Background The use of DC Bead particles loaded with doxorubicin (DCBP-D) in hepatic chemoembolisation (HC), is presented as a first line option for non-curative treatment of multifocal hepatocellular carcinoma (MHC) in an intermediate-advanced state in patients with unresectable tumours without vascular or extra-hepatic dissemination. Purpose ▶ To describe the use of DCBP-D administered by HC in the treatment of non-resectable MHC, making sure that this use is compatible with scientific evidence. ▶ To describe risk factors associated with MHC and the toxicity profile derived from treatment. ▶ To calculate the expense of one cycle of HC. Materials and methods Descriptive and retrospective study which took six months (January-June 2011) of patients treated by HC with DCBP-D for their MHC. The results of tests were taken from patients' medical histories. The doxorubicin dose and the size of the particles were taken from the database of the centralised unit where cytostatics are made within the pharmacy department. Results 12 patients (10 men) with an age average of 64 (44-81) (median=63) were included in the study. All patients were diagnosed with non-resectable MHC. 5 patients, (41.6%) got MHC as the result of alcoholic cirrhosis. In another 4 patients (33.3%) the MHC was produced secondarily after infection by VHC. 1 patient got the MHC directly from VHB infection, (8.3%). 2 patients (16.6%) were considered to have mixed MHC (viral- alcoholic). In 66.6% (8 patients) the treatment was started while they were awaiting a liver transplant, while in the other 4 cases it was used as palliative treatment. Patients were divided according to the Child-Pugh classification: 5 patients (41.6%) in group A, and 5 in group B (41.6%). It was impossible to determine the state of 2 patvients. According to the Okuda classification: 4 patients were in stage I (33.3%), 3 patients were in stage II (25%) and 1 patient in stage III (8.3%). In 4 patients, the classification could not be determined. As to the doses received: In 8 patients (66. 6%), maximum doses of 150 mg of doxorubicin were employed in particles of 100-300 µm and 300-500 µm. (Cost per cycle: 1266 €). In 4 patients (33.3%) 75 mg of doxorubicin was given in particles 100-300 µm. (Cost per cycle: 633.19€). The total number of HC was 13. In 25% of the cases, postembolisation syndrome appeared after the chemotherapy, but it was solved without complications. Conclusions The use of DCBP-D was adjusted to the right indication in all cases. The main risk factor associated with CHC was alcoholic cirrhosis. On the whole HC was well tolerated. Mild postembolisation syndrome was the only complication arising from treatment. The average cost of this treatment was 14559.57€.


Increased anthropogenic deposition of nitrogen (N) and land-use changes associated with planted forests have important implications for sustainable forest management and associated water quality. The purpose of the research for this dissertation was to explore how N deposition will affect the long-term health, productivity, and carbon (C) and N sequestration of conifer and hardwood forest types by examining the mechanisms controlling N cycling and NO3-N production in two watersheds with contrasting vegetation at the Fernow Experimental Forest (FEF), West Virginia. I utilized watershed C and N budgets to account for differences in stream export of NO3-N from streams draining adjacent watersheds containing (i) planted Norway spruce (Picea abies) and (ii) native Appalachian hardwoods. I also investigated spatial and temporal patterns of dissolved C and N across both watersheds and identified key soil properties associated with NO3-N in soil solution and streamwater. In a third study, I performed a soil inoculation and incubation experiment, which utilized soil from both watersheds, mixed in ratios in order to create a gradient of soil chemical and biotic characteristics. Important differences in biogeochemical cycling of C and N were documented in the watersheds after nearly 40 years of influence by contrasting vegetation. Total C and N pools were 28% and 35% lower in the spruce watershed than the hardwood watershed, respectively. Results also identify vegetation-mediated differences in soil characteristics, with lower soil pH and base cations, and higher extractable aluminum and C:N ratios measured in the spruce soil as compared to the native hardwood soil. Establishment of a spruce monoculture at the FEF significantly altered N cycling, depleted N stores, increased soil acidity, and altered organic matter dynamics, thus leading to low net nitrification rates. Carbon and N properties and processes in the soil profile should be taken into consideration in forests managed for ecosystem services including C sequestration and improvement or maintenance of water quality through alleviation of N inputs into aquatic ecosystems.


This paper presents work on a scholarly hypertext edition of Wordsworth's and Coleridge's Lyrical Ballads. Initially, we plan to digitize the four lifetime editions (1798, 1800, 1802, 1805) by compiling transcripts based on original printed volumes, marking these up with SGML in conformity with the TEl guidelines, and collating them with special software to discover variants and generate an apparatus criticus. Each poem would then become the focus of its own hypertext web, showing all four versions together for the sake of immediate visual comparison. Every page of the digital transcription will be linked to digital images of the printed text, so that features like font, margins, and layout of stanzas on a page will be accessible. Our purpose is to show the development of the poems in the Lyrical Ballads collection, and in the case of the poems by Wordsworth to show how these evolved towards their 'final authorized' form. Cambridge University Press has undertaken to publish this electronic edition on CD-ROM in 1998, to commemorate the bicentenary of the first edition. Wordsworth was chosen for this project because his restless habit of revision produced so many versions of each poem that trying to represent them in print stretches that medium to its limits. New media functionalities of electronic text, digital images, and hypertext may offer the capacity to fully exhibit this poet's diversity. To know Wordsworth is to know not one but many selves, expressed in a succession of texts that mark the different stages of his personal development. Which to choose has always been the editor's dilemma; establishing a text has always meant that we must privilege one version over others, and settle for a static representation of what might be better understood as a dynamic process. By digitizing Wordsworth, we hope to show that the electronic medium is best adapted to capture this protean romantic self by displaying the multiple versions of each work.


This study investigates the function of dreams and visions in the Shembe church at Inanda. It looks at who Isia Shembe (the church founder) and his lineage are to Shembeites, the nature of the relationship between Shembe and the amadlozi (ancestors) and what roles they play in Shembeite life. The data was collected using qualitative methodology in-depth interviews that were transcribed and where necessary, translated. The study is best understood within a structural-functionalism framework, which accounts for the social and cultural aspects of the religion. The study concludes that Isia Shembe and his lineage are generally thought of as prophets through whom God works. Shembe and the amadlozi often work as a unit and perform the roles of converter, purveyors of good fortune and guides or directors. In addition, Shembe solely performs the roles of cultural leader and mediator between Shembeites and the amadlozi and between Shembeites and God. Dreams and visions function to guide Shembeites, as communication with the spiritual realm, as a method of conversion and as re-affirmations of faith.


The assessment and validation of the quality of satellite scatterometer vector winds is challenging under increased subcell wind variability conditions, since reference wind sources such as buoy winds or model output represent very different spatial scales from those resolved by scatterometers (i.e., increased representativeness error). In this paper, moored buoy wind time series are used to assess the correlation between subcell wind variability and several Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT)-derived parameters, such as the wind-inversion residual, the backscatter measurement variability factor, and the singularity exponents derived from an image processing technique, called singularity analysis. It is proven that all three ASCAT parameters are sensitive to the subcell wind variability and complementary in flagging the most variable winds, which is useful for further application. A triple collocation (TC) analysis of ASCAT, buoy, and the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) model output is then performed to assess the quality of each wind data source under different variability conditions. A novel approach is used to compute the representativeness errors, a key ingredient for the TC analysis. The experimental results show that the estimated errors of each wind source increase as the subcell wind variability increases. When temporally averaged buoy winds are used instead of 10 min buoy winds, the TC analysis results in smaller buoy wind errors (notably at increased wind variability conditions) while ASCAT and ECMWF errors do not significantly change, further validating the proposed TC approach. It is concluded that at 25 km resolution, ASCAT provides the best quality winds in general.


Three predictions arising from the proposal that infant-carrying serves as a form of courtship in callitrichid primates were tested, using data from captive common marmosets,Callithrix jacchusand cotton-top tamarins,Saguinus oedipus. The first prediction, that males would be more likely to successfully copulate while carrying infants than while not carrying infants, was not supported in either species. In common marmosets, males were less likely to copulate while carrying infants. This relation may reflect the lower activity levels and increased vigilance required by those individuals transporting infants. The second prediction, that the overall percentage of time that males spent carrying infants would be related to overall frequency of copulations during fertile periods, was also not supported for either species. The third prediction was that, if females selected mates relative to their infant-care 'performance', males should be more solicitous of the breeding female's efforts to relinquish the infant to another carrier than to the efforts of other group members. If so, then males should retrieve harassed infants from mothers more frequently than from other group members; this prediction was not supported. The results of this study offer no support for the contention that infant care serves as a form of courtship in callitrichid primates.


NASA Dryden Flight Research Center s new Propulsion Flight Test Fixture (PFTF), designed in house, is an airborne engine-testing facility that enables engineers to gather flight data on small experimental engines. Without the PFTF, it would be necessary to obtain such data from traditional wind tunnels, ground test stands, or laboratory test rigs. Traditionally, flight testing is reserved for the last phase of engine development. Generally, engines that embody new propulsion concepts are not put into flight environments until their designs are mature: in such cases, either vehicles are designed around the engines or else the engines are mounted in or on missiles. However, a captive carry capability of the PFTF makes it possible to test engines that feature air-breathing designs (for example, designs based on the rocket-based combined cycle) economically in subscale experiments. The discovery of unknowns made evident through flight tests provides valuable information to engine designers early in development, before key design decisions are made, thereby potentially affording large benefits in the long term. This is especially true in the transonic region of flight (from mach 0.9 to around 1.2), where it can be difficult to obtain data from wind tunnels and computational fluid dynamics. In January 2002, flight-envelope expansion to verify the design and capabilities of the PFTF was completed. The PFTF was flown on a specially equipped supersonic F-15B research testbed airplane, mounted on the airplane at a center-line attachment fixture, as shown in Figure 1. NASA s F-15B testbed has been used for several years as a flight-research platform. Equipped with extensive research air-data, video, and other instrumentation systems, the airplane carries externally mounted test articles. Traditionally, the majority of test articles flown have been mounted at the centerline tank-attachment fixture, which is a hard-point (essentially, a standardized weapon-mounting fixture). This hard-point has large weight margins, and, because it is located near the center of gravity of the airplane, the weight of equipment mounted there exerts a minimal effect on the stability and controllability of the airplane. The PFTF (see Figure 2) includes a one-piece aluminum structure that contains space for instrumentation, propellant tanks, and feed-system components. The PFTF also houses a force balance, on which is mounted the subscale engine or other experimental apparatus that is to be the subject of a flight test. The force balance measures a combination of inertial and aerodynamic forces and moments acting on the experimental apparatus.


People often make, and are held to account for, purely tacit commitments in interactions with other people: commitments which have never been explicitly articulated or agreed. Moreover, unspoken, tacit commitments are often perceived as binding: people often stick to, and are expected to stick to, these commitments, even where it might seem against their interests to do so. These commitments have been widely seen as crucial underpinning for human collaboration and cooperation. Yet how do such commitments arise, and are they compatible with human rationality? This paper provides a formal, reasoning-based account of tacit commitments based on "virtual bargaining"—a mode of reasoning that joins elements of individualistic and collaborative reasoning. We complement existing accounts by showing that even purely self-interested individuals can, under certain conditions, tacitly commit to punishing counterparts who violate an unenforceable agreement, or to cooperating in the Centipede game and the finitely repeated Prisoner's Dilemma game.


So far, little research has addressed reuse and context awareness with respect to rich web-based user interfaces. Uniform models for encapsulation and reuse have been developed for the applications' back ends in the form of Web Services, but this paradigm has not yet been applied to the presentation layer. Thus, UIs are usually hand-crafted and lack flexibility and reuse, which makes their development time- and money-consuming. We address these issues with a system facilitating dynamic, service-oriented composition of user interfaces for modern web applications. UI parts are provided "as-a-service" and can thus be selected, customized and exchanged with respect to the current context.


This study was conducted to evaluate the potentiality of Trichoderma species as a bio-conversion agent for composting of solid organic waste and examine the effects of produced composts on the growth of two types of vegetables. The experiments were conducted both in vitro and in vivo processes. In vitro conversion of solid organic waste, the highest height and weight losses were found 42.64 and 31.45%, respectively using Trichoderma harzianum (IES-103) after 30 days of composting. In vivo conversion of solid organic waste for the same strain under aerobic condition, the highest height and weight losses were 33.22 and 61.25%, respectively. In the field application, the highest plant height of Amaranthus lividus (Amaranth Red Leaf) and Basella alba (Malabar spinach) were found 74 and 136 cm after 33 and 45 days, respectively of composting obtained using the strain of Trichoderma harzianum (IES-103). In this study, the results showed that Trichoderma harzianum (IES-103) was the most effective strain on the basis of height and weight loss (%) for the degradation of solid organic waste. It also illustrates that the compost obtained from the fungi Trichoderma harzianum could be used as an effective soil amendment and nutrient source (fertiliser) to improve growth and yields of vegetables.


Andy Fanshawe begins and ends this book on a winter climb in the Alps. Between come two contrasting and successful expeditions, to Chogolisa and to Menlungtse. In the summer of 1986 and newly appointed National Officer of the British Mountaineering Council, he led a five-man team on the first traverse of the twin summits of Chogolisa and Bride Peak, at 7654 metres one of the most elegant of the summits rising above the Baltoro Glacier on the route to K2. He describes the world of the Karakoram and revels in the challenge of new climbing as well as in the mountaineering history that is all around them. It is the summer of disaster on K2. But for them the weather is kind and they reach their summit on its razor-edge ridge. The traverse is accomplished. Tragedy only strikes later, in a mirror image of the death of Hermann Buhl, when the three Scottish members of the team go on to attempt Broad peak. Coming to terms with the death of a friend in the mountains is something Andy Fanshawe has to attempt again for himself before his next expedition, this time to Menlungtse, a hard unclimbed peak of 7180 metres just over the Tibetan border in the Rolwaling Himalaya. In the expedition organized by Chris Bonington the climbing would be serious, but the media are mainly interested in the incidental yeti-hunting. With Alan Hinkes, Andy Fanshawe reaches the 7023-metre summit of Menlungtse West. Reaching summits and knowing when to give up on them, leads to some closing reflections as he retreats from Makalu, but he ends his climbing odyssey with a successful winter ascent of the North Face of the Eiger.


A central feature of public Muslim discourse over the past three decades has been the call to restore the Shari'a in one form or another. Some reformers have proposed a new theoretical underpinning for this restoration, arguing for the adoption of foundational concepts that bear little, if any, resemblance to  their pre-modern counterparts. A central question that ineluctably emerges in this aporia is: What narrative must be adopted as the representation of the historical Shari'a, the Shari'a that prevailed until the early portion of the nineteenth century? If the colonial narrative is ipso facto programmatic and teleological, and if it served and still serves the purposes of all but those of the subaltern majority, then what other narrative must be adopted in the project of creating the new symbiosis? And if the jural voices of the subaltern are to come in for serious consideration, then how are we to represent them, if we can at all? And if we cannot, then into what espistemic predicament, if not a perennial aporia, does this throw both the privileged scholar and the reformer/intellectual? This article does not provide answers to these questions but rather addresses the problematics that these and related questions raise in dealing with the challenge of introducing into the modern Muslim condition one form of Islamic law or another.


Millions of public Twitter streams harbor a wealth of data, and once you mine them, you can gain some valuable insights. This short and concise book offers a collection of recipes to help you extract nuggets of Twitter information using easy-to-learn Python tools. Each recipe offers a discussion of how and why the solution works, so you can quickly adapt it to fit your particular needs. The recipes include techniques to: * Use OAuth to access Twitter data * Create and analyze graphs of retweet relationships * Use the streaming API to harvest tweets in realtime * Harvest and analyze friends and followers * Discover friendship cliques * Summarize webpages from short URLs This book is a perfect companion to O'Reilly's Mining the Social Web.


Arguably, the emerging discipline of legal linguistics forms a vital aspect of legal education. If so, then how to ensure integration of legal linguistics in the academic curriculum? Here, two preliminary questions arise. Firstly, what ground, what skills, does the discipline of legal linguistics embrace? This covers the initial question of the designation of legal linguistics internationally and in relation to other fields, as well as its scope, methodology, applications and development. Secondly, what might be the appropriate format, and at what levels, for incorporating legal linguistics into the academic curriculum? This paper draws on the literature and on a focus group survey in order to suggest answers to these questions. While analysis of the answers affirms the need, ultimately whether legal linguistics can survive and thrive in the curriculum may depend on obtaining wider recognition, patronage and support. In turn, this might involve amalgamating legal linguistics with comparative law, under the designation of comparative legal linguistics.


This study investigated the connection between language (i.e., word comprehension, reading comprehension and spelling skills) and mathematical performance. The sample consisted of grade nine students (N = 810) in 14 lower secondary schools in the Swedish speaking areas of Finland. Standardized tests for reading and writing skills, and mathematical performance were used. Based on the mathematics test the students were categorized into eight performance groups. Many students had problems in both mathematics and language performance. On the whole data level reading skills were a powerful predictor for math performance, the reading factor explained 52% of the variance in the model. Hence, the reading skills focusing on understanding of the text are important in solving mathematical tasks at the end of compulsory school.


Background: Harmful substances in solid fuel and tobacco smoke are believed to enter the bloodstream via inhalation and to be metabolized in the liver, leading to chronic liver damage. However, little is known about the independent and joint effects of solid fuel use and smoking on risks of chronic liver disease (CLD) mortality. Methods: During 2004–08, ~ 0.5 million adults aged 30–79 years were recruited from 10 areas across China. During a 10-year median follow-up, 2461 CLD deaths were recorded. Multivariable Cox regression yielded adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the individual associations of self-reported long-term cooking fuel and tobacco use with major CLD death. Results: Overall, 49% reported solid fuel use and 26% smoked regularly. Long-term solid fuel use for cooking and current smoking were associated with higher risks of CLD deaths, with adjusted HRs of 1.26 (95% CI, 1.02–1.56) and 1.28 (1.13–1.44), respectively. Compared with never-smoking clean fuel users, the HRs were 1.41 (1.10–1.82) in never-smoking solid fuel users, 1.55 (1.17–2.06) in regular-smoking clean fuel users and 1.71 (1.32–2.20) in regular-smoking solid fuels users. Individuals who had switched from solid to clean fuels (1.07, 0.90–1.29; for median 14 years) and ex-regular smokers who stopped for non-medical reasons (1.16, 0.95–1.43; for median 10 years) had no evidence of excess risk of CLD deaths compared with clean fuel users and never-regular smokers, respectively. Conclusions: Among Chinese adults, long-term solid fuel use for cooking and smoking were each independently associated with higher risks of CLD deaths. Individuals who had stopped using solid fuels or smoking had lower risks.


Background One of the greatest barriers to safe surgery is the availability of functional biomedical equipment. Biomedical technicians play a major role in ensuring that equipment is functional. Following in-field observations and an online survey, a mobile application was developed to aid technicians in troubleshooting biomedical equipment. It was hypothesized that this application could be used to aid technicians in equipment repair, as modeled by repair of a pulse oximeter. Methods To identify specific barriers to equipment repair and maintenance for biomedical technicians, an online survey was conducted to determine current practices and challenges. These findings were used to guide the development of a mobile application system that guides technicians through maintenance and repair tasks. A convenience sample of technicians in Ethiopia tested the application using a broken pulse oximeter task and following this completed usability and content validity surveys. Results Fifty-three technicians from 13 countries responded to the initial survey. The results of the survey showed that technicians find equipment manuals most useful, but these are not easily accessible. Many do not know how to or are uncomfortable reaching out to human resources. Thirty-three technicians completed the broken pulse oximeter task using the application. All were able to appropriately identify and repair the equipment, and post-task surveys of usability and content validity demonstrated highly positive scores (Agree to Strongly Agree) on both scales. Discussion This research demonstrates the need for improved access to resources for technicians and shows that a mobile application can be used to address a gap in the access to knowledge and resources in low- and middle-income countries. Further research will include prospective studies to determine the impact of an application on the availability of functional equipment in a hospital and the effect on the provision and safety of surgical care.


This paper analyses whether tertiary education of different types, i.e., academic or vocational tertiary education, leads to more or less favourable labour market outcomes. We study the problem for Switzerland, where more than two thirds of the workforce gain vocational secondary degrees and a substantial number go on to a vocational tertiary degree but only a small share gain an academic tertiary degree. As outcome variables, we examine the risk of being unemployed, monthly earnings, and variation in earnings (reflecting financial risk). We study these outcomes at career entry and later stages. Our empirical results reveal that the type of tertiary education has various effects on these outcomes. At career entry, we observe equal unemployment risk but higher average wages and lower financial risk for vocational graduates. At later career stages, we find that these higher average wages disappear and risk of unemployment becomes lower for vocational graduates. Thus, by differentiating the tertiary system into vocational and academic institutions graduates face a variety of valuable options allowing them to self-select into an educational type that best matches their individual preferences.


No state has felt the impact of the new immigration more than California, and no institution more than its public schools. A third of the nation's immigrants are concentrated in California; and over a third of California's K-12 public school children speak a language other than English at home. These new Californians are extraordinarily diverse; they hail largely from Asia and Latin America, and include among them at once the most educated and the least educated ethnic groups in the U.S. today. Their children are growing up in a context where economic restructuring, a prolonged recession, and accompanying fiscal woes have exacerbated a deep public discontent particularly aimed at immigrants. Yet for all of the political controversy surrounding the public education of immigrant children - and even though they will become a crucial component of the larger economy and society in the years to come - very little is in fact known about their educational progress and adaptation patterns to date. The import of the course of the adaptation of this new second generation goes far beyond its immediate impacts on school systems, state budgets, and fiscal policies. It will ultimately be the measure by which the long-term national consequences of the present wave of immigration are gauged. This chapter aims to contribute to the development of that knowledge base and to review current research findings about immigrant students in California public schools. It is organized in five parts. First, census data on the size, national origins, and socioeconomic characteristics of the foreign-born population are presented to document the current diversity and its concentration in California. This is followed by a profile of both LEP (Limited English Proficient) and FEP (Fluent English Proficient) language-minority students enrolled statewide in K-12 public schools in California. Next I report results from two new comparative research studies of the educational performance of children of immigrants in San Diego schools (including dropout rates, GPAs, achievement test scores, and educational aspirations), focusing on the largest groups: Mexicans, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Laotians, Cambodians, and East Asian-origin groups. Finally, the findings of four case studies of the adaptation of immigrant high school students in different parts of California are discussed, focusing on Southeast Asians, Punjabi Sikhs from India, Mexicans, and Central Americans.


Context: Serious hemorrhagic complications can result from arterial trauma associated with perforation of the lingual cortical plate or injury to the terminal branches of the sublingual and submental arteries that pierce the lingual cortex of the mandible in the anterior region. Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of lingual foramina (LF) in the anterior mandible by cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and to determine the presence and number of foramina, lingual foramina canal length (LFC), distance from the base of the mandible to the entrance of the LFC, distance from the base of the mandible to the end of the LFC, distance from the end of the LFC to the buccal cortical plate, and diameter of the LFC, and to attempt to find a relation between the data obtained to age, sex, and dental condition. Settings and Design: This study design involves a retrospective cross-sectional study. Methods: A total of 303 CBCT images were evaluated of the anterior mandible with software and recorded the measurements into a spreadsheet, which was converted into graphs and tables. The CBCTs were assessed based on sex, age, and dental condition. Statistical Analysis Used: Fisher's exact test and Student's t-test. Results: We found a prevalence rate of 99.3%. The foramina were evident in 102 (99.0%) men and 199 (99.5%) women. The most prevalent number of canals was two (47.5%). The superior canal presented as greater length (7.25 ± 2.04 mm) and diameter (0.95 ± 0.58 mm). Conclusion: The prevalence of LF is high, and their presence is not related to sex, age, or dental condition.


We compared the ocular hypotensive effects of four fixed-dose metipranolol-pilocarpine combinations in nineteen ocular hypertensive subjects and glaucoma patients. Each patient was tested with all of the study medications: vehicle alone, 0.1% metipranolol HCl + 2% pilocarpine HCl, 0.1% metipranolol HCl + 4% pilocarpine HCl, 0.3% metipranolol HCl + 2% pilocarpine HCl, and 0.3% metipranolol HCl + 4% pilocarpine HCl, in a single dose, randomized, double-masked, cross-over placebo-controlled trial. In addition, another eight age and baseline intraocular pressure (IOP)-matched subjects received 0.1% or 0.3% metipranolol HCl, while a similar group of 14 volunteers received 2% or 4% pilocarpine HCl. A two week washout period was instituted between the various groups of treatments. All four metipranolol-pilocarpine combinations were more effective than placebo or either medication alone in reducing the average IOP for up to 8 hours (p < 0.05 for each treatment group). Metipranolol HCl 0.3%, regardless of the pilocarpine concentration, demonstrated the most significant IOP lowering effect, reducing the IOP by 4.9 mm Hg or about 20% from baseline. However, 0.1% metipranolol HCl in combination with 4% pilocarpine HCl was found almost as effective with a 18.5% reduction in IOP from baseline, but a shorter duration of action. In conclusion, all metipranolol-pilocarpine combinations were more efficacious than either medication alone in a single-dose trial. Additional multiple-dose studies are needed to determine the long-term effectiveness and tolerance of combining 0.3% metipranolol HCl with either 2% or 4% pilocarpine HCl.


The security risks and threats that impact wired and wireless networks are now applicable to mobile telecommunication networks. Threat detection systems should be more intelligent because threats are becoming more dangerous. An intrusion detection system (IDS) is a potential network security solution for protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of user data and information resources. A fast and effective IDS for mobile networks that does not violate the user's privacy or the network's QoS is required. This paper offers a set of flow-based features that can be utilized for mobile network traffic as a prerequisite for a privacy-aware and QoS-robust IDS. The principal component analysis (PCA) method was used for reduction of the features. Twelve features in six groups, which represent the user data in mobile traffic, were extracted and evaluated for IDSs. The evaluation process achieved a F-measure weighted average equal to 0.834, and the experimental time was equal to 12.9 seconds. The accomplished measurements have demonstrated the applicability of the proposed set of features.


The EU trade policy is increasingly confronted with demands for more transparency. This article aims to investigate how transparency takes shape in EU trade policy. First, we operationalize the concept of transparency along two dimensions: a process dimension and an actor dimension. We then apply this framework to analysis of EU Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). After analyzing transparency in relation to FTAs from the perspective of the institutional actors (Commission, Council and Parliament), the different instruments and policies that grant the public actors (civil society and citizens) access to information and documents about EU FTAs are explored by discussing Regulation 1049/2001, which provides for public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, and the role of the European Ombudsman. The article is based on an analysis of official documents, assessments in the academic literature and case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The ultimate aim is to assess current initiatives and identify relevant gaps in the EU's transparency policies. This article argues that the EU has made significant progress in fostering transparency in the negotiation phase of FTAs, but less in the implementation phase.


The ratio of business investment to GDP at constant prices has been trending upwards over the past two decades, picking up sharply in the second half of the 1990s. This article investigates possible explanations. We argue that the rise largely reflects a sustained fall in the relative price of investment goods, given that there is little discernible trend in the current-price ratio. This is consistent with a significant role for rapid technological progress in the investment goods sector and, given the importance of imported investment goods, for exchange rate developments in explaining trends in UK firms' investment behavior. But other factors, such as falls in the cost of finance and increases in replacement investment, may also have been important. This view is supported by an illustrative model-based analysis.


Abstract Postural instability (PI) is one of the most debilitating motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD), as it is associated with an increased risk of falls and subsequent medical complications (e.g. fractures), fear of falling, decreased mobility, self-restricted physical activity, social isolation, and decreased quality of life. The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying PI in PD remain elusive. This short review provides a critical summary of the literature on PI in PD, covering the clinical features, the neural and cognitive substrates, and the effects of dopaminergic medications and deep brain stimulation. The delayed effect of dopaminergic medication combined with the success of extrastriatal deep brain stimulation suggests that PI involves neurotransmitter systems other than dopamine and brain regions extending beyond the basal ganglia, further challenging the traditional view of PD as a predominantly single-system neurodegenerative disease.


Precipitated oxalates are often nanostructured and can be used as precursors for nanostructured oxides for different applications. The modification of the particle shape and nanostructures of both copper and cobalt oxalates has been demonstrated using polymeric additives or complexing counter-ions. In the case of cobalt oxalate the characteristic elongated rod particle shape (axial ratio of 10) can be modified by using polymethymethacrylate (PMMA) to produce particles with lower axial ratios of 2, through cubes all the way to platelets (axial ratio 0.2). The PMMA inhibits the growth of the particles along the [101] direction more and more strongly as the concentration of the polymer increases. The crystallite size from XRD line broadening is not modified by the PMMA indicating that the PMMA does not influence the nucleation and growth but modifies the aggregation kinetics. Copper oxalates precipitated in the presence of different cellulose derived polymers with different molecular weights and functional groups (methyl and propyl) showed sensitivity to both molecular weight and functional group. Higher molecular weights did not influence the copper oxalate particle shape, whereas methyl cellulose gave elongated particles and propyl celluloses gave platelet like particles. Copper oxalate precipitated in the presence of acetate counter ions gave platelets with an axial ratio of 0.15 compared to the cushion-like morphology (axial ratio 0.5). The primary crystallites were more elongated along the [001] direction in the presence of acetate, modifying the proportion of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces and hence influencing the aggregation kinetics and particle shape. The copper and cobalt oxalate particle formation seems to be dominated by the primary particle aggregation with the different additives interacting specifically with different crystallographic faces of the primary particles. By tuning this interaction particles with different shapes and substructures can be formed.


Nanoporous gold film can detect the presence of heavy metal ions in water. Nanoporous gold film based micro sensor is fabricated by layering copper on silicon substrate with an intermediate titanium layer acting as an adhesive. This film is formed through electroless plating by spraying potassium gold cyanide on the copper. It is proposed to fabricate this sensor using 3D printing, with nano resolution thickness of layering structure. 3D printing can address fabrication and packaging challenges. A variety of packaging materials and techniques are available. Ceramic packaging, plastic packaging and metal packaging techniques are prominent. 3D printed ceramic packaging with hermetic sealing is proposed for water quality sensors. A design of packaging prototype is presented and discussed. Micro-stereolithography, digital light processing techniques are suitable processes to prototype sensor contents and packaging model, which is 3D printing of the resin based cavity model. 3D Modeling of the sensor contents, packaging structures are modelled using Autodesk Maya3D2014, COMSOL software designs. The total electric energy through 3D modelling in COMSOL Multiphysics software is 25 joules. Electric potential (V) is estimated to be 2.0x10 volts. Digital light processing technique is proposed for this 3D printing of the resin based cavity model, FDM process for 3D printing working electrode and optomec lens process for the other electrodes involving metal 3D printing. Key-Words: 3D printing, packaging, micro resolution, water quality sensors


The distinguishing feature of experimental psychology is not so much the nature of its theories as the methods used to test their validity. The first edition of Experimental Design and Statistics provided a clear and lucid introduction to these methods and the statistical techniques which support them. For this new edition the text has been revised, the coverage of two-sample tests has been extended, and new sections have been added introducing one-sample tests, linear regression and the product-moment correlation coefficient. Problems associated with the applications of experimental design and how to use observations of behaviour in research are key questions for all introductory students of psychology. This new and expanded edition provides them with an invaluable text and source.


This paper describes our work on network models to provide awareness to the process of correlating network security alerts as well as to support the asset assessment process within the security analysis of IT infrastructures. Various means of discovery methods mostly known from network management are used to discover nodes, their properties as well as the links connecting the nodes and building a network. Our implementation is based on existing open source components which have been integrated together and are using an information model according to proposed open standards.


Crested wheatgrass and Russian wildrye are used estensively as seeded pastures in the prairie region of western Canada. Their long-term impact on soil quality was studied at 4 sites, each including plant communities of native mised prairie rangeland and 17- to 27-year-old monocultures of crested wheatgrass and Russian wildrye, in southern Alberta, Canada. Root mass and soil chemical properties mere determined on the soil samples collected. Native rangeland had about 7.6 times more root mass than the seeded species from the 0- to 7.5cm depth and about equivalent mass from the 7.5 to JO-cm depth. For the seeded species, root mass was significantly less behveen rows than within rows. Soils in the native rangeland community had significantly greater soil organic matter and lower NOs-N, chemical indes, urease activity, and available phosphorus than those in the seeded pastures. Altering the plant community from native mised prairie to either a sequence of cropping followed by an introduced grass monoculture, or directly to an introduced grass monoculture, resulted in decreased root mass and organic matter, and monosaccharide content of dry aggregates. The seeded grasses could neither return nor maintain the chemical quality of the soils in relation to that of the native rangeland.


Learning to play the piano is a prolonged challenge for novices. It requires them to learn sheet music notation and its mapping to respective piano keys, together with articulation details. Smooth playing further requires correct finger postures. The result is a slow learning progress, often causing frustration and strain. To overcome these issues, we propose P.I.A.N.O., a piano learning system with interactive projection that facilitates a fast learning process. Note information in form of an enhanced piano roll notation is directly projected onto the instrument and allows mapping of notes to piano keys without prior sight-reading skills. Three learning modes support the natural learning process with live feedback and performance evaluation. We report the results of two user studies, which show that P.I.A.N.O. supports faster learning, requires significantly less cognitive load, provides better user experience, and increases perceived musical quality compared to sheet music notation and non-projected piano roll notation.


The state, rule of law, and democratic accountability are the three basic components of a modern political order. The state concentrates and uses power, while law and democracy constrain the exercise of power, indicating that there is an inherent tension between them. This article looks at ways in which the state and liberal democracy interact in three areas: citizen security, patronage and clientelism, and the formation of national identity. In all three areas, state and democracy act at cross purposes in some domains, and are mutually supportive in others. The reason for this complex relationship is that both state and democracy are themselves complex collections of institutions which interact on a multiplicity of levels. Understanding the relationship between state and democracy is important in policy terms because many recent initiatives to improve the quality of governance assume that state quality and democracy are mutually supportive, something that is not fully supported by the empirical evidence.


OBJECTIVE
The NALP3 inflammasome is a multiprotein complex that triggers caspase 1-mediated interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) release. Mutations in the gene encoding NALP3 (NLRP3) underlie the cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS). The aim of this study was to report a novel NLRP3 mutation in 2 siblings of Swedish descent in whom symptoms first presented in adulthood.

METHODS
Mutation analysis of NLRP3 was performed on DNA from patients with CAPS and 100 control subjects. For assessment of caspase 1 and IL-1beta, blood was collected from patients and age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects. Genetic constructs containing mutant or wild-type NLRP3 were transduced into THP-1 cells, followed by assessment of IL-1beta levels in cell supernatant.

RESULTS
Both siblings carried a novel M299V mutation in NLRP3, which was not present in the control population. The samples obtained from the patients displayed increased caspase 1 activity and elevated IL-1beta levels at basal conditions as compared with healthy control subjects. THP-1 cells expressing mutated M299V revealed almost 10-fold higher IL-1beta production compared with the wild-type construct.

CONCLUSION
M299V is an activating mutation in NLRP3 resulting in elevated spontaneous caspase 1 activity and IL-1beta levels. The classic CAPS phenotype was lacking in these adult siblings. Whereas one sibling displayed a milder phenotype that has so far responded satisfactorily to oral nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs in combination with low-dose corticosteroids, the inflammatory symptoms in the sibling with the more severe case responded well to IL-1beta blockade. Understanding the pathogenic mechanism underlying such disorders can be helpful for the physician. Our study reinforces the importance of genetic testing and laboratory investigations in combination with careful phenotypic evaluation for the diagnosis of such patients.


As the technology shrinks toward 65nm technology and beyond, Optical Proximity Correction (OPC) becomes more important to insure proper printability of high-performance integrated circuits. This correction involves some geometrical modifications to the mask polygons to account for light diffraction and etch biasing. Model-based OPC has proven to be a convenient, accurate, and efficient methodology. In this method, raw calibration data are measured from the process. These data are used to build a VT5 resist model [1] that accounts for all proximity effects that attendant to the lithography process. To ensure the reliability of the calibrated VT5 model, these data must be broad in the image parameter space (IPS) to account for different one-dimensional and two-dimensional features for the design intent. Failure to provide sufficient IPS (i.e. mimic the design intent) coverage during model calibration could result in marginalizing the VT5 model during OPC, but is difficult to judge when there is enough data volume to safely interpolate and extrapolate design intent. In this paper we introduce a new metric called Safe Interpolation Distance (SID). This metric is a multi-dimensional metric which can be used to automatically detect the portions of the target design that are not covered well by the desired VT5 model.


My aunt, Geraldine McClelland (Mo), died at Dignitas in 2011. She had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, aged 58, and had radical surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Some months later Mo developed a bad cough. The formal diagnosis of metastatic disease took four months. She was breathless after walking from her sofa to her fridge and wasn't eating. She started palliative chemotherapy and was advised that she could live for up to 18 months. She went into rapid decline and so stopped treatment.

Mo was always clear about her decision to choose a medical death in the event of a terminal diagnosis if she felt her suffering was too great and if she became dependent on others. This was simply her wish.

Mo and her friends worked tirelessly to arrange everything. She had been unaware of how stringent the process was. Dignitas doesn't promote its services; it just provides them for the small percentage who need them. It's expensive and involves interminable paperwork. I thought of others like Mo …


Highly porous foams based on graphene oxide functionalized with polyethylenimine are generated and used with unprecedented efficiency for adsorbing heavy metal ions. A multiscale analysis of the GO–BPEI nanocomposite provided evidence for the covalent grafting of BPEI on GO and the formation of low crystalline porous foams. The uptake experiments revealed that the GO–BPEI's adsorption of toxic cations is strongly dependent on the pH in range from 2 to 10, as a result of the different interactions at the supramolecular level between the metal ions and the GO–BPEI foam. The maximum uptake capacities for Cu(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II) are achieved at pH = 5 and exhibit values as high as 1096, 2051 and 3390 mg g−1, respectively, being ca. over 20 times greater than standard sorbents like activated carbon. The GO–BPEI composite can be easily regenerated as proven by performing adsorption cycles. Also, the thermodynamic parameters including standard Gibbs free energy (ΔGo), the enthalpy change (ΔHo) and entropy change (ΔSo) revealed the exothermic and spontaneous nature of the adsorption process.


Many scenarios, such as network analysis, utility monitoring, and financial applications, generate massive streams of data. These streams consist of millions or billions of simple updates every hour, and must be processed to extract the information described in tiny pieces. This survey provides an introduction the problems of data stream monitoring, and some of the techniques that have been developed over recent years to help mine the data while avoiding drowning in these massive flows of information. In particular, this tutorial introduces the fundamental techniques used to create compact summaries of data streams: sampling, sketching, and other synopsis techniques. It describes how to extract features such as clusters and association rules. Lastly, we see methods to detect when and how the process generating the stream is evolving, indicating some important change has occurred. Keywords: data streams, sampling, sketches, association rules, clustering, change detection.


This annotated catalogue of Recent and fossil supraspecific names of the molluscan class Scaphopoda contains 15 class- and ordinal-level names, 33 family-level names, 114 genus-group names, and 12 non-scaphopod names erroneously assigned to this class. For the suprageneric names, this catalogue provides their original rank, their current systematic status and, if applicable, their type genus. For the genus-group names, this catalogue provides the type species, mode of designation, systematic position, and the listing of the Recent species. Complete bibliographic references are provided for all supraspecific names. The current validity of each nominal taxon is assessed based upon the literature, with junior synonyms cross-referenced.


Post-stroke depression is a very challenging condition because it involves the existence of a frail biological and psychological background. The clinician must therefore observe carefully the clinical context before the initiation of a treatment, in order to prevent severe adverse events for this group of age and negative pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions, and to monitor the concomittant treatment of multiple comorbidities within an interdisciplinary team. More difficulties arise from the psychiatric evaluation of these patients which may be very hard-to-do – e.g., in a patient with aphasia, or with a pre-existent neurocognitive disorder. The first step of this paper was to review the existing clinical studies dedicated to the evaluation of the efficacy and tolerability of antidepressants in post-stroke depression, in order to provide the clinician with a few orientation points.The use of structured psychological instruments for measurement of depression severity is encouraged, in order to monitor as objectively as possible the patients' evolution under treatment. Post-stroke depression is correlated with negative functional prognosis and a poorer quality of life, therefore its treatment is necessary even for the physical recovery of these patients. The treatment of post-stroke depression may decrease the risk of a new cerebrovascular incident, an argument to further support the necessity of an early and efficient therapeutic intervention in patients diagnosed with this disorder.


CM chondrites are complex impact (mostly regolith) breccias, in which lithic clasts show various degrees of aqueous alteration. Here, we investigated the degree of alteration of individual clasts within 19 different CM chondrites and CM‐like clasts in three achondrites by chemical analysis of the tochilinite‐cronstedtite‐intergrowths (TCIs; formerly named "poorly characterized phases"). To identify TCIs in various chondritic lithologies, we used backscattered electron (BSE) overview images of polished thin sections, after which appropriate samples underwent electron microprobe measurements. Thus, 75 lithic clasts were classified. In general, the excellent work and specific criteria of Rubin et al. (2007) were used and considered to classify CM breccias in a similar way as ordinary chondrite breccias (e.g., CM2.2‐2.7). In BSE images, TCIs in strongly altered fragments in CM chondrites (CM2.0‐CM2.2) appear dark grayish and show a low contrast to the surrounding material (typically clastic matrix), and can be distinguished from TCIs in moderately (CM2.4‐CM2.6) or less altered fragments (CM2.7‐CM2.9); the latter are bright and have high contrast to the surroundings. We found that an accurate subclassification can be obtained by considering only the "FeO"/SiO2 ratio of the TCI chemistry. One could also consider the TCIs' S/SiO2 ratio and the metal abundance, but these were not used for classification due to several disadvantages. Most of the CM chondrites are finds that have suffered terrestrial weathering in hot and cold deserts. Thus, the observed abundance of metal is susceptible to weathering and may not be a reliable indicator of subtype classification. This study proposes an extended classification scheme based on Rubin's scale from subtypes CM2.0‐CM2.9 that takes the brecciation into account and includes the minimum to maximum degree of alteration of individual clasts. The range of aqueous alteration in CM chondrites and small spatial scale of mixing of clasts with different alteration histories will be important for interpreting returned samples from the OSIRIS‐REx and Hayabusa 2 missions in the future.


People may have imperfect information about their health status and thus make suboptimal decisions in insurance participation. Using national representative samples of the elderly in US and China, we find that people with lower socio-economic status and poorer health are relatively less likely to realize how unhealthy they are and this overconfidence is associated with no insurance participation. Accurate health information provided through physical examinations induces relatively higher participation among the overconfident people afterwards. These findings contribute a new explanation for the insufficient participation and advantageous selection in health insurance, and provide new insights on the insurance market and policy suggestions.


The influence of a high-Na, high-protein (calciuric) diet on Ca and bone metabolism was investigated in postmenopausal women (aged 50–67 years) who were stratified by vitamin D receptor (VDR) genotype. In a crossover trial, twenty-four women were randomly assigned to a diet high in protein (90 g/d) and Na (180 mmol/d) or a diet adequate in protein (70 g/d) and low in Na (65 mmol/d) for 4 weeks, followed by crossover to the alternative dietary regimen for a further 4 weeks. Dietary Ca intake was maintained at usual intakes (about 20 mmol (800 mg)/d). Urinary Na, K, Ca, N and type I collagen cross-linked N-telopeptide (NTx; a marker of bone resorption), plasma parathyroid hormone (PTH), serum 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25(OH)D3), 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25(OH)2D3), osteocalcin and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (B-Alkphase) were measured in 24 h urine samples and fasting blood samples collected at the end of each dietary period. The calciuric diet significantly (P<0·05) increased mean urinary Na, N, K, Ca and NTx (by 19 %) compared with the basal diet, but had no effect on circulating 25(OH)D3, 1,25(OH)2D3, PTH, osteocalcin or B-Alkphase in the total group (n 24). There were no differences in serum markers or urinary minerals between the basal and calciuric diet in either VDR genotype groups. While the calciuric diet significantly increased urinary NTx (by 25·6 %, P<0·01) in the f+ VDR group (n 10; carrying one or more (f) Fok I alleles), it had no effect in the f− VDR group (n 14; not carrying any Fok I alleles). It is concluded that the Na- and protein-induced urinary Ca loss is compensated for by increased bone resorption and that this response may be influenced by VDR genotype.


The objective was to evaluate the effect of two methods of freezing on seminal quality and effect of seminal plasma as an inducer of ovulation in pregnancy percentages in inseminated alpacas. The semen collection was made post copula. After the collection of the ejaculates, motility and volume were assessed. The ejaculates with volume (≥1 ml) and motility (≥ 60%) were mixed (pool), 80 % was used (3 samples/pool) and 20 % (2 samples/pool) during the experiment. Then and diluted in Tris-base with 20% egg yolk. The samples were cooled 1.5 hours at 5 °C. At that temperature it was combined with the basic dilutor plus glycerol, obtaining a final concentration of 5% glycerol, then they were packed in 0.5 mL (13 x 106 spem/straw) straws to be frozen by horizontal and vertical methods. The seminal (semen + vaginal fluid) quality analysis was performed fresh and after cooling and thawing. Insemination was performed in two groups with thawed semen from two straws of the vertical method, the first group 20 females induced to ovulate with GnRH analog, the second group 20 females induced to ovulate with seminal plasma. When comparing, the results obtained of motility, viability, HOST and acrosomal integrity of fresh sperm, after the freezing process, decreased (p<0.05) compared to fresh and refrigerated samples. On the other hand, when comparing the freezing methods, the sperm values frozen by the vertical method were higher than those obtained by the horizontal method, with (p<0.05) in motility and HOST without (p>0.05) in acrosomal integrity and viability. The vertical semen freezing method can replace the horizontal method to obtain pregnancy.


The current product quality paradigm is founded upon a customer-focused product development process, in which the functionality and behaviour of a product are designed to fulfil the needs of customers, and technological innovation is used to expand the capability and enhance the performance of the product. However, this view of product quality does not reflect the current practices of today's leading manufacturers, who now offer "total solutions" based upon an integrated package of products and services with well defined characteristics tailored to individual needs. Concepts such as globalisation, mass customisation, product branding, e-commerce, and sustainability suggest that a new product quality paradigm is evolving. This paper will discuss our current understanding of product quality issues and outline our vision of the new quality paradigm for product developers.


BACKGROUND
A multicenter study in the late 1990s demonstrated suboptimal emergency asthma care for pregnant women in US EDs. After a decade, follow-up data are lacking. We aimed to examine changes in emergency asthma care of pregnant women since the 1990s.

METHODS
We combined data from four multicenter observational studies of ED patients with acute asthma performed in 1996 to 2001 (three studies) and 2011 to 2012 (one study). We restricted the data so that comparisons were based on the same 48 EDs in both time periods. We identified all pregnant patients aged 18 to 44 years with acute asthma. Primary outcomes were treatment with systemic corticosteroids in the ED and, among those sent home, at ED discharge.

RESULTS
Of 4,895 ED patients with acute asthma, the analytic cohort comprised 125 pregnant women. Between the two time periods, there were no significant changes in patient demographics, chronic asthma severity, or initial peak expiratory flow. In contrast, ED systemic corticosteroid treatment increased significantly from 51% to 78% across the time periods (OR, 3.11; 95% CI, 1.27-7.60; P = .01); systemic corticosteroids at discharge increased from 42% to 63% (OR, 2.49; 95% CI, 0.97-6.37; P = .054). In the adjusted analyses, pregnant women in recent years were more likely to receive systemic corticosteroids, both in the ED (OR, 4.76; 95% CI, 1.63-13.9; P = .004) and at discharge (OR, 3.18; 95% CI, 1.05-9.61; P = .04).

CONCLUSIONS
Between the two time periods, emergency asthma care in pregnant women significantly improved. However, with one in three pregnant women being discharged home without systemic corticosteroids, further improvement is warranted.


Activated carbon (AC) was added into the activated sludge to alleviate membrane fouling during sludge microfiltration. The fouling mitigation profiles were evaluated at different AC sizes and doses by a single-fibre microfiltration system. It was found that the granular AC added in the sludge suspension can absorb the organic substances in the sludge in a certain level, including biopolymer clusters (BPC). There are three impacts from AC addition, including the positive effect by mechanically scouring the membrane surface, the positive effect by adsorb organic substances, and the negative impact of breaking up sludge flocs to release the organic matter. The whole effect of AC addition on membrane fouling has to depend on the relative intensity of these three effects. The suitable AC should have a smaller mean size below 200 µm, by which the membrane fouling mitigation efficiency was positively correlated with AC doses.


This reissue of Golden's highly regarded translation of Aristotle's "Poetics," with commentary by O.B. Harrison, provides a comprehensive account of the principles of the "Poetics" and of the critical debates they have engendered. This volume was designed to meet the needs of students who are not proficient in Greek. (Literture Classics & Criticism)


We compare person-to-person service encounters with those in which the service provider is an information system to identify the capabilities needed to personalize a service encounter. We suggest "substituting information for interaction" as a principle that unifies these different types of encounters whenever the information needed to create value in a service system accumulates incrementally through human or automated customer interactions. We review research and practice in computer science, artificial intelligence, data mining, machine learning, and information systems design to bring an interdisciplinary robustness to our conceptual proposal. Human service providers and automated service systems both need (1) a service model manager that stores information about how a customer requests a service; (2) a customer model manager that stores information about customers and preferences; (3) a recommendation system manager that uses service models, customer models, and contextual information to adapt the service at delivery time; (4) a learning system that analyzes previous service encounters to refine service and customer models, and a (5) service monitoring system that monitors the status of service delivery. The substitution concepts and mechanisms we propose highlight the range of design choices and help managers evaluate whether a human interaction or information exchange creates or undermines value in a service system.


Abstract. Traditional gas and particle phase chemical markers used to identify the presence of biomass burning (BB) emissions were measured for a large forest fire near Boulder, Colorado. Correlation of the organic matter mass spectroscopic m / z 60 with measured particle light absorption properties found no link at 532 nm, and a strong correlation at 404 nm. Non-black carbon absorption at 404 nm was well correlated to the ratio of the mass fractions of particulate organic matter (POM) that was m / z 60 ( f 60 ) to m / z 44 ( f 44 ). The f 60 to f 44 ratio did not fully explain the variability in non-BC absorption, due to contributions of brown carbon (BrC) absorption and absorption due to internal mixing of POM with black carbon (BC). The absorption Angstrom exponent ( A Abs ) showed a good correlation to f 60 / f 44 ; however the best correlation resulted from the mass absorption efficiency (MAE) of BrC at 404 nm (MAE POM-404 nm ) and f 60 / f 44 . This result indicates that the absorption of POM at low visible and UV wavelengths is linked to emissions of organic matter that contribute to the m / z 60 mass fragment, although they do not contribute to 532 nm absorption. m / z 60 is often attributed to levoglucosan and related compounds. The linear relationship between MAE POM-404 nm and f 60 / f 44 suggests that the strength of BrC absorption for this fire can be predicted by emissions of f 60 -related organic matter.


The dynamic processes of reverse saturable absorption (RSA) in a solution of C60 are studied in detail by use of rate equations and the light-propagation equation for a five-energy-level model. The RSA experimental results for C60 in toluene solution with a nanosecond–picosecond Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm are consistent with the theoretical simulations. Effects of sample concentration and thickness on RSA and contributions of the singlet and triplet excited states to RSA for various laser-pulse widths and wavelengths are also analyzed. Finally, an all-optical switch based on excited-state nonlinear absorption and the pump-probe technique is implemented.


Robotic ground vehicles are mechanisms that use gravity and contact forces with the ground to perform motion. They can either be wheeled, tracked or legged. In this thesis we will focus on n-wheeled vehicles able to perform ground following motion with all the wheels maintaining contact at the same time. The main goal of this work is to establish the implication of the topological architecture of the vehicle mechanism on criteria such as climbing skills, robustness, ground clearance, weight, power consumption, and price. Efficient tools will be provided to help the robot designer to understand the implications of important design parameters like the number of wheels, the vehicle mechanism, and the motorisation of joints on the above criteria. The general state of a robotic ground vehicle can be described using spatial vectors containing both the linear and angular components of physical quantities such as position, velocity, acceleration and linear force. By definition, there is motion when the vehicle's link velocity state vector (expressed from the ground reference) is greater than zero. Wheeled ground following motion is then a special case of vehicle constrained motion where all wheels maintain contact with the ground. This thesis will describe a general kinematic and dynamic analysis of n-wheeled ground following robots. We will then discuss "contact forces optimisation techniques" and show the relationship between the number of wheels of a vehicle mechanism, the topological structure and the optimised degrees of fredom that we can get for the contact forces distribution. We will conclude with some considerations concerning the sensors needs for on-board terrain estimation. We will emphasise our argument using our two robot designs as examples: Shrimp: A 6-wheeled ground vehicle based on a 3 DOF passive suspension mechanism. With this design, no sensor based control is necessary to maintain ground contact with all the wheels. The distribution of tangential contact forces is done passively but can be optimised with on board active control and sensors for contact properties estimation (gyro, joint position sensors). Octopus: A 8-wheeled ground vehicle based on a (6 DOF active + 1 DOF passive) suspension mechanism. The autonomous coordination of the active 14 DOF is based on the on-board integration of inclinometer, joint position sensors and tactile wheels able to sense ground contact properties (angle, curvature, force, ...). With this design, active control can distribute the contact forces to minimise tangential forces and increase traction. This decreases the need for friction to climb obstacles. The theoretical investigation and new sensing concepts enable the design these two robots that demonstrate excellent capabilities for rough terrain. Passive Wheeled Locomotion Mechanisms (WLM) solutions are now mature enough for real applications like space exploration. However, active WLM solutions demonstrate potential climbing skills that cannot be equalled passively. Enhanced integration of sensors, actuators and advanced embedded control algorithms will lead to greater applications for future field and service robotics applications.


The usual approach to undergraduate science education is to segregate "science" from "non-science" students. Actual and potential science majors are pushed into departmental programs to fulfill major requirements; non-science students make do with distribution requirements. Recently, however, science educators have envisaged courses that transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries. For example, the National Research Councils report Bio2010 (2003) imagines "a truly interdisciplinary course used as an introductory first-year seminar with relatively few details and no prerequisites." This course is designed to "introduce students to many disciplines in their first year, and to hold the interest of first-year students who are taking disciplinary prerequisites." Similarly, the National Research Council's 1999 Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology promotes introductory courses that explore fundamental and unifying concepts and emphasize evolving processes of scientific thought and inquiry. Most students ("science" and "non-science" alike) enter college having written essays and poems, solved equations, and analyzed historical issues. Very few have actually planned, carried out, and analyzed an actual scientific experiment, in part because what scientists really do is not included in most secondary school curricula. Students view science as a collage of facts to be regurgitated on demand. In reality, however, science is a way of thinking about and making sense of the world. Real science is not what is known but what is to be known. In addition, while the push to interdisciplinary science courses is usually focused on students already within a science trajectory. This perspective is equally important for new students who do not see themselves as connected to science. Frontiers of Science-Columbia's new core curriculum science course-is designed to address both of these issues. The Challenges of Connecting All Students to Science Founded in 1754 as King's College, Columbia College is an undergraduate liberal arts college of Columbia University. In 1919, the college began the development of a set of courses that introduces students to essential ideas of music, art, literature, philosophy, and political thought. To foster active intellectual engagement, courses in the core curriculum are taught as small seminars beginning in the first year. As of 2003, the core (specific courses taken by all students) included Contemporary Civilization, Literature Humanities, Art Humanities, Music Humanities, and University Writing. The core curriculum is the hallmark of a Columbia College education. From the inception of the core, the omission of a science course in the curriculum evoked comment. In 1933, Herbert Hawkes, then dean of the college, stated, "Ever since the course in Contemporary Civilization was offered fourteen years ago, the perennial question of the relation of the sciences to this kind of course has been discussed." It took close to ninety vears, however, for those debates to bear fruit. Frontiers of Science entered the core curriculum as a five-year experiment in fall 2004. Why did it take so long? Dean Hawkes outlined several goals for a core science course in the 1933 annual report: "Meeting the need of all students for a fund of knowledge and a set of intellectual tools that would be applicable in all of their thinking and that would better them as persons" (58). Faculty fights over the new science course erupted right away. Content was a major issue: What constitutes a real core of knowledge in the seiences? Which areas should be included? What about mathematics? Should "science" students be educated together with "non-science" students? Since agreement on content could not be reached, the faculty put together a roster of four courses, half from the physical sciences and half from the life sciences. All were intended for non-science students, none were required, and all courses abruptly ended in 1941 as the war began. …


Taro is known as a plant that is adaptive to high moisture soil. To mitigate the impact of climate change, the genotype response of taro genotypes to variations in water availability is important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the frequency of water application on the growth and yield of eddoe and dasheen taro types. The research was carried out in the greenhouses of the Cikabayan Experimental Station IPB, Bogor, Indonesia from January to April 2020. The ten taro genotypes were evaluated, consisting of two dasheen types (Talas Sutra and Talas Bentul) and eight eddoe types (S6, S20, S24, S26, S28, S34, S35, and S36). Plants of eight-week-old grown in polybags were treated with different watering frequencies, namely 1, 3, 7, and 15 days until they were saturated. The results showed that all taro genotypes grew more vigorous at watering intervals of 1 and 3 days as indicated by the variables of height, number of leaves, number of tillers, and diameter of the petiole. Fresh weight of yield reached 2-3 times higher in the 1- and 3-day water treatment intervals compared to the 7- and 15-day intervals, indicating the taro plants are sensitive to low soil moisture.
Keywords: climate change, dasheen taro, drought stress, eddoe taro, satoimo


This paper identifies and analyses complex coordination processes at radiology departments in Austria1, Denmark, and Sweden. The understanding of coordination work is emphasised by focusing on different interdependencies between work activities. It illustrates that various interdependencies have different properties, which in turn have derived different coordination dimensions. We refer to these dimensions as predefined and situated coordination. This paper points to the needs for designing coordination tools inscribed with properties that fit the properties of various kinds of coordination work. Finally, ways of integrating these tools are discussed.


The number of dependent older people in England, as elsewhere, is projected to rise substantially, while the number of unpaid carers is not projected to rise by an equivalent amount. Barriers to people caring for older relatives have been theorised, however, there is a lack of understanding of attitudes to providing care in the future among people who are not currently carers. This paper presents qualitative analysis of interviews with 20 people in middle age about their willingness to care for older relatives in the future. Interviewees were asked their general views about who should provide care, then to consider future scenarios in which a close relative developed care needs. Willingness to care was influenced by beliefs about reciprocity, love and identity, beliefs about who was likely to provide the best quality and most appropriate care, and beliefs about how difficult caring would be. Older relatives' care preferences were a key consideration. While some interviewees felt the best care would always be provided by family, others considered that professional skills were needed. Interviewees saw important roles for easily accessible information and advice, sharing care, including respite care, and financial support, in making it easier to provide care. The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown had highlighted relevant issues for interviewees, which are discussed.


Current variability of precipitation (P) and its response to surface temperature (T) are analysed using coupled (CMIP5) and atmosphere‐only (AMIP5) climate model simulations and compared with observational estimates. There is striking agreement between Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) observed and AMIP5 simulated P anomalies over land both globally and in the tropics suggesting that prescribed sea surface temperature and realistic radiative forcings are sufficient for simulating the interannual variability in continental P. Differences between the observed and simulated P variability over the ocean, originate primarily from the wet tropical regions, in particular the western Pacific, but are reduced slightly after 1995. All datasets show positive responses of P to T globally of around 2%/K for simulations and 3–4%/K in GPCP observations but model responses over the tropical oceans are around 3 times smaller than GPCP over the period 1988–2005. The observed anticorrelation between land and ocean P, linked with El Niño Southern Oscillation, is captured by the simulations. All data sets over the tropical ocean show a tendency for wet regions to become wetter and dry regions drier with warming. Over the wet region (≥75% precipitation percentile), the precipitation response is ∼13–15%/K for GPCP and ∼5%/K for models while trends in P are 2.4%/decade for GPCP, 0.6% /decade for CMIP5 and 0.9%/decade for AMIP5 suggesting that models are underestimating the precipitation responses or a deficiency exists in the satellite datasets.


The increasing size and complexity of modern ML systems has improved their predictive capabilities but made their behavior harder to explain. Many techniques for model explanation have been developed in response, but we lack clear criteria for assessing these techniques. In this paper, we cast model explanation as the causal inference problem of estimating causal effects of real-world concepts on the output behavior of ML models given actual input data. We introduce CEBaB, a new benchmark dataset for assessing concept-based explanation methods in Natural Language Processing (NLP). CEBaB consists of short restaurant reviews with human-generated counterfactual reviews in which an aspect (food, noise, ambiance, service) of the dining experience was modified. Original and counterfactual reviews are annotated with multiply-validated sentiment ratings at the aspect-level and review-level. The rich structure of CEBaB allows us to go beyond input features to study the effects of abstract, real-world concepts on model behavior. We use CEBaB to compare the quality of a range of concept-based explanation methods covering different assumptions and conceptions of the problem, and we seek to establish natural metrics for comparative assessments of these methods.


Crevasses play a key role in understanding a wide range of glaciological processes, but the current understanding is mainly based on a few key studies. Recent years, studies on crevasse formation have been motivated by the understanding of processes of calving and the break up of ice shelves. Dynamics of glaciers can help us to reconstruct long-term environmental changes and describe a glaciers response to climate changes. In addition to the glaciological perspective, crevasses can be major hazard to travelers. Glaciers are important travel routes on Svalbard, but currently there are no systematic data on their distribution or their relationship to glaciological variables. From ground truth measurements of crevasse positions and crevasse widths on Borebreen and Tunabreen, and manual mapping of crevasses in ArcMap, TerraSAR-X images are confirmed to be a suitable tool for defining crevasse areas on glaciers. However, there are some restrictions to the method based on the variations of backscatter for different glacier surface conditions. This can lead to an underestimation of the crevasse area extent. Delineation of the crevasse area limit line on 32 images in a 22-day cycle in the period from February 9th 2013 to April 1st 2015, shows that the terminal crevasse field of Tunabreen is migrating up-glacier during spring and summer, and stabilizes during winter. This pattern coincides with the pattern of retreat and still stand or advance of the glacier front during the same time period. By using velocity maps and strain rate maps based on feature tracking from two TerraSAR-X images in a 11-day cycle, it was aimed to find threshold velocity and strain rate for crevasse opening. The velocity maps used only contain velocity information in the lower part of the terminal crevasse field on Tunabreen, and no velocity was detected within the upper part of the crevasse field. Values of the 1st principal strain rate in the upper crevasse area and along the crevasse area limit line could indicate a threshold strain rate for crevasse opening between 0.1 and 0.2 day−1 ×10−3. The resolution and quality of the data used is considered to be too low to define and confirm this as a strain rate threshold for crevasse opening. The velocity mapping produced by feature tracking of TerraSAR-X images only detects velocity in about half the size of the mapped terminal crevasse field on Tunabreen. When applying the method to the fast-flowing glacier Austre Torellbreen, it is seen that the area of detected velocity is almost equal in extent to the mapped crevasse area. In a safety perspective, crevasse maps based on TerraSAR-X data give a more accurate indication of potential hazardous areas compared to velocity maps.


BACKGROUND
Patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience substantial symptom burden, psychological and social morbidity. The experience of this illness has an impact beyond the patient.

OBJECTIVE
This study seeks to understand the experiences and needs of family carers of people with severe COPD.

DESIGN
Semistructured interviews were held with current and bereaved carers of people with severe COPD. Several areas of content were targeted in the interviews, including the experience of caring for someone with COPD, views of treatment and prognosis, information and communication needs, and the understanding of palliative care. Data were analyzed thematically.

RESULTS
The carers' and bereaved carers' experiences and needs around COPD are best understood as a dynamic of change, recognition, and adaptation. Carers faced many changes as the patients' general condition deteriorated. These were changes in the nature of caring tasks, in their relationships, and their own expectations. Carers usually recognized change had happened and sought to adapt through new approaches, new equipment, a new stance of thinking, and in most cases, continued caring. Within this theme of change, recognition, and adaptation were a series of subthemes: (1) the impact of caring, (2) recognizing the role of the carer, and (3) the needs of the carer including their needs from palliative care services.

CONCLUSION
The impact of caring borne by family carers is substantial and life changing. Health professionals may assist carers in their role through acknowledgement, facilitating recognition of the changes that have occurred (and their implications), and enabling creative adaptive responses for carers. Such assistance is likely to enhance the ability of carers to continue in this demanding role.


Protection against the unlawful deprivation of life and liberty, assured to persons with disabilities in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability, is a negative freedom, unrealisable unless the right-bearer has the ability to realise such a freedom. This is rooted in the proposition that we cannot be considered free to do that which we are unable to do. Law's recognition of ability to transact freely with the world is by way of the legal construct of capacity. Forced intervention and institutionalisation of persons with mental illness denies rational agency to persons with mental illnesses on an assessment of lack of capacity. The legal institution of 'guardians' and other substituted decision-makers further aggravate this denial of capacity of persons with mental illness by providing for a denial of agency. This paper argues that the universalist model of legal capacity requires law-makers to embrace a paradigm shift, from viewing ability as central to the human condition (and consequently to 'capacity') to viewing 'disability' as central to the human condition. This would entail the recognition of the fact that all human beings are in some sense disabled ̧ thus widening the range of 'normal'. This paradigm would only allow function-specific capacity assessment to be undertaken so as not to render capacity a status by the tag 'mentally ill'. The paper also demonstrates the fallacy in the grounds employed to justify the use of force against persons with mental illness to further strengthen the case in favour of abolition of the use of forced medical intervention for persons with mental illness.


The purpose of this study was to determine the interrelationship between nutritional status and scholastic achievement (SA). The total population included 1,488 high school students from Valparaíso, City, V Region of Chile. A representative sample of 165 school-age children was chosen from public schools in which the Improvement Education Quality Program (MECE) from the Ministry of Education of Chile was tried. Socioeconomic status (SES) was measured by means of the Graffar's modified method. Nutritional status was assessed through anthropometric measurements of weight (W), height (T), head circumference (HC), arm circumference (AC) and triceps skindfold (TS). SA was determined by a language (SAL) and mathematics (SAM) test. Statistical analysis included analysis of variance, correlation multiple regression and chi-square. Results showed that HC is the anthropometric parameter with the greatest explanatory power in SA variance, in high school graduates (r2 = 0.7697), both SAL (r2 = 0.9258) and SAM (r2 = 0.5268), with a RR = 1.97. In this respect, 75% of school children with Z-HC values below median obtained a low percentage of achievement in the SA test. Considering that HC is a direct indicator of nutritional background and indirect indicator of brain development, these findings increase the knowledge in this area and reveal the need to carry out further research related to the interrelationship SA-brain development.


In Italy many hundreds of victims of both armies who fought WWI still attend to be recovered and, if possible, identified and given back to their relatives. This study has as its objective to carry out a correct recovery, anthropological analysis and possible identification of these soldiers. Our plan has been elaborated so that it may involve various experts of different disciplines (archeologists, historians, antropologists, but also genetists and entomologists). So far, in this research project, 35 recovered skeletons have been studied. Thus the biological profile was defined (sex, age, stature and ancestry) then pathologies as well as trauma. The first results show the presence of adult men but also of adolescents. The subjects show diseases of a degenerative type (arthrosis, reumatoide arthritis), as well as perimortal lesions linked to blunt trauma, explosions, or due bullet wounds.


This book engages twentieth-century post-Freudian British psychoanalysis in an unprecedented way: as literary theory. Placing the writing of figures like D. W. Winnicott, W. R. Bion, Michael and Enid Balint, Joan Riviere, Paula Heimann, and Betty Joseph in conversation with canonical Victorian fiction, the book reveals just how much object relations can teach us about how and why we read. These thinkers illustrate the ever-shifting impact our relations with others have on the psyche, and help us see how literary figures—characters, narrators, authors, and other readers—shape and structure us too. In the book, novels are charged relational fields. Closely reading novels by George Eliot and Thomas Hardy, the book shows that traditional understandings of Victorian fiction change when we fully recognize the object relations of reading. It is not by chance that British psychoanalysis illuminates underappreciated aspects of Victorian fiction so vibrantly: Victorian novels shaped modern psychoanalytic theories of psyche and relationality—including the eclipsing of empire and race in the construction of subject. Relational reading opens up both Victorian fiction and psychoanalysis to wider political and postcolonial dimensions, while prompting a closer engagement with work in such areas as critical race theory and gender and sexuality studies. The book describes the impact of literary form on readers and on twentieth- and twenty-first-century theories of the subject.


Well-developed desert pavements are present above eolian deposits that mantle flows of the Cima volcanic field, located in the Mojave Desert, California. Soil-stratigraphic data and geochemical data demonstrate that eolian and pedogenic processes play major roles in the evolution of these pavements. Eolian dust (1) accelerates mechanical fragmentation of flow rock, providing the source material for pavements, and (2) accumulates slowly below basaltic colluvium in flow depressions, eventually promoting development of cumulate soils below the evolving stone pavement. An increase in dust flux during the Holocene has raised ancient Pleistocene pavements as much as 20 cm above the former land surface. The results of our studies demonstrate for the first time that most desert pavements do not form by deflation, by overland flow, or by upward migration of stones through a slowly formed, clayey argillic horizon. Desert pavements are born and maintained at the surface.


We examine a classic problem in Spanish morphophonology as a way of shedding new light on the relationship between grammar and processing. Spanish derivations with diphthongizing stems may contain either the diphthong or the monophthong stem allomorph, but the likelihood of the (phonotactically marked) diphthong appearing is related to the productivity of the suffix. Prior data also indicate that this bias constrains the formal properties of possible, but as yet unattested derivations. Interestingly, the documented relevance of suffix productivity and stem phonotactics for lexical processing suggests a relationship between the processing characteristics of neologisms and their favored formal properties. Spanish diphthongization provides an ideal window on this relationship because the availability of either allomorph for any neologism allows us to compare the processing characteristics of the grammatically preferred and the dispreferred form. We present visual lexical decision results that confirm the systematic biases concerning Spanish diphthongization and shed light on their possible roots in processing. The results illuminate this long-standing conundrum in Spanish and point to a more general picture in which the impact of distributional properties of morphemes on processing can account for the current shape and dynamic evolution of the lexicon.


Are you ready to reap the benefits of the bestselling contact relationship manager (CRM) software on the market today? Well, thenget into the act with ACT! 2008 and find out how the latest version of this exciting software enables you to set up a database thats right for you so that you can focus on your business and career growth while also saving time and money. With this fun and friendly guide in hand, youll discover how ACT! organizes customer information in one place, safely shares customer info between workgroups, and provides you with forecast tools, reports, and a contact database. Whether youre new to the features of ACT! or you are familiar with the basics but have not yet put to use ACT!s more advanced abilities, this nuts-and-bolts reference has been updated and revised to make sure that you are up to speed on the most efficient way to organize your customer relationships and activities. Author and full-time ACT! Certified Consultant and ACT! Premier Trainer Karen Fredricks walks you through tasks such as: Setting up the contact database Adding multiple contacts to a group and adding contacts to a company Changing contact-level security access Scheduling activities Using the basic ACT! Reports Designing new reports Automating the backup process Integrating with Outlook Creating groups ACT! by Sage For Dummies, 9th Edition also boasts a companion Web site that includes all the updates for the 2008 version of ACT! Youll be amazed by just how quickly youll be able to set up a database and get it to act for you.


Are some management practices akin to a technology that can explain company and national productivity, or do they simply reflect contingent management styles? We collect data on core management practices from over 11,000 firms in 34 countries. We find large cross-country differences in the adoption of basic management practices, with the US having the highest size-weighted average management score. We present a formal model of \Management as a Technology", and structurally estimate it using panel data to recover parameters including the depreciation rate and adjustment costs of managerial capital (both found to be larger than for tangible nonmanagerial capital). Our model also predicts (i) a positive effect of management on firm performance; (ii) a positive relationship between product market competition and average management quality (part of which stems from the larger covariance between management with firm size as competition strengthens); and (iii) a rise (fall) in the level (dispersion) of management with firm age. We find strong empirical support for all of these predictions in our data. Finally, building on our model, we find that differences in management practices account for about 30% of cross-country total factor productivity differences.


Advance Care Planning can be used to engage people with dementia in decision-making about future care. The current study aims to advance the state of knowledge about Advance Care Planning interventions aimed at older people with early-stage dementia and to describe the effects of various interventions as well as the feedback on the interventions from this patient group and their family caregivers. The study is reported in accordance with PRISMA for scoping reviews. The search for studies and reports included electronic databases, websites, books, and reference lists. Data from the selected studies, including publication year, title, purpose, study population, intervention, methods, and results, were extracted. Six full-text articles were identified as suitable for inclusion. The six interventions had differing approaches. A supportive structure was helpful for both people with dementia and family caregivers. The feeling of being listened to and engaged in the care planning seems to be of most importance, not the intervention design itself.


Abstract. The rewetting of drained peatlands alters peat geochemistry and often leads
to sustained elevated methane emission. Although this methane is produced
entirely by microbial activity, the distribution and abundance of
methane-cycling microbes in rewetted peatlands, especially in fens, is rarely
described. In this study, we compare the community composition and abundance
of methane-cycling microbes in relation to peat porewater geochemistry in two
rewetted fens in northeastern Germany, a coastal brackish fen and a
freshwater riparian fen, with known high methane fluxes. We utilized 16S rRNA
high-throughput sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) on 16S
rRNA, mcrA, and pmoA genes to determine microbial community
composition and the abundance of total bacteria, methanogens, and
methanotrophs. Electrical conductivity (EC) was more than 3 times higher in
the coastal fen than in the riparian fen, averaging 5.3 and 1.5 mS cm−1,
respectively. Porewater concentrations of terminal electron acceptors (TEAs) varied
within and among the fens. This was also reflected in similarly high intra-
and inter-site variations of microbial community composition. Despite these
differences in environmental conditions and electron acceptor availability,
we found a low abundance of methanotrophs and a high abundance of
methanogens, represented in particular by Methanosaetaceae, in both
fens. This suggests that rapid (re)establishment of methanogens and slow
(re)establishment of methanotrophs contributes to prolonged increased methane
emissions following rewetting.