Background: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) help relieve the discomfort of fever and reduce inflammation and associated pain. Post-surgery pain is most of the time unavoidable and NSAIDs are best strategies to combat the same as compared to opioids. Objective: In the present study we aimed to assess the analgesic efficacy and safety of paracetamol in comparison with diclofenac for postoperative pain relief when administered orally. Methods: Randomly selected 90 patients who underwent different surgery under general anesthesia. Patients were divided into three groups to receive paracetamol (500 mg/kg), diclofenac (100 mg/kg) and placebo. Participants were assessed for the level of pain prior to treatment and upto 8 hrs post-treatment using visual analogue scale to score from 0-5. Statistical analysis of continuous data was done by unpaired t‑test and one-way ANOVA. Results: Both paracetamol and diclofenac were effective for postoperative pain relief. We did not notice significant differences between paracetamol and diclofenac group at any time points, however, both treatments were effective in reducing pain score significantly from 1 hr to 6 hrs post treatment.


ABSTRACT Aim: Some clinical trials in breast cancer have reported imppressive outcomes related to laboratory immune findings in the neoadjuvant setting. In this context, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and regulatory Tcells (Tregs) in tissue specimens and in peripheral blood are being tested as two emerging prognostic and predictive factors. We designed a protocol to analyze immune profile before, during and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (CT) in breast cancer in blood and tissue, and their eventual relation with pathological complete response (pCR). Methods: From March 2011 to february 2014, 47 patients (18 her2 + /29 her2-) with T2-4 N0-3 breast carcinoma treated wih neoadjuvant CT in the Breast Cancer Unit of the Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena (Seville, Spain) were included in the study. CD3 + , CD8 + , CD8-16-56+ and FOXP3+ cell infiltrates were detected by immunohistochemistry before and after CT in tissue specimens. Blood samples were collected in EDTA-K3 tubes before every cycle to determine the immunophenotype profile. Cell populations were determined by flow cytometry analysis of whole blood, including the study of CD3-CD4-CD25low and CD3-CD4-C25high (regulatory) T cells. Results: By February 2014, 47 patients were operated. pCR or near pCR (grade 4/5 Miller&Payne) was attained in 20 patients (42,6%). pCR was achieved in 66,6% (12/18) of tumors overexpressing her2 and treated with CT plus trastuzumab, and in only a 27,5% (8/29) of the her2- population. Absence and /or disappearance of Tregs in tissue (Black grading system = 0) was more frequent after neoadjuvant CT (11,11 vs 62,2%). Furthermore, average whole blood CD3-CD4-CD25high (regulatory) T cells were 126,36 before and 91,19 after neoadjuvant CT (p 0,010). Overall Tregs diminished in the pCR and non pCR groups without statistically significant differences. Conclusions: Neoadjuvant CT decreases Tregs immunosuppressive infiltrates in tissue and CD3-CD4-CD25high (regulatory) T cells in peripheral blood in all the population. Although differences among subgroups (pCR/non-pCR and her-/her2+) were not statistically significant, these data support the role of Tregs as an interesting biomarker with eventual therapeutic implications in breast carcinoma. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.


A new grating phase mask is designed that allows the cancellation of the zeroth transmitted order in a diffraction configuration where the grating period is smaller than twice the exposure wavelength. An analytical treatment based on the true-mode method delivers the structure parameters, achieving 100% interference contrast. This modal approach is used to describe the modal operation of the giant reflection to zero-order device.


Abstract This paper describes a case study in the Salento karst (Apulia, southern Italy) in a site that has been intensively used to quarry limestones in the last 30 years. After quarrying activity had stopped, the site was transformed into legal and illegal landfills where solid and liquid wastes have been repeatedly dumped, with serious consequences for the groundwater resources. In this paper, through a geological, petrographical and hydrogeological approach, we attempt to assess the consequences of the anthropogenic activities on the local hydrogeology, with particular regard to the surficial aquifer that is contained in the Plio-Quaternary calcarenites cropping out in the area. Application of some well-known methods to assess the vulnerability of aquifer systems to contamination by human activities (DRASTIC, SINTACS, LeGrand and GOD) highlights the limits of such an approach in karst environment, and the necessity to include in the methods data strictly related to the peculiarity of karst. This is further evidenced by application of the EPIK method, specifically designed for karst areas. The final part of the paper focuses on the need of a thorough understanding of the hydrogeological setting for a better management and policy action of karst environments.


Sulfides are a major potential repository for magmatic metals and sulfur. In relatively reduced magmas, there may be a dynamic interplay between sulfide liquids and magma degassing as magmas ascend/erupt. Sulfide-bubble aggregates may segregate to shallow levels. Exsolved fluids may oxidize sulfides to produce SO 2 gas and metals, which can vent to the atmosphere with chalcophile metal ratios reflecting those in their parent sulfide liquids. Sulfide breakdown and/or sequestration timing and balance define the role of sulfides in both ore formation and the environmental impacts of volcanic eruptions, including during the evolution of large igneous provinces, which are key periods of heightened volcanism during Earth history.


Lomello, in the province of Pavia, Lombardy, in northwestern Italy, is an ancient settlement. One of the oldest baptisteries in Lombardy, the Baptistery of San Giovanni ad Fontes was erected there on a Roman burial site. Built between the 5th C. (lowest portions) and the 7th C. (the upper portion was rebuilt during the 8th C.; the baptistery was last restored in 1941), the octagonal structure has alternating semi-circular and rectangular niches which create an essentially cruciform footprint. The building center rises above the roof line of the niches in an octagonal shape. Eight arched windows, one on each wall of the octagon, provide light for the space within. A small lantern tops the baptistery. The font is 7th C. Lombard, an irregular hexagon about 2 meters wide.It was constructed for the rite of immersion then later adapted for the rite of sprinkling. (The practice of baptism by immersion was abandoned in Italy around the 6th C.) Traces of the original painting decoration are still visible on the font, including geometric designs, the figure of a cross and fragments of inscriptions.July 1991


The chromosol soils of the Duri district range from highly to moderately degraded. The poorer condition results in high overland flow, reduced plant available water, and can lead to greater recharging of lower lying vertosol soils, which have a greater salt store and as a consequence of recharge may result in salt mobilization. Application of fertilizer and sub-clovers on chromosols has been analyzed to determine economic benefits on two properties in the Duri area. Using a low ($80) and high ($130) pasture establishment cost for improving the grass- Danthonia spp dominated chromosol soils. Total Farm Gross Margins (TFGM) were modeled (Hassall & Associates Pty Ltd.) on a dominate (68%) degraded chromosol site (Site 1) and a vertosol dominated (25% chromosol) site (Site 2). Results for Site 1 indicated that there was an increase in TFGM in subsequent years with a low establishment cost. Increasing the establishment cost resulted in an initial decrease in TFGM, with subsequent years leading to TFGM improvement. However, the degraded nature of this soil makes the short term improvements highly unlikely. Site 2 has less potential for pasture improvement due to the limited chromosol area within this property. However, result of the modeling indicate that under both low and high establishment costs, depending upon seasonal conditions, it may take years before greater returns are observed. In fact to warrant the investment a minimum carrying capacity of 3.5 DSE/ha at Site 1 and 3.5 to 4.5 DSE/ha at Site 2 is required. Overall further investigation into remediation options are needed, with farmer negotiation an important aspect of any recommendation.


The construction of national identities through political discourse is a growing field of interest to social psychologists, particularly as many countries face changing demographics, borders and social realities as part of globalization, immigration and continued political integration and conflict. Through an analysis of 17 key speeches by Serbian politicians over the past 25 years, the present paper explores the question of how politicians, as entrepreneurs of identity, discursively manage the relationship between identity continuity and political change over time, in attempts to construct the future of a nation. We particularly explore this issue in the context of Serbia's present political aspirations toward joining the European Union. The findings indicate that (i) political change becomes negotiated within the framework of established and legitimized identity discourses that have developed over time, and (ii) while history is frequently drawn on to support political agendas, it is successful to the extent that this history offers a sense of cultural continuity rather than a coherent narrative of historical events and time periods. We conclude by arguing for the benefits that a diachronic approach to political discourse can offer social psychologists interested in the discursive construction of national identity.


Reliable and affordable non-parental childcare is intimately related to female participation and other outcomes in the labor market given the conflicting demand for women's time on both, work and care activities. In terms of policy, public provision and subsidy of childcare services lift some of the time constraints and contribute to help families in the transitions through the initial years of parenthood. Both enrollment and this in turn increases the probability for mothers to look for a job or to be employed. This paper summarizes the available evidence specifically discussing characteristics and impact of childcare policies and programs in the Latin American region. Almost all random assignment and quasi-experimental studies show consistent positive effects on the intensive or extensive margins of female labor supply. This document also provides a review of incipient evidence about factors that affect program take-up and demand for childcare services and other informal care arrangements.


This accessible, self-contained guide contains everything you need to get up to speed on the theory and implementation of MIMO techniques. In-depth coverage of topics such as RF propagation, space-time coding, spatial multiplexing, OFDM in MIMO for broadband applications, the theoretical MIMO capacity formula and channel estimation will give you a deep understanding of how the results are obtained, while detailed descriptions of how MIMO is implemented in commercial WiFi and LTE networks will help you apply the theory to practical wireless systems. Key concepts in matrix mathematics and information theory are introduced and developed as you need them, and key results are derived step-by-step, with no details omitted. Including numerous worked examples, and end-of-chapter exercises to reinforce and solidify your understanding, this is the perfect introduction to MIMO for anyone new to the field.


This Major Research Paper conducted a critical discourse analysis of Canadian Press articles focused on obesity. This research sought to understand how the articles constructed obesity, what discourses were operating, and what power relations were at play. The three main discourses that shaped the articles were mother blame, the medical model, and economics. They became evident through photographs, language used, gendered power relations, medicalized understandings of health and solutions to obesity, and who was profiting or benefitting from these understandings and solutions. Social work practitioners and educators need to consider these discourses when conceptualizing obesity, and strive to contextualize individual experiences of fatness within broader structural and systemic power relations. Social workers also need to be cautious about reproducing oppressive anti-obesity practices, social work is a profession that has historically been an agent of social control and discipline.


Introduction: Cutaneous mycosis is one of the most common dermatological conditions seen in children. In the recent past, there has been an increased incidence and unresponsiveness to various antifungal agents. Itraconazole is an effective and safe antifungal agent used, especially in adults; however, there are only a few studies in the literature for the treatment of dermatophytosis in children with oral itraconazole solution. Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the safety, effectiveness, and tolerability of oral itraconazole solution in children with recurrent and extensive dermatophytoses. Methods: This is a hospital-based prospective, longitudinal, open-labeled study conducted in a tertiary care hospital over a period of 3 months at the Department of Dermatology Venerology and Leprosy. A total of 30 children with recurrent and extensive dermatophytoses were recruited for the study. All were assessed for history, clinical features, and potassium hydroxide (KOH) mount for fungus. Itraconazole oral solution was given at a dosage of 5 mg/kg body weight for a duration of 4 weeks and evaluated for safety, effectiveness, tolerability, and mycological cure (KOH mount) after 4 weeks. Results: There were 30 cases in the study comprising 18 males and 12 females. The age group 6–10 years constituted a maximum number of cases. All of these cases had more than 10% body surface area involvement. Twenty-six patients had both clinical and mycological cure, whereas four patients still demonstrated fungal elements on KOH examination. All patients demonstrated excellent safety and tolerability except one who complained that the preparation was unsavory. Conclusion: Oral itraconazole solution is effective in chronic and recurrent dermatophytoses in children.


Blissus occiduus Barber, a relatively small chinch bug characterized by conspicuous wing dimorphism, has emerged as an important insect pest of buffalograss, Buchloe dactylnides (Nuttall) Engelmann. It completes 2 generations a year on buffalograss in Nebraska. Overwintered adults become active as early as mid-March. Depending on the season, 1st-generation nymphs Can be present from early May through early August, with 1st-generation adults (up to 60% macropterous forms) appearing in mid to late June. Second generation nymphs can be present from early July through fall, with 2nd-generation adults appearing in late August to early September. These pre dominately brachypterous (>95%) adults overwinter in and around the turf area. Blissus occiduus was confirmed to be associated with natural buffalograss pastures, seeded and vegetatively propa gated buffalograss lawns, right-of-ways, cemeteries, and golf courses in 21 Nebraska counties. Chinch bugs were generally found feeding on the stolons and in the crown area of the buffalograss plant. Initial B. occiduus injury resulted in reddish discoloration of infested plant tissues. As feeding progressed, damage appeared as patchy areas in the turf that turned from yellow to straw-brown. At higher infestation levels, chinch bug feeding resulted in severe thinning or death of the buffa lograss stand. Field studies documented buffalograss as a reproductive host of B. occiduus, with Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass identified as potential hosts. Creeping bentgrass, tall fescue, and zoysiagrass did not appear to be suitable turfgrass hosts for B. occiduus.


The refractile (R) bodies found in Caedibacter taeniospiralis, a bacterial endosymbiont of Paramecium tetraurelia, are large, polymeric protein structures that can switch between two conformations. At cytoplasmic pH, they resemble coiled ribbons of protein 500nm in diameter. At low pH, they extend to form hollow needles up to 20 microns long. They can be expressed heterologously from an operon containing four short open reading frames and can function in vitro in diverse buffer conditions. In this study, R bodies purified from Escherichia coli were found to be capable of undergoing many consecutive extension-contraction cycles. Furthermore, the solubility of R bodies, which can easily be interpreted by eye, was found to correlate with their extension state. This macroscopic phenotype was used to develop a quantitative, high-throughput assay for R body state, enabling a visual screen of R body mutants defective in extension. The role of specific amino acids in extension was determined, and this information was used to construct rationally-designed mutants tailored to extend at higher pH. Furthermore, R bodies were able to rupture E. coli spheroplasts to release soluble proteins across lipid bilayers. Taken together, these results show that R bodies act as tunable, pH-actuated pistons suitable for a variety of membrane-breaking applications.


Surface ozone measurements have been made for the first time at Nainital (29.37 degrees N, 79.45 degrees E, 1958 m amsl), a high-altitude site in the central Himalayas, between October 2006 and December 2008. Diurnal variations in ozone do not show the daytime photochemical build-up typical of urban or rural sites. The seasonal variation shows a distinct ozone maximum in late spring (May; 67.2 +/- 14.2 ppbv) with values sometimes exceeding 100 ppbv and a minimum in the summer/monsoon season (August; 24.9 +/- 8.4 ppbv). Springtime ozone values in the central Himalayas are significantly higher than those at another high-altitude site (Mt. Abu) in the western part of India. Seasonal variations in ozone and the processes responsible for the springtime peak are studied using meteorological parameters, insolation, spatial and temporal classifications of air mass trajectories, fire counts, and simulations with a chemical transport model. Net ozone production over the Northern Indian Subcontinent in regionally polluted air masses is estimated to be 3.2 ppbv/day in spring but no clear build-up is seen at other times of year. Annual average ozone values in regionally polluted air masses (47.1 +/- 16.7 ppbv) and on high insolation days (46.8 +/- 17.3 ppbv) are similar. Background ozone levels are estimated to be 30-35 ppbv. Regional pollution is shown to have maximum contribution (16.5 ppbv) to ozone levels during May-June and is about 7 ppbv on an annual basis, while the contribution of long-range transport is greatest during January-March (8-11 ppbv). The modeled stratospheric ozone contribution is 2-16 ppbv. Both the trajectory analysis and the model suggest that the stratospheric contribution is 4-6 ppbv greater than the contribution from regional pollution. Differences in the seasonal variation of ozone over high-altitude sites in the central Himalayas (Nainital) and western India (Mt. Abu) suggest diverse regional emission sources in India and highlight the large spatial and temporal variability in ozone over the Indian region.


Virtual learning environments provide an attractive method for information dissemination, but they are often adopted because of their technical innovativeness with little thought given to integrating the medium with learning objectives and pedagogical strategies. Moreover, computer-based learning is used increasingly as the solution to the problems associated with flexible learning, particularly for students situated in different locations and studying in different modes. Too often, though, global education typically lacks social and collaborative activities with the unintended consequence of feelings of social isolation. Technology can separate rather than connect students. This paper describes an action research project at Murdoch University, Australia. The project was a process of planning and evaluation of a group collaboration designed to connect multimodal and geographically disparate students. The analyses of the group collaboration indicate that the students gained significant benefits from collaborating online without meeting face-to-face.


At our first lab meeting since the COVID-19 lockdowns were lifted, I sensed unease. After taking a seat at a large table, I noticed that no one seemed to want to sit next to me. As more people shuffled in, most of my labmates huddled on the opposite side of the table. Someone mentioned the "kung flu." Another labmate "joked" that Asians really ought to be wearing masks, especially in small gatherings such as lab meetings. It took me a few moments to realize that—as the only Asian person in the room—they were likely talking about me. I know I should have been wearing a mask, but I wasn't the only person in the room without one.

> "Racist comments … should not be normalized and tolerated."

A few days before that, I was sitting in the building's atrium with a Black colleague discussing an experimental method when a scientist from another lab joined us. Upon noticing my colleague's Black Lives Matter pin, the scientist said, "You really ought to keep your politics at home." We were both taken aback. Our visitor went on to declare that looting is not the right solution to George Floyd's killing, that people need to get jobs instead of protesting all day, and that Black people shouldn't be so angry all the time. We sat there, appalled, but didn't say anything.

On another occasion, a former co-worker asked me—as an immigrant—how I felt about President Donald Trump's immigration bans. I said I wished immigrants weren't constantly viewed as a threat to the economy because we have so much to offer, particularly in niche work sectors. The person's response was along the lines of, "At least Silicon Valley will be less of a 'brown town' and give others a chance." I laughed but felt seriously uncomfortable.

Why didn't I speak up? Because I feared repercussions—and I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling that way. On the rare occasions when I have voiced my concern about racist comments, I've been told I am "too much of a social justice warrior." I'm at a precarious point in my training, because I'm currently doing lab rotations, and I will settle on a Ph.D. adviser next year. Strained relationships with my colleagues may make it harder to find a permanent lab, or they may lead to poor letters of recommendation or lost authorship opportunities.

Yet racist comments, no matter how funny some people may think they are, should not be normalized and tolerated. I feel deeply unsettled that in the current political environment, some people—including some scientists—think it's OK to say these things. And I wish early-career scientists like me felt more comfortable questioning them.

It will take action at all rungs of scientific institutions—from deans' offices down to individual labs—to change the climate. We need more than a few hours of mandated online bias training to really mobilize a shift. Universities need to create safe spaces to discuss racial issues and microaggressions head-on—for example, by developing seminar series or journal clubs to educate the community about problems and to generate solutions. And science itself needs a culture change. We should commit to holding one another accountable for problematic behavior. When issues arise, institutions should have a clear procedure for filing grievances.

And, more broadly, there should be open and honest dialogue about the culture of intimidation and hierarchy in science. Universities and labs should seek actionable ways to flatten research team structures so that early-career scientists can feel empowered to speak up against problematic behavior.

Change is hard and takes time. Talking about racism with your colleagues is even harder. Mopping up centuries of racism that have percolated into everyday parlance will take a long time. However, science thrives when there are alternate perspectives. Now more than ever, we must acknowledge that and champion a culture of positive change.


A novel adaptive design for feedforward amplifier linearizer with analog controller is proposed in this paper. Compared previous adaptive linearizing method, this is new design which does not require any pilot signal and intentional signal distortion. In main signal cancellation loop, magnitude and phase of two-path signal in subtracter are compared mutually and controlled for main signal cancellation. In distortion signal cancellation loop, gain and phase of each path is controlled to maintain constant, so that the same level and out-of phase of two-path distortion signal are obtained. A prototype feedforward amplifier with the proposed linearizer has been tested for 3-carrier IS-95 CDMA signals and 20.25dB ACPR is improved.


A new synthetic route to 2,2-bis(sulfanylmethyl)propane-1,3-diol, (II), is described starting from the commercially available 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propane-1,3-diol. The structures of two intermediates on this route are described. 5,5-Dimethenyl-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxane bis(thiocyanate) (systematic name: {[5-(cyanosulfanyl)-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxan-5-yl]sulfanyl}formonitrile), C(10)H(14)N(2)O(2)S(2), (X), crystallizes in the space group P2(1)/c with no symmetry relationship between the two thiocyanate groups. There is a short intramolecular N...S contact for one thiocyanate group, while the second group is positioned such that this type of interaction is not possible. 1,3-(Hydroxymethyl)propane-1,3-diyl bis(thiocyanate), C(7)H(10)N(2)O(2)S(2), (XI), also features a single short N···S contact in the solid state. Hydrogen bonding between two molecules of compound (XI) results in the formation of dimers in the crystal, which are then linked together by a second hydrogen-bond interaction between the dimers. In addition, the structures of two intermediates from an unsuccessful alternative synthesis of (II) are reported. 2,2-Bis(chloromethyl)propane-1,3-diol, C(5)H(10)Cl(2)O(2), (VI), crystallized as an inversion twin with a minor twin fraction of 0.43 (6). It forms a zigzag structure as a result of intermolecular hydrogen bonding. The structure of 9,9-dimethyl-2,4,8,10-tetraoxa-3λ(4)-thiaspiro[5.5]undecan-3-one, C(8)H(14)O(5)S, (VII), shows evidence for a weak S···O contact with a distance of 3.2529 (11) Å.


Over the past 5 years, real energy and non-energy commodity prices have trended sharply higher. These relative price movements have had important implications for inflation and economic activity in both Canada and the rest of the world. China has accounted for the bulk of incremental demand for oil and many base metals over this period. As rapid economic growth in China has raised the level of world demand, this has put upward pressure on commodity prices. The effect has been amplified by rising resource intensities in China's production in recent years. This paper discusses the factors driving emerging Asia's demand for commodities and assesses the impact of emerging Asia on the real prices of oil and base metals in the Bank of Canada Commodity Price Index (BCPI). Two separate single-equation models are estimated for oil and the base metals price index. We employ a structural break approach for oil prices, while metals prices are modelled with an error correction model (ECM). In both cases, we find strong evidence that oil and metals prices have historically moved with the business cycle in the developed world, but that this relationship has broken down since mid-1997. Thereafter, industrial activity in emerging Asia appears to have become a more dominant driver of oil price movements. While metal price fluctuations have also become increasingly aligned with levels of industrial activity in emerging Asia, rising intensities of metal production may have been a more important factor behind the acceleration in prices in recent years.


Seven molecular forms of arsenic were separated by anion- and cation-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with on-line detection by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The interfacing was established by a vented poly(tetrafluoroethylene) capillary tubing connecting the HPLC column to the nebulizer of the atomic absorption spectrometer. Arsenite, arsenate, monomethylarsonate (MMA) and dimethylarsinate (DMA) were separated from each other and from the co-injected cationic arsenic compounds, arsenobetaine (AsB), arsenocholine (AsC) and the tetramethylarsonium ion (TMAs) on an organic polymeric anion-exchange column with 0.1 mol dm–3 carbonate at pH 10.3 as the mobile phase. The three cationic species were separated from each other and from the co-injected anionic species on a silica based cation-exchange column with pyridine at a pH of 2.65 as the mobile phase. The signal-to-noise ratio of the on-line AAS detector was optimized. This involved the use of the hydrogen–argon–entrained air flame, a slotted tube atom trap in the flame for signal enhancement, electronic noise damping and a high-intensity light source. The detection limits in µg cm–3, using 100 mm3 injections of mixtures of arsenic standards into the HPLC system were: arsenite, AsIII 1.1; arsenate, Asv 1.4; MMA 1.4; DMA 0.7; AsB 0.3; AsC 0.5; and the TMAs 0.4. The HPLC–AAS system was used for the analysis of arsenic species in aqueous extracts of soil samples from a polluted land site. Only arsenate was found in the soil extracts. For comparison, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was also used as an on-line detection technique with the same HPLC systems.


The thesis analyses the development of the concept of flexible integration in the 1996-97 Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) of the European Union (EU) and outlines an array of ideas, interests and issues at stake for the actors in the negotiations. The thesis has two objectives: (1) to explain the 1996-97 IGC process of negotiation which led to the institutionalisation of flexible integration in the Amsterdam Treaty and (2) to analyse the substance of the flexibility debate from the early 1970s to the present day. The research aims to show that flexibility comes to the fore whenever at least one of the following five issues is debated on the European level: (1) economic and monetary union, (2) free movement, (3) defence, (4) enlargement and (5) the exclusion of recalcitrant member states. The 1996-97 IGC was exceptional in that it met all the five criteria which have a tendency to trigger the flexibility debate. The thesis has three basic lines of argumentation. The first relates to the ICC process, the argument being that the 1996-97 IGC negotiations on flexibility were m incremental learning process where the basic positions of the member governments illustrated some continuity, but the specific positions of the negotiators fluctuated with the dynamics of the negotiations. The second line of argumentation relates to the concept of flexibility itself (substance), the argument being that one of the main difficulties with the flexibility negotiations was that flexibility meant different things to different people. Member governments did not necessarily agree about its purpose. The final strand of argumentation relates to the key players in the flexibility debate. Although all member states, large and small, played an important role in the IGC process, the most influential actors in the 1996-97 IGC were the civil servants of the respective Presidencies and the Council Secretariat.


The mechanism of mixed ionic–electronic conduction (MIEC) for (La1−xSrx)CoO3−δ (LSC) (x = 0.00–0.50) was investigated by experimental as well as theoretical studies which included Rietveld refinements, maximum entropy method (MEM) analysis, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and first principles calculations (FPCs). The correlations among MIEC, structural parameters, i.e., the bond length, the bond angle, electron density, and the spin configuration, were discussed from the practical results. Moreover, these correlations were verified by FPC, and interpreted by the band structure and the total energy of LSC. The electronic conductivity was affected by the Co–O–Co bond angle, electron densities, and the spin state. In particular, the spin transition from the low to high spin state was accompanied by the cross-over from semiconductor to metallic at x = 0.15. Concerning the oxide ion diffusion, LSC has large anisotropic atomic displacement parameters of the oxide ion sites, in the vertical direction of the Co–O bond, which associate with the high oxide ion diffusion. The total energy of LSC during the migration of the oxide ion was also calculated with varying Sr content, lattice parameters, and symmetries by using FPC. Consequently, the symmetry of LSC is more effective to reduce the activation energy of oxide ion diffusion than Sr content and lattice parameters.


Known today for colourful, decorative yarn paintings renowned in the global art market, the indigenous Huichols of western Mexico have retained their unique culture and arts, creating traditional art and practising ancient rituals that predate Spanish contact. The origins of modern Huichol art are found in the early religious arts that form the outstanding collection of Robert M Zingg, the first American anthropologist to conduct extended fieldwork among the Huichol (1934-1935). Drawing from the Zingg collection housed at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, this extensive volume features a vast array of Huichol art including textiles, prayer arrows, richly decorated votive gourd bowls, featherwork, and beaded jewellery. Accompanying essays by noted Huichol scholars including C Jill Grady, Peter T Furst and Hope MacLean, explore the anthropological history of the Huichol and the themes of their unique cultural arts. Also included are rare field photographs taken by Zingg, documenting the annual ceremonial and agricultural cycles and many of the collected objects in use.


How is it possible for us to work in a community without feeling the spirit of the culture that has been there for many years, without trying to understand the soul of the culture?" --Paulo Freire cited in Gadotti, 1994 Introduction Upon reflection about my teaching practice, I began my first phase of qualitative research in literacy policy research, moving from practice to theory. The result of this part of the project was a history of literacy discourses 1970-1998 (Agnello, 2001). In that history, I traced the development of what Bernstein called official pedagogical discourse, utilizing discourse analytical procedures to frame a critical study of prescriptions for literacy development in landmark educational policies (Bernstein, 1980). Citing official literacy statements as data, I constructed a history of four discourses of literacy including human capital, cultural, critical, and feminist literacies. The time range spans from the publication of Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970) to an effort to unite welfare and literacy in the Workforce Investment Act (1998). Most recently, I have added an analysis of No Child Left Behind in an effort to bring the dominant discourses of literacy study up to date. In sum, discourse analysis of landmark policy texts chronicled archaeological discursive relics that contributed to the development and regulation of a literate citizenry (Freire, 1970; Foucault, 1972; Agnello, 2001). Regulation results from discourses of human capital and cultural literacy and the power exercised in many locations to perpetuate the knowledge arrangements such discourses afford the political economy (Freire, 1970). For those on the bottom of the social hierarchy, oppression often results from implemented literacy policies (Freire, 1970; McNeil, 2000; Valenzuela, 2005). In the second stage, I moved from theory to practice. The history of literacy discourses became a backdrop against which I approached critical applications of teaching literacy in a language arts methods class. The objective of such teaching was to promote reflective and critical teaching practice. Cochran-Smith (1991, 2001), Darling-Hammond (1990), and Darling-Hammond and Wise (1991) have discussed the possibilities for such critical practice in the turbulent seas of educational restructuring resulting from policy reform. Followers of Freire promote reflection through teacher as researcher and teacher as public intellectual endeavors. In new multicultural times, with new literacy awareness, and upon new epistemological foundations of literacy research, I shared new teaching methods and postformal practices with language arts methods students in order to transform schooling and the world (Kincheloe, 1991, 1993; Giroux, 1988; Kincheloe & Steinberg, 1993; Agnello, 2006). Responding to Duke and Mallette, who express a paucity of lenses utilized to explore the many facets of national literacy research, I pursued archaeological, genealogical research, employing synthetic and interpretive discourse analysis of both student interns' influences on their literacy development and formal literacy policy articulations. This research is phenomenological and hermeneutical making interpretive connections among future teachers' experiences, national literacy policy, and the educational possibilities afforded a literate citizenry (Agnello, 2001). Such multi-epistemological and multi-methodological endeavors promote change in the way we view knowledge connoted by the "truths" of literacy and the practices implemented to achieve such literacy at large. Revolutions and struggles evidenced in research methodologies, in education, and in literacy studies stem from epistemological questioning of the "inscription of political and social doctrines of progress into science" (Popkewitz, 1997, p. 18; Lankshear, 2001). This revolutionary phenomenon has occurred particularly in the production of knowledge, social sciences, and education that "question[s] the presuppositions of progress and power underlying intellectual work" (Popkewitz, 1997, p. …


Rice farming is susceptible to failure due to several risks including natural disasters of flood and drought as well as pest and disease attacks. Risk mitigation such as agricultural insurance is required to cope with the risks. This study aims to portray rice production risks to failure and farmer's perception on the implementation of agricultural insurance in Bali province. Three regencies were selected purposively based on the area insured. A survey was conducted to 180 respondents who paid for the agricultural insurance (AUTP). Data were analyzed using descriptive qualitative analysis and chi-square test. Results of the research show that most rice farming risks to failure in Bali were blast and rat attacks. In terms of agricultural insurance implementation, all farmers accept the program as a mitigation risk to bridge rice farming failure. However, most farmers (85 %) asked for fully support of premium subsidy from the government while the rest agreed to pay for a-20 % of the premium. The result from the Chi-square test shows insignificant, implying that the distribution of farmers' perception towards full subsidy of agricultural insurance is indifferent across locations. Implication of the study noted that the government and insurer need to socialize the agricultural insurance program more intensively covering premium payment, coverage and claiming. Keywords: production risk, agricultural insurance, farmer's perception, AUTP, Chi-square


Value-added applications of niobium (Nb) microalloyed steels continue to be developed for commercial implementation to meet increased material demands and improved properties for 21st century structural applications. These applications demand Nb-bearing steels that deliver improved toughness, fracture and fire resistance and weldability. Such applications include medium and jumbo beam, boiler, bridge, container, heavy equipment, long product, pressure vessel, ship, storage tank and windtower applications. Steel producers are challenged to develop microalloyed steel grades that cost effectively meet end user demands for higher strength at thinner cross sections, better low temperature toughness to resist brittle fracture in building, pressure vessel and ship structures, sustain higher loads per unit area in earthquake and hurricane zone product applications, demonstrate improved fire-resistance in buildings, bridges and tunnels and provide overall improved weldability. Niobium is often a key element to achieve these results. This paper will discuss Nb market opportunities and key operational practices required to successfully melt, cast and roll these high strength steel grades. Niobium process metallurgy is important to leverage the ability of niobium to obtain ultra-fine grain, homogeneous structural steel microstructures with superior mechanical properties. In addition, with the ever-growing concern regarding the environment and resource sustainability, the application of advanced high strength Nb-bearing steels for both long product and structural applications have been shown to reduce resource usage and improve the carbon footprint. Recent Nb-microalloyed steel applications provide more efficient product design, reduce steelmaking emissions and reduce energy consumption. Introduction The unique metallurgical attributes that niobium provides to structural steels create the opportunity to successfully meet stringent mechanical, corrosion and elevated temperature demands. Nb-based structural steels were in limited production during the 1980's. Over the last two decades, through the numerous Nb-bearing structural steel global research and development project activities conducted by steel mills, universities, research institutions and CBMM, significant progress has been achieved. Nb-bearing structural products are now specified in a variety of applications and markets. The diverse array of Nb-structural steel markets and future Niobium Bearing Structural Steels Edited by: Steven G. Jansto and Jitendra Patel TMS (The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society), 2010


We consider the problem of recovering a symmetric, positive semidefinite (SPSD) matrix from a subset of its entries, possibly corrupted by noise. In contrast to previous matrix recovery work, we drop the assumption of a random sampling of entries in favor of a deterministic sampling of principal submatrices of the matrix. We develop a set of sufficient conditions for the recovery of a SPSD matrix from a set of its principal submatrices, present necessity results based on this set of conditions and develop an algorithm that can exactly recover a matrix when these conditions are met. The proposed algorithm is naturally generalized to the problem of noisy matrix recovery, and we provide a worst-case bound on reconstruction error for this scenario. Finally, we demonstrate the algorithm's utility on noiseless and noisy simulated datasets.


According to one recent scholar, "Most commentators on Nietzsche would agree that he is in a broad sense a naturalist in his mature philosophy" (Janaway 2007: 34). This may come as a surprise to those who think of Heidegger, Kaufmann, DeMan, Kofman, Deleuze, and Nehamas, among others, as "commentators" on Nietzsche. And yet there are, indeed, clear signs that in the last twenty years, as Nietzsche studies has become more philosophically sophisticated, the naturalist reading of Nietzsche has come to the fore, certainly in Anglophone scholarship. In Nietzsche on Morality (2002), I set out a systematic reading of Nietzsche as a philosophical naturalist, one which has attracted considerable critical comment, including from some generally sympathetic to reading Nietzsche as a philosophical naturalist. In this paper, I revisit that reading and respond to various objections. Topics covered include the role of "speculation" in Nietzsche's naturalism; the difference between the Humean and Therapeutic Nietzsches; the role of culture in naturalistic explanations; the status of claims about causation in Nietzsche's naturalism; whether the apparent metaphysics of the will to power is compatible with naturalism; and how Nietzsche's speculative naturalism fares in light of subsequent work in empirical psychology.


This research was conducted in support of two branches of the EPA ENERGY STAR program, whose overall goal is to reduce, through voluntary market-based means, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in the U.S. The primary objective was to collect data for the ENERGY STAR Office Equipment program on the after-hours power state of computers, monitors, printers, copiers, scanners, fax machines, and multi-function devices. We also collected data for the ENERGY STAR Commercial Buildings branch on the types and amounts of miscellaneous plug-load equipment, a significant and growing end use that is not usually accounted for by building energy managers. This data set is the first of its kind that we know of, and is an important first step in characterizing miscellaneous plug loads in commercial buildings. The main purpose of this study is to supplement and update previous data we collected on the extent to which electronic office equipment is turned off or automatically enters a low power state when not in active use. In addition, it provides data on numbers and types of office equipment, and helps identify trends in office equipment usage patterns. These data improve our estimates of typical unit energy consumption and savings for each equipment type, and enables the ENERGY STAR Office Equipment program to focus future effort on products with the highest energy savings potential. This study expands our previous sample of office buildings in California and Washington DC to include education and health care facilities, and buildings in other states. We report data from twelve commercial buildings in California, Georgia, and Pennsylvania: two health care buildings, two large offices (> 500 employees each), three medium offices (50-500 employees), four education buildings, and one small office that is actually an aggregate of five small businesses. Two buildings are in the San Francisco Bay area of California, five are in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and five are in Atlanta, Georgia.


This paper examines the major competing interpretations of the economic crisis in the US and explains the rebound of neoliberal orthodoxy. It shows how US policymakers acted to stabilize and save the economy, but failed to change the underlying neoliberal economic policy model. That failure explains the emergence of stagnation, which is likely to endure. Current economic conditions in the US smack of the mid-1990s. The 1990s expansion proved unsustainable and so will the current modest expansion. However, this time it is unlikely to be followed by financial crisis because of the balance sheet cleaning that took place during the last crisis. Thomas I. Palley Senior Economic Policy Advisor, AFL-CIO Washington, D.C. email@example.com


The era of Russian Symbolism (1892-1917) has been called the Silver Age of Russian culture, and even the Second Golden Age. Symbolist authors are among the greatest Russian authors of this century, and their activities helped to foster one of the most significant advances in cultural life (in poetry, prose, music, theater, and painting) that has ever been seen there. This book is designed to serve as an introduction to Symbolism in Russia, as a movement, an artistic method, and a world view. The primary emphasis is on the history of the movement itself. Attention is devoted to what the Symbolists wrote, said, and thought, and on how they interacted. In this context, the main actors are the authors of poetry, prose, drama, and criticism, but space is also devoted to the important connections between literary figures and artists, philosophers, and the intelligentsia in general. This broad, detailed and balanced account of this period will serve as a standard reference work an encourage further research among scholars and students of literature.


The code of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) is an important regulation to improve the on-the-job safety of employees. Several factors affect the planning and implementation of OHS management systems (OHSMS). The evaluation of OHS practice is the most important component when building a safety environment policy for employees and administration. Begin aware of subjective nature of factors affecting OHS and the use of statistical method, it becomes controversial as to a way of handling this type of survey data. This research presents a combination of possibilistic regression analysis with a convex hull approach to analyze the fitting factors that impact good practices of OHS. In addition, selected samples of data could be represented as fuzzy sets. This study offers an alternative platform to evaluate influential factors being used towards a successful implementation of the OHS policy.


Objectives: There is great interest to sequence unrelated or pedigree samples for detecting rare variant quantitative trait associations. In order to reduce the cost of sequencing and improve power, many studies sequence selected samples with extreme traits. Existing methods for detecting rare variant associations were developed for unrelated samples. Methods are needed to analyze (selected or randomly ascertained) pedigree samples. Methods: We propose a unified framework of modeling extreme trait genetic associations (MEGA) with rare variants. Using MEGA and appropriate permutation algorithms, many rare variant tests can be extended to family data. As an application, we compared study designs using both sib-pairs and unrelated individuals. Extensive simulations were carried out using realistic population genetic and complex trait models. Results: It is demonstrated that when extreme sampling is implemented within equal-sized cohorts of unrelated individuals or sib-pairs, analyzing unrelated individuals is consistently more powerful than studying sib-pairs. A higher portion of rare variants can be identified through sequencing unrelated samples compared to sibs. Alternatively, if samples are ascertained using fixed thresholds from an infinite-sized population, sequencing one sib with the most extreme trait from each extreme concordant sib-pair is consistently the most powerful design. Conclusions: MEGA will play an important role in the analysis of sequence-based genetic association studies.


The development and scale-up of school improvement networks is among the most important educational innovations of the last decade, and current federal, state, and district efforts attempt to use school improvement networks as a mechanism for supporting large-scale change. The potential of improvement networks, however, rests on the extent to which they can thrive in the turbulent world of U.S. education. In this article, we adapt a model of innovation scale-up and apply it to the problem of scaling-up educational networks. The framework identifies the constituent components of networks and environments, and the relationship between them. We demonstrate the framework's utility by illustrating the relationship between two prominent educational networks –the Success for All Foundation and America's Choice– and the educational environments in which they operated at two different points in time. Results suggest that without robust environmental support, networks are prone to a high degree of uncertainty and unpredictability.


This paper provides an illustrative example of an approach to creating and reporting individual profiles of engagement in particular behaviours in an online asynchronous discussion (OAD). Individual results of analysis of transcripts of an OAD can provide insights different from those gained by focusing on aggregate measures of group behaviours. In this case, we focused on individual behaviours associated with Problem Formulation and Resolution (PFR) in a one-month long OAD with seven graduate students. The transcripts of each participant were analysed for patterns of PFR behaviours using a previously designed instrument. Individual profiles of the seven participants were created. The paper provides examples of how the approach facilitated identification and comparison of individual weaknesses and strengths. Also provided are examples of how individual profiles might be useful in professional development and instructional contexts for formative or summative assessment purposes.


It is necessary to limit the natural periods of some structures to control their response to dynamic loads. Floor systems with natural periods greater than approximately 0.15 seconds may experience unacceptable vibration if used for dancing or aerobic exercise activities. Similarly, the critical period at which wind vortices are shed from a tall building is dependent on design wind velocity and building shape and width. The natural period of a tall building should be less than this critical period to avoid resonance with the forces induced by vortex shedding. Structural engineers are faced with the problem of how to efficiently distribute material throughout such structures to limit their periods and dynamic response. The Principle of Virtual Work is a simple but powerful tool which estimates the contribution of each member to the response of a structure. This principle may be used to optimize a structure by distributing material so that the virtual work density is the same for all members. This optimization method is simple enough for manual analysis and provides a designer with insight into the behavior of a structure. The Virtual Work Optimization procedure may also be estimated and integrated with analysis programs to optimize large, complex structures.


BACKGROUND
Stage III or IVA endometrial cancer carries a significant risk of systemic and locoregional recurrence.

METHODS
In this randomized phase 3 trial, we tested whether 6 months of platinum-based chemotherapy plus radiation therapy (chemoradiotherapy) is associated with longer relapse-free survival (primary end point) than six cycles of combination chemotherapy alone in patients with stage III or IVA endometrial carcinoma. Secondary end points included overall survival, acute and chronic toxic effects, and quality of life.

RESULTS
Of the 813 patients enrolled, 736 were eligible and were included in the analysis of relapse-free survival; of those patients, 707 received the randomly assigned intervention (346 received chemoradiotherapy and 361 received chemotherapy only). The median follow-up period was 47 months. At 60 months, the Kaplan-Meier estimate of the percentage of patients alive and relapse-free was 59% (95% confidence interval [CI], 53 to 65) in the chemoradiotherapy group and 58% (95% CI, 53 to 64) in the chemotherapy-only group (hazard ratio, 0.90; 90% CI, 0.74 to 1.10). Chemoradiotherapy was associated with a lower 5-year incidence of vaginal recurrence (2% vs. 7%; hazard ratio, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.16 to 0.82) and pelvic and paraaortic lymph-node recurrence (11% vs. 20%; hazard ratio, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.28 to 0.66) than chemotherapy alone, but distant recurrence was more common in association with chemoradiotherapy (27% vs. 21%; hazard ratio, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.86). Grade 3, 4, or 5 adverse events were reported in 202 patients (58%) in the chemoradiotherapy group and 227 patients (63%) in the chemotherapy-only group.

CONCLUSIONS
Chemotherapy plus radiation was not associated with longer relapse-free survival than chemotherapy alone in patients with stage III or IVA endometrial carcinoma. (Funded by the National Cancer Institute; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00942357.).


1.Introduction: According to unique position and varied climate, terrain, and flora and fauna, the Sudanese have developed a unique traditional culture. Their unique indigenous knowledge of herbs led to the development of numerous general health and preventative remedies. Some are useful and some, although widely accepted due to custom and tradition, proved harmful. Identification of medicinal plants with significant cytotoxic potential useful for the development of cancer therapeutics has gained increasing importance in the last decade and research in this field is expanding. Twenty five extracts of fourteen Sudanese plants, used traditionally as medicines, were previously screened for their safe use by the authors. Preliminary cytotoxicity and antioxidant activity investigations of these plants were carried out using Brine Shrimp Lethality Test (BSL), DPPH (1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhidrazil) radical scavenging and Iron Chelating Assays. Thirteen extracts showed significant cytotoxicity on BSL assay with different antioxidant capacities. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the in-vitro cytotoxicity of these thirteen extracts in RAW 264.7 normal cell cultures to verify their traditional safe use and their potential antitumor capacity. Ethanol and aqueous extracts of Sesamum indicum, Acacia senegal, Moringa oleifera, Ambrosia maritima, the ethanol extracts of Nigella sativa and Foeniculum vulgare , the fixed oil of Riccinus communis and the essential oils of Piper nigrum and Coriandrum sativum were investigated. 2.Materials & Methodology: Three concentrations of the tested plants crude extracts were studied for their cytoxicity in normal cell cultures Raw 264.7 (125, 250 and 500 μg/mL), using Microculture Tetrazolium (MTT) cell viability assay to determine 50% inhibitory concentration. Cell inhibition percentages were also investigated using linear regression equation. 3.Results & Discussion: Traditionally, the tested plants have been used for the treatment of several diseases. In our study, two of the tested plant extracts showed significant cytotoxicity in normal cell cultures Raw 264.7. These were the ethanol extract of F. vulgarae which showed 67.86 % ± 0.03 cell inhibition at 125 μg/mL with IC50 1.3 μg/mL, while the aqueous extract of A. senegal showed 57.59 %± 0.09 cell inhibition at 125 μg/mL with IC50 23.5 μg/mL. The toxicity may be due to metabolic activation of chemical compounds of these two plant extracts. 4.Conclusions & Recommendations: The ethanol extract of F. vulgarae and the aqueous extract of A. senegal possessed cytotoxic activity to RAW 264.7 normal cell line at 125 μg/mL. Therefore, the data provide evidence that these extracts could potentially contain selective cytotoxic agents. The antitumor potential of these extracts for therapeutic attempts is considered. Further cytotoxic studied on different tumor cell lines must be carried out to verify the importance of these extracts for tumor therapeutics. The results agree with the ethno botanical use of the other tested plants extracts that had no activity to RAW 264.7 normal cell line. Investigation of active constituents of all extracts under study will provide useful comparative information before justifying their safe use.


Northern Irish children's use of relationship rules when inter acting with own and other group members was examined using a rule endorsement methodology derived from Argyle & Henderson (1984, 1985). A total of 503 children, who ranged from 9-11 years old and who attended Protestant (state) or Catholic (maintained) schools were presented with four vignettes depicting instances of positive and negative in-group and out-group behaviour. The results revealed that children use rules in a simplistic manner with a single intimacy factor underlying their ratings. Children differentiated clearly between positive or negative behaviour in their use of rules. Denominational information had a smaller effect on children's ratings, with both Protestant and Catholic children displaying a significant preference for `Protestant' as opposed to `Catholic' actors. The results are discussed in terms of other examples of children's self-derogation found in Northern Ireland and the utility of this methodology in understanding in-group and out-group bias in intergroup encounters and relationships.


Phosphorylation of serine residues within a short motif triggers the nuclear translocation of various signaling proteins in a nuclear localization signal–independent manner. The timely translocation of various signaling proteins from the cytoplasm to the nucleus is essential to their function. Many proteins that are targeted to the nucleus contain a canonical nuclear localization signal (NLS) or bind to another protein that contains an NLS. For those signaling proteins that do not contain an NLS, such as the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) and SMADs, how they translocate to the nucleus is unclear. Chuderland et al. performed Western blotting and fluorescence microscopy experiments to demonstrate that a Ser-Pro-Ser (SPS) sequence in ERK2 was phosphorylated upon cellular stimulation and was required for the nuclear translocation of ERK2. Mutation of the SPS sequence to Ala-Pro-Ala, which cannot undergo phosphorylation, blocked nuclear translocation of ERK, whereas mutation to Glu-Pro-Glu, which mimics the phosphorylated SPS sequence, resulted in constitutive nuclear translocation of ERK2. Phosphorylation of SPS was independent of phosphorylation of the Thr-Glu-Tyr motif that is necessary to activate ERKs. SPS phosphorylation was required for the interaction of ERK2 with the nuclear import protein importin7. The authors extended their findings to other signaling molecules, including SMAD3, whose SPS sequence was phosphorylated in response to transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and was necessary for its interaction with importin7, and MEK1, a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase, whose Thr-Pro-Thr sequence played a role in its nuclear translocation. Although the kinases responsible for SPS phosphorylation were not identified, the authors suggest that SPS may act as a general nuclear translocation signal for the NLS-independent translocation of various signaling molecules to the nucleus. D. Chuderland, A. Konson, R. Seger, Identification and characterization of a general nuclear translocation signal in signaling proteins. Mol. Cell 31, 850-861 (2008). [PubMed]


This research aims at finding the commonalities and distinctive features of translating bèi (被) passive into English in the context of literary texts and investigating different approaches translators adopt. Twelve English translation in the Spring 2015 edition of Pathlight will be analyzed as a way to develop translation resources. The main approaches to translation are: (1) retaining the original passive sentences and/or passive construction, (2) changing to corresponding active sentences, (3) changing into active sentences with the same narrative perspective, and (4) paraphrasing the original passives. Translation of adversative bèi passive sentences is evaluated from the perspectives of semantic equivalence and aesthetic effect in order to investigate whether they effectively and successfully express the original adversative meaning and represent the original aesthetic effect. Reasons for ineffective and unsuccessful semantic equivalence are analyzed, that include translators failing to recognize the adversative expression of bèi passive, and not paying sufficient attention to preserving the original lexical terms which express the adversative connotation and present the literary effect and adversative resultative compounds in bèi passive.


This is the first grammatical sketch of Keeraak (also referenced as Keeraku or Her), an Atlantic language belonging to the Joola cluster and spoken in the Kabrousse village, Casamance, South-West Senegal,
Keeraak shares with other Atlantic languages several morpho-syntactic features such as its rich and fully operative noun class system, a large inventory of derivational (mostly verbal) suffixes, a small number of true adjectives but many ideophones, and a remarkable set of demonstratives with three degree of deictic distance. Other features make it a typical Joola (and Bak) language: it does not show any consonant alternation, has a lateral fricative /ɬ/, three locative classes, locative copulas, complex TAM paradigms, and two sets of bound subject prefixes with an inclusive/exclusive opposition for the 1PL person, which are clearly related to those of other Joola languages as are all the personal morphemes and most of the derivational suffixes.Lastly, Keeraak shows some remarkable features such as the followings: the absence of/p/, which has been spirantised to /f/ realised [ɸ], the inconsistency of vowel harmony (probably undergoing restructuration), the 'obligatory' default determiner, some specific verbal derivational suffixes such as the aesthetic or the assistive, and the (ʊ)wa negation. Keeraak also makes an extensive use of the three spatial deictics across several parts of speech, having systematised the combination of these distance suffixes with the three locative class morphemes (deconnected from the lexicon) used to specify the nature of the space (large, small, inner) to produce various morphemes. But most of all, Keeraak shows a remarkable verbal system contrasting with most existing descriptions of Joola languages. Two types of reasons made it difficult to sort out and analyze the twenty paradigms of this inflectional system: first, its complex morphology, second, the morphophonological rules that blur the common underlying patterns. As for morphology, the main difficulties are threefold: (a) Keeraak makes use of two sets of bound subject prefixes in an at first puzzling complementary distribution; moreover, some verbal inflections also requires the free personal pronouns; (b) focus and negation are expressed through verbal morphology; and most of all (c) beside simple forms using TAM suffixes, the language also yields complex verb forms made of an inflectional copula, particles, and also more or less grammaticalised auxiliaries (with personal prefixes both on the verb stem and on the auxiliaries). This morphological complexity is made harder to uncover by the following morphophonological factors: (a) the complex paradigms are generally realised in shortened or fused forms after vowel assimilation, contraction or haplology; moreover, some inflectional paradigms show morphological irregularities; (b) there is a strong tendency to assimilate the vowels of the auxiliaries or verbal particles with the subject affixes, and in the case of complex forms it is sometimes difficult to decide whether the vowel includes an underlying subject affix or not; (c) the very common completive suffix has three possible realisations, conditioned by the phonological environment.


Despite international protection of white sharks Carcharodon carcharias, important conservation parameters such as abundance, population structure and genetic diversity are largely unknown. The tissue of 97 predominately juvenile white sharks sampled from spatially distant eastern and southwestern Australian coastlines was sequenced for the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region and genotyped with 6 nuclear-encoded microsatellite loci. MtDNA population structure was found between the eastern and southwestern coasts (F-ST = 0.142, p < 0.0001), implying female reproductive philopatry. This concurs with recent satellite and acoustic tracking findings which suggest the sustained presence of discrete east coast nursery areas. Furthermore, population subdivision was found between the same regions with biparentally inherited micro satellite markers (F-ST = 0.009, p < 0.05), suggesting that males may also exhibit some degree of reproductive philopatry; 5 sharks captured along the east coast had mtDNA haplotypes that resembled western Indian Ocean sharks more closely than Australian/New Zealand sharks, suggesting that transoceanic dispersal, or migration resulting in breeding, may occur sporadically. Our most robust estimate of contemporary genetic effective population size was low and close to thresholds at which adaptive potential may be lost. For a variety of reasons, these contemporary estimates were at least 1, possibly 2, orders of magnitude below our historical effective size estimates. Population decline could expose these genetically isolated populations to detrimental genetic effects. Regional Australian white shark conservation management units should be implemented until genetic population structure, size and diversity can be investigated in more detail.


The Honest Ads Act, introduced in the Senate in October 2017, would hold social media and other online platforms to the same political advertising transparency requirements that bind cable and broadcast systems. No longer would these platforms be able to deny that they know they are distributing foreign and other covert political ads (as part of a disinformation campaign), and no longer would the public be blind to advertiser identity. Above a certain threshold, the buyers of these ads would be exposed. However, paid political advertising is a relatively small part of the disinformation that infected the public sphere during the U.S. 2016 federal election. The Honest Ads Act will not reach organic social media posts, troll farms or -- most fundamentally -- the logic of social media sites which rewards outrage and bias confirmation. Moreover, it would not reach paid ads that are not considered "political", and there is a risk that an overly broad definition would raise First Amendment problems. Even given these limits and caveats, even relatively weak disclosure regulations have proven to foster a culture of greater transparency in commercial advertising. They could do the same with online political advertising, without compromising free speech values. Normalizing social media to the standards of traditional media transparency is a reasonable place to start.


Ayurveda is a holistic health care system which, aims to offer the user an optimum health by alleviating diseases and helps in maintaining, promoting health by advising proper daily and seasonal regimen along with rationalized therapeutics when indicated. A good physician is one who uses minimum substances for desired effect or maximum results. From ancient past, it has been revealed that Ayurveda had a vast knowledge in the field of application of medicinal plants. Medicinal plants have significant importance in human life as it helps in maintaining human health and in improving the quality of life. Also this application in the form of single dravya has also been evidenced in many of Ayurveda texts.
Sushrut Samhita is one of the classical text of Ayurveda, basically a part of Brihatrayee, have been surviving from ancient time and considered to be an important treatise on medicine and surgery. It is one of the two foundational Hindi texts alongside the Charak Samhita, which includes knowledge about medicine as well as surgical training, instruments and procedures. Likewise in charak samita, use of EDC has been also mentioned in Sushrut Samhita for both inervention as well as surgical management of disease. Using Ekal Dravya for curing many disease has been mentioned in past by many of Aacharyas, considering Sushrut Samhita as the first Samhita of Ayurveda to use therapeutic interventions as well as surgical procedure for the management of clinical condition, It has been reviewed to assess the extent of use of EDC.
Using single herb for managing diseased condition has been evidenced at various instances in Sushrut Samhita in conceptual as well as in applied form. This provides an evidenced based proof that EDC was mentioned in our ancient Ayurvea texts which now need to be explored, so as to minimize the load on biodiversity for using minium herbs in a disease where it is sufficed.


Abstract Amenities play an important role in explaining regional attractiveness as they increase the competition between places and the demand for housing. This paper contributes to the literature on valuations of place-based amenities by estimating hedonic prices for a differentiated set of amenities, and by examining the link between urban density and amenity valuations. The empirical analysis is based on a sample of 8319 single-family home sales observed during the period 2001–2011. Results show that amenities are valued differently depending on their size, the relationship between size and distance and neighbourhood characteristics. Differentiating among a set of nature- and culture based amenities shows that it is profoundly the value of proximity to open space that vary with neighbourhood density. Results are robust when testing for non-constant implicit prices over different time periods and novel to the literature on valuation of open spaces using the hedonic price model.


In this paper, we present an approach allowing dynamic reconfiguration in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). This proposition is based on a twofold work. First we propose Valentine, a new component-based operating system (OS) for WSNs, allowing dynamic administration of components at runtime. This OS will be generated from the Think framework. Second, we discuss and present a specific mechanism for dynamic reconfiguration in the constrained context of WSNs.


The Penn State climate scientist who helped author the "hockey stick" global warming temperature graph describes the campaign to discredit him following the theft of emails, including some he wrote, from servers at England's University of East Anglia. Climate-change denial groups said the emails showed unethical conduct, but scientific organizations and academic panels said this was not the case, defending Mann and the credibility of climate science. Mann believes the widespread media coverage contributed to the failure of the US Senate to take action on carbon dioxide emission controls this summer. But he cites polls showing that the matter may not have compromised public belief in climate science and expresses optimism that policymakers will force emissions reductions in time to avert truly catastrophic changes to Earth's climate.


The major problem in operating an implantable radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag embedded on an orthopedic implant is low efficiency because of metallic interference. To improve the efficiency, this paper proposes a method of operating an implantable passive RFID tag using a touch probe at 13.56 MHz. This technology relies on the electric field interaction between two pairs of electrodes, one being a part of the touch probe placed on the surface of tissue and the other being a part of the tag installed under the tissue. Compared with using a conventional RFID antenna such as a loop antenna, this method has a better performance in the near field operation range to reduce interference with the orthopedic implant. Properly matching the touch probe and the tag to the tissue and the implant reduces signal attenuation and increases the overall system efficiency. The experiments have shown that this method has a great performance in the near field transcutaneous operation and can be used for orthopedic implant identification.


We report a case of cortical blindness secondary to posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome, which was successfully treated by blood pressure management. A 66-year-old white man presented at the emergency room complaining of severe frontal headache, disorientation, and progressive blurred vision. The initial physical examination disclosed a blood pressure of 200/176 mmHg. One hour later the patient exhibited mental confusion and bilateral blindness. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging were performed, and a systemic workup was conducted, resulting in a diagnosis of posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome. This syndrome is a rare manifestation of systemic hypertension that requires proper diagnosis and management to avoid irreversible brain damage. Early recognition of this condition and prompt control of the patient's blood pressure are essential because they may bring about a reversal of the syndrome, which may otherwise result in permanent brain damage.


The RNA polymerase sigma factor σF is a developmental regulatory protein that is activated in a cell-specific manner following the formation of the polar septum during the process of spore formation in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis. Activation of σF depends on the membrane-bound phosphatase SpoIIE, which localizes to the septum, and on the formation of the polar septum itself. SpoIIE is responsible for dephosphorylating and thereby activating the phosphoprotein SpoIIAA, which, in turn, triggers the release of σF from the anti-σF factor SpoIIAB. Paradoxically, however, the presence of unphosphorylated SpoIIAA is insufficient to cause σF activation as SpoIIAA reaches substantial levels in mutants blocked in polar septation. We now describe mutants of SpoIIE, SpoIIAA, and SpoIIAB that break the dependence of σF activation on polar division. Analysis of these mutants indicates that unphosphorylated SpoIIAA must reach a threshold concentration in order to trigger the release of σF from SpoIIAB. Evidence is presented that this threshold is created by the action of SpoIIAB, which can form an alternative, long lived complex with SpoIIAA. We propose that formation of the SpoIIAA-SpoIIAB complex serves as a sink that traps SpoIIAA in an inactive state and that only when unphosphorylated SpoIIAA is in excess to the sink does activation of σF take place.


This article investigates the impact of what we label "digital capitalism" on the structure and organization of the legal profession. We explore whether the rise of digital capitalism is transforming the dynamics of the legal field by the introduction of new actors and ways of practicing law, which might challenge the traditional control (and monopoly) of jurists on the production of law. We find that not only have new service providers already entered the legal market, but also new on-line tools for solving legal disputes or producing legal documents are gaining a foothold. Similarly, we also find that new intelligent search systems are challenging the role of junior lawyers and paralegals with regard to reviewing large sets of documents. However, big data techniques deployed to predict future courts' decisions are not yet advanced enough to pose a challenge. Overall, we argue that these developments will not only change legal practices, but are also likely to influence the internal structure and organization of the legal field. In particular, we argue that the processes of change associated with digitalization is further accelerating the economization and commodification of the practice of law, whereby lawyers are decreasingly disinterested brokers in society and defenders of the public good, and increasingly service firms at the cutting edge of the capitalist economy. These developments are also triggering new forms of stratification of the legal field. While some legal actors will likely benefit from digitalization and expand their business, either by integrating new technologies to reach more clients or by developing new niche areas of practices, the more routinized forms of legal practice are facing serious challenges and will most likely be replaced by technology and associated service firms.


Abstract. The Community Cloud retrieval for Climate (CC4CL) is a cloud property retrieval system for satellite-based multispectral imagers and is an important component of the Cloud Climate Change Initiative (Cloud_cci) project. In this paper we discuss the optimal estimation retrieval of cloud optical thickness, effective radius and cloud top pressure based on the Optimal Retrieval of Aerosol and Cloud (ORAC) algorithm. Key to this method is the forward model, which includes the clear-sky model, the liquid water and ice cloud models, the surface model including a bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF), and the "fast" radiative transfer solution (which includes a multiple scattering treatment). All of these components and their assumptions and limitations will be discussed in detail. The forward model provides the accuracy appropriate for our retrieval method. The errors are comparable to the instrument noise for cloud optical thicknesses greater than 10. At optical thicknesses less than 10 modeling errors become more significant. The retrieval method is then presented describing optimal estimation in general, the nonlinear inversion method employed, measurement and a priori inputs, the propagation of input uncertainties and the calculation of subsidiary quantities that are derived from the retrieval results. An evaluation of the retrieval was performed using measurements simulated with noise levels appropriate for the MODIS instrument. Results show errors less than 10 % for cloud optical thicknesses greater than 10. Results for clouds of optical thicknesses less than 10 have errors up to 20 %.


Development of biofilm associated candidemia for patients with implanted biomaterials causes an urgency to develop antimicrobial and biofilm inhibitive coatings in the management of recalcitrant Candida infections. Recently, there is an increase in the number of patients with biofilm formation and resistance to antifungal therapy. Therefore, there is a growing interest to use essential oils as coating agents in order to prevent biomaterial-associated Candida infections. Often high costs, complicated and laborious technologies are used for both applying the coating and determination of the antibiofilm effects hampering a rapid screening of essential oils. In order to determine biofilm formation of Candida on essential oil coated surfaces easier, cheaper and faster, we developed an essential oil (lemongrass oil) coated surface (silicone-rubber) by using a hypromellose ointment/essential oil mixture. Furthermore, we modified the "crystal violet binding assay" to quantify the biofilm mass of Candida biofilm formed on the lemongrass oil coated silicone rubber surface. The essential oil coating and the biomass determination of biofilms on silicone rubber can be easily applied with simple and accessible equipment, and will therefore provide rapid information about whether or not a particular essential oil is antiseptic, also when it is used as a coating agent.


Education can serve skill formation and socialisation goals both of which are conducive to desirable economic outcomes. However, the political manipulation of the school curricula can give rise to indoctrination effects with counterproductive welfare consequences on its pupils. This paper studies the effects of communist indoctrination on human capital accumulation and labour market outcomes in Poland. We document that the reduction of Marxist-Leninist indoctrination in school curriculum after 1954 exerted long-lasting beneficial effects. Unlike in East Germany, the school reform after the fall of communism in Poland had negligible effects on human capital and labour market outcomes. Our results are in contrast, explained by the ideological content of the school curriculum in the Polish education system.


Global change is a multifaceted phenomenon driven largely by human economic decisions in energy use and land use that cause unprecedented emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), which in turn drive climate change and global warming. In the tropics, among the changing land uses in evidence is the conversion of peat swamp forests to other uses – mainly agriculture and tree plantation development – involving deforestation, extensive drainage and fires. Having large amounts of organic carbon, these vulnerable wetland ecosystems have become a major focus of the international community. At national levels, peatland development has raised significant challenges for both the public and private sectors.Key featuresThe papers presented in the Special Issue feature cases in the Congo Basin, Indonesia and Peruvian Amazon that:are relevant to the 2013 Supplement of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventory specially dedicated for wetlandsprovide specific scientific information concerning peatland conversions, including high-tier emission factors and credible ancillary data and information for reporting purposesdescribe challenges and opportunities for the wise use of different types of tropical peatlands despite extensive land-use changedemonstrate lessons learned from different regions and countries to avoid unsustainable land-use practices leading to peatland degradation and emissions of GHGssynthesize options of policies and measures with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, and with mitigation strategies and mitigation mechanisms such as Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) and Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA).Selected topicsThe articles were selected from presentations at a scientific session organized during the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO) Congress and its 125th anniversary in Freiburg, Germany, in September 2017. They represent cases from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Indonesia and Peru. The topics relate to largely biophysical issues, including emissions of GHGs, net primary production, respiration and hydrology, involving remote sensing and modeling tools. However, the information is policy relevant in three tropical regions where peatlands lie and which face different challenges.ContentsIntroduction: Tropical peatlands under siege: the need of evidence-based policies and strategiesMurdiyarso D, Lilleskov E, and Kolka RGreenhouse gas emissions in restored secondary tropical peat swamp forestsMurdiyarso D, Saragi-Sasmito MF, and Rustini ACongo Basin peatlands: Threats and conservation prioritiesDargie GC, Lawson IT, Rayden T, Miles L, Mitchard ETA, Page SE, Bocko YE, Ifo SA, Lewis SLIs Indonesian peatland loss a cautionary tale for Peru? A two-country comparison of the magnitude and causes of tropical peatland degradationLilleskov E, McCullough K, Hergoualc'h K, del Castillo Torres D, Chimner R, Murdiyarso D, Kolka R, Bourgeau-Chavez L, Hribljan J, del Aguila Pasquel J, Wayson CCarbon stocks, emissions, and aboveground productivity in restored secondary tropical peat swamp forestsSaragi-Sasmito MF, Murdiyarso D, June T, Sasmito SDGreenhouse gas emissions along a peat swamp forest degradation gradient in the Peruvian Amazon: soil moisture and palm roots effectsvan Lent J, Hergoualc'h K, Verchot L, Oenema O, van Groenigen JWThe influence of land-cover changes on the variability of saturated hydraulic conductivity in tropical peatlandsKurnianto S, Selker J, Kauffman JB, Murdiyarso D, Peterson JTImpacts of Mauritia flexuosa degradation on the carbon stocks of freshwater peatlands in the Pastaza-Maranon river basin of the Peruvian AmazonBhomia RK, van Lent J,. Rios JM, Hergoualc'h K, Coronado ENH, Murdiyarso DLand cover changes reduce net primary production in tropical coastal peatlands of West Kalimantan, IndonesiaBasuki I, Kauffman JB, Peterson J, Anshari G, Murdiyarso DLinking soil respiration in tropical peatlands with remotely sensed observations of water storage from the Gravity Recovery and Climate ExperimentSwails E, Yang X, Asefi S, Hergoualc'h K, Verchot L, and Lawrence D


New results from a large survey of Hα emission-line galaxies at z = 0.84 using the Wide Field Camera on the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope and a custom narrow-band filter in the J band are presented as part of the High-z Emission Line Survey (HiZELS). The deep narrow-band images reach an effective flux limit of F Hα ∼ 10 -16 erg s -1 cm -2 in a comoving volume of 1.8 × 10 5 Mpc 3, resulting in the largest and deepest survey of its kind ever done at z ∼ 1. There are 1517 potential line emitters detected across ∼1.4 deg 2, of which 743 are selected as Hα emitters, based on their photometric and spectroscopic redshifts. These are then used to calculate the Hα luminosity function, which is well fitted by a Schechter function with L* = 10 42.26±0.05 erg s -1, φ* = 10 -1.92±0.10 Mpc -3 and α = -1.65 ± 0.15, and are used to estimate the volume average star formation rate (SFR) at z = 0.845, ρ SFR: 0.15 ± 0.01 M ⊙ yr -1 Mpc -3 (corrected for 15 per cent active galactic nucleus contamination and integrated down to 2.5 M ⊙ yr -1). These results robustly confirm a strong evolution of ρ SFR from the present day out to z ∼ 1 and then flattening to z ∼ 2 using a single star formation indicator: Hα luminosity. Out to z ∼ 1, both the characteristic luminosity and space density of the Hα emitters increase significantly; at higher redshifts, L* continues to increase, but φ* decreases. The z = 0.84 Hα emitters are mostly disc galaxies (82 ± 3 per cent), while 28 ± 4 per cent of the sample shows signs of merger activity; mergers account for ∼20 per cent of the total integrated ρ SFR at this redshift. Irregulars and mergers dominate the Hα luminosity function above L*, while discs are dominant at fainter luminosities. These results demonstrate that it is the evolution of 'normal' disc galaxies that drives the strong increase in the SFR density from the current epoch to z ∼ 1, although the continued strong evolution of L* beyond z = 1 suggests an increasing importance of merger activity at higher redshifts. © 2009 RAS.


The recent crisis in the United States has often been associated with substantial amounts of policy uncertainty. In this paper we ask how uncertainty about fiscal policy affects the impact of fiscal policy changes on the economy when the government tries to counteract a deep recession. The agents in our model act as econometricians by estimating the policy rules for the different fiscal policy instruments, which include distortionary tax rates. Comparing the outcomes in our model to those under full-information rational expectations, we find that assuming that agents are not instantaneously aware of the new fiscal policy regime (or policy rule) in place leads to substantially more volatility in the short run and persistent differences in average outcomes.


While deep reinforcement learning has successfully solved many challenging control tasks, its real-world applicability has been limited by the inability to ensure the safety of learned policies. We propose an approach to verifiable reinforcement learning by training decision tree policies, which can represent complex policies (since they are nonparametric), yet can be efficiently verified using existing techniques (since they are highly structured). The challenge is that decision tree policies are difficult to train. We propose VIPER, an algorithm that combines ideas from model compression and imitation learning to learn decision tree policies guided by a DNN policy (called the oracle) and its Q-function, and show that it substantially outperforms two baselines. We use VIPER to (i) learn a provably robust decision tree policy for a variant of Atari Pong with a symbolic state space, (ii) learn a decision tree policy for a toy game based on Pong that provably never loses, and (iii) learn a provably stable decision tree policy for cart-pole. In each case, the decision tree policy achieves performance equal to that of the original DNN policy.


The primary goal of this thesis was to determine if spaced synaptic stimulation induced the differential expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the Drosophila melanogaster central nervous system (CNS). Prior to attaining this goal, we needed to identify and validate a spaced stimulation paradigm that could induce the formation of new synaptic growth at a model synapse, the larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Both Channelrhodopsinand high potassium-based stimulation paradigms adapted from (Ataman, et al. 2008) were tested. Once validation of these paradigms was complete, we sought to characterize the miRNA expression profile of the larval CNS by miRNA array. Following attainment of these data, we used quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) to determine if acute synaptic stimulation caused the differential expression of neuronal miRNAs. We found that upon high potassium spaced training in a wild type (Canton S) genotype, 5 miRNAs showed significant differential expression when normalized to a validated reference gene, the U1 snRNA. Moreover, absolute quantification of our RTqPCR study implicated one miRNA: miR-958 as being significantly regulated by activity. Investigation into potential targets for miR-958 revealed it to be a potential regular of Dlar, a protein tyrosine phosphatase implicated in synapse development. This investigation provides the foundation to directly test our underlying hypothesis that, following spaced training, differential expression of miRNAs alters the translation of proteins required to induce and maintain these structural changes at the synapse.


The aim of this research was to study the influence of altered water availability on stomatal patterns of leaves. A baseline study of leaves stomatal indices, (stomatal as a proportional of all epidermal cells) stomatal density, (number of stomatal per unit area of epidermis) epidermal cell density, epidermal cell length and stomatal length and width was made in wheat, and sorghum cultivars; Saudi Red, Funk, Indian White, Morgon 854, Morgon 856 and Pioneer 8ss in relation to water limitation. Seedlings of wheat and sorghum cultivars grown under water limitation showed increases in their stomatal density, epidermal cell density and trichome index in response to reduced watering frequency. Stomatal index of the two species, however, were not altered in the same way. In sorghum there was no apparent change in stomatal index in relation to water limitation treatment but stomatal density and trichome index increased. In wheat there was a marked reduction in the stomatal index in response to water limitation but there were increases in trichome indices and stomatal densities of all parts of the leaves. Wheat plants grown under water limitation imposed by polyethylene glycol (PEG) treatments to roots showed marked reductions in their growth compared with controls. Stomatal density was found to increase in response to PEG treatments while stomatal index decreased. Incubation of newly-germinated wheat seedlings in PEG resulted in an inhibition of growth of coleoptiles. However, the density of stomata decreased, unlike what was seen in leaf tissues. When wheat coleoptiles were subjected to conditions of limited water availability guard mother cell (GMC) production appeared not to be influenced by water status of the tissues. Wheat coleoptiles grown under different periods of light showed slight decreases in stomata density compared to the controls. Abscisic acid treatment was able to substitute for water limitation treatments by reducing stomatal index in both leaves and coleoptiles whilst increasing the production of trichomes in leaves. However, in coleoptile the same treatment reduced both the GMC index as well as stomata index. Salinity treatments, inhibited seed germination and were found to decrease stomatal index. Incubation of wheat seedlings in PEG resulted in a yellow pigmentation of the roots. The pigment was tentatively identified. However, it was not possible to distinguish whether the pigment was a specific metabolite of PEG in the roots or was produced by a non-biological conversion of PEG.


English language teacher strives to raise standards of language teaching in the new global setting knowledge. Perhaps understandably, any efforts to improve language education quality cannot succeed without the continuous support and cooperation of a professional teacher. This fact is widely recognized in international attention mostly in term of promoting the continuing professional of teachers. The term of continuing refers to the need for ongoing development of teachers' knowledge, professional skill, and their effectiveness in the classroom. This is a reaction to the professional development which is not satisfied yet in leading to an increase in teacher knowledge, skills, and commitment. This paper explores the concept of continuing professional development, the limitation of current approaches to professional development, and the reinvigoration strategy of professional development for English language teacher.


A method is presented for separating corneal reflections in an image of human irises to estimate illumination from the surrounding scene. Previous techniques for reflection separation have demonstrated success in only limited cases, such as for uniform colored lighting and simple object textures, so they are not applicable to irises which exhibit intricate textures and complicated reflections of the environment. To make this problem feasible, we present a method that capitalizes on physical characteristics of human irises to obtain an illumination estimate that encompasses the prominent light contributors in the scene. Results of this algorithm are presented for eyes of different colors, including light colored eyes for which reflection separation is necessary to determine a valid illumination estimate


This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-conference proceedings of the 5th Conference on Theory of Quantum Computation, Communication, and Cryptography, TQC 2010, held in Leeds, UK, in April 2010. The 15 revised papers presented were carefully selected during two rounds of reviewing and improvement. Focussing on theoretical aspects of quantum computation, quantum communication, and quantum cryptography - part of a larger interdisciplinary field embedding information science in a quantum mechanical framework - the papers present current original research. Topics addressed include quantum algorithms, models of quantum computation, quantum complexity theory, simulation of quantum systems, quantum cryptography, quantum communication, quantum estimation and measurement, quantum noise, quantum coding theory, fault-tolerant quantum computing, and entanglement theory.


Multinational corporations are increasingly seen as excessively big and powerful, and as having dramatically increased in size and power. This perception has led to the view that the big corporations are threatening democratic institutions of the nation-states and that they pervert the cultural and social fabric of countries. In this article the authors analyse the size of large corporations and the recent trends in this size. Using value-added data (instead of sales) they find that multinationals are surprisingly small compared to the GDP of many nation-states. They find no evidence that the size of multinationals relative to the size of nations has tended to increase during the last 20 years and argue that there is little evidence that the economic and political power of multinationals has increased in the last few decades.