Why has autonomy been a leading idea in philosophical writing on bioethics, and why has trust been marginal? In this important book, Onora O'Neill suggests that the conceptions of individual autonomy so widely relied on in bioethics are philosophically and ethically inadequate, and that they undermine rather than support relations of trust. She shows how Kant's non-individualistic view of autonomy provides a stronger basis for an approach to medicine, science and biotechnology, and does not marginalize untrustworthiness, while also explaining why trustworthy individuals and institutions are often undeservingly mistrusted. Her arguments are illustrated with issues raised by practices such as the use of genetic information by the police or insurers, research using human tissues, uses of new reproductive technologies, and media practices for reporting on medicine, science and technology. Autonomy and Trust in Bioethics will appeal to a wide range of readers in ethics, bioethics and related disciplines.


Dislocation microstructures have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy in polycrystalline coesite deformed experimentally at 4 GPa, 1200 °C. Burgers vectors have been determined by large-angle convergent-beam electron diffraction. Sample orientation was assisted by precession electron diffraction to overcome difficulties arising from pseudo-hexagonal symmetry. The results are explained by using a pseudo-hexagonal setting. We found that most dislocations observed are of the ⅓〈2110〉 type. No clear glide plane was identified, suggesting that climb is activated under these conditions. This conclusion is supported by the observation of numerous subgrain boundaries. We have also observed some [0001] dislocations. Finally, the C 12 /c 1 space group to which coesite belongs being centred, an additional slip system is observed: ⅙ [1213] (0111) (½ [110] (110) in the monoclinic setting).


Slow Cures and Bad Philosophers uses insights from the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein to rethink bioethics. Although Wittgenstein produced little formal writing on ethics, this volume shows that, in fact, ethical issues permeate the entirety of his work. The scholars whom Carl Elliott has assembled in this volume pay particular attention to Wittgenstein's concern with the thick context of moral problems, his suspicion of theory, and his belief in description as the real aim of philosophy. Their aim is not to examine Wittgenstein's personal moral convictions but rather to explore how a deep engagement with his work can illuminate some of the problems that medicine and biological science present.

As Elliott explains in his introduction, Wittgenstein's philosophy runs against the grain of most contemporary bioethics scholarship, which all too often ignores the context in which moral problems are situated and pays little attention to narrative, ethnography, and clinical case studies in rendering bioethical judgments. Such anonymous, impersonal, rule-writing directives in which health care workers are advised how to behave is what this volume intends to counteract. Instead, contributors stress the value of focusing on the concrete particulars of moral problems and write in the spirit of Wittgenstein's belief that philosophy should be useful. Specific topics include the concept of "good dying," the nature of clinical decision making, the treatment of neurologically damaged patients, the moral treatment of animals, and the challenges of moral particularism.

Inspired by a philosopher who deplored "professional philosophy," this work brings some startling insights and clarifications to contemporary ethical problems posed by the realities of modern medicine.

Contributors. Larry Churchill, David DeGrazia, Cora Diamond, James Edwards, Carl Elliott, Grant Gillett, Paul Johnston, Margaret Olivia Little, James Lindemann Nelson, Knut Erik Tranoy


In the past few years, the Actor-Network Theory of French philosopher and sociologist Bruno Latour has become a hotly debated topic in the humanities. From a philosophical perspective, his theory of things keeps being reevaluated: is it possible for 'Human and Non-Human Actors' (Latour) to be analyzed as equally important actors? Does Latour's theory of a simultaneous 'agency' of things and concepts indeed move beyond a subject-object relation? If it does, how far does it in fact go? Is it possible to develop a common new ontology by moving away from the notion of substance, and instead reducing any kind of entities to what they reveal in the course of their (inter)action?
The contributions to Le Sujet de l'Acteur are looking for
interferences between the idea of 'agency' and cultural
dynamics. How can we relate questions of (social) action with those of cultural manifestations? Focusing on questions of symmetry or dissymmetry between the world of 'things' and 'human beings,' the volume includes contributions from the fields of social studies, literary studies, and philosophy. Although the contents are categorized in systematic and historical aspects, all contributions draw on the importance of case studies for the theoretical framework, either starting with systematic questions that are then answered exemplary, or starting from historical cases as well as theoretical options.


Understanding local pulmonary immunoregulatory mechanism(s) in patients with carcinoma of the lung is an important step towards the development of innovative methods of treatment. Prostaglandin E2 plays an integral role in immunoregulation. Therefore, we evaluated PGE2 concentrations in BALF from 18 patients with bronchogenic carcinoma, compared to that from six patients with pulmonary diseases other than carcinoma and ten normal smokers of similar age. The level of PGE2 in patients with lung carcinoma (158.1 +/- 88.7 pg/ml) was significantly (p less than 0.001) higher than the other two groups (16.2 +/- 6.9 and 4.4 +/- 3.4 pg/ml). Levels of PGE2 also varied among patients with carcinoma of different cell types. Patients with SQCA had significantly (p less than 0.001) higher levels of PGE2 (242.7 +/- 29.4 pg/ml) than patients with ADCA or SCCA (82.3 +/- 27.9 and 66.3 +/- 15.2 pg/ml, respectively). Furthermore, there was a marked difference in PGE2 concentration between carcinomatous lung and clinically noninvolved lung in patients with SQCA and ADCA. Further study is warranted to determine the interactions between PGE2 and other cytokines (interleukin-1, IL-2, and tumor necrosis factor), as well as the activity of cytolytic lymphocytes (LAK cells) in the lungs of patients with bronchogenic carcinoma.


The recent financial crisis has highlighted the need to go beyond a purely micro approach to financial regulation and supervision. As a consequence, the number of policy speeches, research papers and conferences that discuss a macro perspective on financial regulation has grown considerably. The policy debate is focusing in particular on macroprudential tools and their usage, their relationship with monetary policy, their implementation and their effectiveness. Macroprudential policy has recently also attracted considerable attention among researchers. This paper provides an overview of research on this topic. We also identify important future research questions that emerge from both the literature and the current policy debate.


This paper examines whether unobservable differences in firm volatility are responsible for the global loan pricing puzzle, which is the observation that corporate loan interest rates appear to be lower in Europe than in the United States. We analyze whether equity volatility, an error prone measure of firm volatility, can explain this difference in loan spreads. We show that using equity volatility in OLS regressions will result in biased and inconsistent estimates of the difference in U.S. and European loan spreads. We use instrumental variable methods to identify consistent estimates and find no difference in U.S. and European loan spreads.


We present a 17O and 1H NMR study of molecular endofullerene H2O@C60 dissolved in the nematic liquid crystal N-(4-methoxybenzylidene)-4-butylaniline (MBBA). The 17O NMR peak is split into five components by the 17O residual quadrupolar coupling, each of which is split into a triplet by the 1H–17O residual dipolar coupling and scalar coupling. The splittings are analysed in terms of the partial alignment of the encapsulated water molecules. Order parameters describing the alignment are estimated. It is found that the preferential orientation of the endohedral water molecule has the molecular plane perpendicular to the liquid crystal director.


The historical legacy of the racist social meaning of rape and the consequences of that legacy are the focus of this article. The article, written in 1983, analyzes the U.S. law of rape, its history, and its legacy, from a perspective that is both feminist and antiracist. It examines the intersections and interactions of race and gender subordination in the context of rape, particularly looking at race and gender issues involving African-Americans and whites. It describes how the legal system's selective acknowledgement of rape has disproportionately targeted African-American men for punishment and made African-American women both particularly vulnerable and particularly without redress. It further asserts that the legal system's myopic focus on claims of black offender/white victim rape has distracted from the broader significance, for women generally, of sexual coercion. Part I describes the U.S. legal system's narrow focus on African-American offender/white victim rape, tracing the history of that selective recognition from slavery to the present. The history included early twentieth century doctrinal rules allowing juries to infer, based on race alone, that if the accused was black and the alleged victim white, then the accused intended to rape the alleged victim. The legacy continues in sentencing and the threat of racially motivated prosecutions. Part II discusses the the legal system's failure to acknowledge the rape of African-American women, including its assumption of black women's promiscuity, tracing the pattern from slavery to the present. It includes discussion of race-specific early twentieth century doctrinal rules that prior chastity of the victim in statutory rape cases would not be assumed if the victim was African-American. Further, the legal system's treatment of rape has implicitly and incorrectly defined rape so as to limit its social meaning to an African-American male offender and a white woman, Part III argues The narrow focus on one racial combination of rape obscures the significance of sexual coercion to which women are all too frequently subjected. Because of the interconnectedness of rape and racism, successful work against rape and other sexual coercion must deal with racism, Part IV asserts. Struggles against rape must acknowledge the differences among women and the different ways that groups other than women are disempowered. In addition, work against rape must go beyond the focus of illegal rape to include other forms of coerced sex, in order to avoid the racist historical legacy surrounding rape and to combat effectively the subordination of women.


This study aimed to describe the land rights of bussiness permit for timber utilization from community forest plantation (IUPHHK-HTR) in Indonesia and to predict its effectiveness based on property rights theory related to target group characteristics. Field survey was conducted in November 2008 to April 2009 in Riau and South Kalimantan Provinces. The results showed that from the property rights theory perspective, the land rights for HTR could be categorized as lease or management rights consisted of rights to exclude, to manage, to use, and to access, without rights to transfer and to bequeath. This suggests that the mechanism of transfer of rights from the government to the holder of IUPHHK-HTR as a temporary transfer of rights. As a result, the government needs to regulate a rigid and detailed obligation for IUPHHK-HTR holders that may not be fulfilled by the farmers. The granting of permits for a long period (up to 95 years) is predicted to lose the meanings, caused of the prohibition on inheritance of the permits. From these findings it is predicted to reduce the interest of farmers to invest in the HTR. Keywords: land rights, community forest plantation, institutions, property rights, lease/management rights


The tempo at which an enterprise creates new uses for its systems is different from that of its acquisition or systems development processes. The military continues to confront the issue of how fielded systems can support the agility needed by its deployed forces. This problem of diverging tempos applies to a variety of large-scale, software-reliant enterprises.such as those found in healthcare and digital communications. This paper posits four realities underpinning an approach to this problem space: the governance-demand double challenge, edge-driven perspective, stratification, and demand cohesion. It uses a particular case example to show how these concepts support the modeling and analysis of the enterprise as a socio-technical system of systems. The paper argues that analyses based on this approach are necessary for making this problem space tractable.


The Src family of protein tyrosine kinases have been implicated in the response of cells to several ligands. These include platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), and colony stimulating factor type 1 (CSF-1, in macrophages and in fibroblasts engineered to express the receptor). We recently described a microinjection approach which we used to demonstrate that Src family kinases are required for PDGF-induced S phase entry of fibroblasts. We now use this approach to ask whether other ligands also require Src kinases to stimulate cells to replicate DNA. An antibody specific for the carboxy terminus of Src, Fyn, and Yes (anti-cst.1) inhibited Src kinase activity in vitro and caused morphological reversion of Src transformed cells in vivo. Microinjection of this antibody was used to demonstrate that Src kinases were required for both CSF-1 and EGF to drive cells into the S phase. Expression of a kinase-inactive form of Src family kinases also prevented EGF- and CSF-1-stimulated DNA synthesis. However, even though the Src family kinases were necessary for both PDGF- and EGF-induced DNA synthesis in Swiss 3T3 cells, the responses to two other potent growth factors for these cells, lysophosphatidic acid and bombesin, were unaffected by the neutralizing antibodies. Therefore, some but not all growth factors required functional Src family kinases to transmit mitogenic responses.


Major causes of failure of aerial poisoning operations against possums identified were: sublethal toxic loading, undersize sublethal baits, nonlearned behavioural aversion to 1080, and failure to encounter bait. Dislike of bait was not a major cause of failure . Progress has been made towards solving these problems, but failure to encounter bait remains a likely major reason for possums surviving aerial poisoning. Improvements in the aerial sowing of bait are essential if the full benefit of this progress is to be realised.


In this paper, we present a fast boundary element method (BEM) algorithm for the solution of the velocity-vorticity formulation of the Navier-Stokes equations. The Navier-Stokes equations govern incompressible fluid flow, which is inherently nonlinear and when discretizised by BEM requires the discretization of the domain and calculation of domain integrals. The computational demands of such method scale with O(N2), where N is the number of boundary nodes. To accelerate the solution process and reduce the computational demand, we present two different approaches, the subdomain method and an approximation procedure with hierarchical structure. Several approximation techniques exist, such as multipole approximation methods FMM (fast multiple method), SVD (singular value decomposition method), wavelet transform method and a cross approximation method. In this paper, we present the cross approximation method in combination with the hierarchical H-structure. The cross approximation method can reduce the computational demands from O(N2) to O(N log N). There are many forms of the cross approximation, like the algebraic cross approximation and the hybrid cross approximation. Here, we applied the algebraic cross approximation form. The main advantage is that we did not need to evaluate the integral and then to change it with a degenerate kernel function. The cross approximation algorithm was used to solve the kinematics equation for unknown boundary vorticity values. Results show that an increasing of the compression rate has a negative influence on the solution accuracy. On the other hand, the solution accuracy increases with computational grid density. Tests were performed using the 3D lid-driven cavity test case with Reynolds numbers up to 1000. Solution accuracy was similar for all Reynolds numbers considered. In conclusion, the tests showed that our implementation of the algebraic cross approximation for the acceleration of the solution of the kinematics equation can be applied to decrease the computational demands and to accelerate the BEM.


Historically, cosmopolitan phytoplankton species were presumed to represent largely unstructured populations. However, the recent development of molecular tools to examine genetic diversity have revealed differences in phytoplankton taxa across geographic scales and provided insight into the physiology and ecology of blooms. Here we describe the genetic analysis of an extensive bloom of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense that occurred in the Gulf of Maine in 2005. This bloom was notable for its intensity and duration, covering hundreds of kilometers and persisting for almost two months. Genotypic analyses based on microsatellite marker data indicate that the open waters of the northeastern U.S. harbor a single regional population of A. fundyense comprising two genetically distinct sub-populations. These subpopulations were characteristic of early- and late-bloom samples and were derived from the northern and southern areas of the bloom, respectively. The temporal changes observed during this study provide clear evidence of succession during a continuous bloom and show that selection can act on the timescale of weeks to significantly alter the representation of genotypes within a population. The effects of selection on population composition and turnover would be magnified if sexual reproduction were likewise influenced by environmental conditions. We hypothesize that the combined effects of differential growth and reproduction rates serves to reduce gene flow between the sub-populations, reinforcing population structure while maintaining the diversity of the overall regional population.


We have used a dynamic diffractive spatial light modulator for adaptive beam steering. With adaptive beam steering it is possible to substantially reduce the alignment accuracy needed for the assembly of a free-space optical switch and to make it adaptive to changes in the environment during operation.


Expatriates are an integral part of any multinational company's (MNC) staffing strategy. However, the high failure rate of expatriates has forced these firms to look at alternate or complementary staffing strategies. This paper focuses on one such strategy, i.e., transferring people of host-country ethnic origin from parent-country to manage host-country operations. The purpose of this exploratory study is to ascertain whether and how MNCs have used expatriates of host-country origin (EHCO) as a global staffing strategy, in the context of India, and the extent of its success both for the individuals and the organizations concerned. Based on a survey and in-depth interviews of human resource managers of 15 MNCs with operations in India, the study concludes that EHCOs are more willing to accept expatriate assignments than parent-country nationals (PCNs); however, their success on the assignment depends on the breadth and depth of their experience both in the parent and host country. With regard to their work effectiveness vis-à-vis PCNs, no significant difference was found. Managerial implications of this staffing strategy are explored and future research directions identified.


In the constructivist approach, various self-assessment techniques are being developed to enable students to assess themselves in the learning process. The purpose of the study is to investigate relation between students' preferences in assessment process and students' performances. The study was conducted with 67 sophomore students enrolled in Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technologies at a State University. The study was carried out in "Measurement and Evaluation in Education" course. At the beginning, Moodle LMS was used to define the preferences of students about their own assessment criteria (discussion, quiz, assignment and viewing of course content). Throughout the process, students were received the course instructional package in the classroom. Then they were asked to fill the assessment activities on the LMS. Students' actual performances in online activities in terms of their preference about assessment criteria was calculated as students course achievement scores. The mean value of the scores and the standard deviation were guided us to divide the participants into three groups (unsuccessful, moderately successful, successful) considering their means and standard deviations. Then, the preferences of students and their academic achievements were associated in each group. As a result, various criteria were come to front in both successful and unsuccessful groups. Surprisingly, none of the students preferred viewing course content and participating in discussions as the highest assessment criterion. Besides, it was found that all the students in successful group preferred viewing course content as lowest assessment criterion. The results indicated that, there were no prominent criteria in the relations between the preferences of students about assessment process and the academic performances. However, most of the students in unsuccessful group performed better in assignment although they did not preferred the assignment as the highest assessment criterion. At the end of the study, we noticed that while considering the criterion in the assessment process, taking students' perspectives and preferences into consideration motivated students positively and had somehow related to their academic achievements. Thus, it is hoped that the study can provides an insight to future studies to enrich assessment activities with giving responsibilities to students in learning, especially in assessment process.


For more than 50 years, many children with food protein allergies and other forms of dietary protein intolerance have been treated successfully with protein hydrolysates with highly reduced allergenicity and, more recently, also with products based on amino acid mixtures. Strategies for the prevention of allergy have been proposed, including the use of products with extensively reduced allergenicity. Products designed to have a moderately reduced allergenicity have also been proposed and marketed in Europe as hypoallergenic formulas. The European Society for Paediatric Allergology and Clinical Immunology (ESPACI) and the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) have commented previously on these issues,1 2 and the Commission of the European Union has issued a regulation for the requirements of infant formulas with reduced allergenicity or reduced antigenicity.3

This paper comments on the current developments and unresolved issues in the dietary treatment and prevention of food allergy in infancy to help inform paediatricians and other health care professionals, as well as manufacturers of infant foods.

Adverse reactions to foods are a problem, particularly in infancy and early childhood, and can present with a wide spectrum of clinical reactions such as cutaneous, gastrointestinal, respiratory, or other symptoms. Reproducible adverse reactions to food(s) can be the result of one or more immune mechanism(s) or they can be non-immunologically mediated. Immunologically mediated reactions, which are often immediate IgE mediated reactions, are defined as food protein allergy. Non-immunologically mediated reactions can be divided into enzymatic or transport defects (for example, lactase deficiency, or glucose/galactose malabsorption), pharmacological or other (undefined) reactions.2 4 The pattern and threshold of adverse reactions to foods varies. None of the symptoms related to immunologically or non- immunologically mediated adverse reactions to foods are pathognomonic, and no single laboratory test is diagnostic of food allergy. Therefore, the diagnosis …


Over the past 40 years, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has played a central role in the sovereign debt restructuring process. If the COVID-19 pandemic leads to a significant wave of sovereign debt distress, this role will be closely scrutinized. The paper analyzes how IMF policies have evolved to shape the incentives of sovereigns and their creditors at each stage of the sovereign debt restructuring process. It also identifies a number of issues that the IMF will likely have to address as a result of the pandemic, including (1) assessment of debt sustainability in a macroeconomic environment of considerable uncertainty, (2) treatment of official bilateral creditors, and (3) potential benefits—and challenges—of introducing additional incentives to maximize creditor participation in any debt restructuring.


Random decision tree is an ensemble of decision trees. The feature at any node of a tree in the ensemble is chosen randomly from remaining features. A chosen discrete feature on a decision path cannot be chosen again. Continuous feature can be chosen multiple times, however, with a different splitting value each time. During classification, each tree outputs raw posterior probability. The probabilities from each tree in the ensemble are averaged as the final posterior probability estimate. Although remarkably simple and somehow counter-intuitive, random decision tree has been shown to be highly accurate under 0-1 loss and cost-sensitive loss functions. Preliminary explanation of its high accuracy is due to the "error-tolerance" property of probabilistic decision making. Our study has shown that the actual reason for random tree's superior performance is due to its optimal approximation to each example's true probability to be a member of a given class.


This dissertation explores how son preference is constructed and renegotiated in light of social change in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Based on secondary sources and interviews with women and men in rural Anhui Province as well as key informants, it addresses son preference from conceptual, methodological, empirical and ideological perspectives. The analysis centres around son preference understood as a social institution that is both gendered/sexed and has intergenerational characteristics. The dissertation suggests that in the PRC, son preference is a "double sensitive" issue to study as it has become politically incorrect due to the Care for Girls Campaign, and as it is often perceived by government officials as easily leading to criticising the population policy. It proposes that there are two main approaches to studying son preference, namely the outcome approach, which focuses on how son preference manifests itself, and the causal approach, which zooms in on different factors underpinning the institution of son preference. It argues that accounts about the scope and prevalence of son preference are often informed by an outcome approach, where sex ratio at birth (SRB) imbalance is typically regarded as a proxy indicator of son preference. However, the dissertation challenges the usefulness of using SRB as a proxy indicator and suggests that when put in relation to fertility rates, SRB can be used to model "son compulsion", which denotes that parents want to give birth to at least one son and take action in order to meet that goal. However, as demonstrated, there is no direct link between son compulsion and the institution of son preference, since son compulsion can be triggered by what is termed the "supply-factor", i.e. that prenatal sex-selection is becoming more available and morally and socially acceptable. When adopting a causal approach, it becomes clear that the institution of son preference is being renegotiated through a dynamic process of individual and structural factors, which are anchored in a society that is becoming increasingly commercialised and individualised, and which is marked by low fertility levels, an ageing population and large flows of rural-urban migration. Still, due to ideological reasons related to the population policy, the role of the Chinese Communist Party in disciplining social order and ideas about modernity, son preference is often depicted in both official and popular discourses as something essentially "traditional", "rural", "backward" and "feudal". In reality, however, son preference is becoming renegotiated in ways which blur the divide between "rural" and "urban", and "traditional" and "modern". (Less)


During the Second Marine Zooplankton Colloquium (MZC2) 3 issues were added to those developed 11 yr ago during the First Marine Zooplankton Colloquium (MZC1). First, we focused on hot spots, i.e., locations where zooplankton occur in higher than regular abundance and/or operate at higher rates. We should be able to determine the processes leading to such aggregations and rates, and quantify their persistence. Second, information on the level of individual species, even of highly abundant ones, is limited. Concerted efforts should be undertaken with highly abundant to dominant species or genera (e.g., Oithona spp., Calanus spp., Oikopleura spp., Euphausia superba) to determine what governs their abundance and its variability. Third, zooplankton clearly influence biogeochemical cycling in the ocean, but our knowledge of the underlying processes remains fragmentary. Therefore a thorough assessment of variables that still need to be quantified is required to obtain an understanding of zooplankton contributions to biogeochemical cycling. Combining studies on the 7 issues from MZC1 with the 3 from MZC2 should eventually lead to a comprehensive understanding of (1) the mechanisms governing the abundance and existence of dominant zooplankton taxa, and (2) the control of biodiversity and biocomple:xity, for example, in the tropical ocean where diversity is high. These recommendations come from an assemblage of chemical, physical and biological oceanographers with experience in major interdisciplinary studies, including modeling. These recommendations are intended to stimulate efforts within the oceanographic community to facilitate the development of predictive capabilities for major biological processes in the ocean.


ABSTRACT Quorum sensing (QS) regulates group behaviors of Candida albicans such as biofilm, hyphal growth, and virulence factors. The sesquiterpene alcohol farnesol, a QS molecule produced by C. albicans, is known to regulate the expression of virulence weapons of this fungus. Fluconazole (FCZ) is a broad-spectrum antifungal drug that is used for the treatment of C. albicans infections. While FCZ can be cytotoxic at high concentrations, our results show that at much lower concentrations, quercetin (QC), a dietary flavonoid isolated from an edible lichen (Usnea longissima), can be implemented as a sensitizing agent for FCZ-resistant C. albicans NBC099, enhancing the efficacy of FCZ. QC enhanced FCZ-mediated cell killing of NBC099 and also induced cell death. These experiments indicated that the combined application of both drugs was FCZ dose dependent rather than QC dose dependent. In addition, we found that QC strongly suppressed the production of virulence weapons—biofilm formation, hyphal development, phospholipase, proteinase, esterase, and hemolytic activity. Treatment with QC also increased FCZ-mediated cell death in NBC099 biofilms. Interestingly, we also found that QC enhances the anticandidal activity of FCZ by inducing apoptotic cell death. We have also established that this sensitization is reliant on the farnesol response generated by QC. Molecular docking studies also support this conclusion and suggest that QC can form hydrogen bonds with Gln969, Thr1105, Ser1108, Arg1109, Asn1110, and Gly1061 in the ATP binding pocket of adenylate cyclase. Thus, this QS-mediated combined sensitizer (QC)-anticandidal agent (FCZ) strategy may be a novel way to enhance the efficacy of FCZ-based therapy of C. albicans infections.


Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are new organizations created by the Affordable Care Act to encourage more efficient, integrated care delivery. To promote efficiency, ACOs sign contracts under which they keep a fraction of the savings from keeping costs below target provided they also maintain quality levels. To promote integration and facilitate measurement, ACOs are required to have at least 5,000 enrollees and so must coordinate across many providers. We calibrate a model of optimal ACO incentives using proprietary performance measures from a large insurer. Our key finding is that free-riding is a severe problem and causes optimal incentive payments to exceed cost savings unless ACOs simultaneously achieve extremely large efficiency gains. This implies that successful ACOs will likely rely on motivational strategies that amplify the effects of under-powered incentives. These motivational strategies raise important questions about the limits of ACOs as a policy for promoting more efficient, integrated care.


Phase change phenomena of a fluid flowing in a micro channel may be exploited to make the heat exchangers more compact and energy efficient. Compact heat exchangers offer several advantages such as light weight, low cost, energy efficiency, capability of removing high heat fluxes and charge reduction are a few to mention. Phase change phenomena in macro or conventional channels have been investigated since long but in case of micro channels, fewer studies of phase change have been conducted and underlying phenomena during two-phase flow in micro channels are not yet fully understood. It is clear from the literature that the two-phase flow models developed for conventional channels do not perform well when extrapolated to micro scale. In the current thesis, the experimental flow boiling results for micro channels are reported. Experiments were conducted in circular, stainless steel and quartz tubes in both horizontal and vertical orientations. The internal diameters of steel tubes tested were 1.70 mm, 1.224 mm and the diameter of quartz tube tested was 0.781 mm. The quartz tube was coated with a thin, electrically conductive, transparent layer of Indium-Tin-Oxide (ITO) making simultaneous heating and visualization possible. Test tubes were heated electrically using DC power supply. Two refrigerants R134a and R245fa were used as working fluids during the tests. Experiments were conducted at a wide variety of operating conditions. Flow visualization results obtained with quartz tube clearly showed the presence of confinement effects and consequently an early transition to annular flow for micro channels. Several flow pattern images were captured during flow boiling of R134a in quartz tube. Flow patterns recorded during the experiments were presented in the form of Reynolds number versus vapour quality and superficial liquid velocity versus superficial gas velocity plots. Experimental flow pattern maps so obtained were also compared with the other flow pattern maps available in the literature showing a poor agreement. Flow boiling heat transfer results for quartz and steel tubes indicate that the heat transfer coefficient increases with heat flux and system pressure but is independent on mass flux and vapour quality. Experimental flow boiling heat transfer coefficient results were compared with those obtained using different correlations from the literature. Heat transfer experiments with steel tubes were continued up to dryout condition and it was observed that dryout conditions always started close to the exit of the tube. The dryout heat flux increased with mass flux and decreased with exit vapour quality. The dryout data were compared with some well known CHF correlations available in the literature. Two-phase frictional pressure drop for the quartz tube was also obtained under different operating conditions. As expected, two-phase frictional pressure drop increased with mass flux and exit vapour quality.


We design an online algorithm to classify the vertices of a graph. Underpinning the algorithm is the probability distribution of an Ising model isomorphic to the graph. Each classification is based on predicting the label with maximum marginal probability in the limit of zero-temperature with respect to the labels and vertices seen so far. Computing these classifications is unfortunately based on a #P-complete problem. This motivates us to develop an algorithm for which we give a sequential guarantee in the online mistake bound framework. Our algorithm is optimal when the graph is a tree matching the prior results in [1]. For a general graph, the algorithm exploits the additional connectivity over a tree to provide a per-cluster bound. The algorithm is efficient, as the cumulative time to sequentially predict all of the vertices of the graph is quadratic in the size of the graph.


In the following, I argue against cognitivist film scholars, such as David Bordwell and Noël Carroll, for the relevance of Slavoj Žižek in the field of film criticism and theory. I argue that Žižek's work presents a wholly new mode of criticism which focuses on the ideological displacement of class struggle in cinema. Class struggle, according to Žižek, represents the social Real, in the Lacanian sense. By focusing on the Lacanian Real, as opposed to the Imaginary or the Symbolic, Žižek accomplishes what early film theorists were only too eager (but unable) to develop: a psychoanalytic theory of film. However, rather than focus on film spectatorship, I claim that Žižek's work is useful in critiquing the content of films. The focus, here, begins with an examination of early film theory and the critique thereof by cognitivist film scholars. Žižek's exegetic use of films is then examined before considering the concept of the Real in psychoanalysis. After considering the function of the Real in political analysis, I conclude by looking at the displacement of class struggle as the social Real in films.


The aim of this study is to, based on a theory of learning, compare in what ways two different cases of the use of self-monitoring videotapes for developing social skills in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) facilitates social behavior studied with a micro-level approach. Two verbal 15-year-old male students with ASD and cognitive disabilities were filmed for 20 min in three different situations. Student A (Adam) was shown contrasting videotaped examples of his desired/undesired behaviors and questioned about his perceptions. Based on variation theory, the conjecture to use contrasts to enhance learning has been implemented. Student B (Bill) was videotaped in three different situations on three different occasions, and his behavior was analyzed before and after the intervention by counting incidents of deviant behavior in all nine videos. Both participants expressed increased awareness of their behavior and were able to sustain change, and Bill decreased deviant behavior in one of the focused situations (practical instruction) from 37 to 3 incidents after 6 months.


A theoretical model is proposed to study a passive fiber laser coherent beam combination (CBC) with an all-optical ring-cavity feedback loop. The dynamic evolution of a frequency filter is carefully studied and is shown to be sensitive to stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) and phase noise. SBS plays an important role in the process of mode selection or CBC because the linewidth of the longitudinal mode is narrowed continuously in the ring-cavity feedback. Numerical studies show that the SBS process is significantly influenced by phase noise, optical path length difference, and four-wave mixing. Our results indicate that SBS would be a remarkable problem in this type of CBC unless the phase noise causes a rapid mode jump in the frequency domain. Since the mode jump worsens the efficiency of the coherent combination or beam quality, a trade-off consideration is necessary for the SBS, phase noise, and beam quality. The maximal SBS-allowed CBC efficiency is obtained numerically for output laser power of 700 W–3.5 kW.


We perform a detailed quantitative numerical analysis of a partially coherent quasi-cw fiber laser on the example of a high-Q normal dispersion cavity Raman fiber laser. The key role of precise spectral performances of fiber Bragg gratings forming the laser cavity is clarified. It is shown that cross-phase modulation between the pump and Stokes waves does not affect the generation. Amplitudes of different longitudinal modes strongly fluctuate, obeying the Gaussian distribution. As the intensity statistics is noticeably nonexponential, longitudinal modes should be correlated.


1 The genetic constitution of populations may significantly affect demography. Founder populations or isolated remnants may show inbreeding depression, while established populations can be strongly adapted to the local environment. Gene exchange between populations can lead to better performance if heterozygosity levels are restored (heterosis), or to reduced performance if coadapted gene complexes are disrupted (outbreeding depression). 2 Five populations of the self‐incompatible perennial Arnica montana (Asteraceae) were analysed for the demographic consequences of inbreeding and of intra‐ and interpopulation outcrossing, using both small and large populations as donors for the latter. We analysed seed production and seed weight and monitored growth, survival and flowering of offspring introduced as seeds and as 4‐week‐old seedlings in a 4‐year field experiment. 3 Reduced seed set after selfing was probably due to the self‐incompatibility system rather than to inbreeding depression. There was a significant increase for seed set after interpopulation crosses, which resulted from the alleviation of low mate availability in one of the small populations. 4 Significant inbreeding depression was observed for growth rates of plants introduced as seedlings. We found significant heterosis for flowering probability of plants introduced as seeds, but for plants introduced as seedlings, heterosis for seedling size and flowering probability was only marginally significant. Outbreeding depression was not observed. 5 The results of this study are important for reinforcement measures in small, remnant populations. Significant differences among populations for all measured fitness components suggest that reinforcement is best achieved using material from several populations. 6 The observed higher survival of seedlings as compared with seeds suggests that it is better to plant individuals than to sow. Sowing, however, is easier and cheaper, and was more likely to eliminate poorly adapted genotypes before they contribute to the next generation.


Alternative market structures are distinguishable by the degree of parallel action exhibited by producers. We show that the correlation between output levels varies systematically with the degree of interdependence among firms, and establish an ordering among alternative behavioral hypotheses (Cournot, Stackelberg, Edgeworth/Bertrand, collusion, and perfect competition). Because the ordering is invariant to the values of background parameters, statistical tests of market conduct may be possible even when the slopes of the demand curve and marginal cost curves are unknown. An application to the world oil market finds strong evidence of collusive behavior among OPEC members, but not elsewhere.


This handbook uses straightforward examples to introduce the UNIX operating system, including its historical development, major versions, and important features. It covers the topics necessary for users to function independently and handle routine tasks, giving readers a foundation for exploring more advanced UNIX topics. Builds knowledge with a general explanation of concepts and topics, followed by more detailed and complex commands and examples as the chapter progresses. Explains the importance of the operating system and explores its primary functions. Includes a new chapter on the Emacs editor as an alternative to the vi editor. For those interested in learning more about the UNIX operating system.


The recruitment of Information Technology professionals has reemerged as an important issue in the workplace. In "The State of the CIO 2006 Survey," 55 percent of IT executives indicated they plan to increase their IT staffs by an average of 11 percent during the year (Overby, 2006). Towers Perrin's study of 22 leading firms in 11 industries identified recruitment and retention of IT employees as a key to facilitating superior business performance (Towers Perrin, 2002). Reports that show firms devoting more revenues to staffing activities than any other human resource ac tivity underscore the importance of understanding effective recruiting practices (Society for Human Resource Management, 2001). Driving this effort are estimates indicating that the average actual and opportunity costs for a professional position remaining unfilled are prohibitively expensive. An organization's costs for a position remaining vacant are estimated to be $1,200 per day (Stanton, 2000) and, on average, to be the cost of two years of pay and benefits for a typical exempt position and six months of pay and benefits for a typical nonexempt one (Oneal, 1998). Importance of Recruiting Focus Scholars cite three factors for the constant importance for recruiting and retaining IT workers. The first is the job-hopping proclivities of workers with specialized skills. The average employee reportedly remains with an organization for a maximum of five years before departing (Wiener, 1998). The rapid voluntary exit of employees from firms places great demand on the recruiting practices of organizations (Humber, 2005). The second element necessitating continued IT recruitment is workforce projections forecasting a labor shortage in areas of technical expertise. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects positions for computer systems analysts, database administrators, and computer scientists will grow sharply faster than other occupations as organizations' needs for complex technologies advance (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2004). The final factor underscoring the importance of IT recruitment is that the increased importance of information technology in global competition has positioned human capital as the linchpin for organizational success (Gilpin, 2000). Research studies have found that information technology produces a lasting competitive advantage for those organizations that acquire human capital in the form of skilled employees who can match technology to the firm's needs (Mata et al., 1995; Ross et al., 1996). Human capital gives firms that optimally recruit IT professionals a strategic competitive advantage relative to their competitors (Agarwal and Ferratt, 1999). Recruitment Methods Organizations have available a wide variety of recruiting methods to identify and attract job applicants external to the organization. The present research investigates the effect of two commonly used recruitment practices on organizational performance measures. Prior surveys and recruitment research have found personal and professional relationships and monetary incentives represent, respectively, the second and third most commonly used recruitment practices to attract IT talent, trailing only local newspaper ads (Mencken and Winfield, 1998). This study focuses on the incremental impact of professional relationships and monetary incentives over other techniques (such as ads) due to the high costs in time, money and effort to implement these approaches. Personal and professional relationship recruiting techniques include employee referrals and networking (Ram, 1999). These practices have the advantage of producing affordable costs per hire, reducing uncertainty about the applicant in the hiring stage, and securing high-quality hires (Feldman and Klass, 2002). Monetary inducements for recruitment include offering salaries higher than competitors' offers (to keep candidates from considering them), as well as retention and project milestone bonuses, short- and long-term incentive opportunities, and signing bonuses (Milkovich and Newman, 2002). …


A 67-year-old man presented with several days of progressive, painless left eye vision loss. He reported mild jaw claudication but denied headache, scalp tenderness or constitutional symptoms. Examination revealed palpable temporal arteries, blurring of the left optic disc, and 20/100 vision in the left eye with mild relative afferent pupillary defect. Inflammatory markers were sent, and methylprednisolone was initiated for presumptive giant cell arteritis (GCA). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate was normal, however, and C reactive protein was only mildly elevated, prompting further investigation. Orbital MRI revealed nodular enhancement of the optic nerve sheaths bilaterally from optic nerve head to chiasm, raising concern for an infiltrative leptomeningeal process such as sarcoidosis or lymphoma. Methylprednisolone was temporarily stopped while a broad work up for inflammatory and neoplastic causes was pursued. Fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography ultimately revealed hypermetabolism in the temporal, ophthalmic and occipital arteries suggesting GCA, which was confirmed by temporal artery biopsy. Steroids were restarted, and the patient's vision stabilised.


Is television a cultural wasteland, or a medium that has brought people more great art, music, dance, and drama than any previous media? How do we study and interpret television? What are the effects of television on individuals and society, and how do we measure them? What is the role of television in our political and economic life? Television in Society explores these issues in considering how television both reflects and affects society.The book is divided into two sections. The first focuses on programming and deals with commercials, ceremonial events, important series (such as "MASH" and "Lou Grant"), significant programs (a production of Brave New World on television), and the images of police on the medium. The second part of the book deals with important issues and topics related to the medium: the impact of television violence, values found on television, the impact of television on education, the significance of new technological developments, and the always thorny issue of freedom of the press. The articles are drawn together by a brilliant introductory essay by Arthur Asa Berger, who examines television as culture.


Comparative visualization has successfully been applied to a variety of fluid dynamic problems. Most applications rely on image level comparison such as experimental flow visualization versus computational flow imagery (CFI) which tries to simulate optical image acquisition in flow testing. When differences become difficult to distinguish or once a quantitative result is required, data level comparison provides powerful means to visualize data from multiple sources. Data level comparison and visualization turns out to be an essential tool in modern aircraft design projects. It is already successfully applied in the geometric preprocessing stage and the CFD analysis and will serve for comparison with experimental data as well.


Advances in the growth of precisely tailored complex-oxide heterostructures have led to new emergent behavior and associated discoveries. One of the most successful examples consists of an ultrathin layer of LaAlO3 (LAO) deposited on TiO2-terminated SrTiO3 (STO), where a high mobility quasi-two dimensional electron liquid (2DEL) is formed at the interface. Such 2DEL demonstrates a variety of novel properties, including field tunable metal-insulator transition, superconductivity, strong spin-orbit coupling, magnetic and ferroelectric like behavior. Particularly, for 3-unit-cell (3 u.c.) LAO/STO heterostructures, it was demonstrated that a conductive atomic force microscope (c-AFM) tip can be used to "write" or "erase" nanoscale conducting channels at the interface, making LAO/STO a highly flexible platform to fabricate novel nanoelectronics. This thesis is focused on scanning probe microscopy studies of LAO/STO properties. We investigate the mechanism of c-AFM lithography over 3 u.c. LAO/STO in controlled ambient conditions by using a vacuum AFM, and find that the water molecules dissociated on the LAO surface play a critical role during the c-AFM lithography process. We also perform electro-mechanical response measurements over top-gated LAO/STO devices. Simultaneous piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and capacitance measurements reveal a correlation between LAO lattice distortion and interfacial carrier density, which suggests that PFM could not only serve as a powerful tool to map the carrier density at the interface but also provide insight into previously reported frequency dependence of capacitance enhancement of top-gated LAO/STO structures. To study magnetism at the LAO/STO interface, magnetic force microscopy (MFM) and magnetoelectric force microscopy (MeFM) are carried out to search for magnetic signatures that depend on the carrier density at the interface. Results demonstrate an electronically-controlled ferromagnetic phase on top-gated LAO/STO heterostructures at room temperature. A follow-up study shows that electronically-controlled magnetic signatures are observed only within a LAO thickness window from 8 u.c. to 30 u.c. We also have developed a cryogen-free low-temperature AFM based on a commercial vacuum AFM. The modified system operates under high vacuum (10^-6 Torr) and the base temperature is ~10 K. This low temperature AFM will be used in future experiments.


Solar central receiver power plants are an up-and-coming clean energy option which make use of concentrated solar power. In order to function, these systems must be able to store molten "solar salt" (40% potassium nitrate, 60% sodium nitrate), which has proven to be highly corrosive to stainless steel. Slowing the corrosion rate of stainless steel when exposed to molten salt would be a significant step in the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of solar central receiver power plants, but in order to test the effectiveness of various treatments, we first need a method of characterizing the thickness of the corrosion layer. We have developed a means of determining the thickness of the corrosion layer by examining the oxygen and iron content at varying depths of a stainless steel sample exposed to molten salt using energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy at varying accelerating voltages, enabling a non-invasive, non-destructive technique for this necessary characterization.


Purpose:
To validate previously established (Freedson and VM) and newly generated novel prediction equations in overweight and obese inidividuals during a 30 min treadmill walk and three km external self paced overground walk.

Methods:
Study 1: Twenty overweight and obese adults performed an incremental treadmill walk. EE was measured using breath-by-breath indirect calorimetry. Activity counts and HR were recorded throughout using an AT accelerometer.

Study 2: Ten healthy adult males performed three discontinuous maximal tests comparing the laboratory based Oxycon Pro and K4b[sup]2.

Study 3: Ten overweight and obese adults carried out a three km overground walk, whilst EE was neasured via the K4b[sup]2 and activity counts and HR were recorded via the AT.

Results:
The Freedson and VM prediction equations significant overestimated EE by ~40% and 31% respectively. There was good agreement between the Oxycon Pro and K4b[sup]2 when calibrated immediately before use with a mean difference of 38.4 ml.min[sup]-1 (VO[sub]2), 39.5 ml.min[sup]-1 (VCO[sub]2) and 0.76 L.min[sup]-1 (VE). Novel prediction equations combining VM, BM and HR provided the most accurate estimation of EE during indoor and outdoor walking with no difference between measured and estimated EE (P=0.114) with a SEE=0.82 kcal.min[-1] and showed a strong correlation with measured EE (r=0.891, p<0.001).

Conclusion:
Both the Freedson and VM equations are unsuitable to predict EE in overweight and obese inidividuals. During walking exercise, novel, multiple regression equations combining VM, BM and HR provide a more accurate estimate of EE in this population during treadmill and overground walking. Future directions should focus on the use of these prediction equations during weight loss intervention programmes.


The light-scattering problem of a sphere on or near a plane surface is solved by using an extension of the Mie theory. The approach taken is to solve the boundary conditions at the sphere and at the surface simultaneously and to develop the scattering amplitude and Mueller scattering matrices. This is performed by projecting the fields in the half-space region not including the sphere multiplied by an appropriate Fresnel reflection coefficient onto the half-space region including the sphere. An assumption is that the scattered fields from the sphere, reflecting off the surface and interacting with the sphere, are incident upon the surface at near-normal incidence. The exact solution is asymptotically approached when either the sphere is a large distance from the surface or the refractive index of the surface approaches infinity.


Indigenous Australians constitute approximately 2.4% of the Australian population and suffer from disadvantage across a range of social, economic, and health indicators compared to other Australians, including exposure to racism across all domains of contemporary Australian society. However, there has been relatively little research conducted on anti-racism in relation to Indigenous Australians. This article begins with an overview of theoretical issues pertinent to the empirical study and public policy of anti-racism. Empirical findings, from social psychology, on effective approaches to anti-racism at the cognitive, individual, interpersonal, and societal level as well as for the targets of racism are detailed with a particular focus on Indigenous Australians. Recommendations for improving and expanding institutional and legal policies to implement these approaches in relation to education and child-rearing, public service, law enforcement and media, as well as monitoring racism and promoting anti-racism in civil society, are then presented. To conclude, strategies for engendering political will to combat racism in the current neoliberal capitalist climate are explored.


This study presents the synthesis of polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) by solution polymerization and its partial hydrolysis to polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) using alkaline alcoholysis. The influence of the molar ratio of hydrolysis catalyst (NaOH) to PVAc and the time and temperature of the saponification reaction on the degree of hydrolysis and molecular weight of the PVA were investigated using response surface methodology. Statistical analysis of the results revealed that the degree of hydrolysis and molecular weight of PVA were strongly dependent on the molar ratio of NaOH/PVAc. It was also found that the second-order interactions between the investigated parameters were not statistically significant. The optimal conditions for synthesizing PVA as a primary suspending agent were obtained as T = 45°C, t = 33 min and NaOH/PVAc (molar ratio) = 0.05. The chemical structures of the PVAc and the optimum PVA were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The distribution of acetate groups in the optimum PVA was determined using 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. It was found that addition of benzene as well as one-step addition of NaOH (when compared with drop-wise addition) result in more blockiness in the acetate group distribution of PVA. The performance of the optimum PVA was also investigated for a typical suspension polymerization of vinyl chloride and the particle morphology of the product was studied using scanning electron microscopy.


Sweet potato leaf curl virus has been reported in different sweet potato growing regions of Kenya. Partial nucleotide sequences of Kenyan  Sweet potato leaf curl virus  isolates were compared with other isolates from different parts of the world. Sequences from ORFs AV1 (in the virion sense) and ORFs AC1, AC2, and AC4 (in the complementary sense) were analyzed using OMEGA 5 software. Samples from Central, and Coast Kenya were closely related to isolates from Spain and India with nucleotide sequence identities that varied from 61 to 96%. AV1 sequences of four samples from central were related with over 92% nucleotide sequence identity. AC2 fragments of Isolates from Western and Coast had 95% and 96% nucleotide sequence identity and amino acid sequence identity respectively indicating that the AC2 protein may have had common ancestry.  The study reports the first partial sequences of begomovirus infecting sweet potato inform different parts of Kenya and their phylogenetic relationship with other begomoviruses from other parts of the world.


The attractiveness of the PRC as a recipient of foreign capital is determined by a high level of socio-economic and political stability, a capacious domestic market, cheap labor and an active national investment policy. Thus, from the very outset of the "policy of openness to the outside world" (1979), a preferential investment regime for foreign investors was established in China maintained until now. Despite the sharp shrinking of cross-border investment at the turn of the 21st century and the economic stagnation in the majority of developed countries, China is actively attracting foreign direct investment heading the list of leading recipients of foreign capital. The PRC's accession to the WTO (2001) had a great impact on the FDI growth. The principles of the "open unified foreign trade policy in compliance with the GATT requirements" largely contributed to attracting foreign investors to China. After the WTO accession, the volume of foreign investment in China rose 2.5 times of which the overwhelming majority belonged to FDI and China actually refused from such forms of foreign investment as foreign loans, credits, international leasing, etc. Since 2005 until lately, the foreign investment inflows into the PRC came mainly from Hong Kong, Singapore and such offshore zones as the Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands. In fact, after accession to the WTO, adjustments were made only in respect of certain previously adopted laws encouraging the attraction of foreign investment to the country. Global trends in capital movements are getting increasingly apparent in China, a growth of interest in foreign portfolio investment is observed involving the acquisition by foreign investors of securities issued by Chinese companies.


A key decision in research is whether to try out new ideas or build on more established ideas. In this paper, we evaluate which type of work is more likely to spur further invention. When recent advances create superior opportunities for invention, their adoption as research inputs in the invention process promotes technological progress. The gains from pursuing such innovative research paths may, however, be very limited as new ideas are often initially raw and poorly understood. We determine idea inputs in invention based on the text of nearly every US patent granted during 1836–2010. We find that inventions that build on new ideas early are more likely to spur subsequent invention than inventions that rely on ideas of older vintage. Our results are important because they suggest a benefit from encouraging and supporting innovative research that tries out new ideas — avoiding stagnation in technological advance. Mikko Packalen University of Waterloo Department of Economics 200 University Avenue West Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1 Canada email@example.com Jay Bhattacharya 117 Encina Commons CHP/PCOR Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305-6019 and NBER email@example.com


Aberrant methylation of tumor suppressor genes can lead to their silencing in many cancers. TSC-22 is a gene silenced in several solid tumors, but its function and the mechanism(s) responsible for its silencing are largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that the TSC-22 promoter is methylated in primary mouse T or natural killer (NK) large granular lymphocyte (LGL) leukemia and this is associated with down-regulation or silencing of TSC-22 expression. The TSC-22 deregulation was reversed in vivo by a 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine therapy of T or NK LGL leukemia, which significantly increased survival of the mice bearing this disease. Ectopic expression of TSC-22 in mouse leukemia or lymphoma cell lines resulted in delayed in vivo tumor formation. Targeted disruption of TSC-22 in wild-type mice enhanced proliferation and in vivo repopulation efficiency of hematopoietic precursor cells (HPCs). Collectively, our data suggest that TSC-22 normally contributes to the regulation of HPC function and is a putative tumor suppressor gene that is hypermethylated and silenced in T or NK LGL leukemia.


Zhang, J. 2016. Organic Hole Transport Materials for Solid-State Dye-Sensitized and Perovskite Solar Cells. Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology 1408. 83 pp. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. ISBN 978-91-554-9659-3. Solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (ssDSSCs) and recently developed perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted a great attention in the scientific field of photovoltaics due to their low cost, absence of solvent, simple fabrication and promising power conversion efficiency (PCE). In these types of solar cell, the dye molecule or the perovskite can harvest the light on the basis of electron excitation. Afterwards, the electron and hole are collected at the charge transport materials. Photoelectrochemical polymerization (PEP) is employed in this thesis to synthesize conducting polymer hole transport materials (HTMs) for ssDSSCs. We have for the first time developed aqueous PEP in comparison with the conventional organic PEP with acetonitrile as solvent. This water-based PEP could potentially provide a low-cost, environmental-friendly method for efficient deposition of polymer HTM for ssDSSCs. In addition, new and simple precursors have been tested with PEP method. The effects of dye molecules on the PEP were also systematically studied, and we found that (a) the bulky structure of dye is of key importance for blocking the interfacial charge recombination; and (b) the matching of the energy levels between the dye and the precursor plays a key role in determining the kinetics of the PEP process. In PSCs, the HTM layer is crucial for efficient charge collection and its long term stability. We have studied different series of new molecular HTMs in order to understand fundamentally the influence of alkyl chains, molecular energy levels, and molecular geometry of the HTM on the photovoltaic performance. We have identified several important factors of the HTMs for efficient PSCs, including high uniformity of the HTM capping layer, perovskite-HTM energy level matching, good HTM solubility, and high conductivity. These factors affect interfacial hole injection, hole transport, and charge recombination in PSCs. By systematical optimization, a promising PCE of 19.8% has been achieved by employing a new HTM H11. We believe that this work could provide important guidance for the future development of new and efficient HTMs for PSCs.


Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) can have dramatic effects on performance of everyday life activity. However, the ability to assess everyday functional activity remains elusive. The purpose of this study was to establish validity and reliability to a performance-based assessment of everyday life activities called actual reality (AR). AR involves utilization of the Internet to perform three actual everyday life activities: purchasing (a) an airline ticket, (b) cookies, and (c) pizza. Method: A repeated measure design was used to examine 30 adults with MS who were recruited from a nonprofit rehabilitation research institution and 30 healthy controls (HC) living in the community. Participants were administered the 3 AR tasks twice, 3 weeks apart. Additionally, neuropsychological tests and self-report functional questionnaires were administered. Results: This study supported moderate to large Interrater Reliability of the AR assessment. Additionally, the 3 AR tasks did not differ in the number of errors made, and number and quality of cues required to complete the AR tasks. Participants with MS committed more errors, and required significantly more cues to perform the 3 AR tasks successfully compared with HC, supporting discriminant validity of the AR. Concurrent validity was supported by moderate to large associations between AR performance and neuropsychological test scores. Practice effect was observed for cognitive processes and the time it took participants to perform the task. Conclusions: Data support the use of actual, real-life, performance-based approach to measuring functional cognition outcomes. However, the observed practice effects for AR-cognitive capacity and AR-latency should be noted.


South America has substantial potential to expand its forest plantations and raw material supply. From 1997 to 2005, South America had a high annual growth rate in the production of industrial roundwood, with Brazil and Chile being the most important countries. In the same period, Asia had the only negative regional production growth rate in the world, and China became the largest round wood importer in the world. This paper summarizes the status of production, consumption, imports, and exports of industrial roundwood and forest products in South America. Produc-tion and exports from South America have continually increased at annual growth rates exceeding the forestry sector in general and the U.S. in particular. Based on timber growing investments to date, a strong timber production and forest products manufacturing sector has developed in the Southern Cone countries of Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, and is increasing in other countries in Latin America. There will be continued opportunities for forest plantations and new manufacturing facilities throughout South America, tempered somewhat by perceived country financial and political risks. These opportunities will allow South America to increase its share of world production and increase imports to North America and to Asia.


We generalise the classical Chern-Gauss-Bonnet formula to a class of 4-dimensional manifolds with finitely many conformally flat ends and singular points. This extends results of Chen-Qing-Yang in the smooth case. Under the assumptions of finite total Q curvature and positive scalar curvature at the ends and at the singularities, we obtain a new Chern-Gauss-Bonnet formula with error terms that can be expressed as isoperimetric deficits. This is the first such formula in a dimension higher than two which allows the underlying manifold to have isolated branch points or conical singularities.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the load redistribution mechanisms in walking and trotting dogs with induced forelimb lameness.

ANIMALS
7 healthy adult Beagles.

PROCEDURES
Dogs walked and trotted on an instrumented treadmill to determine control values for peak and mean vertical force as well as vertical impulse for all 4 limbs. A small sphere was attached to the ventral pad of the right forelimb paw to induce a reversible lameness, and recordings were repeated for both gaits. Additionally, footfall patterns were assessed to test for changes in temporal gait variables.

RESULTS
During walking and trotting, peak and mean vertical force as well as vertical impulse were decreased in the ipsilateral forelimb, increased in the contralateral hind limb, and remained unchanged in the ipsilateral hind limb after lameness was induced. All 3 variables were increased in the contralateral forelimb during trotting, whereas only mean vertical force and vertical impulse were increased during walking. Stance phase duration increased in the contralateral forelimb and hind limb during walking but not during trotting.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Analysis of the results suggested that compensatory load redistribution mechanisms in dogs depend on the gait. All 4 limbs should be evaluated in basic research and clinical studies to determine the effects of lameness on the entire body. Further studies are necessary to elucidate specific mechanisms for unloading of the affected limb and to determine the long-term effects of load changes in animals with chronic lameness.


This Article, exploratory in nature, revisits the feasibility of establishing workable international standards for addressing the dehumanizing violence and discrimination that women suffer by virtue of their gender. It concludes that human rights activists and organizations seeking justice for women must not rely on contemporary international law, but must instead focus on local grassroots and watch group institutions that are intimately aware of the abuses faced by women. Part I examines the nature of abuses against women qua women and looks critically at the United Nations' response to these crises. Part II discusses the deficiencies in public international law, namely the United Nations' Charter and the Women's Convention, and the inherent limitations of the framework of international law in addressing the issue of gender-based discrimination. Part III suggests local and regional solutions, particularly the development of extra-legal strategies and institutions to counter more effectively gender-based abuses and to change public attitudes about gender equity. This Article neither attempts nor claims to solve the problem of international human rights for women. It suggests seeking justice for women in an alternative setting: Human rights for women can be attained more fruitfully through localized structures that both prioritize education, control, and management and seek concrete solutions in the struggle against gender bias.


Sublimation (Evaporation) is widely used in different industrial applications. The important applications are the sublimation (evaporation) of small particles (solid and liquid), e.g., spray drying and fuel droplet evaporation. Since a few decades, sublimation technology has been used widely together with aerosol technology. This combination is aiming to get various products with desired compositions and morphologies. It can be used in the fields of nanoparticles generation, particle coating through physical vapor deposition (PVD) and particle structuring. This doctoral thesis deals with the experimental and theoretical investigations of sublimation (evaporation) kinetics of fine aerosol particles (droplets). The experimental study was conducted in a test plant including on-line control of the most important paramters, such as heating temperature, gas flow and pressure. On-line and in-line particle measurements (Optical sensor, APS) were employed. Relevant parameters in sublimation (evaporation) such as heating temperature, particle concentration and aerosol residence time were investigated. Polydispersed particles (droplets) were introduced into the test plant as precursor aerosols. Two kinds of materials were used as test materials, including inorganic particles of NH4Cl and organic particles of DEHS. NH4Cl particles with smooth surface and porous structure were put into the experiments, respectively. The influence of the particle morphology on the sublimation process was studied. Basing on the experiments, different theoretical models were developed. The simulation results under different parameters were compared with experimental results. The change of concentration of particles was specially discussed. The discussion was focused on the relationship of the total particle concentration and the change of single particles with diverse initial diameters. The study of the sublimation kinetics of particles with different morphologies and different specific surface areas was carried out. The factor of increased surface area on the sublimation process was taken into the simulation and the results were compared with experimental results. A sublimation (evaporation) kinetics was investigated in this thesis. Basing on the property of a material, such as molecular weight, molecular size and vapor pressure, the sublimation (evaporation) kinetics was described. The optimum sublimation (evaporation) conditions with respect to the material properties were advanced. A Phase Transition Effect during the sublimation (evaporation) was found, which describes the increase of the large particles on the cost of small particles. A similar effect is observed in crystal suspension (called Ostwald ripening) but with another physical background. In order to meet the need of in-line particle measurement, a hot gas sensor (O.P.C.) was developed in this study, for measuring the particle size and the size distribution of an aerosol. With the newly developed measuring cell, the operating conditions of the aerosol could be increased up to 500°C.


This dissertation examines the ways in which indigenous peoples and missionaries, specifically Quakers (Society of Friends), contributed to the development of the American empire in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The U.S. civilization plan, in which Friends were central participants, offered agricultural education to American Indian men and, for women, instruction in the "domestic arts" as part of a broader mission complex. Far from being simply a means to "assimilate the Indians," the mission complex was central to U.S. imperial and economic development, and its methods, endurance, and character grew out of a particular historical moment and as the result of a negotiation of Indians' and Euroamericans' goals and motivations. In order to investigate that negotiation, "Cultivating Empire" follows the evolution of diplomacy and agricultural mission work in the Ohio Country as a case study, and it draws upon individuals' journals, family papers, account books and receipts, as well as missionary correspondences, meeting minutes from the Society of Friends, and various papers of federal, state, and territorial governments. Reading Euroamericanproduced sources against the grain in conjunction with sources such as Hendrick Aupaumut's (Mohican) invaluable journals, moreover, offers means to bring indigenous politics to bear on this history, and it offers a top-down and bottom-up glimpse of the making of American empire. Such work reveals that the Society of Friends and its members, and their cooperation with the U.S. federal government, in many ways established the paradigm for the United States' model of "philanthropic" empire beginning in the late eighteenth century. It also demonstrates that the society's work was foundational for the development of the federal government's relationship with non-governmental organizations and imperial policies abroad. Quaker diplomacy and agricultural missions also, however, offered Native peoples a powerful discourse and innovative means to continue to negotiate for power into the twenty-first century. U.S. state officials, Quaker missionaries, Euroamerican immigrants, and indigenous peoples together, then, produced the paradigms of U.S. empire in North America and the world in ways that had lasting consequences. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group History First Advisor Daniel K. Richter


VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) are organic compounds that can easily evaporate at room temperatures. Many VOCs are hazardous to human health and environment. The primary operation of an oil shuttle tanker is the loading and unloading of oil cargo at ports. During this process, a large quantity of lighter components evaporates from the oil. These oil vapours are technically called Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), which are explosive in nature. VOC is also generated when the oil inside the tanks splashes while the ship is at sea. Here we propose the idea where rather than using these VOCs directly, we concentrate the VOC and steam reforms them which produce carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen. These products are then fed into Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) which uses these products to produce electrical energy for the ships. These SOFCs produce electrical energy with zero emissions and produce water and heat as by product which cause zero harm to the environment and reduce the pollution in the environment that the VOC would have caused. The power generated by Solid Oxide Fuel Cells is used for the electrical requirements on the ship which otherwise would have led to emissions which would have harmed the environment. The energy from the SOFC is produced with zero harmful emissions and caters to the requirements of the vessel.


A 100 W, 5.1-channel, single-chip, digital-input class-D audio amplifier with a low-voltage (LV) digital circuit and high-voltage (HV) switching power stage is designed for moderate-performance and cost-effective speaker systems. The LV portion, including multi-channel audio processors, delta-sigma modulators (DSMs), and pulse-width modulation (PWM) generators, is implemented with a standard CMOS digital cell-library. A dual-loop resonator is proposed to increase the stable input range of the DSM so that the low-distortion output power of the class-D amplifier can be increased. For the HV portion, distortion caused by parasitic resistances of the power stage is analyzed to obtain a better design. A multi-phase PWM switching technique is proposed to prevent the multi-channel output stages from simultaneously switching, and thus the supply bouncing can be reduced. An over-current protection circuit with high supply noise immunity is also presented. Fabricated with 0.35/3-μm 3.3/18-V 1P3M CMOS technology, the 5.1-channel amplifier achieves a total root-mean-square (RMS) output power of 100 W, a distortion of less than 0.7%, and a power efficiency of 88% with a total chip area of 48.9 mm2.


Background/Objectives: Early intervention (EI) for psychosis has been shown to reduce healthcare costs. Key aims of many EI services are to maintain people in employment, education or training or to enable recovery in these areas. Clearly there are economic benefits to be attained for individuals themselves from this in terms of increased income, but also to society as a result of increased production. Psychosis can also have devastating effects for the patient and others. Suicide rates are high and these frequently take place early in the illness. Some people with psychosis will commit offences as a result of their illness. Some offences may be common but have a low cost, whilst high cost offences occur less frequently. The objective of this study is to estimate the impact on costs of lost employment, suicide and homicide.

Methods: Decision models were constructed with data obtained from published sources where available. Expected costs for EI and standard care in the above areas were estimated and sensitivity analyses conducted.

Results: EI results in substantially reduced costs of lost employment. This is due to estimated employment rates of 36% and 27% for EI and standard care respectively. Using a minimum wage rate the average savings are £ 2087. The cost of homicide is low for both EI and standard care. However, for EI the annual costs of homicide (£ 6 per person) are £ 80 per person lower than for standard care (£ 86 per person). Suicide is assumed to occur for 1.3% of EI patients and 4% of standard care patients. The estimated annual saving in suicide costs due to EI is £ 957 per person.

Discussion/Conclusions: This paper reinforces findings from earlier work that shows EI to be a potentially cost-saving way of providing care to those in an early stage of psychosis. There is much uncertainty around costs of suicide and homicide, but the data shown here suggest that the contribution they make to total costs is limited. EI has the potential to reduce health care costs and also the costs of lost employment, suicide and homicide.


Politicisation of identity is the operative and most pertinent term for the paper's central argument. The gravity of the people's identity problematic and state's security concerns correlates closely with the extent to which societal identity is politicised. The more politicised these identities become, the more they display a ferocity which makes them a force to be reckoned with. By applying 'Relative Deprivation Theory' embedded alongside an appreciation of societal security, this research offers unique insights into how this process of politicisation takes place. This paper examines how identity, legitimacy and dissent from the existing state order have come to define a new security dynamic that denies agency to a purely Realist understanding of security dilemmas. This study builds upon an array of secondary qualitative sources, both in order to construct the theoretical argument and to back this theory up with historical and social scientific data. By combining the concept of societal security and Relative this research fuses two interrelated theories that allow the paper to make an innovative and original contribution to understanding the complexity of the internal security dilemmas and the process of political identity.


'This is a very personal book, about being alone and lost'. In 1975 Kapuscinski's employers sent him to Angola to cover the civil war that had broken out after independence. For months he watched as Luanda and then the rest of the country collapsed into a civil war that was in the author's words 'sloppy, dogged and cruel'. In his account, Kapuscinski demonstrates an extraordinary capacity to describe and to explain the individual meaning of grand political abstractions.


The use of land consolidation on customary lands has been limited, though land fragmentation persists. Land fragmentation on customary lands has two main causes—the nature of the customary land tenure system, and the somewhat linked agricultural system. Since attempts to increase food productivity on customary lands have involved fertilisation and mechanisation on the small and scattered farmlands, these approaches have fallen short of increasing food productivity. A study to develop a responsible approach to land consolidation on customary lands using a design research approach is undertaken and reported here. Based on a comparative study, it is found that three factors inhibit the development of a responsible land consolidation approach on customary lands—the coverage of a land administration system, a land valuation approach, and a land reallocation approach the fits the customary land tenure system. To fill these gaps, firstly, this study developed the participatory land administration that brought together traditional land administration approaches with emerging bottom-up approaches, as well as technological advances that drive these approaches together with the growing societal needs. Secondly, a valuation approach was developed to enable the comparison of the farmlands in rural areas that are without land markets. Finally, a land reallocation approach was developed based on the political, economic and social, as well as technical and legal characteristics of rural customary farmlands. This study concludes that though the land consolidation strategy developed is significantly able to reduce land fragmentation, both physical and land tenure, the local customs are an obstruction to the technical processes to achieve the best form of farmland structures.


ABSTRACT To examine what kinds of parent–child interactions are elicited by different literacy-related activities, an exploratory study was conducted with 19 mother–child dyads. Although prompting boards are widely incorporated in pre- and primary school curricula, and in various family literacy programmes, scientific knowledge supporting their use is lacking. Within the context of the Dutch family literacy programme 'Early Education at Home' [Dutch Youth Institute. (2012). Early education at home. http://www.nji.nl/nl/Producten-en-diensten/Methodieken-en-instrumenten/VVE-Thuis-(3-6-jaar)], we compared levels of abstraction in parent–child interactions during prompting boards to an activity that has been researched extensively: shared reading. Our results show that children's contributions to the interactions are significantly larger during prompting board activities than during shared reading. Utterances of a higher level of abstraction were generally more prevalent during shared reading. However, we also found that mother's inference making utterances – the highest level of abstraction – were more characteristic of prompting board discussions. Implications for research and practice are discussed.


Potential neighbors often express worries that Housing Choice Voucher holders heighten crime. Yet, no research systematically examines the link between the presence of voucher holders in a neighborhood and crime. Our article aims to do just this, using longitudinal, neighborhood-level crime, and voucher utilization data in 10 large US cities. We test whether the presence of additional voucher holders leads to elevated crime, controlling for neighborhood fixed effects, time-varying neighborhood characteristics, and trends in the broader sub-city area in which the neighborhood is located. In brief, crime tends to be higher in census tracts with more voucher households, but that positive relationship becomes insignificant after we control for unobserved differences across census tracts and falls further when we control for trends in the broader area. We find far more evidence for an alternative causal story; voucher use in a neighborhood tends to increase in tracts that have seen increases in crime, suggesting that voucher holders tend to move into neighborhoods where crime is elevated.


The image of the shinkansen - or "bullet train" - passing Mount Fuji is one of the most renowned images of modern Japan. Yet, despite its international reputation for speed and punctuality, little is understood about what makes it work so well and what its impact is. This book provides a comprehensive account of the history of the shinkansen, from its planning during the Pacific War, to its launch in 1964 and subsequent development. It goes on to analyze the reasons behind the bullet train's success, and demonstrates how it went from being simply a high-speed rail network to attaining the status of iconic national symbol. It considers the shinkansen's relationship with national and regional politics and economic development, its financial viability, the environmental challenges it must cope with, and the ways in which it reflects and influences important aspects of Japanese society. It concludes by considering whether the bullet train can be successful in other countries developing high-speed railways.Overall, this book provides a thorough examination of the phenomenon of the shinkansen, and its relationship with Japanese society.


With an increasing number of the visually impaired elderly population libraries need to adjust their services to this audience which is often under the risk of becoming library non-users. The aim of this paper is to determine the profile and reasons for non-use of library services by the visually impaired elderly basing on the case study of the Lithuanian Library for the Blind (LLB). Findings of the structured interview survey have shown that most non-users don't use libraries due to low motivation, health and mobility issues. They have few purposes for information use, get it incidentally, and apply the sim-plest and easy-to-reach assistive technology. The findings can be used in libraries to develop targeted services for this population.


The aim of this study was to examine the effect of cooperative learning method on student's academic achievement and on the achievement level over a usual method in teaching different topics of mathematics. The study also examines the perceptions of students towards cooperative learning. Cooperative learning is the instructional strategy in which pairs or small groups of students with different levels of ability work together to accomplish a shared goal. The aim of this cooperation is for students to maximize their own and each other learning, with members striving for joint benefit. The teacher's role changes from wise on the wise to guide on the side. Cooperative learning due to its influential aspects is the most prevalent teaching-learning technique in the modern world. Therefore the study was conducted in order to examine the effect of cooperative learning on the academic achievement of grade 9 students in Mathematics in case of Mettu secondary school. Two sample sections are randomly selected by which one section served randomly as an experimental and the other as a comparison group. Data gathering instruments are achievement tests and questionnaires. A treatment of STAD method of cooperative learning was provided to the experimental group while the usual method is used in the comparison group. The experiment lasted for one semester. To determine the effect of cooperative learning on the student's academic achievement, the significance of difference between the scores of groups at 0.05 levels was tested by applying t test. The effect size was calculated to see the strength of the treatment. The student's perceptions about the method were tested by percentiles of the questionnaires. During data analysis, each group was divided into high and low achievers on basis of their previous Mathematics result. Data analysis revealed that both the experimental and comparison groups were almost equal in Mathematics at the beginning of the experiment. The experimental group out scored significantly than comparison group on posttest. Additionally, the comparison of mean posttest scores of high achievers indicates significant difference between the two groups. The same is true for low achiever students of both groups on posttest. Hence, the result of the study indicates the effectiveness of the method for Mathematics topics as compared to usual method of teaching. Keywords—Cooperative learning, academic achievement, experimental group, comparison group.


Ninety years from now, a satellite detects a nearby black hole scientists dub Kali for the Hindu goddess of destruction. Humanity embarks on a generations-long project to tap the energy of the black hole, and found colonies on planets across the solar system. Earth and Mars and the moons Europa (Jupiter) and Titan (Uranus) develop radically different societies, with only Kali, that swirling vortex of destruction and creation, and the hated but crucial Artificial Accretion Disk Development association (AADD) in common.


Single wavelength anomalous dispersion (SAD) utilizing anomalous signal from native sulfurs, or other atoms with Z≤20, generally requires highly redundant data collected with relatively long wavelength X-rays. Here we present experiences with two proteins, where anomalous signal from serendipitously acquired surface bound calcium atoms with data redundancy as low as 10 was utilized to drive de novo structure determination. In both the cases, the calcium atoms were acquired from the crystallization solution, and data collection strategy was not optimized for exploiting the anomalous signal from these scatterers. The X-ray data were collected at 0.98Å in one case and at 1.74Å in the other (wavelength optimized for sulfur but anomalous signal from Ca was exploited for structure solution). Similarly, using a test case, we show that the data collected at ~1.0Å wavelength, where the f" value for sulfur is 0.28e, is sufficient for structure determination using intrinsic sulfur atoms from a strongly diffracting crystal. Interestingly, it was also observed that SHELXD was capable of generating a substructure solution from high-exposure data with a completeness of 70% for low-resolution reflections extending to 3.5Å, with relatively low redundancy (i.e., 6.0 fold). Considering the fact that many crystallization conditions contain anomalous scatterers such as Cl, Ca, Mn etc., it appears that the data from well diffracting crystals should be processed, with anomalous pairs kept separate, so as to detect any fortuitous signal that might be present, which could prove useful in either solving the structure de novo or in accurately assigning surface bound atoms.


Fluid codes simulating the dynamics of magnetized plasmas with field lines terminating on the device vessel require boundary conditions that are consistent with the plasma-wall transition region. When the magnetic field strikes the wall at an oblique angle, this transition region corresponds to the magnetic presheath entrance (MPE). A complete analytical set of boundary conditions at the MPE is provided here for the density, temperature, potential, vorticity, and parallel ion and electron velocities, that is fully consistent with kinetic simulations of the plasma-wall transition. These boundary conditions are implemented in a 3D global fluid code simulating the tokamak SOL turbulence in a limiter configuration. This allows investigating for the first time the effect of the sheath on the tokamak SOL dynamics, in particular on the steady state profiles, plasma circulation, and blob propagation, and the effect of ExB on the intrinsic plasma rotation.