Punta Cana, one of the largest tourist destinations in the Caribbean, is located in the western part of the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola. Increased human activity has had a negative impact on the aquatic ecosystems, significantly decreasing the number of coral reefs, mangroves and sea grasses. The decline is not only occurring in the Caribbean, but also worldwide and is attributed to human and natural causes. It is believed that the degradation of aquatic ecosystems is partially driven by increased sedimentation. Sedimentation levels directly impact the wellbeing of aquatic ecosystems. Suspended particles reduce the amount of light that penetrates the water, which reduces photosynthesis and the production of dissolved oxygen. The suspended material can clog fish gills reducing their resistance to disease, lowering growth rates and affecting egg and larval production. Increased sedimentation means a thicker layer of particles accumulates on the floor of the aquatic biome and smothers eggs and benthic macroinvertebrates. The Indigenous Eyes Ecological Reserve, situated on 1500 acres of protected land on the resort, has twelve freshwater lagoons. Since only three of them are open to swimming, it was an ideal natural setting to conduct an experiment to compare the effect of human activity on the levels of sedimentation in two lagoons ‐ one open and one closed to swimming. We also measured the effect of sedimentation levels on the size of the Tarebia granifera in each of the lagoons. The data was analyzed using One-Way ANOVA.


After a decade and a half of research in academia and industry, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are seen as a key infrastructure able to monitor the environment in which they are immersed, thanks to their miniaturization, autonomy, and flexibility. Still, outdoor deployments of WSNs (e.g., in forests) are notoriously difficult to get right, partly due to the fact that their low-power wireless communication is greatly affected by the characteristics of the target environment (e.g., temperature, humidity, foliage). In the absence of quantitative evidence about the target application environments, the asset that drives a successful and reliable outdoor deployment is the experience gained from previous deployments, lab-like testbeds, or simulators that however often do not resemble the real-world environments. The general goal of this dissertation is to support the principled design and deployment of WSNs by improving the understanding of how the natural outdoor environment affects the network stack, and providing tools and modeling techniques to address this impact. This constitutes the premise for WSNs to be a credible tool for domain experts (e.g., biologists) operating in this field. Our own practical need to design and deploy a reliable WSN system for wildlife monitoring in the mountains near Trento, Italy, pushed our goals towards a deployment and application oriented perspective, whose ultimate objectives are: supporting the WSN deployment; informing the selection or design of protocols, to ensure they are well-suited to the target environment; deriving models to push the envelope of what can be predicted or simulated beforehand. To achieve these goals we must start from the first step—assessing quantitatively the characteristics of the low-power wireless links in-field, i.e., in the environment where the WSN must be deployed. To this end, we contribute with Trident and Harpoon, tools for in-field connectivity and routing performance assessment that support principled, repeatable, automated, and flexible collection of measurements in the target environment without the need for a tethered infrastructure and without requiring coding from the end user. Then, using these tools we collect a large set of data traces from six campaigns across different years, environments and seasons, whose analysis quantified the impact of the environmental factors on the network stack, focusing primarily on the physical and routing layers. Finally, we exploit the data traces to create models for both estimating the link quality at run-time and reproducing realistic network conditions in simulators. We argue that the tools we expressly designed for gathering in-field empirical traces, the understanding and quantitative characterization of data traces from real environments, and the modeling, together significantly advance the state of the art by rendering the process of designing and deploying a WSN more repeatable and predictable.


This study assessed the social and biophysical impacts of camping in the eucalypt forests of southwestern Western Australia. This was an integrated study examining both biophysical and social impacts in designated, developed and informal recreation areas used for camping. Four existing and proposed national parks and a Reserve, comprised of 110 designated and 12 informal campsites, provided the study sites. Previous research has focused on backcountry campsites and trails in wilderness areas in United States. A combined survey approach using multiple indicator ratings and measures was used to assess the biophysical impacts of camping. Adjustments to monitoring procedures used in backcountry areas were made so that the indicators were applicable to designated, developed campsites where a management footprint has been imposed. Visitors were surveyed at the designated campsites to establish how existing recreation opportunities were being used. Further, potential indicators and standards were identified to determine what kinds of social and resource conditions were acceptable to visitors and managers. A rating system was then developed combining biophysical and social indicators of importance to visitors and managers with their perceptions of acceptable change obtained from the surveys. Based on the indices derived from the rating system and results for a suite of associated indicators, designated campsites were significantly less impacted than informal ones. For both campsite types the amount of tree damage and litter exceeded the standards set by 50% of visitors and managers. Both visitors and managers were generally more concerned about biophysical impacts than they were about social ones, although site cleanliness was of concern. Both were generally satisfied with the size and number of groups encountered, in contrast to study findings from the United States. This study has developed and successfully applied an integrated approach to monitoring the impacts of recreational use on forested campsites in southwestern Australia. This system effectively and efficiently uses a combination of multiple indicator ratings and measures to produce an impact index, plus social surveys to provide information on conditions, indicators and standards of importance to managers and visitors. It also provides a means for the first time, of objectively monitoring designated, developed campsites where it is inappropriate to judge impacts against an undisturbed control.


The health benefits of fruits and vegetables have been the subject of numerous investigations over many years. Two natural substances, quercetin (a flavonoid) and citrus pectin (a polysaccharide found in the cell wall of plants) are of particular interest to cancer researchers. Two modified versions of these substances - quercetin chalcone (QC) and a pH-modified citrus pectin (MCP) - are the focus of this study. Previous research has confirmed that quercetin exhibits antitumor properties, likely due to immune stimulation, free radical scavenging, alteration of the mitotic cycle in tumor cells, gene expression modification, anti-angiogenesis activity, or apoptosis induction, or a combination of these effects. MCP has inhibited metastases in animal studies of prostate cancer and melanoma. To date, no study has demonstrated a reduction in solid tumor growth with MCP, and there is no research into the antitumor effect of QC. This study examines the effects of MCP and QC on the size and weight of colon-25 tumors implanted in balb-c mice. Fifty mice were orally administered either 1 ml distilled water (controls), low-dose QC (0.8 mg/ml), high-dose QC (1.6 mg/ml), low-dose MCP (0. 8 mg/ml) or high-dose MCP (1.6 mg/ml) on a daily basis, beginning the first day of tumor palpation (usually eight days post-implantation). A significant reduction in tumor size was noted at day 20 in all groups compared to controls. The groups given low-dose QC and MCP had a 29-percent (NS) and 38-percent (p<0.02) decrease in size, respectively. The high-dose groups had an even more impressive reduction in size; 65 percent in the QC group and 70 percent in the mice given MCP (both p<0.001). This is the first evidence that MCP can reduce the growth of solid primary tumors, and the first research showing QC has antitumor activity. Additional research on these substances and their effect on human cancers is warranted.


Eggplant shoot and fruit borer (ESFB), Leucinodes orbonalis G. is a key pest of eggplant, Solanum melongena L. Organophosphates (OP) having high toxicity and persistence are used to control the pests in many developing countries, despite availability of new insecticides with better qualities. Field evaluation of thiacloprid and indoxacarb were carried out against ESFB, with an OP insecticide, methyl parathion. Two Bacillus thuriegensis (Bt) based formulations namely Biolep and PUSA Bt and two azadirachtin formulations namely Neem Seed Kernal Extract (NSKE) and Nimbo Bas were also evaluated against ESFB for the management of the pest. HPLC and GC methods for the estimation of indoxacarb, thiacloprid and methyl parathion from the fruits were developed and their dissipation patterns and safety parameters were compared. For indoxacarb, the method involving Florisil gave highest recovery (88%) whereas average recoveries of other methods varied from 59% to 82%. The mean initial deposits of indoxacarb on fruits were 2.60 mg/kg to 3.64 mg/kg and 2.63 mg/kg to 3.68 mg/kg from 75 and 150 g·ai/ha treatments from two-year field studies. The half-life of indoxacarb was 3.0 d - 3.8 d from both years. The Theoretical Maximum Daily Intake (TMDI) was found to be 0.446 mg/person/day to 0.643 mg/person/day for day-1 residues which is in par with the Maximum Permissible Intake (MPI) of 0.6 mg/person/day. The TMDI from 3 d residues was found to be less than the MPI calculated with the data of 3 d residues which ensures better margin of safety. For thiacloprid, the method involving Florisil gave highest recovery (89%). The mean initial deposits of thiacloprid on fruits were 3.39 to 5.40 mg/kg and 3.40 to 5.39 mg/kg from 30 and 60 g·ai/ha treatments from both years. The half-life values were determined to be 11.1 and 11.6 d for both years. The TMDI from maximum residues observed for first day for both the treatments during first year trials was found to be 0.682 to 1.098 mg person/day, which was higher than the MPI of 0.72 mg/person/day, which proved that the application is toxic to humans. Thiacloprid at the experimented doses (30 and 60 g·ai/ha) was found not effective to manage ESFB and was not safe for human consumption after a waiting period of 3 days. For methyl parathion, the method involving Florisil gave highest average recovery (89%). The initial residues on fruits from recommended dose declined from 3.60 to 3.12 mg/kg in one day and 0.27 mg/kg in twentyfive days from 100 g·ai/ha. Similar pattern was observed with higher dose also. The dissipation rate constants were 0.123 and 0.140 for 100 and 200 g·ai/ha treatments, respectively. The half life values ranged from 6.0 to 7.4 days. Using dose (100 g·ai/ha), the residues reached safe level only after 20 days. A minimum gap of 20 days after the last application of the insecticide to the harvest is impractical for this crop. The efficacy of methyl parathion against ESFB was good at lower dose, but due to its toxic residue profile there is a high health risk. Biolep at both doses were not effective against ESFB, however PUSA Bt gave better control against ESFB at similar dose. NSKE was found effective against ESFB, however NimboBas found to be non-effective against ESFB.


Over the course of the past 2 decades, I have analyzed a number of natural phenomena that reveal how Earth's near-surface air temperature responds to surface radiative perturbations. These studies all suggest that a 300 to 600 ppm doubling of the atmosphere's CO2 concentration could raise the planet's mean surface air temperature by only about 0.4°C. Even this modicum of warming may never be realized, however, for it could be negated by a number of planetary cooling forces that are intensified by warmer temperatures and by the strengthening of biological processes that are enhanced by the same rise in atmospheric CO2 concentration that drives the warming. Several of these cooling forces have individually been estimated to be of equivalent magnitude, but of opposite sign, to the typically predicted greenhouse effect of a doubling of the air's CO2 content, which suggests to me that little net temperature change will ultimately result from the ongoing buildup of CO2 in Earth's atmosphere. Consequently, I am skeptical of the predictions of significant CO2-induced global warm- ing that are being made by state-of-the-art climate models and believe that much more work on a wide variety of research fronts will be required to properly resolve the issue.


Background and Purpose
Asian-Americans suffer from significant liver cancer disparity caused by chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Understanding psychosocial predictors of HBV screening is critical to designing effective interventions.

Methods
Chinese-, Korean-, and Vietnamese-Americans in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan region (N=877) were recruited from community-based organizations. Applying the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), three main theoretical constructs (knowledge, outcome expectancy, and self-efficacy) were tested. Descriptive analyses using Chi-square and ANOVA and multivariate logistic regression models were conducted.

Results
About 47% of participants reported ever having screening for HBV. Vietnamese-Americans had the lowest HBV screening rate (39%), followed by Korean-Americans (46%) and Chinese-Americans (55%). Multiple logistic regression analyses showed significant effects of HBV-related knowledge on screening in all three groups, whereas self-efficacy had significant effects in the Chinese and Korean subgroups, but not Vietnamese. HBV outcome expectancy had no effect on the screening outcome in any of the groups. Additionally, consistent in all three groups, those who had lived in the United States longer were less likely to have screening.

Conclusion
HBV screening rates in Asian Americans remain low; targeted interventions need to consider the differences across ethnic subgroups and address the psychosocial risk factors.


The fierce loyalty and self-sacrificing attitude of the Samurai have made them both a legend and a cult. Yet although their military prowess and skills in the martial arts have been studied exhaustively, an understanding of their belief system still eludes many. This original and exciting work examines the spiritual world of the samurai, from their attachment to Japan's mainstream religions of Shinto and Buddhism, to their involvement in Confucianism, Christianity and folk religion. Samurai expert Stephen Turnbull examines important topics such as Zen and the martial arts, modern militarism, the cult of the sword, revenge and suicide, hara kiri and the kamikaze pilots - the suicide bombers of their day. He also looks at the fascinating issue of Japanese religious terrorism, as well as the growing cult status of the Samurai both in Japan and in the West.


Although a large number of measurements of inner potential have been made in the past, the results have, on the whole, been far from consistent. These measurements were made by electron diffraction methods, and one possible reason for the lack of consistency is that, owing to the very limited penetration of the electron beam, the nature of the surface layers of the specimen will play an important part in the results obtained. In particular, if the specimen is a single crystal, there arises the possibility that different results will be obtained if the measurements are made using crystallographically different surfaces of the crystal. This possibility was examined experimentally and, for the materials used, no difference was found in the results obtained from different surfaces of the same crystal. Measurements were also made, using fast electrons (60 kV), of the inner potentials of metal crystals, and it was found that consistent results could be obtained in all cases if suitable experimental precautions were observed. It was also found that the presence of a thin contaminating layer on the surface (e. g. an oxide layer) did not affect the results provided the electron beam was able to penetrate the first few atomic layers of the specimen itself.


Lifted probabilistic inference algorithms exploit regularities in the structure of graphical models to perform inference more eciently. More specifically, they identify groups of interchangeable variables and perform inference once for each group, as opposed to once for each variable. The groups are defined by means of constraints, so the flexibility of the grouping is determined by the expressivity of the constraint language. Existing approaches for exact lifted inference rely on (in)equality constraints. We show how inference methods can be generalized to work with arbitrary constraints. This allows them to capture a broader range of symmetries, leading to more opportunities for lifting. We empirically demonstrate that this improves inference eciency with orders of magnitude, allowing exact inference in cases where until now only approximate inference was feasible.


In the past two decades carbon nanotubes and graphene have attracted a lot of research attention due to their exceptional electronic properties. The research focus on improving the synthesising techniques will eventually lead to their applications in terahertz wave, millimetre wave and microwave frequencies. In this thesis, a modelling technique based on the transmission line theory is proposed to calculate the 2-port S-parameters of vertically aligned CNT arrays with finite sizes and arbitrary cross sections. The process takes into account all the coupling in the array and gives the analytical solution of S-parameters. The simulation results from the proposed technique are compared with results obtained by effective single conductor model and shows a good matching for small arrays and an increasing difference with the increase of array sizes. From the S-parameters, the fundamental properties of CNT arrays such as input impedance and absorption are obtained and compared with measurement results in microwave frequencies. The dependence of these properties on ambient temperature and host medium are also presented to explore the tunability of CNT arrays. From the Fabry-Perot the wave propagating velocity is also calculated for arrays with different sizes and fitted with a power function. The S-parameters allows the extraction of the complex permittivity, permeability and conductivity of the CNT array. The extracted permittivity and absorption are compared with measurement results. The graphene nanoribbons are simulated in the same manner. The graphene sheet on top of a microstrip gap is simulated using transmission line model at microwave frequencies to show the impact of parasitics and contact resistances. Finally, a graphene based microwave absorber is proposed and modelled under both electric and magnetic bias. The absorber shows good broadband absorption rate and a potential for turning transparent and opaque to microwaves under both electric and magnetic bias.


Nurses face moral problems, moral dilemmas and moral distress in their professional daily. The moral distress manifests itself when nurses demonstrate difficulties to face situations morally appropriate following their conscious. The study aims to focus about the nurses' moral distress and their relationship with moral problems and moral dilemmas presenting concepts, moral distress experiences and possible strategies to be adopted to face it. To focus on the moral distress provoked by facing the moral problems and dilemmas in nursery work seems to be primordial not just to reveal a phenomenon still a little known even experienced almost every day but, also to headline the need of problematization and valorization of the ethical dimension of work in health.


We characterize supply chain settings in which perfect coordination can be achieved with simple wholesale pricing schemes: either retailer-specific constant unit wholesale prices or retailer-specific volume discount schemes. We confine ourselves to two-echelon supply chains with a single supplier servicing a network of retailers who compete with each other by selecting sales quantities. We identify a key sufficient condition, in terms of interdependencies between chain members' operational decisions, under which perfect coordination via simple schemes is feasible, under general cost and demand functions. This condition, which we refer to as echelon operational autonomy (EOA), states that the costs incurred by the supplier for a given vector of sales volumes depends only on operational decisions she controls herself. At the same time, the costs incurred by the retailers may depend on operational decisions controlled by the supplier, in which case, the supplier's operational decisions are made to minimize chainwide costs. We show how vendor-managed inventory (VMI) partnerships create EOA and compare the resulting coordinating pricing schemes with those required in a traditional decentralized setting (without EOA). We also discuss compliance issues with the coordinating schemes in view of the Robinson-Patman act and provide remedies to overcome these issues.


Introduction Warfarin has been the cornerstone oral anticoagulant for more than 60 years. Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been introduced to the market since 2008. In Qatar, dabigatran was introduced in 2011 followed by rivaroxaban in 2014 and both DOACs are currently used along with warfarin for the treatment and prophylaxis of different thromboembolic diseases. Despite the perceived advantages of the DOACs and their proven efficacy and safety in randomized controlled studies, their use is not as well-established as it has been expected likely due to the lack of antidote and their high cost. Little is known about the prescription pattern of oral anticoagulants and the extent to which DOACs replaced warfarin in Qatar. Aim In this study, we aim to explore the trends in oral anticoagulant use in Qatar over the past 5 years and to what extent did DOACs replace warfarin. We also aimed to determine the appropriateness of DOACs use based on the dose and the indication. Methods From electronic medical records, we collected all anticoagulant prescriptions dispensed as in- or out-patient from 2011 to 2015 in all Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) hospitals. Prescriptions were stratified by the year, the medication prescribed and the dose. For every calendar year, we calculated the number and percentage of patients using each one of the anticoagulants prescribed. We also compared the clinical and demographics characteristics of patients prescribed warfarin versus those prescribed DOACs. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using SPSS. Results The attached table shows the change over the years in the number of patients prescribed warfarin versus those receiving DOACs. Overall, the percentage of patients receiving DOACs increased gradually from approximately 0.5% in 2011 to 20% in 2015. About 40% of patients receiving DOACs were previous warfarin users. DOACs were appropriately used in more 80% of the patients. Year/ Drug Warfarin Number (%) Dabigatran Number (%) Rivaroxaban Number (%) 2011 2078 (99.47%) 11 (0.53%) 2012 2364 (97.52%) 60 (2.48%) 2013 2567 (90.04%) 285 (9.06%) 2014 2823 (83.3%) 320 (9.44%) 246 (7.26%) 2015 2065 (80.54%) 196 (7.64%) 303 (11.82%). Conclusion DOACs have been gradually replacing warfarin in Qatar in a trend that is similar to other countries as well. However, warfarin use remains essential in more than 75% of patients requiring oral anticoagulant. It is important to continue educating healthcare providers to ensure appropriate use of these novel agents.


The recent discovery of convergent-margin geochemical signatures along the southern Chile Ridge spreading center may have implications for the interpretation of ophiolite provenance. The location of the ridge near a ridge-trench-trench (RTT) triple junction suggests that the convergent-margin signatures may relate to processes associated with spreading-center subduction. The possibility that ophiolite obduction may also occur near RTT triple junctions where a spreading center is being subducted implies that mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) with supra-subduction zone (SSZ) signatures may have been preferentially emplaced as ophiolite complexes in the past. There is evidence that this process may have occurred immediately south of the Chile triple junction in the region of the Taitao Peninsula. Controversy surrounding the provenance of some well-studied ophiolites (e.g., Bay of Islands, Semail massif) has recently tended to favor the view that these ophiolites formed above subduction zones, primarily on the basis of their trace element chemistry. The discovery of MORB with convergent-margin geochemical signatures near ophiolitic material with similar chemical systematics points to a modern example of a tectonic setting in which ocean crust with anomalous convergent-margin-like compositions is formed and may be emplaced as an ophiolite. As a result, our southern Chile Ridge findings suggest that the geochemical distinction between MORB and SSZ lavas may be less well defined than previously thought.


The Permian and Triassic were key time intervals in the history of life on Earth. Both periods are marked by a series of biotic crises including the most catastrophic of such events, the end‐Permian mass extinction, which eventually led to a major turnover from typical Palaeozoic faunas and floras to those that are emblematic for the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Here we review patterns in Permian–Triassic bony fishes, a group whose evolutionary dynamics are understudied. Based on data from primary literature, we analyse changes in their taxonomic diversity and body size (as a proxy for trophic position) and explore their response to Permian–Triassic events. Diversity and body size are investigated separately for different groups of Osteichthyes (Dipnoi, Actinistia, 'Palaeopterygii', 'Subholostei', Holostei, Teleosteomorpha), within the marine and freshwater realms and on a global scale (total diversity) as well as across palaeolatitudinal belts. Diversity is also measured for different palaeogeographical provinces. Our results suggest a general trend from low osteichthyan diversity in the Permian to higher levels in the Triassic. Diversity dynamics in the Permian are marked by a decline in freshwater taxa during the Cisuralian. An extinction event during the end‐Guadalupian crisis is not evident from our data, but 'palaeopterygians' experienced a significant body size increase across the Guadalupian–Lopingian boundary and these fishes upheld their position as large, top predators from the Late Permian to the Late Triassic. Elevated turnover rates are documented at the Permian–Triassic boundary, and two distinct diversification events are noted in the wake of this biotic crisis, a first one during the Early Triassic (dipnoans, actinistians, 'palaeopterygians', 'subholosteans') and a second one during the Middle Triassic ('subholosteans', neopterygians). The origination of new, small taxa predominantly among these groups during the Middle Triassic event caused a significant reduction in osteichthyan body size. Neopterygii, the clade that encompasses the vast majority of extant fishes, underwent another diversification phase in the Late Triassic. The Triassic radiation of Osteichthyes, predominantly of Actinopterygii, which only occurred after severe extinctions among Chondrichthyes during the Middle–Late Permian, resulted in a profound change within global fish communities, from chondrichthyan‐rich faunas of the Permo‐Carboniferous to typical Mesozoic and Cenozoic associations dominated by actinopterygians. This turnover was not sudden but followed a stepwise pattern, with leaps during extinction events.


In this study, effects of salt (NaCl) and toxic (Cr6+) shock loading on the biological wastewater treatment efficiency were determined by using laboratory scale SBR. For this aim, 2 parallel Sequencing Batch Reactors were used, one was the control and the other was shock loaded reactor. 20 g/L NaCl, 5 mg/L Cr6+ and 10 mg/L Cr6+ shock loadings were applied to one of the reactors. COD, MLSS, SVI, salt (NaCl) ve Cr6+were analyzed daily. In salt shock loading, COD removal efficiency decreased but system returned to steady state conditions within 3 days. Similarly COD removal efficiency decreased and system recovered itself in 3 days in 5 mg/L Cr6+ shock loading, but it took much time to return steady state conditions in 10 mg/L Cr6+ shock loading. In 10 mg/L Cr6+ shock loading, COD removal efficiency decreased and system recovered itself in 5 days. In both shock loadings there were no pronounced differences on MLSS and SVI profiles


Abstract. Any regular interaction of land and river during flooding affects carbon pools within the terrestrial system, riverine carbon and carbon exported from the system. In the Amazon basin carbon fluxes are considerably influenced by annual flooding, during which terrigenous organic material is imported to the river. The Amazon basin therefore represents an excellent example of a tightly coupled terrestrial–riverine system. The processes of generation, conversion and transport of organic carbon in such a coupled terrigenous–riverine system strongly interact and are climate-sensitive, yet their functioning is rarely considered in Earth system models and their response to climate change is still largely unknown. To quantify regional and global carbon budgets and climate change effects on carbon pools and carbon fluxes, it is important to account for the coupling between the land, the river, the ocean and the atmosphere. We developed the RIVerine Carbon Model (RivCM), which is directly coupled to the well-established dynamic vegetation and hydrology model LPJmL, in order to account for this large-scale coupling. We evaluate RivCM with observational data and show that some of the values are reproduced quite well by the model, while we see large deviations for other variables. This is mainly caused by some simplifications we assumed. Our evaluation shows that it is possible to reproduce large-scale carbon transport across a river system but that this involves large uncertainties. Acknowledging these uncertainties, we estimate the potential changes in riverine carbon by applying RivCM for climate forcing from five climate models and three CO2 emission scenarios (Special Report on Emissions Scenarios, SRES). We find that climate change causes a doubling of riverine organic carbon in the southern and western basin while reducing it by 20 % in the eastern and northern parts. In contrast, the amount of riverine inorganic carbon shows a 2- to 3-fold increase in the entire basin, independent of the SRES scenario. The export of carbon to the atmosphere increases as well, with an average of about 30 %. In contrast, changes in future export of organic carbon to the Atlantic Ocean depend on the SRES scenario and are projected to either decrease by about 8.9 % (SRES A1B) or increase by about 9.1 % (SRES A2). Such changes in the terrigenous–riverine system could have local and regional impacts on the carbon budget of the whole Amazon basin and parts of the Atlantic Ocean. Changes in riverine carbon could lead to a shift in the riverine nutrient supply and pH, while changes in the exported carbon to the ocean lead to changes in the supply of organic material that acts as a food source in the Atlantic. On larger scales the increased outgassing of CO2 could turn the Amazon basin from a sink of carbon to a considerable source. Therefore, we propose that the coupling of terrestrial and riverine carbon budgets should be included in subsequent analysis of the future regional carbon budget.


In this paper we study the laser-induced modification of optical properties of nanocomposite based on cadmium sulphide quantum dots encapsulated into thiomalic acid shell which were embedded into a porous silica matrix. We found red shift of luminescence of the nanocomposite when exposed to laser radiation at λ = 405 nm. Using pump-probe method and Small-Angle X-ray Scattering technique it was found that laser radiation at λ = 405 nm also increases the absorption coefficient of the nanocomposite in 15 times due to agglomeration of quantum dots. The modification of absorption properties is fully reversible.


The surface roughness of polished glass substrates and optical thin-film coatings is studied with atomic force microscopy and x-ray scattering. It is demonstrated that both methods permit the determination of power spectral density functions in a wide range of spatial frequencies. The results are in good quantitative agreement.


ABSTRACT— Education lacks a strong infrastructure for connecting research with educational practice and policy. The need for this linkage grows as findings in cognitive science and biology become ever more relevant to education. Teachers often lack the background knowledge needed to interpret scientific results, whereas scientists often lack an understanding of pedagogical goals. We need to build an infrastructure that supports sustainable collaboration between researchers and teachers and creates a strong research foundation for education. A primary agent of the lasting collaboration between researchers and practitioners in medicine is the teaching hospital, where researchers and practitioners work together on research that is relevant to practice and the training of young professionals. Education needs analogous institutions—research schools—that join researchers and teachers in living, community-based schools. In these schools, practice shapes research as much as research informs practice. Research schools will provide a fundamental infrastructure for linking transdisciplinary research on learning with educational policy and practice.


The syntactic literature discusses a number of phenomena in which a constraint that rules out a certain class of syntactic dependencies fails to rule out structures containing both an ill-formed dependency and a well-formed dependency; well-formed dependencies seem to be able to help dependencies that would be ill formed in isolation. In this article I attempt to provide a unified account of these phenomena. I postulate a principle that allows the computational system to ignore parts of a syntactic structure that have already been checked with respect to a particular constraint.


Considering Brahms's ""Heimweh"" Lieder (op. 63 nos. 7––9) together rather than individually is indispensable to their interpretation. In each song, Brahms conveys the protagonist's longing for lost childhood by introducing the folklike qualities of Kinderlieder within the frame of a Kunstlied . The expression of nostalgia also takes places across the minicycle as a whole. The recurrence and transformation of musical patterns and motifs enhances the retrospective nature of the three songs, which seem to reflect on childhood from successively greater temporal distances. Despite the overt despondency of the poetic speaker in each text, the musical settings together convey a positive message: Death is a welcome refuge from life's afflictions. In offering this consolation, Brahms draws upon the Romantic concept of Heimweh , including its characteristic spiral-like pattern of expression, but tempers it in accordance with the scaled-back artistic goals of the post-Romantic period.


The principal weathering reactions and their rates in riparian ground water were determined at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed (PMRW) near Atlanta, Georgia. Concentrations of major solutes were measured in ground water samples from 19 shallow wells completed in the riparian (saprolite) aquifer and in one borehole completed in granite, and the apparent age of each sample was calculated from chloroflourocarbons and tritium/helium‐3 data. Concentrations of SiO2, Na+, and Ca2+ generally increased downvalley and were highest in the borehole near the watershed outlet. Strong positive correlations were found between the concentrations of these solutes and the apparent age of ground water that was modern (zero to one year) in the headwaters, six to seven years midway down the valley, and 26 to 27 years in the borehole, located ∼500 m downstream from the headwaters. Mass‐balance modeling of chemical evolution showed that the downstream changes in ground water chemistry could be largely explained by weathering of plagioclase to kaolinite, with possible contributions from weathering of K‐feldspar, biotite, hornblende, and calcite. The in situ rates of weathering reactions were estimated by combining the ground water age dates with geochemical mass‐balance modeling results. The weathering rate was highest for plagioclase (∼6.4 μmol/L/year), but could not be easily compared with most other published results for feldspar weathering at PMRW and elsewhere because the mineral‐surface area to which ground water was exposed during geochemical evolution could not be estimated. However, a preliminary estimate of the mineral‐surface area that would have contacted the ground water to provide the observed solute concentrations suggests that the plagioclase weathering rate calculated in this study is similar to the rate calculated in a previous study at PMRW, and three to four orders of magnitude slower than those published in previous laboratory studies of feldspar weathering. An accurate model of the geochemical evolution of riparian ground water is necessary to accurately model the geochemical evolution of stream water at PMRW.


An Investigation of the Biophysical and Biochemical Properties of Perlecan/HSPG2: Implications for Bone Mechanotransduction and Endochondral Ossification by Jerahme Ryan Martinez Perlecan, also known as heparan sulfate proteoglycan 2 (HSPG2), is a very large secreted proteoglycan ubiquitously expressed in all basement membranes and in the territorial matrix of skeletal tissues. Perlecan is particularly important for the formation and stabilization of tissue layers and its absence is catastrophic for bone and cartilage development. In mineralized bone, perlecan is a key component of pericellular matrix (PCM) surrounding osteocytic processes that preserve fluid flow throughout bone tissue. In addition, recent findings have coupled perlecan expression, along the osteocyte cell surface, to bone mechano-adaptive response. Perlecan's mechanical properties, important for maintaining the osteocyte cell-bone matrix interface, were studied for the first time. This work demonstrated perlecan functions as a semi-flexible tether that is capable of withstanding physiological loads imposed on cortical bone. The second part of this study examined perlecan in the context of early precartilage condensation. This study demonstrated a novel sub-domain of perlecan, PLN IV-3, located in its fourth domain modulates cell-matrix interactions that are involved in the chondrogenic process. When presented as part of the substratum, PLN IV-3 suppressed focal adhesion kinase (FAK) phosphorylation and signaling through the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade. This led to reduced cell migration, increased cell-cell adhesion, and decreased cell proliferation, all of which are hallmarks for mesenchyme condensation and subsequent precartilage formation. I hypothesize that this is a possible mechanism by which perlecan functions to coordinate the migration of mesodermal cells and drive chondrocyte differentiation as seen during development. Together, these studies suggest perlecan possesses multifunctional properties that affect bone health throughout various stages of life.


Activated carbons possess many of the properties desirable for use as a sorbent material in extracorporeal
systems. They are physically and chemically stable, may be modified in terms of porosity or surface
chemistry, thus allowing a wide range of sorbent materials to be produced. One drawback of activated
carbons is their inherent hydrophobicity. Unless they are used as hydrophobic matrices, the surfaces have to
be modified to produce a more hydrophilic surface, to increase interaction with the biological solution of
interest.


As in today's world and in future, there is only requirement of the people that everyone want to a fast, efficient and
precise work output with the use of less human effort. Hence, thinking upon the requirement of people, we as a student of
mechanical engineering are going to give the idea of "BIONIC BOOT" which turns a man towards superman. It will
increase the human capabilities. We got inspired from the kangaroo which can run to maximum speed of 44 mph due to its
special type of back feet structure. They can store the elastic energy in their back feet and release of this elastic energy
generates 80% more power than in humans. Hence we decided to make the same replica for the human beings which will
store and release the elastic energy similar as "kangaroo." The bionic boot could increase the speed of humans to 25 mph.
It will also help in running off road or climbing hills. As we know that there are limited amount of fossil fuels present in the
world. But in India, approximately 60 to 70% people use the two wheelers for the small distance transportation. Hence to
reduce the dependency on fossil fuels for the transportation of people we have given the idea of bionic boot. The bionic
boot makes the human beings more active. For making a pair of bionic boot we have used iron strip, high strength spring
which can store and release the elastic energy, nuts and bolts, GI sheet, rubber and wooden blocks. Generally, the purpose
of bionic boot is to increase the running speed of human beings.


Brand experience is conceptualized as sensations, feelings, cognitions, and behavioral responses evoked by brand-related stimuli that are part of a brand's design and identity, packaging, communications, and environments. The authors distinguish several experience dimensions and construct a brand experience scale that includes four dimensions: sensory, affective, intellectual, and behavioral. In six studies, the authors show that the scale is reliable, valid, and distinct from other brand measures, including brand evaluations, brand involvement, brand attachment, customer delight, and brand personality. Moreover, brand experience affects consumer satisfaction and loyalty directly and indirectly through brand personality associations.


Background: The development of hypertrophic scars after burns can lead to esthetic as well as functional disorders. The aim of the study was to determine the functional and cosmetic effects of Contractubex® (onion extract, heparin, allantoin) gel applied in burn scar patients after surgery for scar excision and skin grafts.
Patients and Methods: The study included seven male patients who presented to our clinic between 2005 and 2012 for the treatment of hypertrophic burn scar and were administered either single or combined medical hypertrophic scar treatments. Patients who had scars on the right upper extremity were included in group 1 and those with left upper extremity scars in group 2. In group 1, all scars were excised and closed with medium thickness skin graft. After surgery, the onion extract gel was applied to the right upper extremities. In group 2, only surgical treatment was applied. The results were evaluated with Vancouver scar scale.
Results: Vascularity, flexibility, and height of the scars improved significantly in both groups. In addition, hyperpigmentation was observed on the skin grafts of all patients. Scar flexibility was less often observed in patients' left upper extremities. However, no statistical difference between groups 1 and 2 was found.
Conclusion: Although no significant difference was obtained with Contractubex gel treatment in this study, cosmetic and functional success can be achieved through excision of the scar and use of medium thickness skin graft in patients with upper extremity hypertrophic burn scarring that is resistant to conservative treatments.


Proper knowledge about resources in forest management is fundamental. One of the most important parameters of forests is their size or spatial extension. By determining the area of treefall gaps inside the compartments, a more accurate yield can be calculated and the scheduling of forestry operations could be planned better. Several field- and remote sensing-based approaches are in use for mapping but they provide only static measurements at high cost. The Earth Observation satellite mission Sentinel-2 was put in orbit as part of the Copernicus programme. With the 10-m resolution bands, it is possible to observe small-scale forestry operations like treefall gaps. The spatial extension of these gaps is often less than 200 m2, thus their detection can only be done on sub-pixel level. Due to the higher temporal resolution of Sentinel-2, multiple observations are available in a year; therefore, a time series evaluation is possible. The modelling of illumination can increase the accuracy of classification in mountainous areas. The method was tested on three deciduous forest sites in the Borzsony Mountains in Hungary. The area evaluation produced less than 10% overestimation with the best possible solutions on the sites. The presented work shows a low-cost method for mapping treefall gaps which delivers annual information about the gap area in a deciduous forest.


Motivated by the Coxeter complex associated to a Coxeter system (W,S), we introduce a simplicial regular cell complex Δ (G,S) with a G-action associated to any pair (G,S) where G is a group and S is a finite set of generators for G which is minimal with respect to inclusion. We examine the topology of Δ (G,S), and in particular the representations of G on its homology groups. We look closely at the case of the symmetric group S_n minimally generated by (not necessarily adjacent) transpositions, and their type-selected subcomplexes. These include not only the Coxeter complexes of type A, but also the well-studied chessboard complexes.


It is shown that the distribution of the sum of a Poisson random variable and an independent approximately normally distributed integer-valued random variable can be well approximated in total variation by a translated Poisson distribution, and further that a mixed translated Poisson distribution is close to a mixed translated Poisson distribution with the same random shift but fixed variance. Using these two results, a general approach is then presented for the approximation of sums of integer-valued random variables, having some conditional independence structure, by a translated Poisson distribution. We illustrate the method by means of two examples. The proofs are mainly based on Stein's method for distributional approximation.


STARLIB is a next-generation, all-purpose nuclear reaction-rate library. For the first time, this library provides the rate probability density at all temperature grid points for convenient implementation in models of stellar phenomena. The recommended rate and its associated uncertainties are also included. Currently, uncertainties are absent from all other rate libraries, and, although estimates have been attempted in previous evaluations and compilations, these are generally not based on rigorous statistical definitions. A common standard for deriving uncertainties is clearly warranted. STARLIB represents a first step in addressing this deficiency by providing a tabular, up-to-date database that supplies not only the rate and its uncertainty but also its distribution. Because a majority of rates are lognormally distributed, this allows the construction of rate probability densities from the columns of STARLIB. This structure is based on a recently suggested Monte Carlo method to calculate reaction rates, where uncertainties are rigorously defined. In STARLIB, experimental rates are supplemented with: (1) theoretical TALYS rates for reactions for which no experimental input is available, and (2) laboratory and theoretical weak rates. STARLIB includes all types of reactions of astrophysical interest to Z = 83, such as (p, γ), (p, α), (α, n), and corresponding reverse rates. Strong rates account for thermal target excitations. Here, we summarize our Monte Carlo formalism, introduce the library, compare methods of correcting rates for stellar environments, and discuss how to implement our library in Monte Carlo nucleosynthesis studies. We also present a method for accessing STARLIB on the Internet and outline updated Monte Carlo-based rates.


An array of coupled nonlinear waveguides supports discrete soliton modes in which light is self-trapped in a few guides. We obtain an analytical description of these solitons and reveal that well-confined modes may be stably packed into the array. Power-controlled soliton steering may be achieved with linearly chirped solitons.


This paper uses a unique dataset of over 13,000 individual direct-selling distributors from dozens of firms, at a wide variety of stages in their direct selling experiences, to investigate the motivations to join, stay, and leave a direct selling distributorship. We build on the literatures in sales force management and compensation, economics, organizational behavior, psychology and sociology to develop hypotheses both about each of these key decisions a distributor makes, as well as the interlinkages among the join, stay, and leave junctures in the distributor's life cycle. Our analysis shows that many insights from these underlying academic research paradigms are robust to the direct selling situation, while others are not supported – suggesting that direct selling has many parallels, but is not a replica of, other non-direct-selling sales channels.We find that individuals join as direct-selling distributors for a variety of reasons, many of which combine multiple aspects of direct selling that a cluster of distributors finds attractive. Only a small proportion of joiners sign up purely for personal consumption of the direct-selling firm's products – but a great majority do join for this and other reasons as well. We further find that stated reasons for joining are frequently replaced by other motivations for staying as a direct selling distributor, consistent with the idea that distributors join without always knowing what direct selling will offer to them; they learn in the process of doing it. We also link certain traits as well as certain joiner and stayer types to the likelihood that a distributor will leave the firm; but interestingly, we do not find that a distributor's reasons for joining have a relationship with his/her likelihood of leaving. Thus, the join → stay → leave life cycle path does show linkages from each stage to the next, but its failure to directly link join reasons to likelihood to leave is consistent with the learning that naturally occurs as distributors develop.


Muslims want assurance that the food they consume is a true manifestation of Islamic principles. Important questions halal certified food manufacturers have today are whether and how to start with halal supply chain management in protecting the integrity for the Muslim consumer and protecting their brand. The research problem can be defined as following: How to optimise halal food supply chains for certain product-market combinations? The aim of the research is to contribute to the body of
knowledge on supply chain management by identifying the principles in the design and management of halal food supply chains. As halal supply chain management is a new phenomenon, the core of this research has an exploratory and qualitative
approach, through in-depth interviews, a large discussion group and focus groups.However, in measuring the perception of the Muslim consumer, a consumer survey has been used. The foundation of halal supply chain management is direct contact
between halal and haram, risk of contamination and perception of the Muslim consumer. For Muslim countries all three components matter, whereas for non-Muslim countries only direct contact with haram and risk of contamination need to be addressed in the design and management of halal food supply chains. Product
characteristics (bulk versus unitised and ambient versus cool chain) and market requirements (Muslim versus non-Muslim country) influence the vulnerability of halal food supply chains. Vulnerability is reduced through simplifying the supply chain structure and establishing halal control activities and assurance activities in logistics business processes. Vulnerability can be avoided in (pals of) the supply chain by having dedicated logistics infrastructure, like a dedicated halal warehouse and transport, or through containerisation at a lower level. This research proposes an integral framework for the design and management of halal food supply chains, called the Halal Supply Chain Model. The Halal Supply Chain Model consists of the following components: halal policy, supply chain objectives, logistics control, supply chain resources, supply chain network structure, supply chain business
processes and halal supply chain performance


"Questions of Possibility" examines the particular forms that contemporary American poets favor and those they neglect. The poets' choices reveal both their ambitions and their limitations, the new possibilities they discover and the traditions they find unimaginable. By means of close attention to the sestina, ghazal, love sonnet, ballad, and heroic couplet, this study advances a new understanding of contemporary American poetry. Rather than pitting "closed" verse against "open" and "traditional" poetry against "experimental," "Questions of Possibility" explores how poets associated with different movements inspire and inform each other's work. Discussing a range of authors, from Charles Bernstein, Derek Walcott, and Marilyn Hacker to Agha Shahid Ali, David Caplan treats these poets as contemporaries who share the language, not as partisans assigned to rival camps. The most interesting contemporary poetry crosses the boundaries that literary criticism draws, synthesizing diverse influences and establishing surprising affinities. In a series of lively readings, Caplan charts the diverse characteristics and accomplishments of modern poetry, from the gay and lesbian love sonnet to the currently popular sestina.


Discussion around the importance and prevalence of multiword expressions in the lexicon and the teaching of vocabulary has existed for a number of years in applied linguistics (e. g. lrujo, 1986; Pawley and Syder, 1983; Sinclair, 1987; Wray, 2002). While there seems to be a general agreement among scholars that formulaic language should feature in language learning and, perhaps to a lesser extent, language testing, there appears to be rather less agreement when it comes to how to select and/or prioritize specific items for inclusion. One criterion for selection which has been used often for vocabulary items of single words is frequency (i.e. how relatively common a word is), data for which can be consulted using various frequency lists that have long existed and are in the public domain, such as the General Service List (West, 1953). However, to date, no list of formulaic language that could be considered comparable to the General Service List in terms of intended use and relevance to language instruction has been attempted. The work presented in the present thesis aims to address this lack. The thesis first presents the need for such a list, and then describes the methodology employed by the researcher to ultimately produce a frequency-informed and pedagogically-relevant list of multiword expressions that can be used in conjunction with existing lists single orthographic words to help inform such instruments of L2 pedagogy as language textbooks and language tests, entitled the PHRASal Expressions List, or PHRASE List. To that end, two projects are also presented in the thesis which exemplify ways in which the list may be usefully employed. The first is a research validation exercise carried out in collaboration with the English Profile project in order to compare the phraseological component of the English Profile Wordlist to the expressions in the PHRASE List. The second project presents the development and validation of a kind of vocabulary test that samples from the PHRASE List, and which is intended to be used to supplement knowledge assessed in existing tests of single orthographic words, such as the Vocabulary Size Test (Nation & Beglar, 2007).


1. The effects on renal electrolyte excretion of human and salmon synthetic calcitonins were studied in the rat. 2. As little as 50 ng of salmon calcitonin produced an increase in sodium excretion, but human calcitonin in doses up to 15 pg had only a slight effect. 3. Small doses of both hormones decreased urinary calcium and magnesium. Larger doses of salmon calcitonin produced less depression of calcium and magnesium excretion even in the presence of a greater fall in plasma calcium. 4. The mechanisms responsible for these effects and the possible therapeutic implications are discussed.


Hexactinellid sponges are common in the deep sea, but their functional integration into those ecosystems remains poorly understood. The phylogenetically related species Schaudinnia rosea and Vazella pourtalesii were herein incubated for nitrogen and phosphorous, returning markedly different nutrient fluxes. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed S. rosea to host a low abundance of extracellular microbes, while Vazella pourtalesii showed higher microbial abundance and hosted most microbes within bacteriosyncytia, a novel feature for Hexactinellida. Amplicon sequences of the microbiome corroborated large between-species differences, also between the sponges and the seawater of their habitats. Metagenome-assembled genome of the V. pourtalesii microbiota revealed genes coding for enzymes operating in nitrification, denitrification, dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium, nitrogen fixation, and ammonia/ammonium assimilation. In the nitrification and denitrification pathways some enzymes were missing, but alternative bridging routes allow the microbiota to close a N cycle in the holobiont. Interconnections between aerobic and anaerobic pathways may facilitate the sponges to withstand the low-oxygen conditions of deep-sea habitats. Importantly, various N pathways coupled to generate ammonium, which, through assimilation, fosters the growth of the sponge microbiota. TEM showed that the farmed microbiota is digested by the sponge cells, becoming an internal food source. This microbial farming demands more ammonium that can be provided internally by the host sponges and some 2.6 million kg of ammonium from the seawater become annually consumed by the aggregations of V. pourtalesii. Such ammonium removal is likely impairing the development of the free-living bacterioplankton and the survival chances of other sponge species that feed on bacterioplankton. Such nutritional competitive exclusion would favor the monospecific character of the V. pourtalesii aggregations. These aggregations also affect the surrounding environment through an annual release of 27.3 million kg of nitrite and, in smaller quantities, of nitrate and phosphate. The complex metabolic integration among the microbiota and the sponge suggests that the holobiont depends critically on the correct functioning of its N-driven microbial engine. The metabolic intertwining is so delicate that it changed after moving the sponges out of their habitat for a few days, a serious warning on the conservation needs of these sponge aggregations.


The study of networks has grown recently, but most existing models fail to capture the costs or loss of value of exclusion from the network. Intuitively, as a network grows in size and value, those outside the network face growing disparities. We present a new framework for modeling network exclusion, and show that costs of exclusion can be absolute, and might, at the extreme, eventually grow ~exponentially, regardless of underlying network structure. We find costs of exclusion can also be spread to the "included," through several mechanisms including parallel networks, and also highlight how future research needs to capture the interaction of alternate or parallel networks to the network at hand. Backed by empirical evidence, this will have wide-reaching policy and design implications, including the role of subsidies or direct intervention for network access and inclusion.


Foreign direct investment (FDI) constitutes a dominant part of private capital flows to least developed countries (LDCs). According to the UN Committee for Development Policy (CDP), FDI can lead to tangible and intangible benefits, playing a catalytic role in building and strengthening productive capacity and export growth, including developmental objectives such as technology and skills transfer, employment generation, higher wages and poverty eradication. However, the total share of global FDI flows to LDCs remains very low and is often directed at resource extraction.

Whereas many studies have focused on the measures undertaken by host countries to attract FDI, little research has been conducted on what development partners can do to promote and facilitate more sustainable FDI to LDCs – either directly or indirectly. Here we look at these home country measures and how they can influence the flow of productive foreign investment to poor host economies.


INTRODUCTION
Asthma-related morbidity, mortality and socio- economic cost represent significant public health problems. Despite efficient therapies, in 1999 asthma still killed around 2000 people in France.

METHODS
This study investigated the changes in asthma-related mortality in metropolitan France between 1980 and 2005 and examined its regional disparities. Annual age- and gender-specific mortality rates for asthma were calculated, as well as age-standardized rates. The change in asthma-related mortality was estimated by the annual average rate of change fitted using a log-linear regression model. Lastly, regional disparities were mapped.

RESULTS
After having levelled off between 1990 and 1995, asthma- related mortality significantly decreased. From 2000 onwards the drop was more rapid in men than in women. The observed decrease was significant only in people aged more than 35 years. Moreover, regional disparities could be seen.

CONCLUSIONS
The decline of asthma-related mortality that started in 1986 continued until 2005. Potential explanations could be better patient care due to consensus, including the use of inhaled corticosteroids and therapeutic education, and improvement in the recording of deaths.


Eight formations were recognized in WadiWatir area, SE Sinai; Malha Formation (Early Cretaceous), Galala Formation (Late Cenomanian), Abu Qada Formation (Early Turonian), Buttum Formation (Early Turonian), Wata Formation (Late Turonian), Matulla Formation (Coniacian-Santonian), Brown Limestone Formation (LateCampanian-Early Maastrichtian) and Sudr Chalk Formation (Early-Middle Maastrichtian). The planktonic foraminifera played the great role in age determination for the referred units, in addition to some benthonic foraminifera. Also, three microfacies types were identified; siliciclastic facies, mixed carbonate – siliciclastic facies and carbonate facies reflecting an oscillation of the Cretaceous sea from shoal to shallow marine and marine environments. The diagenetic processes (cementation, neomorphism, dolomitization, silicification, dissolution and compaction) show the impact of textural and mineralogical changes on the studied rock units, groundwater occurrences and possibilities. Furthermore, two main aquifers are dominant in the study area, Lower Cretaceous sandstones and Cenomanian-Turonian Limestones. The geomorphologic and geologic characteristics controlling the groundwater occurrences were discussed.


CNS injury stimulates the expression of several proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, some of which including MCP-1 (also known as CCL2), KC (CXCL1), and MIP-2 (CXCL2) act to recruit Gr-1 leukocytes at lesion sites. While earlier studies have reported that neutrophils and monocytes/macrophages contribute to secondary tissue loss after spinal cord injury (SCI), recent work has shown that depletion of Gr-1 leukocytes compromised tissue healing and worsened functional recovery. Here, we demonstrate that astrocytes distributed throughout the spinal cord initially contribute to early neuroinflammation by rapidly synthesizing MCP-1, KC, and MIP-2, from 3 up to 12 h post-SCI. Chemokine expression by astrocytes was followed by the infiltration of blood-derived immune cells, such as type I ''inflammatory" monocytes and neutrophils, into the lesion site and nearby damaged areas. Interestingly, astrocytes from mice deficient in MyD88 signaling produced significantly less MCP-1 and MIP-2 and were unable to synthesize KC. Analysis of the contribution of MyD88-dependent receptors revealed that the astrocytic expression of MCP-1, KC, and MIP-2 was mediated by the IL-1 receptor (IL-1R1), and not by TLR2 or TLR4. Flow cytometry analysis of cells recovered from the spinal cord of MyD88and IL-1R1-knockout mice confirmed the presence of significantly fewer type I ''inflammatory" monocytes and the almost complete absence of neutrophils at 12 h and 4 days post-SCI. Together, these results indicate that MyD88/IL-1R1 signals regulate the entry of neutrophils and, to a lesser extent, type I ''inflammatory" monocytes at sites of SCI. 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


This Article claims that takings law can accommodate the ideals of social responsibility and of equality, but argues against the conventional wisdom that restricting the regulatory takings doctrine as much as possible promotes this agenda. A uniform restrictive takings doctrine -- which is meant to enable democratic institutions to upset the status quo -- is counter productive from a progressive point of view, since it may yield a systematic exploitation of small and relatively less well-off landowners. Hence, a progressive takings doctrine must employ a much more refined criterion for distinguishing a regulation from a taking. This Article proposes such a criterion by reconceptualizing two familiar tests in takings jurisprudence: reciprocity of advantage, and diminution of value. It demonstrates that considerations of efficiency and personality support a distributive criterion designed to promote social responsibility and solidarity and to avoid structural privileges favoring the better-off. It also contends that this progressive criterion does not unduly hinder the concerns of liberty and of equity among the better-off. Finally, the Article shows that rather than being a radical transformation of the current law, the proposed theory provides a doctrinal vocabulary and normative underpinnings for a significant segment of extant takings jurisprudence.


Raviola and Wiesel's monkey eyelid suture studies of the 1970s laid the cornerstone for the experimental myopia science undertaken since then. The aim has been to clarify the basic humoral and neuronal mechanisms behind induced myopization, its eye tissue transmitters in particular. Besides acquiring new and basic knowledge, the practical object of the research is to reduce the burden of human myopia around the world. Acquisition and cost of optical correction is one issue, but associated morbidity counts more, with its global load of myopia‐associated visual loss and blindness. The object of the present PubMed literature‐based review is to evaluate apparent similarities between experience from disturbed imaging in experimental laboratory science and varieties within the spectrum of childhood human myopia. So far, the main impression is that macroscopical optical deprivation appears absent in the prevalent types of human myopia, nor is myopia a regular sequel where early eye pathology has led to poor imaging and optical deprivation. Optical aberrations of a higher order are a relatively new issue in myopia research, and microstructural deprivation is only marginally dealt within the survey. Links between experimental and human myopia appear mainly occasional, and with only few examples in humans where factual parallels appear credible. Clinical and epidemiological data on refraction remain important, in particular with a view to life style and environmental factors. Such knowledge may further serve as inspiration to the laboratory research, which aims at solving the basic enigmas on a tissue level.


Political commentary is a contested genre that has attracted a great deal of attention in the Scandinavian public debate, whereas the scholarly literature on it is still in an initial phase. In order to strengthen future research, the present paper suggests a two-dimensional matrix indexing the research on Scandinavian political commentary along the dimensions text/context and descriptive/evaluative. The matrix enables us to see more clearly what we already know and where we lack knowledge. It enables us to see how each category can be developed, the interplay among them, and the obvious lack of textual, evaluative approaches. The author argues that a joint, cross-disciplinary engagement is necessary if we are to adequately understand the potentials and problems of political commentary.


A string of deadly police-citizen encounters, made public on an unprecedented scale, has thrust American policing into the crucible of political conflict. New social movements have taken to the streets, while legislators have introduced a wide array of reform proposals. Optimism is elusive, though, as the police are notoriously difficult to change. One powerful policy lever, however, has been overlooked: police liability insurance. Based on primary sources new to legal literature and interviews with nearly thirty insurance industry representatives, civil rights litigators, municipal attorneys, and consultants, this Article shows how liability insurers are capable of effecting meaningful change within the agencies they insure — a majority of police agencies nationwide. The Article is the first to describe and assess the contemporary market for liability insurance in the policing context; in particular, the effects of insurance on police behavior. While not ignoring the familiar (and potentially serious) problem of moral hazard, the Article focuses on the ways in which insurers perform a traditionally governmental "regulatory" role as they work to manage risk. Insurers get police agencies to adopt or amend written departmental policies on subjects like the use of force and strip searches, to change the way they train their officers, and even to fire problem officers, from the beat up to the chief. One implication of these findings is that the state might regulate the police by regulating insurers. In this spirit, the Article considers several unconventional legal reforms that could reduce police misconduct, including a mandate that all municipalities purchase insurance coverage, a ban on "first-dollar" (no-deductible) policies that may reduce municipal care, and a requirement that small municipalities pool their risks and resources before buying insurance on the commercial market. At bottom, the Article establishes that liability insurance has profound significance to any comprehensive program of police reform. The Article also makes three important theoretical contributions to legal scholarship. First, it inverts the ordinary model of governance as public regulation of private action, observing that here, private insurers regulate public police. Second, it illustrates how insurers not only enforce the Constitution, but also construct its meaning. Among other things, in the hands of insurers, liability for constitutional violations and other police misconduct becomes "loss" to the police agency, which must be "controlled." Perhaps surprisingly, by denaturing the law in this way and stripping it of its moral valence, insurers may actually advance the law's aims. Finally, the Article helps to pry open the black box of deterrence. In fact, given widespread indemnification of both individual and entity liability for constitutional torts committed by police, an understanding of how insurers manage police risk is essential to any persuasive theory of civil deterrence of police misconduct.


"Partially tethering" a thin film of a polymer melt by covalently attaching to the substrate a fraction of the chains in an unentangled melt dramatically increases the relaxation time of the surface height fluctuations. This phenomenon is observed even when the film thickness, h, is 20 times the unperturbed chain radius, Rg,tethered, of the tethered chains, indicating that partial tethering is more influential than any physical attraction with the substrate. Furthermore, a partially tethered layer of a low average molecular weight of 5k showed much slower surface fluctuations than did a reference layer of pure untethered chains of much greater molecular weight (48k), so the partial tethering effect is stronger than the effects of entanglement and increase in glass transition temperature, Tg, with molecular weight. Partial tethering offers a means of tailoring these fluctuations which influence wetting, adhesion, and tribology of the surface.


Different aspects of the curse of dimensionality are known to present serious challenges to various machine-learning methods and tasks. This paper explores a new aspect of the dimensionality curse, referred to as hubness, that affects the distribution of k-occurrences: the number of times a point appears among the k nearest neighbors of other points in a data set. Through theoretical and empirical analysis involving synthetic and real data sets we show that under commonly used assumptions this distribution becomes considerably skewed as dimensionality increases, causing the emergence of hubs, that is, points with very high k-occurrences which effectively represent "popular" nearest neighbors. We examine the origins of this phenomenon, showing that it is an inherent property of data distributions in high-dimensional vector space, discuss its interaction with dimensionality reduction, and explore its influence on a wide range of machine-learning tasks directly or indirectly based on measuring distances, belonging to supervised, semi-supervised, and unsupervised learning families.


Introduction: Several studies have demonstrated the role of high cholesterol in different diseases. A diet high in cholesterol or saturated fats can impair the cognitive function. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of simvastatin on spatial memory of rats receiving a high-fat diet. Materials and Methods: In this study, 35 adult male Wistar rats were divided into five groups (N=7). The subjects were trained for five days four times a day in Morris water maze to find a hidden platform. Time elapsed and distance travelled for finding the hidden platform were considered as criteria for learning. Probe trial was used for evaluation of memory retrieval. Results: Consumption of high fat diet for four weeks reduced learning ability in the high-fat group, which spent longer time and travelled a longer distance compared to the control group. However, oral administration of simvastatin at doses of 5 and 10 mg improved memory function. Memory function in rats treated with the drug had a significant difference with that of in the high-fat group. However, no significant difference was found between the groups treated with different doses of simvastatin. Conclusions: simvastatin improves spatial memory performance in adult male rats receiving high-fat diet.


The study area covers the northern sidewall of the Storegga slide located at the southern limit of the Vøring Plateau. The water depth at mid-Norwegian margin varies approximately between 500 and 1500m. The mid-Norwegian margin area has been known to be prone for submarine sliding and is therefore a key location for studying morphological features to improve our understanding of slide mechanisms. The master thesis aims to investigate fluid migration into the Naust formation from deeper reservoirs and its potential role in slope failure. The 3-D seismic dataset GH01 allowed mapping and visualizing of three slides at the northern sidewall of the Storegga slide. Fluid migration from deeper sources through polygonal and extensional faults and acoustic pipes, gives rise to fluid accumulations under impermeable glacigenic debris flow deposits within Naust formations. The role of fluid flow for slope failures is difficult to decipher. Acoustic pipes north of northern sidewall of the Storegga slide indicate focused fluid flow and a possible active fluid migration system. The layer-bound polygonal faults within Brygge and Kai formations and their extension to the lower Naust formation may be caused by rapid loading adding to the fluid migration pathways to the Naust formation. Thus migrated fluids have been documented to accumulate within the slide prone Naust formations. The three slides identified at the northern flank of the Storegga slide have their basal surface on the marine clays indicating the slope failure on marine deposits. Fluid flow is not considered solely responsible for slope failures but the presence of faults down to the headwall of each slide does support an important buildup of zones of weakness for fluid migration contributing to slope failure.


A political boundary divided the City of Shenzhen in 1978. The southern portion is designated as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), while the northern region remains a part of hinterland China. The divide creates a geographical and psychological chasm in the administrative and ontological existence of Shenzhen. The locals dubbed this border "the Second Line".

The Second Line and SEZ were a part of Chairman Deng Xiaoping's open and reform economic policies in 1978. The SEZs were designated areas along the southeast coast of China for the socialist state's experimentation with global capitalism. After years of wars, revolution and repression of the individual pursuit of capital, Shenzhen underwent extraordinary urban and economic development, growing from clusters of villages holding 300 000 residents to a megalopolis of more than a million in one decade.

The Second Line drove uneven urban and economic growth in the Shenzhen SEZ. The radical speed of development and opportunities brought workers from rural areas of China. They made up the economic and urban substructure of the city, but were excluded from urban social welfare. Shenzhen's industries rooted in instability and disposability of labour discouraged the settlement of the floating population.

The thesis proposal conceptually commemorates the site of the Second Line, and pays homage to its crucial role in the urban and economic formation of Shenzhen. At the urban scale, it acts as a public infrastructure, providing a framework for interface between the segregated territories of the city. The social housing component of the proposal is an architectural response and challenge to policies that allow for the migration of rural workers without provisions for everyday life. The proposal subverts the divisive ideology of the boundary through inhabitation, and creates a space of dwelling on the Second Line.


In this paper, we examine the effect of X-ray and Lyα photons on the intergalactic medium (IGM) temperature. We calculate the photon production from a population of stars and micro-quasars in a set of cosmological hydrodynamic simulations which self-consistently follow the dark matter dynamics, radiative processes as well as star formation, black hole (BH) growth and associated feedback processes. We find that (i) IGM heating is always dominated by X-rays unless the Lyα photon contribution from stars in objects with mass M < 10 8 M ⊙ becomes significantly enhanced with respect to the X-ray contribution from BHs in the same halo (which we do not directly model). (ii) Without overproducing the unresolved X-ray background, the gas temperature becomes larger than the CMB temperature, and thus an associated 21-cm signal should be expected in emission, at z ≲ 11.5. We discuss how in such a scenario the transition redshift between a 21-cm signal in absorption and in emission could be used to constraint BHs accretion and associated feedback processes.


ABSTRACT Simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) models for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have been widely used in passive studies with HIV neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) to test for protection against infection. However, because SHIV-infected adult macaques often rapidly control plasma viremia and any resulting pathogenesis is minor, the model has been unsuitable for studying the impact of antibodies on pathogenesis in infected animals. We found that SHIVSF162P3 infection in 1-month-old rhesus macaques not only results in high persistent plasma viremia but also leads to very rapid disease progression within 12 to 16 weeks. In this model, passive transfer of high doses of neutralizing IgG (SHIVIG) prevents infection. Here, we show that at lower doses, SHIVIG reduces both plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)-associated viremia and mitigates pathogenesis in infected animals. Moreover, production of endogenous NAbs correlated with lower set-point viremia and 100% survival of infected animals. New SHIV models are needed to investigate whether passively transferred antibodies or antibodies elicited by vaccination that fall short of providing sterilizing immunity impact disease progression or influence immune responses. The 1-month-old rhesus macaque SHIV model of infection provides a new tool to investigate the effects of antibodies on viral replication and clearance, mechanisms of B cell maintenance, and the induction of adaptive immunity in disease progression.


Autophagy is a finely tuned process of programmed degradation and recycling of proteins and cellular components, which is crucial in neuronal function and synaptic integrity. Mounting evidence implicates chromatin remodelling in fine-tuning autophagy pathways. However, this epigenetic regulation is poorly understood in neurons. Here, we investigate the role in autophagy of KANSL1, a member of the nonspecific lethal complex, which acetylates histone H4 on lysine 16 (H4K16ac) to facilitate transcriptional activation. Loss-of-function of KANSL1 is strongly associated with the neurodevelopmental disorder Koolen-de Vries Syndrome (KdVS). Starting from KANSL1-deficient human induced-pluripotent stem cells, both from KdVS patients and genome-edited lines, we identified superoxide dismutase 1, an antioxidant enzyme, to be significantly decreased, leading to a subsequent increase in oxidative stress and autophagosome accumulation. In KANSL1-deficient neurons, autophagosome accumulation at excitatory synapses resulted in reduced synaptic density, reduced AMPA receptor-mediated transmission and impaired neuronal network activity. Furthermore, we found that increased oxidative stress-mediated autophagosome accumulation leads to increased mTOR activation and decreased lysosome function, further preventing the clearing of autophagosomes. Finally, by pharmacologically reducing oxidative stress, we could rescue the aberrant autophagosome formation as well as synaptic and neuronal network activity in KANSL1-deficient neurons. Our findings thus point towards an important relation between oxidative stress-induced autophagy and synapse function, and demonstrate the importance of H4K16ac-mediated changes in chromatin structure to balance reactive oxygen species- and mTOR-dependent autophagy.


Thousands of marine mammals die each year in fisheries-related entanglements. A substantial number of these animals entangle themselves in gillnets. Two populations in immediate danger are the coastal stock of the mid-Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, and the Gulf of Maine harbour porpoise, Phocoena phocoena. We investigated the efficacy of using an alternative net material made with barium sulphate hypothesized to be acoustically more reflective than traditional nets. By using simulated dolphin echolocation clicks, the target strength of the experimental net was compared with the target strength of a similar gauge nylon net. Results demonstrated that at angles greater than normal incidence, but less than 40°, the new barium sulphate net was acoustically more reflective than the nylon net; however, there was no significant difference in the target strength of the two nets at 0°. At angles greater than 40°, both nets were difficult to discern from background noise. Target strengths of the nets were used to calculate detection ranges for T. truncatus and P. phocoena. Both species should be able to detect the experimental nets at a distance greater than the nylon nets. For T. truncatus, this distance may be enough to reduce entanglement; however, because of P. phocoena's lower source level echolocation signals, they may not detect either net with echolocation in time to avoid contact.


Enabling ultra-low latency is one of the major drivers for the development of future cellular networks to support delay sensitive applications including factory automation, autonomous vehicles and tactile internet. Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) is a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 13 standardized cellular network currently optimized for massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC). To reduce the latency in cellular networks, 3GPP has proposed some latency reduction techniques that include Semi Persistent Scheduling (SPS) and short Transmission Time Interval (sTTI). In this paper, we investigate the potential of adopting both techniques in NB-IoT networks and provide a comprehensive performance evaluation. We firstly analyze these techniques and then implement them in an open-source network simulator (NS3). Simulations are performed with a focus on Cat-NB1 User Equipment (UE) category to evaluate the uplink user-plane latency. Our results show that SPS and sTTI have the potential to greatly reduce the latency in NB-IoT systems. We believe that both techniques can be integrated into NB-IoT systems to position NB-IoT as a preferred technology for low data rate Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) applications before 5G has been fully rolled out.


This article reviews the strategies that have been applied across cultures in order to heal a wounded collective identity of societies upon large-scale conflicts and wars. The issues of truth, memory, and different models of justice executed within this process are discussed. Also, differences and similarities between individual and collective "healing" are explored and commented on. A general cross-cultural normative framework for conflict solving, collective "healing" and justice is neither possible, nor desirable. Models of restorative, retributive and reparative justice should be combined with reconciliation efforts. Societal problems should not be medicalized and individualized. Cultural sensitivity is crucial in designing proper strategies. The contextual model is the one that should be applied while making plans for rebuilding health and dignity after trauma on a collective level. "Healing" must be the outcome of structural and political changes and not their substitute.


The paper presents a novel concept for traffic signal controller. Instead of the traditional central architecture, a wireless operation with distributed control architecture is proposed for traffic light control. The concept rests on local control units distributed in space as well, i.e. the signal heads also have own control logic. The basis of safe distributed operation is described in detail in the paper. Beside the presentation of the concept the required conformity with the specific standards are also investigated. Moreover, a formal method (Petri Nets modeling) is provided concerning a part of the proposed system, which confirms that the whole system goes to fail-safe state when critical problem occurs in any of the subsystems or communication.


Moran's index is a statistic that measures spatial autocorrelation; it quantifies the degree of dispersion (or clustering) of objects in space. In data analysis across two dimensions over a general area, a single Moran statistic proves insufficient for identifying the spread, behavior, features, or latent surfaces shared by neighboring areas. An alternative method divides the general area and uses the Moran statistic of each resulting sub-area to identify features of neighboring areas. In this paper, we add a time variable to a spatial Poisson point process. On the basis of the results of this simulation, we investigate variations in Moran statistics of neighboring areas and put forward approaches for the related analysis. Results of this work emphasize the importance of observing caution in handling spatiotemporal data when using methods involving implicit normality assumptions.


Title of Document: AN ANALYSIS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION AND PERCEIVED EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SCHOOLMAX FAMILY PORTAL Warren Wesley Watts, Doctor of Education, 2015 Directed By: Margaret J. McLaughlin, Ph.D. Department of Counseling, Higher Education and Special Education School districts have spent millions of dollars implementing student information systems that offer family portals with web-based access to parents and students. One of the main purposes of these systems is to improve school-to-home communication. Research has shown that when school-to-home communication is implemented effectively, parent involvement improves and student achievement increases (Epstein, 2001). The purpose of the study was to (a) understand why parents used or refrained from using the family portal and (b) determine what barriers to use might exist. To this end, this descriptive study identified the information parent users accessed in the SchoolMAX family portal, determined how frequently parents accessed the portal, and ascertained whether parents perceived an increase in communication with their children about academic matters after they began accessing the portal. Finally, the study sought to identify whether barriers existed that prevented parents from using the family portal. The inquiry employed three data sources to answer the aforementioned queries. These sources included (a) a survey sent electronically to 19,108 parents who registered online for the SchoolMAX family portal; (b) SchoolMAX portal usage data from the student information system for system usage between January 1, 2015 and June 30, 2015; and (c) a paper survey sent to 691 parents of students that had never used the SchoolMAX family portal in one elementary school, one middle school and one high school that were representative of other schools in the district. Survey results indicated that parents at all grade levels used the family portal. Usage data also confirmed that approximately 19% of the students had parents who monitored their progress through the family portal. Usage data also showed that parents were monitoring approximately 25% of students in secondary schools (6 – 12 grade) and 16% of students in elementary schools. Of the wide menu of resources available through the SchoolMAX family portal, parents used three areas most frequently: attendance, daily grades, and report cards. Approximately 70% of parents responded that their communication had improved with their children about academic matters since they started using the SchoolMAX family portal, and 90% of parents responded that the SchoolMAX family portal was an effective or somewhat effective tool. Parents also expressed interest in the addition of additional information to the SchoolMAX family portal. Specifically, the top three additions parents wanted to see included homework assignments, high stakes test scores, and graduation requirements. Parents also reported that 92% of them spoke to their children at least 2 to 3 times per week about academics. Due to the low response rate of the parent non-user survey, potential barriers to using the SchoolMAX family portal could not be addressed in this study. However, this issue may be a useful research topic in a future study.


Employment is a right of citizenship and a social determinant of health, but employment rates remain low for persons with disabilities. The purpose of this paper is to examine the principles and practices guiding work integration within the fields of intellectual disability (ID), brain injury, and mental illness and to identify best practices to support transitions to employment across these three groups. This integrative review drew upon an occupational perspective to analyze the current literature. Findings reveal that the need and benefits of working are recognized across disability groups but that philosophical perspectives guiding work integration differ. In the area of mental illness, recovery is seen as a process within which work plays an important role, in ID work is viewed as a planned outcome that is part of the developmental process, and in the field of brain injury, outcomes of employability and employment are emphasized. A common theme across the three disability groups is that in order to facilitate work integration, the person, the job and the work environment are important factors in need of examination. Evidence pointing to the effectiveness of the supported employment model is increasing across these three populations. A framework for guiding the development of further research and for promoting changes to support work integration is presented.


This paper takes stock of the literature on the relationship between central bank policies and inequality. A new paradigm which integrates sticky-prices, incomplete markets and heterogeneity among households is emerging, which allows to jointly study how inequality shapes macroeconomic aggregates and how macroeconomic shocks and policies affect inequality. While the new paradigm features multiple distributional channels of monetary policy, most empirical analyses analyse each potential channel of redistribution in isolation. Our review suggests that empirical research on the effect of conventional monetary policy on income and wealth inequality yields very mixed findings, although there seems to be a consensus that higher inflation, at least above some threshold, increases inequality. In contrast to common wisdom, the conclusions concerning the impact of unconventional monetary policies on income inequality are also not clear cut. This is so since these policies may reduce income inequality by stimulating economic activity, but may also increase inequality by boosting asset prices. Similarly, results concerning the impact of unconventional monetary policies on wealth inequality are rather mixed. The scant literature on the impact of macro-prudential policies on inequality finds evidence for redistributive effects, but in view of its limitations it may be too early to come to conclusions.


Abstract Objective In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, psychologists were pushed to look beyond traditional in-person models of neurodevelopmental assessment to maintain continuity of care. A wealth of data demonstrates that telehealth is efficacious for pediatric behavioral intervention; however, best practices for incorporating telehealth into neurodevelopmental assessment are yet to be developed. In this topical review, we propose a conceptual model to demonstrate how telehealth can be incorporated into various components of neurodevelopmental assessment. Methods Harnessing existing literature and expertise from a multidisciplinary task force comprised of clinicians, researchers, and patient/parent representatives from the subspecialty of cardiac neurodevelopmental care, a conceptual framework for telehealth neurodevelopmental assessment was developed. Considerations for health equity and access to care are discussed, as well as general guidelines for clinical implementation and gaps in existing literature. Results There are opportunities to integrate telehealth within each stage of neurodevelopmental assessment, from intake to testing, through to follow-up care. Further research is needed to determine whether telehealth mitigates or exacerbates disparities in access to care for vulnerable populations as well as to provide evidence of validity for a wider range of neurodevelopmental measures to be administered via telehealth. Conclusions While many practices are returning to traditional, face-to-face neurodevelopmental assessment services, psychologists have a unique opportunity to harness the momentum for telehealth care initiated during the pandemic to optimize the use of clinical resources, broaden service delivery, and increase access to care for pediatric neurodevelopmental assessment.


Theory predicts that there is a close link between bank credit supply and the evolution of the business cycle. Yet fluctuations in bank-loan supply have been hard to quantify in the time-series. While loan issuance falls in recessions, it is not clear if this is due to demand or supply. We address this question by studying firms' substitution between bank debt and non-bank debt (public bonds) using firm-level data. Any firm that raises new debt must have a positive demand for external funds. Conditional on issuance of new debt, we interpret firm's switching from loans to bonds as a contraction in bank credit supply. We find strong evidence of substitution from loans to bonds at times characterized by tight lending standards, high levels of non-performing loans and loan allowances, low bank share prices and tight monetary policy. The bank-to-bond substitution can only be measured for firms with access to bond markets. However, we show that this substitution behavior has strong predictive power for bank borrowing and investments by small, out-of-sample firms. We consider and reject several alternative explanations of our findings.