By considering an electron microscope to be an information channel, it is shown that the correspondence between the object and the image can be linked to the electron optical characteristics of the instrument and to the statistical properties of the noise. A discussion of the image formation of a cluster of atoms is introduced in order to demonstrate the main contrast mechanisms that operate at the atomic level. A direct extension of this analysis to more complex specimens gives rise to a wave optical theory of image formation, which is used to present the concept of the amplitude transfer function. This formalism greatly simplifies in the case of weakly scattering objects, where the total object wave is linearly related to both the projected potential distribution of the specimen and the amplitude attenuation of the incident beam. For this category of specimens, there exists a linear relationship between the image intensity in bright-field and the total object wave. Phase and amplitude contrast transfer functions describe the perturbing influence of the objective lens aberrations on the phase and the amplitude of the object wave. If spatial and chromatic incoherence effects are included in this formalism, it is shown that the linearity between image intensity and object is preserved.

The validity of the approximations of the wave optical theory is first checked by studying the effect of defocusing on the transfer conditions of the phase and amplitude contrast mechanisms. A medium resolution experiment is conducted on a bright-field image of bovine liver catalase. The results demonstrate a qualitative agreement between experiment and theory.

A reconstruction scheme is next implemented on a through-focus series of a specimen of gold on carbon. This scheme is analyzed critically prior to a description of the experimental results. It is demonstrated that under certain conditions this technique is capable of restoring the total object wave and simultaneously achieving a selective contrast enhancement at heavy atom locations. This potential Z discrimination is tested experimentally, and the difficulties encountered during the processing are discussed. A qualitative estimate of all contrast mechanisms that contribute to a high-resolution bright-field micrograph can be inferred from this analysis. The problems which one faces in a quantitative interpretation of micrographs at the atomic level are also discussed, and possible ways to circumvent these problems are mentioned.

Next, image processing schemes for improving the signal-to-noise ratio of an image are applied to micrographs of crystalline specimens. The enhancement of lattice fringe images is demonstrated for both silicon and gold specimens. Periodic images can be processed in either real space or Fourier space and an analysis of these processing modes is presented.

By enhancing a weak-beam image of a dissociated-dislocation dipole in germanium, a quantitative comparison to a simulated image is rendered possible. The resolving power of the weak-beam technique is analyzed for this particular example. It is found that by selecting a diffraction geometry so that the systematic reflections are dynamically interacting, four dislocation peaks are individually resolved. Problems associated with the contrast interpretation are discussed in conjunction with a calculation of the image contrast. Finally, suggestions for further study of the atomic structure of crystalline defects by the weak-beam method are given.


Research interest on jellyfish has grown exponentially over the last years and studies focusing on the biology and ecology of the jellyfish polyp stage are being recognized as crucial in understanding jellyfish proliferations. Due to the difficulty of conducting in situ work with jellyfish polyps, laboratory experiments are the most used approach. Here, we describe the design and successful testing of a new system that allows continuous seawater renewal while keeping constant the selected physicochemical conditions of the water throughout the experiment in contrast to closed systems used previously. As a first test, we started an experiment to assess the effects of ocean acidification on the growth and development of jellyfish polyps of Aurelia sp. This new design demonstrated high precision in maintaining constant conditions (pH, temperature, and flow rates) among the replicates of each treatment, and ensured excellent conditions for jellyfish polyp survival. All together it has shown to be an effective platform to assess the effect of environmental variables on the growth and development of jellyfish polyps.


Learning Chinese is notoriously difficult and has long put off the most linguistically savvy Westerners ...until now. Breaking down the Great Wall of language, ShaoLan Hsueh has unpicked Chinese characters and created a simple system for quickly understanding the basic building blocks of the written language. Working with renowned illustrator Noma Bar, she has developed a unique set of illustrations that are engaging and delightful, and offer a glimpse into the wonder of the Chinese language and culture. The books main section introduces the radicals the key characters on which the language is built and reveals how they can be combined to form a wealth of more complex words and phrases. In fewer than 200 pages, readers of all ages will have made the first steps towards a genuine appreciation of Chinese, loving every new character they learn.


BACKGROUND
This investigator-initiated trial provided the justification for the phase III GRID study resulting in worldwide regulatory approval of regorafenib as a third-line therapy for patients with metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). We report the genotype analyses, long-term safety, and activity results from this initial trial of regorafenib in GIST.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
The trial was conducted between February 2010 and January 2014, among adult patients with metastatic GIST, after failure of at least imatinib and sunitinib. Patients received regorafenib orally, 160 mg once daily, days 1-21 of a 28-day cycle. Clinical benefit rate (CBR), defined as complete or partial response (PR), or stable disease lasting ≥16 weeks per RECIST 1.1, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), long-term safety data, and metabolic response by functional imaging were assessed.

RESULTS
Thirty-three patients received at least one dose of regorafenib. The median follow-up was 41 months. CBR was documented in 25 of 33 patients [76%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 58% to 89%], including six PRs. The median PFS was 13.2 months (95% CI 9.2-18.3 months) including four patients who remained progression-free at study closure, each achieving clinical benefit for more than 3 years (range 36.8-43.5 months). The median OS was 25 months (95% CI 13.2-39.1 months). Patients whose tumors harbored a KIT exon 11 mutation demonstrated the longest median PFS (13.4 months), whereas patients with KIT/PDGFRA wild-type, non-SDH-deficient tumors experienced a median 1.6 months PFS (P < 0.0001). Long-term safety profile is consistent with previous reports; hand-foot skin reaction and hypertension were the most common reasons for dose reduction. Notably, regorafenib induced objective responses and durable benefit in SDH-deficient GIST.

CONCLUSIONS
Long-term follow-up of patients with metastatic GIST treated with regorafenib suggests particular benefit among patients with primary KIT exon 11 mutations and those with SDH-deficient GIST. Dose modifications are frequently required to manage treatment-related toxicities.

CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER
NCT01068769.


The production of cellulases from rice straw (RS) by four fungi: Trichoderma harzianum (SCahmT105), Trichoderma spp.(1) (STP101), Trichoderma spp.(3) (STP103) and Phanerochaete chrysosporium was investigated. The microbial treatment using solid state fermentation was conducted in 250 ml Erlenmeyer flasks considering rice straw as a major solid substrate. The highest cellulase activities such as 25.53 U/g of rice straw due to filter paper activity and 42.86 U/g of rice straw due to carboxymethyl cellulose activity were obtained at day 4 of cultivation using Phanerochaete chrysosporium for the purpose of selecting the best fungus among these four strains. Glucosamine for growth and reducing sugar as substrate utilization indicator were observed to evaluate the fermentation of rice straw in the experiment and pH values were recorded as well.
Four process parameters of the solid state fermentation namely moisture content, mineral content, co-substratre and inoculum size with three levels of each parameter were used to optimize the production of cellulases by Plackett-Burman technique under factorial design. The results for first phase of optimization showed that the production of cellulases were higher i.e. 26.43 U/g of rice straw due to filter paper of activity and 46.25 U/g of rice straw due to carboxymethyl cellulose activity compared to the production obtained during the earlier study of selecting best strain among four fungi but the optimum regions of the surfaces was not found. Second phase of optimization was conducted to determine the actual optimum conditions within the ranges of variables tested. The experimental data were used to develop second order polynomial models considering linear, quadratic and interaction effects of the variables (factors). The optimum values obtained at second phase of optimization for moisture content, inoculum size, co-substrate and mineral content were 50% (v/w), 10% (v/w), 1% (w/w) and 5% (v/w) respectively.
Using the final model equations the process factors/variables were tested by increasing or decreasing the values within the ranges of parameters tested and optimum production of cellulases were obtained to be 30.18 U/g of rice straw (FPU) and 53.93 U/g of rice straw (CMCase) for Phanerochaete chrysosporium with the optimum process conditions. A final experiment with these optimum process parameters of SSF was conducted to evaluate the production of cellulases as well as the validation of the models which indicated the production of 29.46 U/g of rice straw due to filter paper activity and 54.83 U/g of rice straw due to carboxymethyl cellulose activity in the laboratory which approved the optimum production obtained with 2.4% and 1.6% error, respectively.


In the absence of a widely accepted and common definition of social enterprise (SE), a large research project, the "International Comparative Social Enterprise Models" (ICSEM) Project, was carried out over a five-year period; it involved more than 200 researchers from 55 countries and relied on bottom-up approaches to capture the SE phenomenon. This strategy made it possible to take into account and give legitimacy to locally embedded approaches, thus resulting in an analysis encompassing a wide diversity of social enterprises, while simultaneously allowing for the identification of major SE models to delineate the field on common grounds at the international level. These SE models reveal or confirm an overall trend towards new ways of sharing the responsibility for the common good in today's economies and societies. We tend to consider as good news the fact that social enterprises actually stem from all parts of the economy. Indeed, societies are facing many complex challenges at all levels, from the local to the global level. The diversity and internal variety of SE models are a sign of a broadly shared willingness to develop appropriate―although sometimes embryonic―responses to these challenges, on the basis of innovative economic/business models driven by a social mission. In spite of their weaknesses, social enterprises may be seen as advocates for and vehicles of the general interest across the whole economy. Of course, the debate about privatisation, deregulation and globalised market competition―all factors that may hinder efforts in the search for the common good–has to be addressed as well. The first of a series of four ICSEM books, Social Enterprise in Asia will serve as a key reference and resource for teachers, researchers, students, experts, policy makers, journalists and other categories of people who want to acquire a broad understanding of the phenomena of social enterprise and social entrepreneurship as they emerge and develop across the world.


In this paper we review the growth of socially responsible investment (SRI) in the UK and in Japan. We consider the various factors which have given rise to the growth of SRI in both countries. As SRI is currently more mature in the UK than in Japan, we consider ways in which the UK experience may provide some lessons for the growth of SRI in Japan. Significantly, we consider that the use of corporate governance mechanisms such as engagement and dialogue by large shareholders, to solve social, ethical and environmental (SEE) problems in companies, is a realistic route for the development of SRI in Japan. However, these mechanisms need to be designed so that they may operate more efficiently. Pension funds and other investment institutions need to appreciate the value of engagement over screening as an SRI stra-tegy. Further, the disclosure of SRI strategies by pension funds in Japan may contribute to enhancing consciousness about the responsibility of shareholders for the SEE outcomes of corporate activities that they invest in indirectly. We acknowledge, however, that this suggestion may be difficult to implement in the near future. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2004.


In this paper, we propose a new technique for optimum parameter selection in non-quadratic radar image restoration. Although both the regularization hyper-parameter and the norm value are influential factors in the characteristics of the formed restoration, most existing optimization methods either require memory intensive computation or prior knowledge of the noise. Here, we present a contrast measure-based method for automated hyper-parameter selection. The proposed method is then extended to optimize the norm value used in non-quadratic image formation and restoration. The proposed method is evaluated on the MSTAR public target database and compared to the GCV method. Experimental results show that the proposed method yields better image quality at a much reduced computational cost.


Hidradenitis suppurativa is a chronic suppurative inflammatory disease of the apocrine sweat glands. It is more common in women and involves the genital region in half of all affected patients. An advanced case of hidradenitis suppurativa with bilateral vulvar masses is presented. Possible etiologies of the disease are discussed, as well as strategies for definitive therapy. Because the disease frequently affects the female external genitalia and therapy can require extensive surgical resection and reconstruction, the services of a gynecologic oncologist may be required. Adequate therapy based on an understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease can yield significant relief of symptoms.


While childhood obesity has become a significant public health concern over the last few decades, knowledge concerning the origins of or persistence in childhood anthropometric measures is incomplete. Here, we utilize several nonparametric measures of mobility to assess the evolution of weight, height, and body mass index during early childhood. We find that mobility is quite high prior to primary school and then declines noticeably. However, there are important sources of heterogeneity, including race, gender, and age, that should prove insightful to researchers and policymakers.


Formally sanctioned flexible working conditions are now common in Australian workplaces. While large organisations have policies for part-time work, career breaks, and leave options, research indicates employees may still suffer employment disadvantage if they use them (French and Sheridan 2010; Lyonette and Crompton 2008). This paper examines this issue for a lesser known population: professional and managerial employees in small accounting firms ( employees), particularly those working fewer than 35 hours per week and those who took career breaks. Results are drawn from a survey of all CPA Australia members working in small firms. Unsurprisingly, given that women undertake more family and household work (ABS 2009; Burgess and Strachan 2005), more women than men worked part-time, and women had taken longer career breaks. Arrangements for part-time work and other flexible options tended to be local, informal and reliant on individual managers' support. Analysis of quantitative and qualitative responses revealed differing motivations and difficulties for women and men working part-time. While both women and men typically intended to return to full-time work, 53% of women considered that working part-time was detrimental to their long-term career prospects, compared with 22% men. While a similar percentage of women and men were concerned about gaining employment following a career break, men were more concerned than women about gaining the type of employment they wanted. Women were more concerned with retaining their seniority and updating technical knowledge. In general women were more negative than men about the impact of having had a career break. The paper examines the reasons for these different motivations and reactions between the genders, and links the findings to other literature on workplace flexibility.


This special edition of the University of Western Sydney Law Review on detention without trial has proven timely. As we entered the final stages of production, the Australian federal, state and territory governments were in the process of pushing through their respective parliaments far-reaching Anti-Terrorism Bills that introduce two unprecedented forms of detention without trial: 'preventative detention' and 'control orders'. Once again, the 'war on terrorism' declared by US President George W Bush and his allies after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States is being used to justify previously unthinkable measures. (1) This edition features two presentations made to a highly successful public forum convened by the UWS Law School in March 2005 on 'Detention Without Trial: What are the Limits?' The first is an address delivered by Justice Michael Kirby of the High Court, entitled 'Liberty, Terrorism and the Courts'. It is a wide-ranging and international review of the extent to which courts have protected liberty against the extension of executive power in the 'war on terror'. The second is a response by myself, 'Detention without trial-a threat to democratic rights', examining the implications of the High Court rulings in Al-Kateb, Al Khafaji and Behrooz, which sanctioned indefinite immigration detention. (2) Also contained in this edition are two articles by senior legal academics, one by Lynda Crowley-Cyr and the other by Greta Bird, exploring the issues raised by the High Court rulings, particularly in the light of the mistreatment experienced by Cornelia Rau and Vivien Alvarez. Crowley-Cyr argues that the Rau and Alvarez cases illustrate the brutalisation and oppression that can flow from the unfettered discretion exercised by a host of actors pursuant to the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), including Commonwealth and State ministers and officials, private and public health care professionals, and corporate agencies that provide the day-to-day running of detention centres. In her article, Bird draws on theorists such as Derrida, Levinas, Agamben, Lacan and Kristeva to explore the concept of detaining 'unlawful non citizens'. In addition, we are pleased to publish two documents arising out of the debate over the Anti-Terrorism Bill 2005. They are the Opinion given by Stephen Gageler SC to the Australian Capital Territory government on the Constitutional issues concerning preventative detention, and the Memorandum of Advice given by Lex Lasry QC and Kate Eastman to the ACT government on the human rights questions raised by the legislation. In their Advice, Lasry and Eastman conclude that many aspects of the Bill would be inconsistent with the Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT), which draws on a range of international human rights treaties. Control orders would infringe sections of the Act dealing with freedom of movement, arbitrary detention, privacy, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, freedom to take part in public life, rights of minorities, freedom of religion and fair trial and access to lawyers. In his Opinion, Gageler points to three constitutional grounds on which the Bill could be challenged. The first is the principle, affirmed in the 1992 Chu Kheng Lim case (3), that citizens enjoy a 'constitutional immunity' from involuntary detention except by an order of a court exercising the 'judicial power of the Commonwealth'. Secondly, the High Court reiterated in the 2004 Fardon case (4) that the federal government could not confer on a court any detention power that was preventative and not punitive. In the words of Gummow J, 'detention by reason of apprehended conduct' is 'at odds with the central constitutional conception' of detention occurring after 'judicial determination of criminal guilt'. (5) Thirdly, by asking courts or individual judges to issue secret detention and control orders, the government was breaking another rule emphasised in Fardon: courts cannot be 'called upon to act . …


A highly selective response to glucose is possible by using a poly(phenylboronic acid) microgel prepared by a rational design. Such a microgel is made of a commercial 4-vinylphenylboronic acid crosslinked with N,N′-bis(propene)perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxyldiimide. The introduction of a suitable amount of perylene bisimides into the poly(phenylboronic acid) network can make the newly developed microgels responsive with high selectivity to glucose over a clinically relevant concentration range of 0.0–30.0 mM at a physiological pH of 7.4. Unlike poly(phenylboronic acid) gels reported in previous reports that swell but show poor glucose selectivity, or shrink upon adding glucose, the proposed microgels swell and the swelling ratio is much larger than that upon adding other common monosaccharides (natural stereoisomers of glucose, e.g., fructose, galactose and mannose). The responsive volume phase transitions of the microgels give excellent fits to a 1 : 1 binding model, to estimate an association constant of 212 M−1 for glucose binding, which is remarkably larger than those of 78, 42 and 52 M−1 respectively, for fructose, galactose and mannose binding. The proposed microgels also feature a class of built-in signalling systems in the form of highly selective glucose-dependent fluorescence emission. The highly selective glucose-response of the microgels suggests the potential for development into sensors for detection of glucose in serums of fasting bloods and even non-fasting bloods (as models of complex bio-systems).


The concept of 'creative tension' is central to the thesis of Transforming Mission, and remains one of Bosch's most important contributions to missiology. Bosch's use of this concept is explored in relation to his 'ermerging ecumenical paradigm', to the theology of mission, and to the mission of the Church. It is shown how the term is not merely a construct but reaches back into our understanding of God Himself, and as such is essential to theology as well as to missiology. There contemporary examples of the use of creative tensions are explored, relating to urban mission, prophetic dialogue and mission partnerships. It is concluded that the concept is essential to the theology and practice of mission.


The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between innovation and employment, in terms of both its quantity and quality, in Uruguay. The effect of product and process innovation on employment growth and on employment composition in terms of skills was studied, using data from manufacturing firms' innovation surveys, matched against economic activity surveys. The impact of different innovation strategies was also analyzed, particularly producing technology vs. sourcing technology externally. The results revealed that product innovation is associated with employment growth. There is (weaker) evidence that process innovation displaces labor. Product innovation is not more complementary to skilled than to unskilled labor. Producing technology in-house has the biggest positive impact on employment, followed by the make-and-buy strategy. Similar results are found for small firms and firms belonging to the low- and high-tech sectors. Interviews carried out with innovation agents support the view that in general innovation does not lead to job losses and that it generates greater demand for a more qualified labor force.


The effects of traffic induced vibrations on heritage buildings have been studied in four widely different buildings. Three stone-built and one timber-framed building, including a Georgian town house and a large 15th century church, were examined. As part of the study a large farmhouse was surveyed before and after a significant increase in lorry traffic to determine if the increased exposure to traffic vibration had triggered damage. This study extends and complements a previous examination of four relatively small brick built properties reported in RR 156 (Watts 1988). All buildings were within a few metres of roads carrying HGVs and they all showed some signs of distress. Vibration and noise measurements were made at the sites in order to characterize the exposure to vibration. All building surveys were carried out by the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England whose main objectives were to report on the state of dilapidation of each building and to determine whether any damage was the result of traffic vibration. It was concluded that although measurable levels of ground-borne vibrations were present in all buildings, reaching perceptible levels in some, the observed damage was likely to have been caused by other site factors rather than the exposure to traffic vibration. (A)


Bobby - young, black and happily in love with Hispanic girlfriend Maria - lives in a cramped Bronx apartment with his mother, his younger siblings and walls full of rats. But when Bobby and Maria are brutally attacked by a Hispanic gang, leaving the couple severely injured, everything changes. Maria may be lost, but, under the unusual care of the reclusive doctor he knows only as Moishe, Bobby might just have stumbled into a hopeful future of which he could never have previously dreamed. "The Willow Tree" is a searing trip of despair and hope through the lives of America's dispossessed inner-city residents.


Background Studies examining risk factors for sport injury in elementary school children are few. The risk of sport injury in special populations including Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has not been previously examined. Objective To examine risk factors for sport injury in elementary school students (ages 9–12), including special populations (DCD and ADHD). Design Cross-sectional study. Setting A survey was sent home with students in 26 randomly selected Calgary (Canada) elementary schools. Participants Children ages 9–12 years (n=540). Risk factor assessment The primary risk factors of interest were probable DCD (pDCD) and ADHD. Other risk factors considered included age, sex, ethnicity, highest level of parent education, stressful life events (previous year), receiving coaching in at least 1 sport, and body mass index. Main outcome measurements Injury definitions included any sport injury in the previous year and sport injury in the previous year requiring medical attention. Results Based on univariate Poisson regression (adjusted for exposure hours and cluster) the risk of all sport injury in the previous year in typically developing children did not differ from children with either pDCD (n=150, Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR=1.02 [95% CI 0.7–1.5]) or ADHD (n=87, IRR=0.94 [95% CI 0.58–1.55]). Children with ADHD were at a greater risk of sport injury requiring medical attention compared to those without ADHD (IRR: 1.82 [95% CI 1.23–2.68]). No other risk factors were identified based on univariate analysis. Conclusions Children (9–12 years) with pDCD and ADHD were at a similar risk of sport injury in the previous year as typically developing children. Children with ADHD were at an 82% greater risk of sport injury requiring medical attention than children without the disorder. This study will inform the development of injury prevention strategies for future studies in elementary school targeting children with ADHD.


Buckling response of composite laminated panels with an arti cial delamination was numerically investigated.
Implementation of the nite-element models required a previous study on the simulation of fracture mechanisms under general mixed-mode loading conditions with the use of cohesive elements. To pursue this aim, a
methodology based on numerical analyses and parametric studies of the DCB (Double Cantilever Beam) and ENF (End Notched Flexure) tests on AS4/PEEK laminates was developed. Comparison to available experimental data enabled to determine a reduced set of parameters which, controlling
the response of cohesive elements and the variable discretization pattern over the model, provided a good compromise between accuracy and computational cost in both single-mode delamination cases.
Validation of the obtained set of parameters took place through the simulation of the MMB (Mixed-Mode Bending) test at three di erent
mode ratios. Good agreement with experimental measurements found in
literature suggested extending the usage of the found set in more complex problems, such as delamination buckling of a damaged HTA/6376C plate,
whose fracture-related properties are comparable to those of AS4/PEEK.
Through a careful de nition of the geometric imperfection, the adopted
nonlinear static approach showed to yield predictions of the failure load
in good agreement with experimental results reported in literature.
Finally, a qualitative study was conducted about the reduction of compressive
strength caused by delaminations of di erent sizes, shapes and
through-the-thickness locations within an AS4/PEEK panel. Conclusions
showed to be consistent with similar previous works conducted by other
authors, evidencing a reduction of the compressive strength with the delamination
size and depth. On the contrary, no signi cant in
uence of the
delamination shape (circular or square) was observed.


Introduction: Cardiac arrest followed by resuscitation and recovery of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) produces systemic ischemia reperfusion (I/R), affecting all internal organs, including the kidney. This type of stress generates both a robust increase in reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) and an intense inflammatory response, which can result in renal cell death. The glycoprotein erythropoietin (EPO) has been shown to combat renal I/R injury by offering cyto-protection against inflammation and oxidative damage, as well as inhibiting apoptosis. The endogenous intermediary metabolite pyruvate has been observed to stabilize specific genetic machinery responsible for the production of EPO. This study was conducted to test the efficacy of intravenous pyruvate in exploiting these endogenous mechanisms of EPO to protect the kidney from cardiac arrest-induced, I/R injury. Hypothesis: Pyruvate administration during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), defibrillation, and ROSC will protect the kidneys from I/R injury by suppressing oxidative stress and inflammation via increased EPO production at the renal corticomedullary border. Methods: Yorkshire swine underwent 10 minutes of cardiac arrest, CPR effected by precordial compressions, and defibrillation, and were recovered for either 4 hours (acute) or 3 days (chronic). The animals were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups. Two groups underwent the cardiac arrest protocol described above: one group received intravenous infusion of 2M sodium pyruvate at a rate of 0.1 mmol∙kg-1∙min-1 during CPR and the first 60 minutes of recovery; the other group received an equimolar infusion of NaCl. The other two groups were surgically prepared and infused with NaCl or sodium pyruvate, but were not subjected to cardiac arrest, CPR, or defibrillation. For the acute protocol (n=28), animals were sacrificed 4hr after cardiac arrest, while in the chronic protocol (n=18), animals recovered for 3d before sacrifice. To evaluate the impact of cardiac arrest and pyruvate treatment on renal metabolism and antioxidant defense, proteins were extracted from snap-frozen renal corticomedullary border tissue for spectrophotometric activity assays of a panel of 10 metabolic and antioxidant enzymes; myeloperoxidase (MPO), an enzyme marker of pro-inflammatory leukocytes, was analyzed to assess inflammation. Plasma was sampled before cardiac arrest and at the time of biopsy to measure creatinine concentration, an indirect measure of glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were used to measure EPO content and Kidney Injury Molecule-1 (KIM-1) content, a receptor expressed on renal tubular cells that plays an important role in apoptosis. Tissue sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and examined under light microscopy to count neutrophils and monocytes and to compare structure integrity across the different treatment groups and protocols. Results: In this study global I/R stress imposed on the kidneys by reversible cardiac arrest did not appreciably alter the activity of the 10 panel enzymes. Despite having no histological evidence of neutrophil infiltration (H&E stained slides), an increase in renal MPO activity was evident at 4 h recovery in the NaCl group which was prevented by pyruvate treatment (P<0.05). There was no evidence of ultrastructural damage to renal cortical and outer medullary structures. There was a noticeable increase in renal EPO content at 4 h ROSC vs. the sham group. An apparent, albeit not statistically significant, increase in KIM-1 content was observed in the two CPR groups vs. the NaCl-infused sham group. Plasma creatinine concentrations did not change appreciably between pre-arrest baseline and 3 d recovery. Interpretation and Conclusion: The I/R stress produced by the present cardiac arrest-resuscitation failed to alter appreciably the activities of the 10 panel enzymes, suggesting the oxidative stress was not sufficient to overwhelm the kidney's endogenous antioxidant defenses. Plasma creatinine concentrations were also stable, implying the GFR was maintained and the glomerular ultrastructures were unaffected by I/R. The increase in MPO activity at 4 h ROSC implied a transient infiltration of inflammatory leukocytes, although none were visible on histological examination. The increase in KIM-1 content, though not statistically significant, suggests modest renal apoptotic activity after cardiac arrest and reperfusion. The transient increase in renal EPO content in the NaCl-infused post-arrest vs. sham pigs supports the possibility that even a brief period of renal ischemia by cardiac arrest can evoke renal EPO production. Collectively, these results indicate the renal I/R imposed by cardiac arrest and resuscitation does not inflict appreciable damage on the kidneys or its enzyme systems, at least within the first 3 d of post-arrest recovery. Abbreviations: AKI: acute kidney injury; ARF: acute renal failure; CK: creatine kinase; CPR: cardiopulmonary resuscitation; CS: citrate synthase; EPO: erythropoietin; GAPDH: glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase; G6PDH: glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase; GFR: glomerular filtration rate; GP: glutathione peroxidase; GR: glutathione reductase; HIF-1: hypoxia-inducible factor 1; I/R: ischemia-reperfusion; KIM-1: kidney injury molecule 1; LDH: lactate dehydrogenase; MPO: myeloperoxidase; PFK: phosphofructokinase; PHD: prolyl hydroxylase; RONS: reactive oxygen and nitrogen species; ROSC: recovery of spontaneous circulation Intravenous Pyruvate to Prevent Renal Injury Following Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation


In Indiana v. Edwards, the U.S. Supreme Court held that states may impose a higher competency standard for self-representation than to stand trial in criminal cases. While the Court articulated a number of interests relevant to representational competence, it left to states the difficult task of formulating an actual competence standard. This Article offers the first examination and assessment of the constitutionality of state standards post-Edwards. It reveals that seven states have endorsed a representational competence standard with a communication component. Additionally, twenty states have embraced vague, capacious standards that could consider communication skills. States have applied these standards to deny self-representation on grounds of stuttering, strong foreign accent, and low level of education, even when defendants have intact decision-making abilities. However, the extent to which the Sixth Amendment permits denial of self-representation on the basis of inadequate communication skills is dubious. Edwards indicates the relevance of expressive abilities to representational competence, yet Faretta v. California warns that trial courts should not expect strong advocacy skills from pro se litigants. Moreover, McKaskle v. Wiggins construes self-representation as a bundle of distinct rights of control and performance, suggesting that a court should permit a decisionally competent defendant to control his case even if he requires assistance to perform it. This Article reconciles these three cases and proposes a normative theory to balance the competing concerns of autonomy, fairness, and accuracy that are implicated when defendants proceed pro se. It identifies four categories of communication impairment of varying constitutional significance and subjects them to this normative theory to discern the extent to which they should constitute cognizable grounds for representational incompetence. The conclusions reveal that existing state competency standards are constitutionally suspect. The Article suggests substantive revisions to state standards and offers a model, two-pronged competence standard for self-representation that would withstand constitutional scrutiny and ensure that a defendant has the necessary capacities both to control and to conduct his defense.


This paper deals with automatic analysis of Czech social media. The main goal is to propose an approach to harvest interesting messages from Twitter in Czech language with high download speed. This method uses user lists to discover potentially interesting tweets to download. It is motivated by the fact that only about 20% of Twitter users are posting informative messages, whereas the remaining 80% not and that it is possible to identify the "important" users by the user lists. The experimental results show that the proposed method is very efficient because it harvests about 6 times more data than the other approaches. This approach should be integrated into an experimental system for the Czech News Agency to monitor the current data-flow on Twitter, download messages in real-time, analyze them and extract relevant events.


Given an input dataset (i.e., a set of tuples), query definability in Ontology-based Data Management (OBDM) amounts to finding a query over the ontology whose certain answers coincide with the tuples in the given dataset. We refer to such a query as a characterization of the dataset with respect to the OBDM system. Our first contribution is to propose approximations of perfect characterizations in terms of recall (complete characterizations) and precision (sound characterizations). A second contribution is to present a thorough complexity analysis of three computational problems, namely verification (check whether a given query is a perfect, or an approximated characterization of a given dataset), existence (check whether a perfect, or a best approximated characterization of a given dataset exists), and computation (compute a perfect, or best approximated characterization of a given dataset).


This study aims to describe the reality of community empowerment among lower class prostitutes. The background of the research is that the existence of this group needs continuous attention. More attention is needed because empowerment of vulnerable communities has a high failure rate. This study will describe the obstacles in dealing with lower class prostitution communities. This research is based on primary data (prostitutes, local government, and surrounding communities). Data were obtained through in-depth interviews. The results of the study showed that community empowerment within the lower class prostitute community had been carried out by the government by equipping the prostitutes with business skills and providing them with business capital support. However, the government's efforts did not yield positive results. Some of the contributing factors include the reproduction of prostitution, ambiguity in implementing prostitution banning policies, and ignorance of the surrounding community. Thus the recommendation of this study is "cutting the chain of prostitution community."


International research has shown conclusively that the struggle for employment equity and gender equality is a major challenge to both the private and the public sectors. In South Africa, with the legacy of colonialism and apartheid fresh in one's mind the question of gender equality and equity has been debated thoroughly both in academic and other intellectual forums as well as in political platforms. The reality is that both the elements of equity and equality in terms of gender are elusive in terms of actual implementation in South Africa. The present thesis is a policy-oriented examination of the process and implementation of gender equity at a "Historically Black Institution", the University of Durban Westville, which in 2004 will join the University of Natal to create the University of KwaZulu Natal. It is thus, a case study of the implementation of existing legislation associated with affirmative action and employment equity. The thesis recognises the reality that women in South Africa face a great number of challenges because they still lag far behind in the equity stakes at all levels of society and economy. This reality is based on a number of macro and micro roots and present circumstances. Thus one of the reasons for choosing UDW as a case study was to uncover such reasons and roots, examine and analyse their dynamics and draw significant lessons. This was because UDW had led provincial and national struggles for transformation for many years. UDW staff, for example, was in the forefront of the creation of UDUSA and its relentless efforts for transformation in education, before and after 1990. The concepts of affirmative action and gender equity are examined in their national and international dimensions in the literature review. As affirmative action has its supporters and detractors, the debates were examined in their social and historical contexts. The various theories and societal applications of the quota and target strategies were touched upon in this section of the thesis that utilised both international and national literature as its guide in the understanding of the dynamics of a much debated, disputed and challenging phenomenon. The post-1994 South African legislation that made gender equity and affirmative action an inseparable ingredient of the new democracy was examined in direct relation to the measures, rules and regulations that inform public policy on these phenomena. The Employment Equity Act and the Skills Development Act were scrutinised in order for the reader to comprehend their vital role in the shaping of new relationships and societal and legal dynamics. The relevant historical and recent South African literature dealing with gender equity was examined in order to give the reader the picture of the debates and viewpoints that informed the process from apartheid to the post 1994 period. This section acclimatised the reader with the various initiatives and forums that were to become the stepping stones for the policy strategists of the postI 994 Department of Education. The empirical component of the thesis was based on both comparative quantitative and qualitative methods. Primary documents related to human resource realities at UDW were analysed. There followed a thorough scrutiny of the "3 Year Rolling Plans" of the University, i.e. the official documents that unveiled the strategic initiatives of its leadership to implement affirmative action and gender equity. Additionally, the empirical, mostly qualitative analysis of a large number of interviews of key stakeholders and role players, revealed a set of social, historical, administrative and political dynamics associated with these processes. In the pursuit of the empirical realities characterising gender equity at UDW, the following hypotheses were formulated: 1. Although there were affirmative action initiatives there was a narrow focus on race that excludes gender equity as a powerful ingredient of equity within the institution. 2. The participation of stakeholders and role players at UDW regarding gender equity initiatives was limited. 3. The dissemination of information regarding major steps to address affirmative action and equity at UDW was restrictive. 4. There were limited efforts to review and monitor equity targets and plans. 5. The non-existence of gender-related forums, committees, monitoring and review structures was a major impediment in the achievement of gender equity. 6. Gender equity never became a key priority area at UDW. 7. Capacity building efforts at UDW for all levels of staff were limited 8. There was no tangible research or other such incentives for women researchers at an institutional level at UDW. 9. Monitoring and review mechanisms to ensure the advancement of women to decision-making and leadership positions were non-existent. Following the empirical analysis, at both qualitative and quantitative levels, it was shown that all hypotheses were confirmed in their entirety. Some reasons for such a reality were identified in the study as historical legacies; apathy amongst staff in general; poor management and leadership, a lack of political will on the part of management etc. This seems a disturbing picture; however, it cannot disguise the achievements that several UDW constituencies have gained through their relentless struggles and continuous sacrifices. The new paradigm of transformation in terms of gellder equity and equality cannot be based only on a number of legal measures promuigated by the new government. In fact, it is up to the leadership of institutions, stakeholders, and role players to ensure implementation of progressive legislative frameworks. There was change at UDW but it lacked solid policy guidelines, direction of energy, as well as the honest, continuous and active participation of all the stakeholders and role players. There was little evidence of well-coordinated cooperative efforts that could carry transformation forward. The legacy of struggle of UDW should not become a burden to the new institution, but its management culture and organisational dynamics could.


In this Journal, Rachel Kunde shared her experiences as an altruistic surrogate, advocating for greater government support for surrogate mothers. Based on her own experience, her argument suggests that recognising women's bodily autonomy is a central consideration in liberalising the regulation of surrogacy. Importantly, she argues that surrogacy arrangements need not impair the dignity of the surrogate mother. In particular, her advocacy appears to presuppose reproductive rights both in the intending parents to found a family, and for the surrogate to bear a child. This article responds to Kunde. While celebrating Kunde's contribution to the discourse through her personal narrative, it takes a broader approach to the question of regulation. This article first addresses the question of rights for each of the intending parents and the surrogate mother, suggesting that even if reproductive rights have some standing at law, they are not of themselves sufficient to justify liberalisation of altruistic surrogacy. Instead, it argues for a relational approach to regulation, looking beyond the individualised rights-based experience to that of national, and indeed global, relationships. Central to this argument is articulating dignity and autonomy as the principal values at stake.


INTRODUCTION Construction is a risky, competitive, and litigious business. (1) Each new construction venture may bring together hundreds of parties--including owners, architects, engineers of all varieties, general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers--many of whom have never dealt with each other on previous projects. The design of most projects is a new creation, often incomplete when construction begins. Every construction site is unique. Labor conditions, weather, material availability, and any number of other factors are difficult to predict. Knowing little of what the future holds, the parties nonetheless proceed to estimate how much the project will cost, estimate how long it will take, contractually bind themselves accordingly, and hope for the best. Among the most obvious and common risks in the construction industry is the risk of delay. As one court has noted, "except in the middle of a battlefield, nowhere must men coordinate the movement of other men and all materials in the midst of such chaos and with such limited certainty of present facts and future occurrences as in a huge construction project...." (2) Even the most successful projects--in the sense that all contracting parties walk away financially satisfied--are rarely completed precisely according to the original construction schedule. Despite the fact that delays are commonplace, the reality of a competitive bidding process requires that most contractors carry little or no contingency for delay. (3) Delays can have devastating economic effects on both owners and contractors. In fact, even when other problems occur on a project, the associated delay is usually the most expensive consequence. (4) Not surprisingly, parties have sought means of shifting the risk of construction delay away from themselves. One mechanism used towards this end is the common contractual provision known as a "no damages for delay" clause. Imposed on general contractors by owners or on subcontractors by general contractors, a no damages for delay clause essentially states that the contractor will not be entitled to monetary damages in the event of a delay. These clauses are often used in connection with a statement that a time extension is the sole remedy for the contractor's delay. (5) Such a clause may be worded as follows: In the event that Subcontractor is obstructed or delayed in its performance of its work by Contractor or Owner, Subcontractor will be entitled to a reasonable extension of time. It is agreed that the extension of time will be Subcontractor's sole and exclusive remedy for such obstruction or delay, and that in no event will the Subcontractor be entitled to recover damages from Contractor or Owner for any such obstruction or delay. (6) No damages for delay clauses can vary widely in scope. At the broadest end of the spectrum, some construction contracts use language that damages are unavailable for delays resulting from "any cause whatsoever." (7) The example quoted above represents a middle ground in which the clause covers delays caused by the contractor or owner. An even narrower clause may apply only to force majeure events. (8) No damages for delay clauses in construction contracts have always been very controversial. They often lead to inequitable outcomes and harsh results for contractors delayed through no fault of their own. On the other hand, there are numerous practical and theoretical arguments in favor of their enforcement, not the least of which is the foundational principle of freedom of contract. (9) Because these clauses are so exculpatory in nature, courts scrutinize them carefully. (10) Although no damages for delay clauses are not invalid per se in most jurisdictions, close judicial attention has led to the development of numerous well recognized exceptions to their enforcement. (11) One commentator has analogized the evolution of the law in this area to a tennis match, in which no stable and suitable end is in sight. …


Government agencies and businesses cooperate and invest heavily to achieve reliable and secure global supply networks. A so-called data pipeline, which integrates data from various parties in the supply chain and incorporates data from new tracking and monitoring technologies, would enable real-time data management for businesses. This IT infrastructure has a global scale, since it has to function both within and across countries and continents. Governments can use this data pipeline to improve the coordination of border management and reduce the administrative burden for businesses. Furthermore, businesses and government can collaborate to capitalize on modern IT and use the innovation for improving risk and data management. This paper explains a conceptual model of the data pipeline and its governance implications. As this global infrastructure cannot be built by government alone but needs to be largely realized by businesses, a public-private governance model is needed. Governments, and even supra-national institutions, would need to create the right technical, organizational, and legal environment (e.g. standards, harmonization of procedures, mutual recognition), and have to provide alternative incentives to stimulate the development of those parts of the pipeline that are without commercially viable business models.


Abstract The article deals with sentence-initial time adverbials in English declarative sentences. Theoretically, it is grounded in functionally-oriented and discourse-based studies, trying to combine the study of syntactic structure, information structure, information flow, and cognitive-pragmatic aspects of discourse construction and interpretation. The aim is to examine some regularities regarding the interplay of their syntactic and pragmatic characteristics and their textual and pragmatic discourse functions. The corpus-based research includes several parameters: (1) syntactic – the form and functional subtype of initial time adverbials, and the syntactic structure of the sentences containing them; (2) pragmatic – related to the information status of initial time adverbials; (3) textual – dealing with semantic, formal and functional similarities between the initial time adverbials and the sentences containing them, and other adverbials and structures in the relevant language segment, as well as with the position of the initial time adverbials in the text. The identified discourse functions (textual and pragmatic) of the initial placement of time adverbials include linking with the previous and following text, rearranging the functional elements within a sentence, temporal scene-setting, creating two especially prominent positions in a sentence, signaling segment boundaries of textual units, etc. It is suggested that particular discourse functions, rather than being associated with one of the parameters examined, actually depend on the interrelatedness of several of them.


The application of pressure to chemical substances can change their physical properties (optical, magnetic, and electrical) and it can also be used to alter some chemical reactions. The need for compatible pressure generating instruments is constantly growing in various high pressure (HP) researches. The work described in this thesis is focused on development, construction, testing of several high pressure cells of novel design. These designs were developed to meet the requirements of different research collaborations. The main objective of this project is to develop high pressure cells for magnetic studies in the magnetic properties measurement system known as MPMS, which is the most popular commercial magnetometer nowadays. Three high pressure cells were designed and tested for different type of magnetic measurements. The first design presented in this thesis is a cylinder type pressure cell which is specially designed to measure the magnetic susceptibility of the pressure-sensitive material under pressure. The cell is driven by compressed helium gas which allows the internal pressure to be adjusted with small increments (1 MPa) through the regulator of the external gas cylinder. The cell was made of non-magnetic beryllium copper alloy and designed to work up to 100 MPa at 400 K temperature. The design was verified with finite element analysis (FEA) simulation and its sample volume was optimised to provide large sample capacity which allows high quality data to be collected in the MPMS. Modified from the earlier turnbuckle magnetic diamond anvil cell (TM-DAC) reported in Konstantin V. Kamenev (KVK) group, the second high pressure cell presented in this thesis is an opposed diamond anvil pressure cell. The working mechanism of this cell is based on the turnbuckle principle. The cell was specifically developed for iHelium3 system which is a add-on cryostat of the MPMS. The cell was coded TM-3He-DAC to distinguish with the original TMDAC. The cell is 6 mm in diameter and 7 mm in length, which are smaller than the dimensions of the predecessor (TM-DAC). Copper titanium alloy was used in building the cell to further reduce the magnetic background from the cell. The cell is capable of achieving close to 5 GPa sample pressure in the loading test and the magnetic background is significantly lower than the TM-DAC. The development of this cell enables high pressure magnetic measurements to be performed at extreme low temperature (0.5 K) in the iHelium3 system. The third high pressure cell developed for the MPMS is also a turnbuckle diamond anvil cell, however, all the material used in the cell is non-metallic to enable high-pressure ac magnetic measurement to be performed. An advanced high strength polymer was assessed using finite element analysis and experimental testing. The performance and failure modes for the key components of the cell working in tension and in compression were evaluated and the ways for optimising the designs were established. The cell is coded PTM-DAC in this thesis and the composite gasket was also developed and tested for the PTM-DAC. The cell is approximately 14 mm long, 8.5 mm in diameter and was demonstrated to reach pressures of 5.6 GPa. Ac susceptibility data collected on Dy2O3 and U6Fe demonstrated the performance of the cell in magnetic property measurement and confirmed that there was no screening of the sample by the environment which typically accompanies used of conventional metallic high pressure cells in oscillating magnetic fields. Based on the experience of from the development of above two turnbuckle diamond anvil cell, a turnbuckle sapphire anvil cell (T-SAC) was developed in this project for high-pressure neutron scattering. Commercial spherical sapphire were used as anvil in the cell as they are much more cost effective if compared to the diamond anvil. The developed T-SAC can generate and maintain sample pressures above 6 GPa with a sample volume 6×10−2 mm3 which is 6 times that of conventional diamond anvil cell (DAC). Failure analysis was performed on the sapphire anvil to gain a better understanding of the failure mechanism of the spherical sapphire anvil. The cell had been used in measuring the crystal structure of single crystal niobium at 1.6 GPa through small angle neutron scattering (SANS) technique. The cell is less than 16 mm in length and 14 mm in diameter, it is the smallest sapphire anvil cell to date. The miniature feature allow it can be fit into most cryostat of modern scientific instrument without difficulties. Lastly, two piston-cylinder type high pressure cells were developed for high-pressure chemistry studies. These cells were designed to pressurise large amount of liquid sample (particular for water-based sample) up to 800 MPa in a controllable manner. Each design is presented separately with stress analysis in FEA and a description of the working mechanism. Hoop strain at the external surface of the cell was measured and then the internal pressure was calculated through the Lamé equation. After that, the load and attainable internal pressure was calibrated for the users. These cells have been used in the high-pressure study of salicylaldoximes process, bio-diesels decomposition and crystallization, material polymerisation and pharmaceutical experiments.


Ballast water has been identified as a major vector for the translocation of Non- Indigenous Invasive Species (NIS) and pathogens across zoogeographical regions and subsequent discharged into recipient port states/regions. This is bound to increase given factors like the globalization of trade and the economy of scale of the ship size. Established NIS has posed significant threat to the human health, economy, finances and marine bio-diversity of recipient regions and port states. The risks associated with the discharged NIS are uncertain and difficult to assess due to the stochastic nature of species assemblages and dispersal mechanism. The safest control measure advocated by the IMO is the conduct of ballast water exchange at sea while appropriate and effective proto-type treatment technologies are being developed and approved for future application. This study has been conducted while recognizing the inability of probabilistic approaches applied in ballast water risk management to addressing uncertainty and inadequacy of data. A qualitative approach using powerful multi-criteria decision making techniques and the safety principles of the Formal Safety Assessment framework have been utilized in this research to develop three generic models for ballast water hazard estimation, risk evaluation and decision-making analysis respectively. The models are capable of being modified and utilized in the industry to address the problems of uncertainty and inadequacy of data in ballast water management. This is particularly useful as an interim measure for port states in developing economies (with insufficient data and technology) to developed robust ballast water management plans. While recognising the huge impact of ballast water pollution in recipient regions this study recommends that ballast water management programmes be given due recognition as an important element of sustainable development programmes at national and international levels. The non-availability of a benchmark based on previous research on which to fully validate the research outcome was identified as a major limitation of this research study. The models developed will therefore be subject to modifications as new data become available.


Purpose: To evaluate the therapeutic effect of posterior sub-tenon methyl prednisolone in anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, No class 1 study has shown any conclusive medical or surgical treatment for non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). Efficacy of systemic or intravitreal steroids was suggested by some studies. This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of posterior sub-tenon injection of methyl prednisolone in eyes with acute NAION. Methods: In a double blind randomized clinical trial, forty patients with a recent onset NAION were randomly assigned into case and control groups. The case group received a single posterior subtenon injection of 40 mg methyl prednisolone; the control group received a sham injection. The patients had complete eye examination including visual field measurement and fluorescein angiography and systemic evaluation at the beginning. Eye examination was repeated at 2, 4, 6 and 8 week steps of the follow-up. Visual field was rechecked at the end of the follow-up. Statistical analysis used: SPSS 11.5 system, paired sample t-test; independent sample t-test, χ 2 , and ANOVA. Results: Visual acuity (VA) improved 0.3 logMAR (three lines of Snellen chart) in the case group (P<0.030), no visual improvement was observed in the control group (P<0.589). Comparison between the two groups showed improvement in VA (P=0.021 at two weeks, and P=0.053 at 8 weeks), visual field pattern standard deviation (PSD), (P=0.034) and optic disc edema, (P=0.000) in the treatment group. No case of globe perforation or severe intraocular pressure (IOP) rise was detected. Conclusion: Posterior sub-tenon injection of methyl prednisolone was preferred to observation in acute NAION.


Well-dispersed nanocomposite powder with spherical morphology and suitable particle size for processing by laser sintering was successfully produced by coating polyamide 12 (PA12) powder particles with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Flexural, impact, and tensile test specimens produced by laser sintering the PA12–CNT powder showed no distortion and good definition. The density of the PA12–CNT laser-sintered parts was higher than that of neat PA12, which the authors propose is mainly due to higher laser absorption by the CNT particles. Compared to the laser-sintered PA12 parts, PA12–CNT parts showed enhanced flexural, impact, and tensile properties without sacrificing elongation at break. This enhancement may be attributed to the good dispersion of the CNT in the PA12 matrix and denser laser-sintered parts. Considering the low weight percentage of CNT used (0.1 wt%), it would seem that the method used in this work is a cost efficient and effective way to produce polymer nanocomposite powders for laser sintering, while maintaining the optimum powder morphology for the laser sintering process and enhancing the mechanical properties of the laser-sintered part. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers


Politics and Aesthetics in European Baroque and Classicist Tragedy is a volume of essays investigating European tragedy in the seventeenth century, comparing Shakespeare, Vondel, Gryphius, Racine and other vernacular tragedians, as well as neo-Latin dramas by Jesuits and others, and with respect to politics, religion and law.


This article examines policies of health screening with particular reference to the "Australian model". It details how historical approaches can contribute to an understanding of contemporary public health policy.

The health screening of migrants, asylum seekers, and other entrants to the UK is currently high on the political and public health agenda. Two features of this debate are worth highlighting—the focus on single diseases such as tuberculosis, and the emphasis on the experience of Australia. In February 2005, the government announced proposals to implement existing powers by screening visa applicants for tuberculosis on "high risk" routes, and requiring those diagnosed to seek treatment before they would be permitted entry to the UK.1 The Conservative party has also announced that visas would be denied to prospective migrants in whom tuberculosis was detected. Michael Howard stated that "the British people deserve the best standards of public health. We need to control who is coming to Britain to ensure that they are not a public health risk and to protect access to the NHS. It's plain common sense. And it's exactly what they do in New Zealand, Canada and Australia".2,3

There is therefore considerable interest in "the Australian model", and policy in the UK has shifted to pre-entry screening for tuberculosis. The current law cannot be used to remove people once they have arrived, and policies have been drawn up to exclude before arrival. At the same time, it has been argued that there is little evidence on the benefits or drawbacks of a policy of pre-entry screening for tuberculosis, and disease should not be a basis for discrimination.4,5 This commentary reviews current Australian policy, explains its history, and compares it with the development of policy in the UK. The commentary argues that in the absence of scientific …


Two years of continuous in situ measurements of Arctic low‐level clouds have been made at the Mount Zeppelin Observatory (78°56′N, 11°53′E), in Ny‐Ålesund, Spitsbergen. The monthly median value of the cloud particle number concentration (Nc) showed a clear seasonal variation: Its maximum appeared in May–July (65 ± 8 cm−3), and it remained low between October and March (8 ± 7 cm−3). At temperatures warmer than 0 °C, a clear correlation was found between the hourly Nc values and the number concentrations of aerosols with dry diameters larger than 70 nm (N70), which are proxies for cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). When clouds were detected at temperatures colder than 0 °C, some of the data followed the summertime Nc to N70 relationship, while other data showed systematically lower Nc values. The lidar‐derived depolarization ratios suggested that the former (CCN‐controlled) and latter (CCN‐uncontrolled) data generally corresponded to clouds consisting of supercooled water droplets and those containing ice particles, respectively. The CCN‐controlled data persistently appeared throughout the year at Zeppelin. The aerosol‐cloud interaction index (ACI = dlnNc/(3dlnN70)) for the CCN‐controlled data showed high sensitivities to aerosols both in the summer (clean air) and winter–spring (Arctic haze) seasons (0.22 ± 0.03 and 0.25 ± 0.02, respectively). The air parcel model calculations generally reproduced these values. The threshold diameters of aerosol activation (Dact), which account for the Nc of the CCN‐controlled data, were as low as 30–50 nm when N70 was less than 30 cm−3, suggesting that new particle formation can affect Arctic cloud microphysics.


Long distances, the expertise required for particular circumstances, and the aging of nursing staff currently pose serious challenges to the provision of health and social services in Lapland. The School of Social Services, Health, and Sports at Lapland University of Applied Sciences in Finland has launched a project in which twelve practical nurses or similar from four municipalities in Lapland will undergo nursing education largely off-campus. The project is financially supported by the European Social Fund (ESF), and it aims to create a training model that can be used to improve the availability and adequacy of skilled workers in the region. This article assesses the development of this model. We found strong commitment to the new nurse education model, demonstrated by trust and strong networks built between the various parties. Furthermore, this off-campus education model was demonstrated to provide good opportunities for comprehensive knowledge building. Finally, when developing an education model, the involvement of various parties and individuals in the early stages of the process appears to be of paramount importance. This report is part of a special collection from members of the University of the Arctic Thematic Network on Northern Nursing Education. The collection explores models of decentralized and distributed university-level nursing education across the Circumpolar North.


This paper assesses the origins of and changes to fertilizer policy in Nepal over a period of time. It assesses farmers' awareness of the recent changes to the subsidy policy and examines their perceptions of the extension services. This paper looks at the environmental implications of the concentrated application of chemical fertilizer, particularly as far as food security is concerned. Questionnaire surveys, group discussions, a workshop, soil analyses and archival materials were used to collect data for this study. Changes in fertilizer policy have occurred in four different phases: (i) without subsidy; (ii) with subsidy; (iii) with deregulation of fertilizer trade; and (iv) the current phase of subsidies for fertilizer. However, timely and effective fertilizer distribution by the government has always been a problem. Only few farmers (12 %) know about recent changes in the fertilizer policy; most of them (44 %) were satisfied with the new subsidy scheme. Valid proof of land ownership is a requirement for qualifying for subsidized fertilizer, and this makes it difficult for some small farmers who are tenant. The soil analysis indicated a significant decrease in the soil pH as a result of intensified agriculture. One reason is due to the intensive use of chemical fertilizers and the declining use of farmyard manure. The ineffectiveness of the extension services also influences farmers' use of fertilizer as they are not aware of which fertilizer and how much to use. The use of fertilizer may increase yields in the short term, but in the longer term, it may worsen the food insecurity in the country.


After a communications satellite is on its target orbit, several routines need to be performed in order to ensure proper performance from the transponders in the payload. The on-orbit measurements are a vital part of the maintenance of a live satellite as well. Operating a satellite channel for an on-orbit measurement rather than the intended application comes with significant opportunity cost and hence test duration needs to be minimized as much as possible. Rohde & Schwarz test and measurement equipment recommended in this paper is market leading not only in terms of measurement accuracy but also offers unparalleled speed of measurement. This application note focuses on satellite post-launch or on-orbit measurement and monitoring strategies used for satellite functionality checks when running maintenance routines. A complementary paper treats pre-launch payload measurements.


Inflation targeting as practiced by the Bank of England has undergone several changes since its adoption in 1992, including redefinition of the goal, measures to increase transparency and the granting of independence to the central bank. These changes are likely to have affected long-run inflation expectations and perceptions of future inflation risk. To that end, this paper estimates a no-arbitrage, affine, factor model of the term structure of inflation compensation in the United Kingdom. The model yields time series of expected inflation and inflation risk premia at short and long horizons estimated in a theoretically consistent manner. The results reveal that long-run inflation expectations drifted down slowly during the first five years of inflation targeting, but inflation risk premia moved down abruptly only once the Bank of England was granted independence. This event, which arguably signaled more credible commitment by the central bank to its inflation anchor, appears to have been more important in shaping inflation expectations and perceptions of inflation risk than changes in the definition of the target or measures to increase transparency.


Background and Objectives Although the use of heterogeneous overlapping drug-eluting stents (DES) is not uncommon in clinical practice, whether the implantation sequences of heterogeneous DES will influence the endothelialization or arterial responses differently remains unclear. Materials and Methods Twenty-one rabbits were randomized to receive overlapping stents in the iliac artery for 3 months {distal sirolimus-eluting stent (SES, Cypher™)+proximal paclitaxel-eluting stent (PES, Taxus™) (C+T, n=7), distal Taxus+proximal Cypher (T+C, n=7) and bare metal stent (BMS)+BMS (B+B, n=7)}. Endothelial function was evaluated by the acetylcholine provocation test during follow-up angiography. Histopathological changes in proximal, overlapped, and distal stented segments were evaluated. Results Although the overall angiographic outcomes were comparable, late loss (mm) in the distal stented segment was higher in the B+B (0.39±0.07) and C+T (0.40±0.20) than that in the T+C (0.06±0.02) group (p<0.001). The incidence of acetylcholine-induced spasm was higher in the DES groups compared with BMS, regardless of the implantation sequences (85.7% in C+T vs. 14.3% in B+B vs. 71.4% in T+C, p=0.017). Notably, only the distal Cypher implantation group (C+T) had three cases of stent fracture. A histopathological analysis showed that despite similar arterial injury scores, Taxus and Cypher stents had higher inflammatory reactions at the overlapped and distal segments compared with those of BMS. Conclusion Despite similar arterial injury, higher inflammatory reactions were observed in overlapping DES segments regardless of the implantation sequence compared with that of BMS. Moreover, DES was associated with impaired endothelial function on the adjacent non-stented segments.


Since the origin of the villa culture in ancient times, the term villa has been invested with a special magic. Seen formerly as a genteel country estate and companion piece to city palace, today this type of dwelling is represented more as a refined, noble, free standing house. The villa is the gleaming diamond of housing construction, the expression of distinguished living style and elevated standard of living. For an architect, the planning or reconstruction of a villa represents the exciting challenge of a new interpretation of a classical building task, guided by their own, special ideas. This volume portrays famous architects as well as exciting works by younger architecture firms. The international selection shows the manifold and intriguing spectrum of contemporary architecture.


The right of authors' to the intellectual property of their works is today vigorously promoted and defended in every society. This same right, as is shown in this article, is not only received, but also sustained in canonical legislation. Indeed the products of intellectual work may constitute very important tools for imbuing human and social reality with Gospel values. At the same time, this is an area where the vigilance is also needed of the sacred Pastors, whose authoritative judgement alone guarantees the genuinely Catholic character of works being published. Such pastoral vigilance, rather than diminishing the rightful freedom of the faithful of Christ to study, research and expound their ideas and the fruits of their discoveries, corresponds to a right of authors to have their works suitably certified as free from error regarding faith and morals. Indeed the role here of the Church's Teaching Authority is to be a secure point of reference, a guarantee of Catholic quality, offered to both authors and readers.


Eggplant is a widely grown species among the Solanaceous crops in both greenhouses and the open field, consumed throughout all the year, it is very popular in Turkey. Eggplant breeding programs were carried out for improving open pollinated varieties launched for the public sector in the earlier 1960's. Many important open pollinated varieties which still maintains its importance today by the growers were developed. Hybrid eggplant breeding studies were first conducted at the Bati Akdeniz Agricultural Research Institute (BATEM) with the breeding project given support by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock. Breeding studies focused on yield, fruit quality, and the development of long F 1 hybrid varieties suitable for growing protected cultivation, parthenocarpy, and biotic (Fusarium and Verticillium) stress resistance/tolerance. Resistance sources of Fusarium ox. sp. melongenae and its inheritance against had been investigated and a genetic linkage map has been constructed. Several projects, supported by both public and private sectors, have been carried out for twenty years. As an outline of the projects, four F 1 hybrids were developed and about 300 disease resistant inbred lines were transferred to special seed companies supporting the project financially. Additionally, a study was performed on morphologic and molecular characterization, and phylogenetic relationship of local genotypes. Also, considerable scientific publications were produced from these studies and shared by both scientists and breeders.


Mangroves in tropical and subtropical regions have been well documented in terms of the advantages they provide and their role in structuring ichthyofaunal assemblages, but little is known about their warm temperate counterparts. The study aimed to investigate the importance of warm temperate mangroves by comparing the abundance, diversity and distribution of small fishes in mangrove and non-mangrove estuaries in warm temperate South Africa. A 50x2 m (12-mm mesh) seine net was used over three summer seasons to sample small fishes in the Gonubie, Qora, Nahoon and Xhora estuaries (the latter two being mangrove estuaries). Fish abundance and diversity showed little variation among estuaries, despite the presence of mangroves. Estuaries in warm temperate areas are not only at the edge of mangrove distribution, but also offer alternative habitats which lend similar advantages to fish survival. It appears that warm temperate ichthyofauna have not yet evolved a dependence on mangrove systems in terms of the food, refuge and other ecological services they provide. Understanding the function of habitats and their value in enhancing fish survival in estuarine nursery areas is essential for fish conservation.


The quest for product with unique attributes and added value, along with the shortening of product life cycle are directly related to the degree of competitiveness of organizations. The identification of innovation opportunities in the early stages of the product development process is seen as a means for increasing competitiveness. Among those stages that have relevant impacts during the design process, is conceptual design, when many important decisions related to the degree of novelty of a design solution are taken. This study aims at identifying elements connected to innovation issues that can contribute to the selection of conceptual proposals that have potential to be transformed into novel and successful products. To map these elements, a literature review was conducted in parallel with a reverse analysis of a set of so called innovative products. From the recognition and grouping of these elements that can induce innovation, a field research was conducted with professional designers in order to identify if they recognized the set of elements as representing vectors of innovation, as well as, their relative importance. Next, a descriptive application was run, considering a real design situation extracted from literature, illustrating how to select a conceptual design solution that presents the greater potential for innovation, from the set of elements identified. Thus, this study provides the identification and determination of degrees of importance for inducing elements innovation in order to demonstrate the possibility of assessing potential for innovation in the early stages of the product development process.


Systems that exhibit both discrete state and continuous state dynamics are called hybrid systems. In most nontrivial cases, these two aspects of system behavior interact to such a significant extent that they cannot be decoupled effectively by any kind of abstraction and must be analyzed simultaneously. Hybrid system models are important in many areas of science and engineering, including flip-flops and latching relays, manufacturing systems, air-traffic management systems, controller synthesis, switched systems, chemical process systems, signaling and decision making mechanisms in (biological) cells, robotic systems, safety interlock systems, and embedded systems. The primary focus of this thesis is to explore deterministic methods for the global optimization of hybrid systems. While the areas of modeling, simulation and sensitivity analysis of hybrid systems have received much attention, there are many challenging difficulties associated with the optimization of such systems. The contents of this thesis represent the first steps toward deterministic global optimization of hybrid systems in the continuous time domain. There are various reasons for wanting to solve optimization problems globally. In particular, there are many applications which demand that the global solution be found, for example, formal safety verification problems and parameter estimation problems. In the former case, a suboptimal local solution could falsely indicate that all safety specifications are met, leading to disastrous consequences if, in actuality, a global solution exists which provides a counter example that violates some safety specification. In the latter case, a suboptimal local solution could falsely indicate that a proposed model structure did not match experimental data in a statistically significant manner, leading to the false rejection of a valid model structure. In addition, for many optimization problems in engineering, the presence of nonlinear equality constraints makes the optimization problem nonconvex such that local optimization methods can often fail to produce a single feasible point, even though the problem is indeed feasible. The control parameterization framework is employed for the solution of the optimization problem with continuous time hybrid systems embedded. A major difficulty of such a framework lies in the fact that the mode sequence of the embedded hybrid 3 system changes in the space of the optimization decision variables for most nontrivial problems. This makes the resulting optimization problem nonsmooth because the parametric sensitivities of the hybrid system do not exist everywhere, thus invalidating efficient gradient based optimization solvers. In this thesis, the general optimization problem is decomposed into three subproblems, and tackled individually: (a) when the mode sequence is fixed, and the transition times are fixed; (b) when the mode sequence is allowed to vary, and the transition times are fixed; and (c) when the mode sequence is fixed, and the transition times are allowed to vary. Because even these subproblems are nontrivial to solve, this thesis focuses on hybrid systems with linear time varying ordinary differential equations describing the continuous dynamics, and proposes various methods to exploit the linear structure. However, in the course of solving the last subproblem, a convexity theory for general, nonlinear hybrid systems is developed, which can be easily extended for general, nonlinear hybrid systems. Subproblem (a) is the easiest to solve. A convexity theory is presented that allows convex relaxations of general, nonconvex Bolza type functions to be constructed for the optimization problem. This allows a deterministic branch-and-bound framework to be employed for the global optimization of the subproblem. Subproblems (b) and (c) are much more difficult to solve, and require the exploitation of structure. For subproblem (b), a hybrid superstructure is proposed that enables the linear structure to be retained. A branch-and-cut framework with a novel dynamic bounds tightening heuristic is proposed, and it is shown that the generation of cuts from dynamic bounds tightening can have a dramatic impact on the solution of the problem. For subproblem (c), a time transformation is employed to transform the problem into one with fixed transition times, but nonlinear dynamics. A convexity theory is developed for constructing convex relaxations of general, nonconvex Bolza type functions with the nonlinear hybrid system embedded, along with the development of bounding methods, based on the theory of differential inequalities. A novel bounding technique that exploits the time transformation is also introduced, which can provide much tighter bounds than that furnished utilizing differential inequalities. Thesis Supervisor: Paul I. Barton Title: Professor


How does one connect the requisites for social, economic and organizational change with political change? There is a growing literature that addresses the dynamics of change within the French electorate. The main thrust of this analysis is to underscore the growing disaffection of the French electorate with traditional French political institutions, but there is a remaining attachment to the constitution of the Fifth Republic. (1) The growing shifts in French public opinion provided the basis for a potential shift in the French party system and structures. For example, in an August 1994 issue of Le Point a comparison was made of French voting behavior in the 1989 and 1994 elections for the European parliament. The electorate committed to "institutional France" declined from 27.8 percent to 18.6 percent and overall the willingness to protest grew. More than 50 percent of the electorate abstained, and more than two- thirds of those who did vote cast their support outside of the traditional party candidates (figure 6). [FIGURE 6 OMITTED] One analyst underscored that the French electorate increasingly believes that the French polity does not direct and control the economic fate of France. (2) The emergence of such a belief within the electorate provides the basis for a shift in judgment about the role of the state and its rightful functions. These shifts in public opinion, however, provide only the potential basis for shifts in how France is governed and how the French plutocracy operates. (3) Current political trends indicate there are four broad alternatives emerging in the French political modernization debate. (4) * Rejection of France's "overemphasis" upon the need to compete in the world at large. Here an emphasis is placed on French values and the French way of life. Closing the doors to immigration and a rejection of European integration are key issues in defining this French position. The state would play a key role in guiding a paternalistic reaction to the pressures from global interdependence. * Emphasize a key role for the state in guiding France forward into a new and more competitive situation. Here the key tension would be between the paternalistic role of the state in guiding reform and the need to reduce the stranglehold which Paris and the national state have upon French society. (5) * Emphasize incremental reform of the role of the state and its management of social and economic change. Gradually, the role of the state would be diminished vis-a-vis the society and economy. But there would be no decisive effort to draw upon political forces to reconstruct the political system to change decisively how the French economy and society operates. (6) * Emphasize the need to reconstruct in a fundamental way the operation of French society and the economy. Here the disaffection of the French public with French institutions would be drawn upon in an effort to reconstruct the political system. A new political center would be created by drawing upon disaffected members of the left and the right. A socially responsible state would remain but the level of intervention in the economy and society would be drastically reduced. …


Background: High stocking density and intensive feeding in aquaculture systems lead to the accumulation of organic waste, which results in an increase in ammonia, nitrite, and nitrite concentrations in culture media. Biofloc is a potential technology to overcome this problem. The starter is a crucial carbon source for bacteria in the formation of biofloc. The objective of the present study aimed to explore the best starter of biofloc in a red tilapia Oreochromis niloticus culture system. Methods: A completely randomized design with four levels of treatment was used in this study. The tested starter was (A) control treatment, biofloc without starter, (B) biofloc with molasses starter, (C) biofloc with tapioca starter, and (D) biofloc with sucrose starter. The floc was cultured in 100-L tanks with a salinity of 17 ppt. The tanks were stocked with O. niloticus with a size of 3.71±0.11 cm at a stocking density of 30 fish per tank. The fish were fed on a commercial diet two times a day at satiation for 40 days. The ammonia, nitrite, and nitrite concentrations were measured for an interval of 8 days. Results: The study showed that the NH 3-N range was 0.02–0.07 mg L −1 (mean, 0.03 ± 0.02 mg L −1), NO 2-N range was 0.20–0.43 mg L −1 (mean, 0.25 ± 0.12 mg L −1), and NO 3-N range was 0.90–3.20 mg L −1 (mean, 1.42 ± 1.19 mg L −1). Conclusion: Among the starters tested, molasses was found to be the best for biofloc in tilapia culture.


In this study we perform the first econometric attempt to estimate the trade-off between equity and efficiency of tax systems counting for the tax evasion option in a developing country such as Albania. Using the Albanian Living Srandard Measurement Survey (2005, 2008) we estimate a micro-econometric model of labour supply and incorporate the option of participation in regular and irregular labour markets. Swapping the tax rules of 2005 with 2008, we find that the flat tax has not contributed in the reduction of labour informality but rather the increases in regular wages have played an important role in convincing the individuals to move to regular market. Furthermore, we find that controls and audits are more efficient than fines in inducing people to switch from the informal to formal labour market. A similar effect is achieved also when "honest" individuals are endowed with a universal benefit. In distributional terms, calculations of Gini inequality index and Sen's welfare index demonstrate that the only scenario that would improve welfare index is a progressive tax rule as before 2007. Finally, these results suggest that a kind of progressivity should be reinserted to the taxation system without affecting the attractiveness of the simplicity exercised by the flat tax.


Open3D is an open-source library that supports rapid development of software that deals with 3D data. The Open3D frontend exposes a set of carefully selected data structures and algorithms in both C++ and Python. The backend is highly optimized and is set up for parallelization. Open3D was developed from a clean slate with a small and carefully considered set of dependencies. It can be set up on different platforms and compiled from source with minimal effort. The code is clean, consistently styled, and maintained via a clear code review mechanism. Open3D has been used in a number of published research projects and is actively deployed in the cloud. We welcome contributions from the open-source community.


John Gray's "The Immortalization Commission: The Strange Quest to Cheat Death" raises vital questions about the 'truths' science can offer, the technology we are still exploiting for immortality - and exactly what it means to be human. At the heart of all human experience lies our obsession with death. For many years, we turned to religion for our answers, but at the turn of the twentieth centuries ideas from evolution and politics seemed to suggest that our lives - and afterlives - were in our own hands. These ideas would have both trivial and terrible effects, from the nightmares of H. G. Wells's science fiction and the wild, sweeping craze of seances to the murder of millions in the Stalinist terror. "Our sharpest critic of utopian fantasies skewers the crazed but enduring dream of cheating age, time and death". (Boyd Tonkin, "Independent"). "Elegant...He is on to something important regarding the delusion that science consists of indefinite progress". ("Sunday Telegraph"). "One of the most important and insightful polemicists currently writing in English ...humanism's most vocal critic". ("Financial Times"). "Gray is an engaging writer, an entertaining historian and a controversialist whose opinions can never be taken for granted". ("New Statesman"). John Gray has been Professor of Politics at Oxford University, Visiting Professor at Harvard and Yale and Professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics. His books include "False Dawn: The Delusions of Global Capitalism", "Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia" and "Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals". His selected writings, "Gray's Anatomy", was published in 2009.


Permutations are ubiquitous in many real world problems, such as voting, rankings and data association. Representing uncertainty over permutations is challenging, since there are n! possibilities. Recent Fourier-based approaches can be used to provide a compact representation over low-frequency components of the distribution. Though polynomial, the complexity of these representations grows very rapidly, especially if we want to maintain reasonable estimates for peaked distributions. In this paper, we rst characterize the notion of probabilistic independence for distributions over permutations. We then present a method for factoring distributions into independent components in the Fourier domain, and use our algorithms to decompose large problems into much smaller ones. We demonstrate that our method provides very signi cant improvements in terms of running time, on real tracking data.


A second English translation of Alexander von Humboldt's account of travel to South America, the Relation historique (1814–25), was published between 1852 and 1853. Appearing some 30 years after the first seven-volume translation (1814–29) by Helen Maria Williams, this second rendering of the Personal Narrative by Thomasina Ross was an abridged version that aimed to make Humboldt's travelogue more relevant to the mid-century reader. This translation has largely been overlooked by Humboldt scholars, despite it being a far more affordable, accessible and popular edition. I discuss here how Ross's revisions can be understood within a larger process of rereading and revision that responded to critics' assessments of the first translation. Emphasising the status of the Personal Narrative as a text in flux, I assess how Ross modernised it to meet the demands of a new readership, recasting the image that Humboldt had constructed of himself as a travelling scientist, scientific writer and member of the international scientific community.


A case of cervical rib is descriptionbed in which all the 3 main groups of symptoms associated with this condition were shown, viz., sensory, motor and vascular. The rib was unusual in that it was complete, and had 2 articulations- one with the 7th cervical vertebra and the other with a projection of bone coming up from the first rib. Following removal of the rib, there was a marked relief of symptoms. A brief review is given of the various theories about the symptoms associated with cervical ribs. Although the sensory and motor changes are undoubtedly due to pressure effects on the brachial plexus as it is nipped between the clavicle and the rib, there is still speculation whether the vascular changes are due to pressure on the sympathetic fibres which run in the lowest trunk of the plexus, or to pressure on the subclavian artery itself.