrinkage estimator) using Monte Carlo experiments to confirm the asymptotic findings of Matin and Saleh (2005). It also explores the properties of test procedures (the Wald, the score and the likelihood ratio) in performing in estimators and tests under consideration. This study confirms the theoretical results in cases where comparisons are possible. When the number of explanatory variables is greater than or equal to 3 the shrinkage and the positive-rule shrinkage estimators always perform well. Considering the MSE the positive-rule shrinkage estimator performs better than the shrinkage estimator. The likelihood ratio test stands out to be the best. However, we lean toward the use of the Wald statistic when the problem of estimation is of paramount interest as it provides lower bias and MSE for the estimators.


For over three decades, driven by the core motive of deterring external threats to its security, Libya sought to acquire nuclear weapons. Having attempted but failed to procure them 'off the shelf' from several states during the 1970s, by late 2003 it had succeeded in assembling much of the technology required to manufacture them. Nevertheless, following secret negotiations with the UK and US governments, in December 2003 Colonel Muammar Gadhafi resolved to abandon the pursuit of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. This decision reflected the regime's radically altered security perceptions during the 1990s and early twenty-first century. The pursuit of nuclear weapons had come to be viewed as a strategic liability. This Adelphi Paper examines the motives for Libya's pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability, from Gadhafi's rise to power in 1969 through to late 2003. It assesses the proliferation pathways that the regime followed, including early dependence on Soviet technology and assistance and, subsequently, its reliance on the A.Q. Khan network. It examines the decision to give up the quest for nuclear weapons, focusing on the main factors that influenced the regime's calculations, including the perceived need to re-engage with the international community and the United States in particular. The process of dismantling the nuclear programme is also addressed, as is the question of whether Libya constitutes a 'model' for addressing the challenges posed by other proliferators.


This thesis aims to investigate the effects of innovation on firm performance in transition economies, measured by sales growth and export intensity. It takes into account the relevance of the novelty of innovation, open innovation methods, business environment factors and the stages of transition, factors not investigated by the previous literature on transition economies.
The research consists of three empirical investigations. First, the process of innovation and its effect on the firm performance in seven transition economies is explored using the CDM model and a firm level dataset drawn from the Eurostat's Community Innovation Surveys for the years 2004 and 2006 (separately and pooled). Second, the impact of innovation on firms' export performance is investigated for 28 transition economies, using BEEPS Survey data for the years 2002, 2005 and 2008. Third, the effect of innovation on export performance of firms in Kosovo is studied using primary firm level survey data undertaken by Riinvest Institute, in which the author was directly involved.
The work in this thesis makes a number of original contributions to the literature on transition economies and specifically in Kosovo. The extent of open innovation efforts, measured by the breadth of cooperation, significantly increases the sales of radical innovations (products new to the market), while the internal firm capabilities for innovation influence only incremental innovations (products new to the firm). Product and process innovations in recent past significantly increase the firms' sales growth. Public subsidies for innovation are generally not efficiently converted into innovation output, but significantly increase the sales growth of firms that have introduced radical innovations.
Furthermore, the firms' export intensity increases with the degree of product novelty (new products as opposed to significantly improved products) and the effect is higher in more advanced stages of transition. Firms in advanced reforming countries that perceive their domestic market environment as uncertain, are inclined to increase their export intensity, while a weakness of rule of law has a negative effect. Tertiary education of employees facilitates firms' export intensity in all transition stages, while specialised skills become effective only at the advanced stage of transition. Networking, knowledge spillovers and foreign ownership increase the firm's export intensity in all stages of transition. Largely, transition reforms moderate the effects of determinants of export performance.
Similar findings are confirmed in the investigation focusing on the firms in Kosovo. In terms of innovation, products introduced as new to the market have the highest positive effect on export intensity of firms. The export intensity also increases with number of newly introduced products, an innovation indicator introduced to the literature for the first time. Uncertain domestic environment encourages firms to increase their exporting activity, similar to the effect of university education and locational factors. Smaller firms indicate for catching-up with larger firms as the same factors show to exercise relatively higher effect on export intensity of micro and small firms.
Overall, the findings suggest that open innovation practices are more likely to induce novel innovations. The higher the degree of novelty the higher the influence on export intensity of firms. In addition, in countries with an uncertain domestic environment, export promotion policies can encourage firms to increase exporting activities and balance risks associated with the domestic market. These effects are moderated by the stage of transition.


What is the marginal effect of competitiveness on the power of electoral incentives? Addressing this question empirically is difficult because challenges to incumbents are endogenous to their behavior in office. To overcome this obstacle, we exploit a unique feature of Kansas courts: fourteen districts employ partisan elections to select judges, while seventeen employ noncompetitive retention elections. In the latter, therefore, challengers are ruled out. We find judges in partisan systems sentence more severely than those in retention systems. Additional tests attribute this to the incentive effects of potential competition, rather than the selection of more punitive judges in partisan districts. ∗Corresponding Author


Lu's [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction has experienced explosive development due to its versatile and powerful ability to access highly functionalized carbo- and heterocycles. After the first example reported by Prof. Xiyan Lu's group, many research groups expanded its substrate scope, and developed its asymmetric variants, and demonstrated its synthetic applications as well. This review briefly introduces the history of Lu's [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction and highlights the important developments and synthetic applications with respect to Lu's [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction.


Most optical processes occurring in nature are based on the well-known selection rules for optical transitions between electronic levels of atoms, molecules, and solids. Since in most situations the magnetic component of light has a negligible contribution, the dipolar electric approximation is generally assumed. However, this traditional understanding is challenged by nanostructured materials, which interact strongly with light and produce very large enhancements of the magnetic field in their surroundings. Here we report on the magnetic response of different metallic nanostructures and their influence on the spectroscopy of molecular oxygen, a paradigmatic example of dipole-forbidden optical transitions in photochemistry.


ABSTRACT This study aimed to explore the relationships between students' perceived learning practices and associated self-efficacies regarding mobile-assisted seamless science learning. The learning practices for mobile-assisted seamless science learning questionnaire was developed with three scales that denote learning supported by mobile technology. These scales included authentic learning, self-directed learning, and collaborative learning with information and communication technology. Associated self-efficacies promoted by mobile-assisted seamless science learning could include authentic problem-solving, creative thinking and academic self-efficacy. A sample of 312 primary school students from China responded to the mobile-assisted seamless science learning questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the mobile-assisted seamless science learning questionnaire had high reliability and validity. The path analysis results analysed via a structural equation modelling technique implied that primary school students' perceived self-directed learning and authentic learning were important as positive predictors for authentic problem-solving efficacy, which may function as a partial mediation variable in the effect of students' perceptions of learning practices on the academic self-efficacy of mobile-assisted seamless science learning. The findings highlighted that learning practices (i.e. authentic learning and self-directed learning) and authentic problem-solving efficacy are both indispensable and mutually reinforcing. This can provide some insights for promoting mobile learning in science learning in the future.


A two degree-of-freedom model, consisting of a rigid rotor supported on rigid bearings which are in turn supported on squeeze film dampers, is considered. Isotropic centering springs are assumed resulting in a steady synchronous centered circular response for the rotor. The resulting nonlinear system is modeled in nondimensional form. The transmissibility ratio of the system as well as the power dissipated are minimized for various values of unbalance and at several speeds, with the squeeze film bearing parameter as the primary design variable. Expressions are derived for linear variational stability of the circular orbit, and are imposed as constraints in the optimization process. The dependence of the optimal configuration on speed and unbalance is discussed.


The exploration of new business models based on paid content strategies in the digital environment has generated an important discussion regarding the willingness to pay for online news. Previous studies have neglected local newspapers, although several analyses have clearly identified the local (news) as a fundamental asset to convince readers to pay for information. Based on a national survey of 1,637 U.S. adults, the research presented here systematically evaluates factors that influence the willingness to pay for online local news. Results of the logistic regression analysis reveals relationships between paying intent and predictor variables such as demographics (age and gender), media use (print and online newspapers), news interest, and traditional newspaper subscription. Finally, managerial and theoretical implications are discussed.


B chromosomes are genome symbionts, the presence of which in many eukaryote species is explained, in most cases, by their violation of Mendelian rules, usually based on meiotic or mitotic instability, leading to their accumulation in the germ line (drive). However, B chromosome integration into the genome as a regular member of the chromosome set should imply the loss of drive. A possible way of bypassing this difficulty is to regularize meiosis when the B chromosome is frequent in the population, in order to yield gametes with one B chromosome. In diploid organisms, this task needs to be achieved in the two sexes, but in haplodiploids the problem simplifies to only the diploid sex. We have found, to the authors' knowledge, the first evidence of a B chromosome that is regularizing its meiotic behaviour and limiting its number to one B chromosome per haploid genome, the same dosage as the standard (A) chromosomes, in the solitary wasp Trypoxylon albitarse. It suggests a possible mechanism for B chromosome integration as a regular member of the chromosome complement.


Cancer is a highly complex disease that can encompass multiple genomic alterations in the progression from normal to diseased cell. Recent studies point to the significance of copy number aberrations in the etiology of cancer, with the number and complexity of these aberrations being indicative of overall prognosis. Additionally, the detection and characterization of subclones is also understood to be important for understanding clonal evolution of the cancer and thus patient monitoring and treatment decisions. Genome-wide copy number analysis is a powerful means to understand the genetic basis of solid tumors. With the majority of solid tumors typically stored as formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue, retrospectively analyzing these samples with available outcome data is a cost-effective route to prognostic and predictive biomarker discovery. Our expert panel will describe their research and discoveries, and how they have overcome the significant challenges of extracting copy number data from often degraded, heterogeneous FFPE samples.


Objective: The goal of the current study was to identify neurophysiological indices of binaural processing in children with no history of hearing loss or listening problems. The results will guide our efforts to diagnose children for whom impaired binaural processing may contribute to difficulty understanding speech in adverse listening environments. Our main aim was to document the cortical auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) in response to interaural intensity differences (IIDs) in children. It is well known, however, that the morphology of AEPs is substantially different in children and adults. Comparison of AEPs in response to IIDs between children and adults allowed us to evaluate age-related differences in the AEP waveform of binaural processing. Design: Nine children (ages 7 yr 0 mo to 9 yr 4 mo) and 11 adults (23 to 34 yr) with normal hearing and no known or suspected neurological or academic problems listened to click stimuli under earphones. Click trains consisted of broadband noise of 1-msec duration with a click rate of 100 Hz. In the experimental condition (IID-present) 50-msec intervals containing an interaural intensity difference of 20 dB were introduced periodically in the continuous stream of otherwise diotic click trains. The diotic trains alternated in intensity between 50 and 70 dB peSPL. In the baseline condition (IID-absent), the same continuous diotic click stream utilized in the IID-present condition was presented with no IID. Finally, for comparison with existing literature on AEPs in children and adults, we presented monaural click trains of 50-msec duration, like those used in the IID stimulus (but with no continuous stream) to the left ear at 70 dB peSPL, with an interstimulus interval of 750 msec. Stimuli were presented in separate blocks for each stimulus type and AEPs were recorded in a passive listening condition. Results: A prominent AEP activation was present in both age groups for the IID-present condition; the IID-absent condition did not evoke substantial AEPs. Adult waveform characteristics of the AEPs to monaural clicks and IID-present around 100 and 200 msec were comparable to previous reports. The children demonstrated the expected AEP activation patterns in response to monaural clicks (i.e., positivity around 100 msec, followed by prominent negativity around 250 msec); however their AEP waveforms to IIDs were mainly comprised of a prolonged positivity around 200 to 250 msec after stimulus onset. A two-step temporal-spatial Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to evaluate the temporal (time) and spatial (electrode location) composition of the AEP waveforms in children and adults in response to IID-present and IID-absent conditions. Separate repeated-measures ANOVAs with factor scores as the dependent variable were conducted for each temporal factor (TF) representing the waveform deflections around 100, 200 and 250 msec (i.e., TF110, TF200, and TF255) at the frontocentral spatial factor (SF1). Significantly greater negative activation was observed in adults than in children in response to IID-present for TF110. The IID-present condition evoked a significantly greater waveform inflection for TF200 in both age groups than IID-absent. A positive going activation for TF255 was observed in the IID-present condition in children but not in adults. Conclusions: This study compared obligatory AEPs in response to binaural processing of IIDs in children and adults with normal hearing. The morphology of the AEP waveform in children was different for monaural clicks and IID-present stimuli. The difference between AEPs for monaural clicks and IID-present did not occur in adults. It is likely that polarity reversal of the AEPs in response to the IID accounts for the observed AEP morphology in children.


Background: Medical thoracoscopy (MT) or pleuroscopy is a procedure performed to diagnose and treat malignant and benign pleural diseases. Totally 2752 pleuroscopies executed in 1984–2013 in our center were considered in this study. Methods: A retrospective observational study was performed. Observational time was divided into six series of 5 years. We calculated MT diagnostic yield and analyzed trends of main diseases diagnosed along the time. Results: Along the 30 years population became progressively older. Number of pleuroscopies firstly increased, then stabilized and decreased in the last 5 years. The overall diagnostic yield of MT was 71%, increasing from 57% to 79%. The diagnostic yield was significantly higher in the presence of monolateral pleural effusion. Cancer represented more than half of diagnosis; tuberculosis was the most common nonneoplastic disease. The frequency of all cancers, mesothelioma, and lung cancer increased through the time; tuberculosis first decreased and then increased. All specimens resulted appropriate during the last 25 years. Conclusion: MT has a great diagnostic yield that can be improved by practice, permitting to achieve a specific histological diagnosis in about 80% of patients. Our experience demonstrates that the accurate selection of the patients undergoing to MT is very important to reach these results.


We present a representation for describing transition models in complex uncertain domains using relational rules. For any action, a rule selects a set of relevant objects and computes a distribution over properties of just those objects in the resulting state given their properties in the previous state. An iterative greedy algorithm is used to construct a set of deictic references that determine which objects are relevant in any given state. Feed-forward neural networks are used to learn the transition distribution on the relevant objects' properties. This strategy is demonstrated to be both more versatile and more sample efficient than learning a monolithic transition model in a simulated domain in which a robot pushes stacks of objects on a cluttered table.


Human rights provisions addressing technology have been much ignored. The connections between technology and human rights have, however, received renewed interest recently. Patent disputes, stagnation in publicly funded research, and the role of technology in meeting the Millennium Development Goals are three areas of substantial interest. After an analysis of the two main provisions on technology of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), Article 11.2(a) and Article 15.1(b), the relationship between technology and environment is analyzed. As also evidenced in two other treaties, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, there is no assumption of any conflict between technology and the environment. International cooperation for the realization of the right to food is widely acknowledged, and such cooperation also includes technological efforts to produce more high-yielding varieties. The article proves that there is a basis in human rights treaties, especially in the ICESCR, for serving as a guidance in the formulation and implementation of technology policies. The wording of the relevant paragraphs are, however, not of such a kind as to set out clear and unambiguous obligations.


a focal ellipsoidal cavitation field with a 2 cm depth. An increase in treatment energy or intensity resulted in a more intense cavitation field with a larger diameter. Focused treatment of the marbleembedded gel produced a disturbance of the marble-gel interface with increased cavitation intensity at increased treatment energy. Unfocused shockwave treatment of the polyacrylamide gel produced a focal cavitation field superficially at the site of treatment. However, the cavitation field displayed a radiating pattern with deeper propagation into the gel. Increasing the treatment intensity led to a corresponding increase in the intensity of the cavitation field. Unfocused shock wave treatment of marble-embedded gel showed no observable change in the marble-gel interface. Treatment of porcine thigh with both focused and unfocused shock wave at low and high energy and intensity did not produce any observable changes. Conclusion: The result of ESWT in polyacrylamide gel indicates that deep tissue stimulation with an unfocused shock wave source may not yield any benefits because high tissue impedance may reduce shock wave propagation. However, focused shock wave may be more favorable for deep tissue stimulation.


The SV channel encoded by the TPC1 gene represents a Ca(2+)- and voltage-dependent vacuolar cation channel. Point mutation D454N within TPC1, named fou2 for fatty acid oxygenation upregulated 2, results in increased synthesis of the stress hormone jasmonate. As wounding causes Ca2+ signals and cytosolic Ca2+ is required for SV channel function, we here studied the Ca(2+)-dependent properties of this major vacuolar cation channel with Arabidopsis thaliana mesophyll vacuoles. In patch clamp measurements, wild-type and fou2 SV channels did not exhibit differences in cytosolic Ca2+ sensitivity and Ca2+ impermeability. K+ fluxes through wild-type TPC1 were reduced or even completely faded away when vacuolar Ca2+ reached the 0.1-mm level. The fou2 protein under these conditions, however, remained active. Thus, D454N seems to be part of a luminal Ca2+ recognition site. Thereby the SV channel mutant gains tolerance towards elevated luminal Ca2+. A three-fold higher vacuolar Ca/K ratio in the fou2 mutant relative to wild-type plants seems to indicate that fou2 can accumulate higher levels of vacuolar Ca(2+) before SV channel activity vanishes and K(+) homeostasis is impaired. In response to wounding fou2 plants might thus elicit strong vacuole-derived cytosolic Ca2+ signals resulting in overproduction of jasmonate.


The term "spin caloritronics" defines a novel branch of spintronics that focuses on the interplay between electron spins with heat currents. In the frame of this research area, this thesis is aimed at investigating the effect of a heat current on magnetization dynamics in two different typologies of systems and materials: magnetic insulators and metallic nanostructures. In the first case we conduct studies on yttrium iron garnet (YIG) samples subjected to a temperature gradient. The irreversible thermodynamics of a continuous medium with magnetic dipoles predicts that a thermal gradient across a YIG slab, in the presence of magnetization waves, produces a magnetic field that is the magnetic analog of the well known Seebeck effect. This thermally induced field can influence the time evolution of the magnetization, in such a way that it is possible to modulate the relaxation of the precession when applying a heat current. We found evidence for such a magnetic Seebeck effect (MSE) by conducting transmission measurements in a thin slab of YIG subjected to an in-plane temperature gradient. We showed how the MSE can modulate the magnetic damping depending on the direction of the propagating magnetostatic modes with respect to the orientation of the temperature gradient. In the second part of the thesis we focus our investigation on metallic nanostructures subjected to a heat current. In a metal, the three-current model (current of entropy, of spin up and spin down electrons) predicts that a heat current induces a spin current which will then influence the magnetization dynamics like a charge-driven spin current would. Hence, we explore what has been called Thermal Spin Torque in electrodeposited Co / Cu / Co asymmetric spin valves placed in the middle of copper nanowires. These samples are fabricated by conventional electrodeposition technique in porous polycarbonate membranes using an original method that allows high frequency electrical measurements. We used a modulated laser to investigate the effect of a temperature gradient. We observed a heat-driven spin torque by measuring electrically the quasi-static magnetic response of a spin valve when subjected to the heat current, generated by two laser diodes heating the electrical contact at one end or the other of the nanowire. Analysing the variation in the resistance induced by a heat-driven spin torque, represented by peaks occurring in correspondence with the GMR transition, we found that a temperature difference of the order of 5 K is sufficient to produce sizeable torque in spin valves.


BACKGROUND
Little research has been conducted about the quality, benefits, costs, and financial considerations associated with health information technology (HIT), particularly informatics technologies, such as e-prescribing, from the perspective of all its stakeholders.

OBJECTIVES
This research effort sought to identify the stakeholders involved in e-prescribing and to identify and rank-order the positives and the negatives from the perspective of the stakeholders to create a framework to assist in the development of incentives and payment mechanisms which result in better managed care.

METHODS
The Delphi method was employed by enlisting a panel of experts. They were presented with the results of initial research in an online survey of questions which sought to prioritize the quality, benefit, cost, and financial effects of e-prescribing from the perspective of each stakeholder. From the results of this study, a framework was presented to framework experts.

RESULTS
The experts added stakeholders and positives and negatives to the initial lists and rank-ordered the positives and negatives of e-prescribing from the perspective of each stakeholder. The aggregate results were summarized by category of stakeholder. The framework experts evaluated the framework.

CONCLUSIONS
Positives and negatives can be rank-ordered from the perspective of each stakeholder. A useful framework was created.


A new trend in the field of Aeronautical Engine Health Monitoring is the implementation of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for data acquisition and condition monitoring to partially replace heavy and complex wiring harnesses, which limit the versatility of the monitoring process as well as creating practical deployment issues. Augmenting wired with wireless technologies will fuel opportunities for reduced cabling, faster sensor and network deployment, increased data acquisition flexibility, and reduced cable maintenance costs. However, embedding wireless technology into an aero engine (even in the ground testing application considered here) presents some very significant challenges, for example, a harsh environment with a complex RF transmission channel, high sensor density, and high data rate. In this paper we discuss the results of the Wireless Data Acquisition in Gas Turbine Engine Testing (WIDAGATE) project, which aimed to design and simulate such a network to estimate network performance and derisk the wireless techniques before the deployment.


This paper depicts a sensor-based map navigation approach which targets users, who due to disabilities or lack of technical knowledge are currently not in the focus of map system developments for personalized information. What differentiates our approach from the state-of-art mostly integrating localized social media data, is that our vision is to integrate real time sensor generated data that indicates the situation of different phenomena (such as the physiological functions of the body) related to the user. The challenge hereby is mainly related to knowledge representation and integration. The tentative impact of our vision for future navigation systems is reflected within a scenario.


American universities, belatedly following their professional sports counterparts, are constructing new stadiums. A portion of the funds typically provided to athletic departments are drawn from general university resources. Besides increased revenue flows, indirect benefits that contribute to university objectives are typically cited as part of the demand for a new college stadium. Examples of these spillover benefits are an enhanced campus community, a higher quality student body, and more alumni donations. We analyze a university's stadium proposal and apply standard capital budgeting techniques to the proposed stadium's estimated cash flows. It is revealed that the project is a sound financial investment only under the most optimistic circumstances. Yet, the investment can be worthwhile to the university if the net value of the spillover benefits exceeds the financial loss. We consider all likely spillovers, and conclude that it is more likely the desired spillover benefits can be more efficiently achieved with other investment choices.


The thrust of Avery Dulles's paper is clear. As civil religion is eroding, pluralism goes unchecked. This, in turn, is causing a movement downward: Government, not being able to appeal to shared convictions, practices a method of avoiding divisive issues. I agree with both the premises and the conclusion of this argument. In fact, in the final part of my comments I shall add another illustration of this methodical avoidance, that is, the substitution of culture for religion in matters of so-called multiculturalism. Where I disagree is with respect to the conclusion that Dulles then draws, namely, that we should try to strengthen civil religion. I am less positive about civil religion. In this respect I allow for more pluralism. Sander Griffioen, "After Civil Religion," Journal of Markets & Morality 5, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 193-198


This paper examines the impact of habit formation on demand for life-contingent claims in a life-cycle model. We solve the optimal consumption, portfolio choice, and life insurance/annuity problem analytically, and illustrate the mechanism how consumption habit can alter the bequest motive and therefore drive the demand for life-contingent products. We show that habit formation alone can partially address the mismatch in the life insurance market between the life insurance holdings of most households and their underlying financial vulnerabilities, or the mismatch in the annuity market between the lack of any annuitization and the risk of outliving their financial wealth, but not both. However, habit formation together with social security may shed some light on the puzzling thinness of both life insurance and voluntary annuity market.


Abstract Knowledge of the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognition in older adults has primarily come from studies of clinically depressed, functionally impaired or cognitively impaired individuals, and in predominately White samples. Limited minority representation in depression research exposes the need to examine these associations in more ethnic/racially diverse populations. We sought to examine the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognition in a sample of non-demented older African Americans recruited from surrounding U.S. cities of New York, Greensboro, Miami, and Nashville (N=944). Depressive symptoms were evaluated with the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Cognition was evaluated with a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Test scores were summarized into attention, executive function, memory, language, and processing speed composites. Controlling for age, education, reading level, and sex, African American older adults who endorsed more symptoms obtained significantly lower scores on measures of memory, language, processing speed, and executive functioning. Further investigation of the causal pathway underlying this association, as well as potential mediators of the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive test performance among older African Americans, such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, may offer potential avenues for intervention. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–8)


ABSTRACT Members of the human APOBEC3 family of editing enzymes can inhibit various mobile genetic elements. APOBEC3A (A3A) can block the retrotransposon LINE-1 and the parvovirus adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV-2) but does not inhibit retroviruses. In contrast, APOBEC3G (A3G) can block retroviruses but has only limited effects on AAV-2 or LINE-1. What dictates this differential target specificity remains largely undefined. Here, we modeled the structure of A3A based on its homology with the C-terminal domain of A3G and further compared the sequence of human A3A to those of 11 nonhuman primate orthologues. We then used these data to perform a mutational analysis of A3A, examining its ability to restrict LINE-1, AAV-2, and foreign plasmid DNA and to edit a single-stranded DNA substrate. The results revealed an essential functional role for the predicted single-stranded DNA-docking groove located around the A3A catalytic site. Within this region, amino acid differences between A3A and A3G are predicted to affect the shape of the polynucleotide-binding groove. Correspondingly, transferring some of these A3A residues to A3G endows the latter protein with the ability to block LINE-1 and AAV-2. These results suggest that the target specificity of APOBEC3 family members is partly defined by structural features influencing their interaction with polynucleotide substrates.


Additive manufacturing (AM) of nickel-based superalloys, due to high temperature gradients during the building process, typically promotes epitaxial growth of columnar grains with strong crystallographic texture in form of a 〈001〉 fibre or a cube texture. Understanding the mutual dependency between AM process parameters, the resulting microstructure and the effective mechanical properties of the material is of great importance to accelerate the development of the manufacturing process. In this work, a multi-scale micromechanical model is employed to gain deeper insight into the influence of various texture characteristics on the creep behavior of an IN738 superalloy. The creep response is characterized using a phenomenological crystal plasticity creep model that considers the characteristic γ–γ′ microstructure and all active deformation mechanisms. The results reveal that the creep strength increases with decreasing texture intensities and reaches its maximum when the 〈001〉 fibre and cube textures are misaligned to the specimen building direction by 45°. The simulations also predict that the uncommon 〈111〉 and 〈110〉 fibres offer significantly higher creep resistance than the typically observed 〈001〉 fibre, which provides a further incentive to investigate AM processing conditions that can produce these unique textures in the material. As the intensities and the alignment of 〈001〉 fibre and cube textures can be attributed to the laser energy density and the scan strategy employed and as the formation of distinct fibre textures depends on the geometry of the resulting melt pool, the laser powder bed fusion process parameters can be optimized to obtain microstructures with features that improve the creep properties.


Abstract There are relatively few well-documented cases where significant amounts of oil (> 500 million barrels) have their origin from coals or their associated carbonaceous shales. The best-documented cases are from Australia and Indonesia and possibly the North Sea. The extensive debate as to whether coals as such or their associated carbonaceous shales are the source for oil has been essentially sterile: it has failed to take into account the heterogeneous nature of coals, the variety of their floral origins and the continuity of mineral dilution from pure coal to carbonaceous shale. Each case must be considered on its merits. The overall petrographic composition of coal is a poor guide to its petroleum potential. Sub-microscopic lipids of bacterial and also plant origin occur in vitrinite and inertinite and contribute significantly to petroleum potential. Suberinite and cutinite are the major source of waxy hydrocarbons. Hydrogen Indices measured on the immature versions of documented terrigenous source rocks are surprisingly low falling in the range 200–350 and occasionally lower. There is not a simple relationship between the elemental composition of terrigenous kerogen, the gross pyrolysis yield by Rock-Eval and the yield of normal hydrocarbons in pyrolysis gaschromatography. Our assessment of liquid potential in marginal source rocks, wherein most terrigenous sediments lie, is far from perfect. A combination of the mass balance approach in conjunction with pyrolysis studies has been shown to be the most effective way of demonstrating source potential and hydrocarbon products (gas vs. oil) expected from these marginal source rocks. There is clear evidence that significant amounts of gas are generated in the conventional oil window, and that high gas to oil ratios facilitate migration from the leaner source rocks. Comparative maturation studies on oils and gas-condensates show that they can be generated at similar maturation levels. The majority of terrigenous oils and condensates are paraffinic and the oils may have a high wax content. Exceptions occur when resin is a significant source in which case there is an increased proportion of naphthenic and aromatic hydrocarbons. Oils derived from coal-bearing sequences have high pristane to phytane ratios (>4.0); they have a high proportion of iso- and anteiso-alkanes derived from bacterial sources; hopanes predominate over steranes which are dominated by the C29 member. A variety of diterpenoid hydrocarbons may be found which relate to the nature of the parent flora and increasingly can be used for oil-source correlation in non-marine sequences.


Objective: Trauma accounts for a large proportion of childhood deaths. No data exist about injury patterns within paediatric trauma in the UK. Identification of specific high-risk injury patterns may lead to improved care and outcome. Methods: Data from 24 218 paediatric trauma cases recorded by the Trauma Audit and Research Network (TARN) from 1990 to 2005 were analysed. Main injury, injury patterns and outcome were analysed. Mortality at 93 days' post-injury was the major outcome measure. Results: Limb injuries occurred in 65.0% of patients. In infants 81.4% of head injuries were isolated, compared with 46.5% in 11–15-year-old children. Thoracic injuries were associated with other injuries in 68.4%. The overall mortality rate was 3.7% (n = 893). Mortality decreased from 4.2% to 3.1%; this was most evident in non-isolated head injuries. It was low in isolated injuries: 1.5% (n = 293). In children aged 1–15 years the highest mortalities occurred in multiple injuries including head/thoracic (47.7%) and head/abdominal injuries (49.9%). Having a Glasgow Coma Scale of <15 on presentation to hospital was associated with a mortality of 16%. Conclusions: Differences in injury patterns and mortality exist between different age groups and high-risk injury patterns can be identified. With increasing age, a decline in the proportion of children with head injury and an increase in the proportion with limb injury were observed. This information is useful for directing ongoing care of severely injured children. Future analyses of the TARN database may help to evaluate the management of high-risk children and to identify the most effective care.


This paper focuses on how migration affects fertility in countries of origin and destination through the dissemination of values and information as well as through decisions to postpone the birth of children before departure. The heterogeneity in the fertility of women from various migrant groups is underlined in most studies, many of which indicate that the total fertility rates of migrants originating from high-fertility countries exceed the average in destination countries. While the various mechanisms underlying migrant fertility patterns and convergence have been examined, much less attention has been paid to the diffusion of host-country fertility norms across sending countries by emigrants and returnees. The prospect that immigrant inflows can save low-fertility receiving countries from population aging and decline has, in recent years, become increasingly attractive. Proponents argue for the rejuvenating effect of sustained entries of young migrants in preserving overall population size, the size of the workforce, and the age structure of the population. However, while immigration usually reduces the average age of the host populations, it cannot reverse population aging except through very high and exponentially increasing inflows. The demographic changes occurring in the developing world, particularly the declining birth rates in sending countries, will generate a new dynamic. A new generation of migrants with no spouses or children in the home country will have different motivations than did earlier generations of migrants, for whom sending remittances to a family left behind was a prime consideration, followed – in some cases – by family reunification.


An important component of proteomic research is the high-throughput discovery of novel proteins and protein–protein interactions that control molecular events that contribute to critical cellular functions and human disease. The interactions of proteins are essential for cellular functions. Identifying perturbation of normal cellular protein interactions is vital for understanding the disease process and intervening to control the disease. A second area of proteomics research is the discovery of proteins that will serve as biomarkers for the early detection, diagnosis and drug treatment response for specific diseases. These studies have been referred to as clinical proteomics. To discover biomarkers, proteomics research employs the quantitative comparison of peptide and protein expression in body fluids and tissues from diseased individuals (case) versus normal individuals (control). Methods that couple 2D capillary liquid chromatography (LC) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) analysis have greatly facilitated this discovery science. Coupling 2D-LC/MS/MS analysis with automated genome-assisted spectra interpretation allows a direct, high-throughput and high-sensitivity identification of thousands of individual proteins from complex biological samples. The systematic comparison of experimental conditions and controls allows protein function or disease states to be modeled. This review discusses the different purification and quantification strategies that have been developed and used in combination with 2D-LC/MS/MS and computational analysis to examine regulatory protein networks and clinical samples.


Regulatory policy can create economic and social benefits, but poorly designed or excessive regulation may generate substantial adverse effects on the economy. In this paper, we present measures of sentiment and uncertainty about regulation in the U.S. over time and examine their relationships with macroeconomic performance. We construct the measures using lexicon-based sentiment analysis of an original news corpus, which covers 493,418 news articles related to regulation from seven leading U.S. newspapers. As a result, we build monthly indexes of sentiment and uncertainty about regulation and categorical indexes for 14 regulatory policy areas from January 1985 to August 2020. Impulse response functions indicate that a negative shock to sentiment about regulation is associated with large, persistent drops in future output and employment, while increased regulatory uncertainty overall reduces output and employment temporarily. These results suggest that sentiment about regulation plays a more important economic role than uncertainty about regulation. Furthermore, economic outcomes are particularly sensitive to sentiment around transportation regulation and to uncertainty around labor regulation.


The apical ectodermal ridge (AER) was formed at stage 51 of Bufo regularis, it persisted at stage 52 (limb bud acquiring paddle-shaped outline), then it disappeared by stage 53 (first indication of fourth and fifth toes). Mitotic index (MI) in the AER (stage 51) was higher ( 40%) than that of the apical ectoderm at stage 50, then it decreased (15%) by stage 52. By apical ectoderm removal at stage 50, the wound epithelium formed an AER by stage 51. The operated bud (80% of cases) showed a decrease in its volume and there was no significant difference in mesenchyme MI. By AER removal at stage 51, it reformed showing normal appearance (70% of cases), and a pronounced decrease in limb size was also observed. Mesenchyme MI (stage 51) was decreased 30% distally and 20% proximally, then distal mesenchyme revealed another decrease (15% ), and by stage 52, MI increased distally (20% ). Proximal mesenchyme exhibited a pronounced decrease ( 40% ). It is suggested that AER removal reduced the mesenchyme mitotic activity and caused delaying of limb development in early stages, and might play an important role in morphogenetic pattern and in maintaining outgrowth.


The need for hands-free communication has led to an increased popularity in the use of headsets with mobile phones. Comfort and portability concerns have led to the desire for headsets with a small form factor. Unfortunately, this size constraint typically requires that the microphone be placed farther from the user's mouth, making it highly susceptible to environmental noise. One long term goal of our work is to develop a headset that can achieve the sound capture performance of a close-talking microphone located at the user's mouth, while maintaining the desired compact size. Toward this end, we have designed a headset consisting of three air microphones and a bone-conductive sensor. The speech enhancement is performed in two stages, a fixed beamformer followed by a single-channel adaptive post-filter. Unlike other techniques, the beamformer is calibrated in a purely data-driven manner. The bone sensor provides a robust speech activity detector for use in the post-filtering stage. We present preliminary experimental results using real data collected in multiple environments. The proposed approach results in significant improvements in both speech recognition accuracy and SNR.


The purpose of this Open Access Information Literacy module is to provide students with an interactive, online question-and-answer module to teach the basic fundamentals of information literacy and its uses as defined by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. This module's audience is a firstyear/freshman writing or composition student, but research has shown there is a lack of information literacy among all levels of college education. The need for information literacy and library classroom instruction at the collegiate level has grown significantly in response to the exponential growth of information available for students when using the Internet as a research tool. Outside of direct library instruction, which is often dependent on a professor carving out class time to have students interact with librarians, students are not universally equipped with basic information literacy skills. Information literacy terms like scholarly, peer-review, journal article, database, and plagiarism that appear undefined in syllabi and rubrics leave students to define the terms and interpret their uses themselves. Students learn to use research methods through trial and error, differing citation styles, and evaluate information. Please adapt questions (denoted by asterisks) as needed to fit specific university/college standard use of practice.