Theories of language acquisition and perceptual learning increasingly rely on statistical learning mechanisms. The current meta-analysis aims to clarify the robustness of this capacity in infancy within the word segmentation literature. Our analysis reveals a significant, small effect size for conceptual replications of Saffran, Aslin, & Newport (1996), and a nonsignificant effect across all studies that incorporate transitional probabilities to segment words. In both conceptual replications and the broader literature, however, statistical learning is moderated by whether stimuli are naturally produced or synthesized. These findings invite deeper questions about the complex factors that influence statistical learning, and the role of statistical learning in language acquisition.


Plant storage oils are of major commercial importance, yet our understanding of the regulation and control of their synthesis is poor. The control of lipid biosynthesis fluxes in the mesocarp of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) was studied using modular (top-down) metabolic control analysis (TDCA). This allowed us to determine the relative contribution of two groups of reactions, fatty acid formation (Block A) and lipid assembly (Block B), to the control structure of overall pathway to triacylglycerol. The pathway was manipulated in two ways. Single manipulation involved the addition of oleate which inhibited fatty acid formation in Block A and stimulated lipid assembly in Block B. In double manipulation experiments, cerulenin was used in inhibition of Block A and Block B was inhibited by bromooctanoate. Single manipulation-TDCA revealed that the group flux control coefficient for fatty acid synthesis was 0.65 and 0.35 for lipid assembly. Double manipulationTDCA has a value of 0.6 for fatty acid synthesis and 0.4 for lipid assembly. Taken together, these data showed that under our experimental conditions, about 60%-65% of the total metabolic flux control lay in the fatty acid synthesis group of reactions. Nevertheless because both parts of the lipid biosynthesis pathway exert significant flux control, we suggest strongly that manipulation of single enzyme will not affect the product yield appreciably.


Recent success in deep learning has partially been driven by training increasingly overparametrized networks on ever larger datasets. It is therefore natural to ask: how much of the data is superfluous, which examples are important for generalization, and how do we find them? In this work, we make the striking observation that, in standard vision datasets, simple scores averaged over several weight initializations can be used to identify important examples very early in training. We propose two such scores -- the Gradient Normed (GraNd) and the Error L2-Norm (EL2N) scores -- and demonstrate their efficacy on a range of architectures and datasets by pruning significant fractions of training data without sacrificing test accuracy. In fact, using EL2N scores calculated a few epochs into training, we can prune half of the CIFAR10 training set while slightly improving test accuracy. Furthermore, for a given dataset, EL2N scores from one architecture or hyperparameter configuration generalize to other configurations. Compared to recent work that prunes data by discarding examples that are rarely forgotten over the course of training, our scores use only local information early in training. We also use our scores to detect noisy examples and study training dynamics through the lens of important examples -- we investigate how the data distribution shapes the loss surface and identify subspaces of the model's data representation that are relatively stable over training.


Petroleum ether, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts of Plumeria rubra leaves were studied for their antimicrobial activities against eleven human pathogenic bacteria, viz., Shigella dysenteriae, S. sonnei, Salmonella typhi, S. paratyphi, Bacillus subtilis, B. megaterium, B. cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Vibrio cholerae and four human pathogenic fungi, viz., Aspergillus niger, A. ochraceus, A. ustus and Candida albicans using disc diffusion and poisoned food method, respectively. Chloroform and ethyl acetate extract exhibited moderate to good antibacterial and antifungal activity against all the pathogens tested. The ethyl acetate extracts exhibited the largest zone of inhibition (25 mm in diameter with 2000 mg/disc extract) against E. coli. The highest inhibition of fungal radial mycelial growth (62.00% with 100 mg extract/ml medium) was recorded against A. ustus with ethyl acetate extract. The MICs were determined by broth macrodilution technique. The ethyl acetate extract exhibited the lowest MIC (750 mg/ml) against E. coli. However, for fungi the lowest MIC was 500 mg/ml against A. ustus with the same extract. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/cujbs.v3i1.13409 The Chittagong Univ. J. B. Sci.,Vol. 3(1&2):87-94, 2008


Dual career families are more resistant to undertaking expatriate assignments primarily due to the difficulties associated with the trailing spouse not being able to find a job overseas and the potential net financial loss for the couple. As reported in other research, the failure of spouse or family to adjust is the number one reason for expatriate failure, therefore, a model for selecting expatriate candidates that accommodates the dual career family should help international human resource managers. This paper examines some of the particular gender and sociological issues surrounding the dual career expatriate couple, such as family and career Life-Cycles, to identify 'strategic windows' of opportunities for relocating expatriates overseas. Several selection methods based on self selection, such as accomplishment review, plus corresponding appraisals by management are proposed as an alternative to the present dual career couple dilemma. The significance of this research lies in the necessity for organisations to be primarily aware of rapidly changing recruiting environments and to be willing to undertake the changes allowing for greater effectiveness of HRM process in global environments.


A novel structure-based mathematical model of arterial remodeling in response to a sustained increase in pressure is proposed. The model includes two major aspects of remodeling in a healthy matured vessel. First, the deviation of the wall stress and flow-induced shear stress from their normal physiological values drives the changes in the arterial geometry. Second, the new mass that is produced during remodeling results from an increase in the mass of smooth muscle cells and collagen fibers. The model additionally accounts for the effect of the average pulsatile strain on the recruitment of collagen fibers in load bearing. The model was used to simulate remodeling of a human thoracic aorta, and the results are in good agreement with previously published model predictions and experimental data. The model predicts that the total arterial volume rapidly increases during the early stages of remodeling and remains virtually constant thereafter, despite the continuing stress-driven geometrical remodeling. Moreover, the effects of a perfect or incomplete restoration of the arterial compliance on the remodeling outputs were analyzed. For instance, the model predicts that the pattern of the time course of the opening angle depends on the extent to which the average pulsatile strain is restored at the end of the remodeling process. Future experimental studies on the time course of compliance, opening angle, and mass fractions of collagen, elastin, and smooth muscle cells can validate and improve the introduced hypotheses of the model.


In this paper we describe two interconnection networks for parallel processing, namely the orthogonal trees network and the orthogonal tree cycles (OTN and OTC). Both networks are suitable for VISI implementation and have been analyzed using Thompson's model of VLSI. While the OTN and OTC have time performances similar to fast networks such as the perfect shuffle network (PSN), the cube comnected cycles (CCC), etc., they have substantially better area * time2 performances for a number of matrix and graph problems. For instance, the connected components and a minimal spanning tree of an undirected N-vertex graph can be found in 0(log4 N) time on the OTC with an area * time2 performance of 0(N2 log8 N) and 0(N2 log9 N) respectively. This is asymptoticaly much better than the performances of the CCC, PSN and Mesh. The OTC and OTN can be looked upon as general purpose parallel processors since a number of other problems such as sorting and DFT can be solved on them with an area * time2 performance matching that of other networks. Finally, programming the OTN and OTC is simple and they are also amenable to pipelining a series of problems.


Automated grading systems have been researched at various universities for several years. Numerous systems have been developed that automate the process of grading by compiling, executing and testing the students submitted source code. However, such systems are mostly written as UNIX scripts and are restricted to performing one kind of activity. The instructors or teaching assistants have to resort to other methods in order to provide their feedback to the students. The core of this thesis is to research a TA feedback mechanism which will streamline the grading process for the professors and teaching assistants. A web-based grading tool has been developed that allows course staff to enter comments for students' programs directly through a web browser. The interface provides for full direct-manipulation editing of comments, which are then immediately viewable by students when they look up assignment results. Such an interface also has potential to support peer grading of assignments. Teaching assistants of introductory programming level courses were interviewed to learn about the different grading methods they use and were asked their opinion of our new grading interface. TAs were also asked to grade assignments using the traditional paper method as well as the computer using our new grading tool for comparison. Finally, an anonymous survey was sent out to various computer science faculties in different universities to gather information about the expectations they have with respect to TA grading activities for programming assignments and the learning outcomes that these professors desire for their students.


In Spring 2008 Sebastiano del Piombo (1485-1547) was dedicated an exhibition in Rome, where he was introduced from Venice by the banker Agostino Chigi in Villa Farnesina 1511. The painting L´uomo in armi (1511-1512) was the poster for the exhibition and most probably a self-portrait. It is similar to the unidentified portrait Testa di giovane by Peruzzi in grisaille in the Villa Farnesina. With a queer perspective it proposes Sebastiano del Piombo as a lover of Agostino Chigi parallell with the young spouse Francesca Ordeaschi portrayed as Dorotea (1511-1512). After the death of Rafael in 1520 Sebastiano del Piombo was considered the most skilful painter in Rome. His many majestic homoerotic portraits with virtu correspond to the results of Guido Ruggiero in Machiavelli in love, sex, self and society in he Italian Renaissance (2007) about sexual identities and selfrepresentation in different consensusrealities. Ruggiero is inspired by Foucault and discusses masculinity rereading private letters by the Florentine politician Niccolo Machiavelli and contemporary literature. The exhibition of Sebastiano del Piombo was esthetically impressive but did not answer questions from a modern visitor. The catalogue is imposing but fatally prim avoiding the sex, self and society in Renaissance Rome and Venice so obvious in the art of Sebastaino del Piombo.


In alternative health care iridology is used as a diagnostic aid. The diagnosis of gall bladder disease was used to study its validity and interperformer consistency. The presence of an inflamed gall bladder containing gall stones is said to be easily recognised by certain signs in the lower lateral part of the iris of the right eye. Stereo colour slides were made of the right eye. Stereo colour slides were made of the right eye of 39 patients with this disease and 39 control subjects of the same sex and age. The slides were presented in a random order to five leading iridologists without supplementary information. The prevalence of the disease was estimated at 56%. The median validity was 51% with 54% sensitivity and 52% specificity. These results were close to chance validity (iota = 0.03). None of the iridologists reached a high validity. The median interperformer consistency was 60%. This was only slightly higher than chance consistency (kappa = 0.18). This study showed that iridology is not a useful diagnostic aid.


Structural studies on analogs of the Earth's interior materials can give important insights into the understanding for material construction, physical properties and dynamics in the Earth's interior. In particular, CaGeO 3 high-pressure perovskite phase is an excellent low-pressure analog of MgSiO 3 bridgmanite, the most dominant constituent in the Earth's lower mantle, with the orthorhombic Pbnm perovskite-type structure. I here review our recent structural research of CaGeO 3 perovskite as a function of temperature. The research leads to the earth-scientific implication as to the phase transition of MgSiO 3 bridgmanite in the Earth's lower mantle.


Extracts of eight plants local to Oman, namely Qarat (Acacia nilotica), Mustafal (Annona squamosa), Shereesh (Azadirachta indica), Luban (Boswellia sacra), Kheshkhash (Crotolaria juncea), Zebrot (Jatropha dhofarica) Yas, (Myrtus communis) and Suwwad (Suaeda aegyptiaca) were prepared by steeping shaded dried leaf/ seed powder of each plant in water and solvent (methanol or ethanol). The extracts were tested for their insecticidal and repellent properties against the pulse beetles, Callosobruchus chinensis. The extracts from the seeds of A. squamosa recorded l00% mortality of beetles within twenty and four hours of their exposure to methanol and ethanol extracts, respectively. The other extracts that caused high mortality were from A. nilotica, C. juncea, M. communis and S. aegzptiaca in methanol and B. sacra, J. dhofarica, S. aegptiaca and commercial neem in ethanol. Extracts of M. communis in methanol were highly repellent to the beetles compared to other extracts. Legume seeds treated with extracts of A. squamosa were not repellent, rather the beetles were attracted to them.


We study the forced displacement of a thin film of fluid in contact with vertical and inclined substrates of different wetting properties, that range from hydrophilic to hydrophobic, using the lattice-Boltzmann method. We study the stability and pattern formation of the contact line in the hydrophilic and superhydrophobic regimes, which correspond to wedge-shaped and nose-shaped fronts, respectively. We find that contact lines are considerably more stable for hydrophilic substrates and small inclination angles. The qualitative behavior of the front in the linear regime remains independent of the wetting properties of the substrate as a single dispersion relation describes the stability of both wedges and noses. Nonlinear patterns show a clear dependence on wetting properties and substrate inclination angle. The effect is quantified in terms of the pattern growth rate, which vanishes for the sawtooth pattern and is finite for the finger pattern. Sawtooth shaped patterns are observed for hydrophilic substrates and low inclination angles, while finger-shaped patterns arise for hydrophobic substrates and large inclination angles. Finger dynamics show a transient in which neighboring fingers interact, followed by a steady state where each finger grows independently.


High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), also known as H.265 and MPEG-H Part 2, is the newest video coding standard developed to address the increasing demand for higher resolutions and frame rates. In comparison to its predecessor H.264/AVC, HEVC achieved almost double of compression performance that is capable to process high quality video sequences (UHD 4K, 8K; high frame rates) in a wide range of applications. Context-Adaptive Baniray Arithmetic Coding (CABAC) is the only entropy coding method in HEVC, whose principal algorithm is inherited from its predecessor. However, several aspects of the method that exploits it in HEVC are different, thus HEVC CABAC supports better coding efficiency. Effectively, pipeline and parallelism in CABAC hardware architectures are prospective methods in the implementation of high performance CABAC designs. However, high data dependence and serial nature of bin-to-bin processing in CABAC algorithm pose many challenges for hardware designers. This paper provides an overview of CABAC hardware implementations for HEVC targeting high quality, low power video applications, addresses challenges of exploiting it in different application scenarios and then recommends several predictive research trends in the future.


BACKGROUND
Low back pain (LBP) emanating from the sacroiliac joint (SIJ) is a common finding. Devices to fuse the SIJ are now commercially available, but high-quality evidence supporting their effectiveness is limited.

OBJECTIVES
To compare the safety and effectiveness of conservative management (CM) to minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion (SIJF) in patients with chronic LBP originating from the SIJ.

STUDY DESIGN
Prospective, multicenter randomized controlled trial.

SETTING
One hundred three adults in spine clinics with chronic LBP originating from the SIJ.

METHODS
Patients were randomly assigned to CM (n = 51) or SIJF using triangular titanium implants (n = 52). CM consisted of optimization of medical therapy, individualized physiotherapy, and adequate information and reassurance as part of a multifactorial treatment. The primary outcome was the difference in change in self-rated LBP at 6 months using a 0 - 100 visual analog scale (VAS). Other effectiveness and safety endpoints, including leg pain, disability using Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), quality of life using EQ-5D, and SIJ function using active straight leg raise test (ASLR), were assessed up to 12 months.

RESULTS
At 12 months, mean LBP improved by 41.6 VAS points in the SIJF group vs. 14.0 points in the CM group (treatment difference of 27.6 points, P < 0.0001). Mean ODI improved by 25.0 points in the SIJF group vs. 8.7 points in the CM group (P < 0.0001). Mean improvements in leg pain and EQ-5D scores were large after SIJF and superior to those after CM. CM patients were allowed to crossover to SIJF after 6 months. Patients who crossed to surgical treatment had no pre-crossover improvement in pain and ODI scores; after crossover, improvements were as large as those originally assigned to SIJF. One case of postoperative nerve impingement occurred in the surgical group. Two SIJF patients had recurrent pain attributed to possible device loosening and one had postoperative hematoma. In the CM group, one crossover surgery patient had recurrent pain requiring a revision surgery.

LIMITATIONS
The primary limitation was lack of blinding and the subjective nature of self-assessed outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS
For patients with chronic LBP originating from the SIJ, minimally invasive SIJF with triangular titanium implants was safe and more effective than CM in relieving pain, reducing disability, and improving patient function and quality of life. Our findings will help to inform decisions regarding its use as a treatment option in this patient population.Key words: Sacroiliac joint dysfunction, pelvic girdle pain, randomized controlled trial, quality of life, spine implants.


Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor, however, the mechanisms underlying tumorigenesis in different MB subgroups remain incompletely understood. Although previous studies of MB predisposition have been conducted in tertiary referral centers primarily in Caucasian cohorts, it is not unclear clear whether there exist population-specific genetic alterations in MBs. In this study, we investigated the contribution of genomic and transcriptomic alterations to the risk of malignant MB in the Chinese population (designated as the Asian cohort). We analyze the genomic and transcriptomic alterations of the Asian MB cohort by using a combination of whole-exome sequencing (WES) and RNA-deep-sequencing. In addition, we integrate publicly available data with the Asian MB cohort and identify a subset of potential MB-driving genes specifically enriched in each of the MB subgroups. We further characterize a newly identified group-3-enriched transcriptional regulator, ZNF124, and demonstrate that ZNF124 is critical for the growth of the most aggressive group-3 MB cells. Together, our analyses indicate conserved yet distinct genetic alterations and gene expression patterns of MBs between different ethnic groups. Our studies further provide an important resource for identifying potential tumor-driving factors in MBs, enhancing our understanding of the disease process for developing ethnically targeted therapies in patients with MB.


The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) through its IP Stack Evolution
program, the Internet Society, and the Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology (ETH) Zurich hosted the Stack Evolution in a Middlebox
Internet (SEMI) workshop in Zurich on 26-27 January 2015 to explore
the ability to evolve the transport layer in the presence of
middlebox- and interface-related ossification of the stack. The goal
of the workshop was to produce architectural and engineering guidance
on future work to break the logjam, focusing on incrementally
deployable approaches with clear incentives to deployment both on the
endpoints (in new transport layers and applications) as well as on
middleboxes (run by network operators). This document summarizes the
contributions to the workshop, provides an overview of the discussion
at the workshop, as well as the outcomes and next steps identified by
the workshop. The views and positions documented in this report are
those of the workshop participants and do not necessarily reflect IAB
views and positions.


In the most recent years of the twentieth century, the world and particularly India saw a wonderful and quick headway in data and correspondence advancements. In this time, "correspondence" has developed as the most well-known term. Today the correspondence upset has united individuals paying little heed to geological limits. The need to convey is a piece of an individual's inborn being. Since the very beginning mankind has imparted utilizing distinctive procedures and strategies. Conditions and accessible innovation have directed the technique and methods for correspondences. Subsequently, every once in a while new communication technologies have been developed for better individual and also for mass correspondence. With the approach of the printing innovation the new time of mass correspondence started. At that point the innovation of wireless communication came into existence – Radio was found. Afterward, the creation of Television had an enormous effect around the world. This study shows that most preferred use of social networking sites such as 34.9% respondents says Facebook, 7.4% respondents says twitter, 5.5% respondents says Linked in, 1.8% respondents says Pinterest, 3.7% respondents says Google+, 9.2% respondents says Instagram, 24.4% respondents says WhatsApp and 12.9% respondents says You tube. The study on the use of Social Networking sites by the University students' of Tamil Nadu conveys the existing pattern that there exists a held demeanor in the utilizing academic contents through Social Media for academic perfection. While 'Google' is an all around acknowledged medium for looking through all or any sort of data through Internet, there is a developing pattern of utilizing Social Media for specific data. Today, Social Media is the new Google where one can make separate group for detailed exchanges identifying with all fields of study. Social Media constructs a platform for one-on-one and one-tomany for pointed insights concerning the subject and to improve dominance over a subject. The prime consumers of the Social Media are students who approach boundless utilization for they have additional time and psyche to concentrate on their quest for knowledge.


What is "small" in the eyes of the law? In fact, there is not one standard definition. Current lax legal definitions of firm's size are inconsistent and overinclusive. They result in data distortion that reinforces favoritism toward small entities as studies on the contribution of small business to the economy are greatly dependent on those studies' delineation of the term "small." Therefore, I argue that the current focus on size in legal definitions is a waste of time and money. In this time of huge deficits and rise in economic inequality, a lot of money is being spent based on the entrenched belief that small firms are the essence of our economy, which is not necessarily true. This paper lays out the policy considerations that underlie the favorable regulatory treatment granted to small firms throughout the law. It provides a comprehensive survey of legal definitions of small entities and concludes that the historical emphasis on magnitude and the creation of legal demarcations concentrated on "smallness" are erroneous. The recent integration of federal commerce and trade agencies is the first step toward this proposed shift from size-centered to goal-driven approach.


Gap junctions (GJs) are the only known cellular structures that allow a direct cell-to-cell transfer of signaling molecules by forming densely packed arrays or "plaques" of hydrophilic channels that bridge the apposing membranes of neighboring cells. The crucial role of GJ-mediated intercellular communication (GJIC) for all aspects of multicellular life, including coordination of development, tissue function, and cell homeostasis, has been well documented. Assembly and degradation of these membrane channels is a complex process that includes biosynthesis of the connexin (Cx) subunit proteins (innexins in invertebrates) on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes, oligomerization of compatible subunits into hexameric hemichannels (connexons), delivery of the connexons to the plasma membrane (PM), head-on docking of compatible connexons in the extracellular space at distinct locations, arrangement of channels into dynamic spatially and temporally organized GJ channel plaques, as well as internalization of GJs into the cytoplasm followed by their degradation. Clearly, precise modulation of GJIC, biosynthesis, and degradation are crucial for accurate function, and much research currently addresses how these fundamental processes are regulated. Here, we review posttranslational protein modifications (e.g., phosphorylation and ubiquitination) and the binding of protein partners (e.g., the scaffolding protein ZO-1) known to regulate GJ biosynthesis, internalization, and degradation. We also look closely at the atomic resolution structure of a GJ channel, since the structure harbors vital cues relevant to GJ biosynthesis and turnover.


In spite of deep structural reforms, Central American countries have failed to experience rapid and stable growth in recent years. This paper explores whether and to what extent we can consider lack of innovation and technology adoption as a main reason for this disappointing experience. The paper starts by documenting that technology adoption and innovation are indeed very low, and then turns to a more qualitative and eclectic analysis drawing on interviews and case studies to try to understand the reasons for this. Four hypotheses are explored: weak intellectual property rights, low competition, lack of finance and low levels of education. The conclusion that emerges is that the last two of these four hypotheses may be especially relevant for the region. The paper concludes with several policy recommendations.


A synthesizing concept of the development of primary hypertension is that it arises from an interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Of the environmental factors, dietary NaCl intake and mental stress are among the most thoroughly investigated. This review will focus on the interaction between genetic predisposition and the environmental influences of dietary NaCl intake and mental stress in the development of primary hypertension.


The South Seas, as this region used to be called, conjured up images of adventure, belles and savages, romance and fabulous fortunes, but the long voyages of discovery and exploration of the vast Pacific Ocean were really an exercise in amazing logistics, navigation, hard grit, shipwreck and pure luck. The motivations were scientific and geographic, but at the same time nationalistic and materialistic.

A series on global exploration and discovery would not be complete without this book by Quanchi and Robson. It is ambitious and informative and includes the familiar names of Laperouse, Bougainville, Cook and Dampier, as well as the intriguing stories of the Bounty Mutiny, scurvy, and the mysterious Northwest Passage, Terra Australis Ignotia and Davis Land. There are entries on first contacts, ships, navigational instruments, mapping, and botany. The scene is carefully set in the introduction, the chronology spans several centuries, and the extensive bibliography offers a guide to further reading. There are more than just dry facts in this book. It has a whiff of salt air, the clash of empires, cross-cultural beach encounters and personal adventure.


In this much-anticipated textbook, three respected biblical scholars have written a history of ancient Israel that takes the biblical text seriously as an historical document. While also considering nonbiblical sources and being attentive to what disciplines like archaeology, anthropology, and sociology suggest about the past, the authors do so within the context and paradigm of the Old Testament canon, which is held as the primary document for reconstructing Israel's history. In Part One, the authors set the volume in context and review past and current scholarly debate about learning Israel's history, negating arguments against using the Bible as the central source. In Part Two, they seek to retell the history itself with an eye to all the factors explored in Part One.


In many mid-latitude locations it is recognized that heat is the most important weather-related killer – outpacing hurricanes, tornadoes, snow and ice, and lightning. In the US, about 1500 people are killed by heat during an average summer (Harvard Medical School 2005). During extreme heat events, such as the one that occurred in Europe in 2003, excess deaths were in the tens of thousands (Valleron and Mendil 2004). The scope of the problem is immense and large population centers around the world, from Shanghai to New Delhi to London to Toronto, are not immune (Tan et al. 2003). The impact of a climate change could make matters worse. Several studies show that, if the climate changes as forecast by a number of climate models, the frequency of extreme heat events may double, or even triple, in many cities over the remainder of this century (Hayhoe et al. 2004b). This could lead to a dramatic increase in deaths from heat-related causes. It should be noted, however, that heat intensity is not the only major factor contributing to increased negative health responses. Probably more important is the variability of the weather. Clearly more people die from heat-related causes in cities like Philadelphia, Toronto and Chicago, than they do in Phoenix and Miami, where summer conditions are considerably warmer. This is due to the unexpected nature of extreme heat events at many mid-latitude locations, where benign weather is punctuated by heat events of great magnitude (WHO et al. 1996). Thus, if climate change brings about an increase in temperatures but a lower variability in summer weather (for example, if Philadelphia's summer climate approaches Miami's), heat-related mortality may not rise in a warmer


Aim: To compare the anterior chamber volume measurements obtained with Pentacam and derived from anterior segment optical coherence tomography.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Methods: We included normal subjects who underwent a comprehensive eye examination including refraction, keratometry, Goldmann applanation tonometry, gonioscopy, anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) (Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc.; Dublin, CA, USA) and Pentacam (Oculus Inc.; Lynnwood, WA, USA). Fifty scans were selected for Pentacam and 12 images were selected for calculation of anterior chamber volume. Only the right eye was considered for analysis.
Results: One-hundred and nineteen eyes of 119 subjects were included for analysis. The mean age of the subjects was 42.58 ± 13.15 years, of which 74 were female and 45 were male. The mean anterior chamber volume measured using AS-OCT was 119.17 ± 26.56 mm3 and with Pentacam was 131.29 ± 34.26 mm3. The comparison of means between the two modalities was statistically significant (t = -8.857, Mean Difference (MD) = 12.11, 95% CI: (4.29, 19.95), p = 0.003). Bland-Altman plot showed poor agreement between the chamber volume measurements obtained by Pentacam and AS-OCT with MD of 12.1 mm3 (95 % CI: 41.4 to -17.1) and intra-class correlation between the two instruments was 0.94 (95% CI: 0.91, 0.96) (p < 0.0001).
Conclusion: The anterior chamber volume can be measured using Pentacam as well as AS-OCT since these measurements were reliable. However, these measurements were not interchangeable due to poor levels of agreement.


Regulatory changes in genes involved in reproduction are thought to be prime targets for divergence during speciation, since they are expected to play an important role in sexual selection and sexual conflict. We used microarray analysis of RNA from different wild populations of house mouse subspecies (including Mus m. musculus, Mus m. domesticus, and Mus m. castaneus) and from the sister species Mus spretus to test this assumption. A comparison of expression divergence in brain, liver/kidney, and testis shows a major difference in the evolutionary dynamics of testis-related genes. While the comparison between species confirms an excess in divergence in testis genes, we find that all comparisons between subspecies yield only a very small number of genes with significantly different expression levels in the testis. These results suggest that the early phase of the speciation process may not be driven by regulatory changes in genes that are potential targets of sexual selection, and that the divergence in these genes is only established during a later phase of the speciation process.


Grounded in a social constructionist perspective of biomedicine, this qualitative study explored the meanings and practices associated with prescription stimulant (PS) misuse among college students.  In-depth interviews uncovered four primary themes: using and manipulating PS for increased productivity, basic knowledge about PS and risks, learning about the effects of PS through experimentation, and locating resistance and addiction within the realm of individual control. The study provides one instance of how biomedical technologies are appropriated by lay people in the absence of medical supervision to achieve nonmedical goals. The study also reveals the declining authority of the medical provider and the increased role of biomedicine in everyday life. The discussion elaborates on the modernist assumptions of individualism and control embedded in the biomedical model of medicine that provide the ideological framework for this potentially dangerous pharmaceutical practice.


Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to assess the level of knowledge, halal dietary quality assurance practices, and commitment among food industries in the implementation of halal in Malaysia. Besides, the study was based on two categories that are considered major contributors in the chain of halal food sector in Malaysia which are the multinational, and small medium enterprise (SME).

Design/methodology/approach

– Two company's categories related to halal food and beverage industry which are the multinational, and SME were chosen in this research based on the similarities in terms of functions and needs in the implementation of halal in Malaysia. Furthermore, both categories are the main groups in the halal food sector that support the growth of other categories. The sample of the study was comprised of 241 companies from halal certification holders (MNCs=69; SMEs=172).Cross-sectional study through random sampling and purposive sampling was used where the internal halal committee who have been specifically appointed in the organization were asked to fill in the questionnaire. Personally hand-delivered questionnaires in workplaces was used as a method of data collection. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.

Findings

– Based on the analysis, it was found that the level of knowledge, halal quality assurance practices and commitment to be at a good level. Whereas the results of inference showed that there are significant differences for the three variables studied.

Research limitations/implications

– In the study there are some limitations, namely; first, the categories studied are focussed solely on halal food industry. Halal now been expanded to other products such as pharmaceutical, logistics, etc. Second, the standards used are the standard and guidelines on the handling of food. Finally, the limitations in obtaining more respondents as most industry in Malaysia is still concerned to provide feedback and view it as the secrecy of the company.

Practical implications

– First, the implication of the theory and literature studies in which the research prevalence is associated with the ISO quality and quality management, integration of multiple disciplines and concepts is essential as a combination of elements of human capital and strategic management. Second, on behalf of the government or specially-appointed halal certification body, it can give a clear picture of the exposure and promotion related to the deed, procedures, and guidelines have gone through several changes and amendments. In addition, it is also able to evaluate the effectiveness of a number of conditions that are required such as internal halal appointment committee. Third for industry practitioners, focussing in delivering halal standards is not dependent on the system, working patterns, and technologies alone, but should also take into account the element of human capital and organizational responsibility in maintaining halal integrity and enhancing the knowledge and halal dietary management in accordance with the requirements of Islamic law and fatwa.

Social implications

– On behalf of the users, the confidence is there and in order to produce a halal product, it involves a fairly strict chain and has always been regulated by a special committee whose role are meeting the needs outlined halal standards.

Originality/value

– The study is the starting point in discussing in detail about the halal knowledge, halal quality assurance, and commitment after the standardization and harmonization of halal certification in early 2012. Furthermore, there are a few revisions on the act, standards, and procedures by the halal certification body, which halal assurance should be implemented and considered still new.


Detection of radiation signals is at the heart of precision metrology and sensing. In this article we show how the fluctuations in photon counting signals can be exploited to optimally extract information about the physical parameters that govern the dynamics of the emitter. For a simple two-level emitter subject to photon counting, we show that the Fisher information and the Cram\'er- Rao sensitivity bound based on the full detection record can be evaluated from the waiting time distribution in the fluorescence signal which can, in turn, be calculated for both perfect and imperfect detectors by a quantum trajectory analysis. We provide an optimal estimator achieving that bound.


Constraint programming techniques are widely used to model and solve interactive decision problems, and especially configuration problems. In this type of application, the configurable product is described by means of a set of constraints bearing on the configuration variables. The user interactively solves the CSP by assigning the variables according to her preferences. The system then has to keep the domains of the other variables consistent with these choices. Since maintaining the global inverse consistency of the domains is not tractable, the domains are instead filtered according to some level of local consistency, e.g. arc-consistency.

The present paper aims at offering a more convenient interaction by providing the user with possible alternative values for the already assigned variables, i.e. values that could replace the current ones without leading to a constraint violation. We thus present the new concept of alternative domains in a (possibly) partially assigned CSP. We propose a propagation algorithm that computes all the alternative domains in a single step. Its worst case complexity is comparable to the one of the naive algorithm that would run a full propagation for each variable, but its experimental efficiency is better.


This study documented the effects of wing-dike notching on the availability of shallow water habitat in the Lower Missouri River. Five wing dikes were surveyed in late May 2004 after they were notched in early May as part of shallow-water habitat (SWH) rehabilitation activities undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Surveys included high-resolution hydroacoustic depth, velocity, and substrate mapping. Relations of bottom elevations within the wing dike fields to index discharges and water-surface elevations indicate that little habitat meeting the SWH definition was created immediately following notching. This result is not unexpected, as significant geomorphic adjustment may require large flow events. Depth, velocity, and substrate measurements in the post-rehabilitation time period provide baseline data for monitoring ongoing changes. Differences in elevation and substrate were noted at all sites. Most dike fields showed substantial aggradation and replacement of mud substrate with sandier sediment, although the changes did not result in increased availability of SWH at the index discharge. It is not known how much of the elevation and substrate changes can be attributed directly to notching and how much would result from normal sediment transport variation.


The paper analyzes the effects of financial liberalization on inflation. We develop a monetary and endogenous growth, dynamic general equilibrium model with financial intermediaries subjected to obligatory "high" cash reserves requirement, serving as the source of financial repression. When calibrated to four Southern European semi-industrialized countries, namely Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal, that typically had high reserve requirements, the model indicates a positive inflation-financial repression relationship irrespective of the the specification of preferences. But the strength of the relationship obtained from the model is found to be much smaller in size than the corresponding empirical estimates.


The Tate Gallery opened in 1897 and came into being as a result of growing recognition of an urgent need for a national gallery of British art. In 1889 the initiative was taken by Henry Tate, a collector of British art whose fortune was made from refining sugar. Tate offered the nation his collection and a building to house it. After much debate this offer was accepted and the Tate Gallery was built on the site of the former Millbank prison. Officially it was called the National Gallery of British Art, but soon became known to everyone as the Tate. This comprehensive account of the Tate traces its growth over the last 100 years. Works of art, building schemes, Government, public and private sector funding are some of the many factors that shape the Tate's shifting nexus of relationships as it grows and expands. The Tate now has galleries in Liverpool and St Ives, and a Tate Gallery of Modern Art is being created at Bankside.


Background Anemia is common and is associated with impaired clinical outcomes in diabetic chronic kidney disease (CKD). It may be explained by reduced erythropoietin (EPO) synthesis, but recent data suggest that EPO-resistance and diminished iron availability due to inflammation contribute significantly. In this cohort study, we evaluated the impact of hepcidin-25—the key hormone of iron-metabolism—on clinical outcomes in diabetic patients with CKD along with endogenous EPO levels. Methods 249 diabetic patients with CKD of any stage, excluding end-stage renal disease (ESRD), were enrolled (2003–2005), if they were not on EPO-stimulating agent and iron therapy. Hepcidin-25 levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. The association of hepcidin-25 at baseline with clinical variables was investigated using linear regression models. All-cause mortality and a composite endpoint of CKD progression (ESRD or doubling of serum creatinine) were analyzed by Cox proportional hazards models. Results Patients (age 67 yrs, 53% male, GFR 51 ml/min, hemoglobin 131 g/L, EPO 13.5 U/L, hepcidin-25 62.0 ng/ml) were followed for a median time of 4.2 yrs. Forty-nine patients died (19.7%) and forty (16.1%) patients reached the composite endpoint. Elevated hepcidin levels were independently associated with higher ferritin-levels, lower EPO-levels and impaired kidney function (all p<0.05). Hepcidin was related to mortality, along with its interaction with EPO, older age, greater proteinuria and elevated CRP (all p<0.05). Hepcidin was also predictive for progression of CKD, aside from baseline GFR, proteinuria, low albumin- and hemoglobin-levels and a history of CVD (all p<0.05). Conclusions We found hepcidin-25 to be associated with EPO and impaired kidney function in diabetic CKD. Elevated hepcidin-25 and EPO-levels were independent predictors of mortality, while hepcidin-25 was also predictive for progression of CKD. Both hepcidin-25 and EPO may represent important prognostic factors of clinical outcome and have the potential to further define "high risk" populations in CKD.


Making more of your stomata Stomata on grasses are made up of two guard cells and two subsidiary cells, and they perform better than stomata on broad-leaved plants, which are made up only of two guard cells. Raissig et al. found that the MUTE transcription factor in the wheat-like grass Brachypodium is a little bigger than the equivalent protein in the model broad-leaved plant Arabidopsis. The extension in the grass protein promotes its movement into adjacent cells, prompting them to become subsidiary cells. Mutant Brachypodium whose MUTE protein could not move between cells lacked stomatal subsidiary cells and grew poorly. Science, this issue p. 1215 Mobile transcription factor builds better stomata in grasses. Plants optimize carbon assimilation while limiting water loss by adjusting stomatal aperture. In grasses, a developmental innovation—the addition of subsidiary cells (SCs) flanking two dumbbell-shaped guard cells (GCs)—is linked to improved stomatal physiology. Here, we identify a transcription factor necessary and sufficient for SC formation in the wheat relative Brachypodium distachyon. Unexpectedly, the transcription factor is an ortholog of the stomatal regulator AtMUTE, which defines GC precursor fate in Arabidopsis. The novel role of BdMUTE in specifying lateral SCs appears linked to its acquisition of cell-to-cell mobility in Brachypodium. Physiological analyses on SC-less plants experimentally support classic hypotheses that SCs permit greater stomatal responsiveness and larger range of pore apertures. Manipulation of SC formation and function in crops, therefore, may be an effective approach to enhance plant performance.


Androgen and the androgen receptor (AR)–mediated signaling are crucial for prostate cancer development. Novel agents that can inhibit AR signaling in ligand-dependent and ligand-independent manners are desirable for the chemoprevention of prostate carcinogenesis and for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. We have shown recently that the pyranocoumarin compound decursin from the herb Angelica gigas possesses potent anti-AR activities distinct from the anti–androgen bicalutamide. Here, we compared the anti-AR activities and the cell cycle arrest and apoptotic effects of decursin and two natural analogues in the androgen-dependent LNCaP human prostate cancer cell culture model to identify structure-activity relationships and mechanisms. Decursin and its isomer decursinol angelate decreased prostate-specific antigen expression with IC50 of ∼1 μmol/L. Both inhibited the androgen-stimulated AR nuclear translocation and transactivation, decreased AR protein abundance through proteasomal degradation, and induced G0/1 arrest and morphologic differentiation. They also induced caspase-mediated apoptosis and reactive oxygen species at higher concentrations. Furthermore, they lacked the agonist activity of bicalutamide in the absence of androgen and were more potent than bicalutamide for suppressing androgen-stimulated cell growth. Decursinol, which does not contain a side chain, lacked the reactive oxygen species induction and apoptotic activities and exerted paradoxically an inhibitory and a stimulatory effect on AR signaling and cell growth. In conclusion, decursin and decursinol angelate are members of a novel class of nonsteroidal compounds that exert a long-lasting inhibition of both ligand-dependent and ligand-independent AR signaling. The side chain is critical for sustaining the anti-AR activities and the growth arrest and apoptotic effects. [Mol Cancer Ther 2007;6(3):907–17]


Radio resource management algorithms ranging from bearer admission control to semi-persistent and dynamic packet scheduling, fast link adaptation, and transmission control of multi-antenna transmission modes are addressed in this article for UTRAN long-term evolution. First, a high-level system overview of LTE is given, with special emphasis on the important components related to RRM. The quality of service parameter framework is outlined, as one of the main objectives for the families of RRM algorithms is to maximize system capacity while serving all users according to their minimum QoS constraints. It is demonstrated how the collocation of the RRM algorithms at the base station with easy access to air interface measurements offers opportunities for efficient cross-functional optimization between layers 1, 2, and 3. Examples of performance results for different traffic mixes and antenna transmission schemes are also presented, and the article is concluded with recommendations on how to operate the various RRM options under different load and traffic conditions.


Grand in its sweep, this survey of the sacred writings of the major religions of the world offers a thoughtful introduction to the ideas and beliefs upon which great faiths are built. Under the expert guidance of John Bowker, a religious scholar and author of international stature, readers explore the key texts of Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi, Confucian, Daoist, and Shinto traditions. The author discusses some 400 books, among them such well-known sacred texts as the Bible and the Quran, but also spiritual writings by theologians, philosophers, poets, and others. Bowker provides clear and illuminating commentary on each text, describing the content and core tenets of the work and quoting pertinent passages. He also sets the writings in religious and historical contexts, showing how they have influenced-and in many cases continue to influence-artistic, musical, literary, and political traditions. The Message and the Book is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the meaning and the deep significance of primary religious texts of civilizations around the globe.


Children who are accused of crimes in South Africa are governed by the same legislation as adults. The urgent need to develop a separate child justice system culminated in the release of the draft Child Justice Bill in 2000 by the South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC). A product of thorough research and consultation, the revised Bill was introduced to parliament in August 2002. The changes made after public hearings and debates in parliament in 2003 saw the whittling away of the overall child rights nature of the Bill. To add insult to injury, the legislation has, since that year, not been debated again before the portfolio committee and the legislature has provided no explanation for this state of affairs.


The Arctic Coring Expedition (ACEX) carried out in 2004 by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) afforded us the opportunity to obtain seawater and sea-ice samples at four different times and locations including the North Pole in the central Arctic Ocean.We performed taxonomic and census investigation on extant silicoflagellates in the samples. Of the two silicoflagellate taxa observed in the central Arctic, Distephanus medianoctisol Takahashi et al. sp. nov dominates over 71% of total silicoflagellates and Distephanus speculum (Ehrenberg) Haeckel 1887 represents only 29% or less. Significantly different silicoflagellate assemblages and skeletal morphology from the Arctic sea-ice laden areas compared to those from open oceans outside of theArctic were observed. During the summer, silicoflagellates actively grow in the central Arctic Ocean, as evidenced by considerable population densities even compared with those of the middle latitude open oceans. Active growth is supported by the number of observed double skeletons, which are good representation of active cell divisions. Underneath the pack ice, seawater of the central Arctic receives enough sunlight under midnight Sun conditions in summer, due to the presence of ice cracks and water puddles to provide sufficient photosynthetic energy to sustain silicoflagellate populations. The documented percentage occurrences of aberrant silicoflagellates (abnormal forms) are high when compared with those from the pelagic environments. Unusual forms with greater than one apical window (also considered as aberrant) are also noted and theymay have been formed due to specific environmental conditions such as low temperature, the presence of sea-ice, and low light intensity (beneath sea-ice with snow accumulation).


Process controls on water, sediment, nutrient, and organic carbon exports from the landscape through runoff are not fully understood. This paper provides analyses from 446 sites worldwide to evaluate the impact of environmental factors (MAP and MAT: mean annual precipitation and temperature; CLAY and BD: soil clay content and bulk density; S: slope gradient; LU: land use) on annual exports (RC: runoff coefficients; SL: sediment loads; TOCL: organic carbon losses; TNL: nitrogen losses; TPL: phosphorus losses) from different spatial scales. RC was found to increase, on average, from 18% at local scale (in headwaters), 25% at microcatchment and subcatchment scale (midreaches) to 41% at catchment scale (lower reaches of river basins) in response to multiple factors. SL increased from microplots (468 g m−2 yr−1) to plots (901 g m−2 yr−1), accompanied by decreasing TOCL and TNL. Climate was a major control masking the effects of other factors. For example, RC, SL, TOCL, TNL, and TPL tended to increase with MAP at all spatial scales. These variables, however, decreased with MAT. The impact of CLAY, BD, LU, and S on erosion variables was largely confined to the hillslope scale, where RC, SL, and TOCL decreased with CLAY, while TNL and TPL increased. The results contribute to better understanding of water, nutrient, and carbon cycles in terrestrial ecosystems and should inform river basin modeling and ecosystem management. The important role of spatial climate variability points to a need for comparative research in specific environments at nested spatiotemporal scales.


OBJECTIVES
The gestural repertoires of bonobos and chimpanzees are well documented, but the relationship between gestural signaling and positional behavior (i.e., body postures and locomotion) has yet to be explored. Given that one theory for language evolution attributes the emergence of increased gestural communication to habitual bipedality, this relationship is important to investigate.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
In this study, we examined the interplay between gestures, body postures, and locomotion in four captive groups of bonobos and chimpanzees using ad libitum and focal video data.

RESULTS
We recorded 43 distinct manual (involving upper limbs and/or hands) and bodily (involving postures, locomotion, head, lower limbs, or feet) gestures. In both species, actors used manual and bodily gestures significantly more when recipients were attentive to them, suggesting these movements are intentionally communicative. Adults of both species spent less than 1.0% of their observation time in bipedal postures or locomotion, yet 14.0% of all bonobo gestures and 14.7% of all chimpanzee gestures were produced when subjects were engaged in bipedal postures or locomotion. Among both bonobo groups and one chimpanzee group, these were mainly manual gestures produced by infants and juvenile females. Among the other chimpanzee group, however, these were mainly bodily gestures produced by adult males in which bipedal posture and locomotion were incorporated into communicative displays.

DISCUSSION
Overall, our findings reveal that bipedality did not prompt an increase in manual gesturing in these study groups. Rather, body postures and locomotion are intimately tied to many gestures and certain modes of locomotion can be used as gestures themselves.


Present-day interest in the thermal analysis of electronic circuit boards arises mainly because of the failure of such components as a result of thermal fatigue. A thermal/structural ANSYS model was integrated in this study to enable the predictions of the temperature and stress distribution of vertically clamped parallel circuit boards that include series of symmetrically mounted heated electronic modules (chips). The board was modeled as a thin plate containing heated flush rectangular areas representing the heat generating modules. The ANSYS model was required to incorporate the effects of mixed convection on surfaces, heat generation in the modules, and conduction inside the board. Appropriate convection heat transfer coefficients and boundary conditions resulted in a temperature distribution in the board and chips. Then structural analyses were performed on the same finite element mesh with structural elements capable of handling orthotropic material properties. The stress fields were obtained and compared for the two models possessing different fiber orientations.


One of the most innovative features of the new AP Computer Science Principles course framework is that it includes the Global Impact of Computing-not just as an occasional flourish, but as one of its foundational Big Ideas (#7). The real-world impact of computing-on society and on their own lives-is a great hook that can stimulate students' lasting interest in computer science, whether in CSP or any other CS class. Teach Global Impact is a collaborative effort among leading computer science educators that leverages seven excellent CSP curricula and PD programs. (BJC, CISS, Code.org CSP, CS Matters, CSP CS4HS, Mobile CSP, and UTeach CSP.) These curricula are contributing activities that highlight the potential impacts of big data, multimedia, artificial intelligence, and Internet connectivity, among other things. We are working to bring together all of these existing Global Impact lesson materials into a unified resource, and to fill in any gaps by creating new materials, along with classroom strategy guides for teaching about impact. This lightning talk will introduce teachers to the resources available on the Teach Global Impact website, including a database of existing materials, new activities and strategy guides, and a Computing in the News feed featuring student-curated stories aligned with CSP learning objectives. We'll also talk about new activities in the works, including classroom simulations around net neutrality and encryption ethics, a lesson plan on online research and writing for CS, and a series of videos illustrating key essential knowledge points.


The LHCf experiment is the smallest of the six LHC experiments and it has been proposed and built as a fully dedicated astroparticle experiment at LHC. The aim of the experiment is indeed to provide a detailed calibration of the Monte Carlo models used in High Energy Cosmic Ray Physics through the measurement of the neutral particles emitted in the very forward region at LHC. LHCf consists of two calorimeters placed in the LHC tunnel near the ATLAS interaction point. The two calorimeters have also position measurement capabilities thus ensuring the possibility to measure neutral particles in the pseudo-rapidity region greater than eight with execellent performances. In this paper, the status of the two detectors, their performances and the Physics reach is described.


. AGN feedback is regarded as an important non-gravitational process in galaxy clusters, providing useful constraints on large-scale structure formation. It modifies the structure and energetics of the intra-cluster medium (ICM) and hence its understanding is crucially needed in order to use clusters as high precision cosmological probes. In this context, particularly keeping in mind the upcoming high quality radio data expected from radio surveys like SKA with its higher sensitivity, high spatial and spectral resolutions, we review our current understanding of AGN feedback, its cosmological implications and the impact that SKA can have in revolutionizing our understanding of AGN feedback in large-scale structures. Recent developments regarding the AGN outbursts and its possible contribution to excess entropy in the hot atmospheres of groups and clusters, its correlation with the feedback energy in ICM, quenching of cooling flows and the possible connection between cool core clusters and radio mini-halos, are discussed. We describe current major issues regarding modeling of AGN feedback and its impact on the surrounding medium. With regard to the future of AGN feedback studies, we examine the possible breakthroughs that can be expected from SKA observations. In the context of cluster cosmology, for example, we point out the importance of SKA observations for cluster mass calibration by noting that most of z > 1 clusters discovered by eROSITA X-ray mission can be expected to be followed up through a 1000 hour SKA-1 mid programme. Moreover, approximately 1000 radio mini halos and ∼ 2500 radio halos at z < 0 . 6 can be potentially detected by SKA1 and SKA2 and used as tracers of galaxy clusters and determination of cluster selection function.


The present paper (1) examined variables which could predict traditional bullying, cyberbullying, traditional victimization and cyber-victimization and (2) looked at persons to examine whether academic, socio-emotional and demographic characteristics differed between traditional, cyber and mixed bullies, victims and bully-victims. A sample of 2,329 gymnasium students (50% girls, Mage = 13.08, SD = .86) from 120 classes, grade 7 to 9, from six Cypriot schools, completed self-report questionnaires. Traditional bullying was predicted by cyberbullying and socio-emotional, academic and demographic variables. Cyberbullying was predicted by traditional bullying and academic variables. Traditional victimization was predicted by cyber-victimization, socio-emotional variables and being male. Cybervictimization was predicted by traditional victimization and academic variables. Compared with uninvolved adolescents, traditional, cyber and mixed bullies had lower levels of academic variables; traditional and mixed victims had higher levels of emotional problems and affective empathy; and mixed bully-victims had lower levels of both academic and socioemotional variables. Implications for intervention and prevention are discussed.


Training object class detectors typically requires a large set of images with objects annotated by bounding boxes. However, manually drawing bounding boxes is very time consuming. In this paper we greatly reduce annotation time by proposing center-click annotations: we ask annotators to click on the center of an imaginary bounding box which tightly encloses the object instance. We then incorporate these clicks into existing Multiple Instance Learning techniques for weakly supervised object localization, to jointly localize object bounding boxes over all training images. Extensive experiments on PASCAL VOC 2007 and MS COCO show that: (1) our scheme delivers high-quality detectors, performing substantially better than those produced by weakly supervised techniques, with a modest extra annotation effort; (2) these detectors in fact perform in a range close to those trained from manually drawn bounding boxes; (3) as the center-click task is very fast, our scheme reduces total annotation time by 9× to 18×.


This research discusses the use of social norms marketing to improve responsible drinking among college students. It was observed in each year of research that students studied overestimated their peers' drinking practices. During the social norms marketing campaign decreases were observed in both students' self-reported number of drinks consumed and perceived number of drinks consumed by peers at bars or parties, indicating that the social norms marketing efforts were somewhat successful. In addition, students reported drinking less alcohol over a shorter period of time. However, some negative behaviors related to drinking did not improve.


In 2002, at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) a plan emerged to restore the approximately 60% of global fish stocks, which have been fished to the brink of destruction, to biologically sustainable levels by 2015. This plan was made in an attempt to secure greater food security for many of the world's people. However, severe Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in many of the world's fisheries makes the realisation of such a plan difficult, especially in the developing context where there are little means for regulating ocean fishery usage effectively. This dissertation examines the nature of IUU fishing, and attempts to find possible solutions to this pervasive problem for many coastal states in the developing world. The methods employed by the study comprise a review of literature pertaining to both theoretical and practical dilemmas, as well as a more focussed examination on IUU fishing in Senegal. Using a process of inductive analysis the case is contrasted with the theory in view of finding routes to improved resource exploitation mechanisms in the region. The study concludes that the global over fishing crisis may create a window of opportunity for developing countries in possession of such resources to better manage their fisheries and take advantage of possible comparative advantages in international trade in fish products, thus improving balance of payments problems. However in order to achieve this, as a first measure the problem of IUU fishing must be eradicated.


Speaking perceptively of the criminal procedure in The Brothers Karamazov, Edward Wasiolek points out that the "legal process is an obstacle to the facts ... [It] brings forth only technique, ambition and triviality." Wolfgang Holdheim, writing on the same subject, observes that the legal error at the end of that novel is indicative of the ambiguities inherent in modern literature's approach to reality. These critics have shown a sensitivity to a topic otherwise rarely treated: the use of the legal theme within the modern novel not merely for dramatic effect, but also for thematic, structural and formal purposes not explicitly stated by the writer.


The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) owns and manages a wide range of ecological resources. During the next 30 years, DOE Headquarters and Field Offices will make land-use planning decisions and conduct environmental remediation and restoration activities in response to federal and state statutes. This document fulfills, in part, DOE`s need to know what types of ecological resources it currently owns and manages by synthesizing information on the types and locations of ecological resources at 10 DOE sites: Hanford Site, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory, Rocky Flats Plant, Los Alamos National Laboratory, savannah River Site, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and Fernald Environmental Management Project. This report summarizes information on ecosystems, habitats, and federally listed threatened, endangered, and candidate species that could be stressed by contaminants or physical activity during the restoration process, or by the natural or anthropogenic transport of contaminants from presently contaminated areas into presently uncontaminated areas. This report also provides summary information on the ecosystems, habitats, and threatened and endangered species that exist on each of the 10 sites. Each site chapter contains a general description of the site, including information on size, location, history, geology, hydrology, and climate. Descriptions of the major vegetation and animal communities and of aquatic resources are also provided, with discussions of the treatened or endangered plant or animal species present. Site-specific ecological issues are also discussed in each site chapter. 106 refs., 11 figs., 1 tab.


Spring temperatures in temperate regions have increased over the past 20 years and many organisms have responded to this increase by advancing the timing of their growth and reproduction. However, not all populations show an advancement of phenology. Understanding why some populations advance and others do not will give us insight into the possible constraints and selection pressures on the advancement of phenology. By combining two decades of data on 24 populations of tits (Parus sp.) from six European countries, we show that the phenological response to large–scale changes in spring temperature varies across a species' range, even between populations situated close to each other. We show that this variation cannot be fully explained by variation in the temperature change during the pre– and post–laying periods, as recently suggested. Instead, we find evidence for a link between rising temperatures and the frequency of second broods, which results in complex shifts in the laying dates of first clutches. Our results emphasize the need to consider links between different life–history parameters in order to predict the ecological consequences of large–scale climate changes.


A murine respiratory challenge model was used to examine the induction of cellular and humoral immune responses and their role in protection against Bordetella pertussis following immunization or previous infection. Spleen cells from mice convalescing from a B. pertussis infection exhibited extensive in vitro T-cell proliferation and secreted high levels of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and gamma interferon but not IL-4 or IL-5, a cytokine profile typical of CD4+ Th1 cells. Serum from these mice had low or undetectable anti-B. pertussis antibody levels. In contrast, mice immunized with an acellular pertussis vaccine had high levels of B. pertussis antibodies and spleen cells secreting IL-5 but not gamma interferon, a profile characteristic of CD4+ Th2 cells. Immunization with an inactivated whole-cell vaccine induced both CD4+ Th1 and serum antibody responses. After exposure to a B. pertussis respiratory challenge, the convalescent mice and those immunized with the whole-cell vaccine eliminated the bacterial infection significantly faster than mice immunized with the acellular vaccine. These findings show that the selection of antigens and their form of presentation are important in determining whether the subsequent immune response is cellular, mediated by Th1 cells, or humoral, mediated by Th2 cells. In the murine model, the induction of a Th1-mediated cellular immune response appears to be a key element in acquired immunity to a B. pertussis infection.


Epidemiological and experimental studies report associations between overweight mothers and increased obesity risk in offspring. It is unclear whether neonatal leptin regulation mediates this association between overweight mothers and offspring obesity. We investigated the effect of neonatal treatment with a leptin antagonist (LA) on growth and metabolism in offspring of mothers fed either a control or a high fat diet. Wistar rats were fed either a control (CON) or a high fat diet (MHF) during pregnancy and lactation. Male CON and MHF neonates received either saline (S) or a rat-specific pegylated LA on days 3, 5, and 7. Offspring were weaned onto either a control or a high fat (hf) diet. At day 100, body composition, blood glucose, β-hydroxybutyrate and plasma leptin and insulin were determined. In CON and MHF offspring, LA increased neonatal bodyweights compared to saline-treated offspring and was more pronounced in MHF offspring. In the post-weaning period, neonatal LA treatment decreased hf diet-induced weight gain but only in CON offspring. LA treatment induced changes in body length, fat mass, body temperature, and bone composition. Neonatal LA treatment can therefore exert effects on growth and metabolism in adulthood but is dependent upon interactions between maternal and post-weaning nutrition.


the genus Syntrophothermus . The species is of interest because of its strictly anaerobic lifestyle, its participa-tion in the primary step of the degradation of organic maters, and for releasing products which serve as substrates for other microorganisms. It also contributes significantly to main-tain a regular pH in its environment by removing the fatty acids through β -oxidation. The strain is able to metabolize isobutyrate and butyrate, which are the substrate and the product of degradation of the substrate, respectively. This is the first complete genome sequence of a member of the genus Syntrophothermus and the second in the family Syntrophomonadaceae . Here we describe the features of this organism, together with the complete genome sequence and annotation. The 2,405,559 bp long genome with its 2,385 protein-coding and 55 RNA genes is a part of the G enomic E ncyclopedia of B acteria and A rchaea project.


This paper surveys recent analytic and numerical results on asymptotic models of spectra of electromagnetic (EM) waves in two-dimensional (2D) thin high-contrast photonic bandgap (PBG) materials. These models lead to discovery of interesting phenomena, including extremely narrow bands that can be used for spontaneous emission enhancement, gaps in the long wave regions, and asymptotic periodicity of the spectrum. The asymptotic results provide unexpectedly good qualitative (and sometimes quantitative) description of spectral behavior for materials of finite contrast. In some cases, simple ordinary differential models can be derived that yield a good approximation of the spectra. In such situations, one can obtain approximate analytic formulas for the dispersion relations.


Abstract Functional and numerical responses of the predatory mite, Neoseiulus longispinosus (Evans) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) to the red spider mite, Oligonychus coffeae Nietner (Acari: Tetranychidae), infesting tea were determined in a laboratory on leaf discs. Prey consumption increased with increases in temperature and prey density. Handling time decreased and successful attack rate increased with increased temperature. N. longispinosus was more voracious on larvae and nymphs than on adults of O. coffeae. Handling time was higher on adult females than on larvae. Rate of predation leveled off at temperatures greater than 25° C. Functional responses to prey density at six temperatures and to each life stage of O. coffeae approximated the Holling type II model. The oviposition rate increased with prey consumption and temperature. On average, a predator consumed 1.62 adult female prey for every egg it laid. With a fixed number of prey available, predation rate per predator decreased with increased predator density.


Diclofenac sodium is being used for the treatment of pain and inflammation. But as all the NSAIDs are suffering from severe GI toxicities, Diclofenac sodium is also not an exception to these toxocities. The GI toxicity associated with all traditional NSAIDs is mainly due to the presence of free carboxylic group. In the present research work, the main motto was to develop some new heterocyclic analogues of diclofenac as potential analgesic and anti-inflammatory agents with negligible ulcerogenicity. In this paper various heterocyclic analogues of diclofenac were designed by replacing the free –COOH with some less acidic heterocycles and evaluated for COX-1, COX-2 and LTA4 hydrolase binding ability by molecular docking. The most potent ligands were selected as the lead and structural modifications were done to the selected lead compounds in order to increase the potency. Finally these potent ligands were synthesized and characterized by FTIR and 1HNMR. Furthermore the synthesized compounds were also tested for their analgesic, anti-inflammatory and ulcerogenicity activities. Out of all the synthesized compounds, 6 new compounds were found to have significant analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities with negligible ulcerogenicity.


Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the prototypic systemic autoimmune disease, whereas autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 1 (APS1) is a rare autosomal disorder characterized by combinations of organ-specific autoimmune manifestations including hypoparathyroidism and intestinal dysfunction, and may serve as a model for organ-specific autoimmunity. Autoantibodies directed against proteins expressed in the affected tissues are found in both diseases. From a chondrocyte cDNA expression library, we identified the protein AHNAK as an autoantigen in SLE. Anti-AHNAK antibodies were found in 29.5% (18/61) of patients with SLE, 4.6% (5/109) of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and 1.2% (2/172) of blood donors. Using a candidate approach, we analyzed the prevalence in APS1 and other organ-specific autoimmune diseases, of autoantibodies against the pyridoxal phosphate-dependent enzymes histidine decarboxylase (HDC) and cysteine sulfinic acid decarboxylase (CSAD), which are structurally closely related to known autoantigens. Anti-HDC and anti-CSAD reactivity was detected exclusively in APS1 patient sera. Anti-HDC antibodies were detected in 37.1% (36/97) of the APS1 sera, did not cross-react with aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase, and were associated with intestinal dysfunction and loss of histamine-producing gastric enterochromaffin-like cells. In contrast, anti-CSAD reactivity was detected in 3.6% (3/83) of APS1 sera and cross-reacted with recombinant glutamic acid decarboxylase. From a parathyroid cDNA expression library, novel spliced transcripts of the CLLD4 gene on human chromosome 13q14, encoding 26 and 31 kDa isoforms recognized by autoantibodies in 3.4% (3/87) of APS1 patients, were identified and found to be preferentially expressed in lung and ovary. Both isoforms contain an N-terminal BTB/POZ domain, similarly to the TNF-alpha-regulated protein B12, localize both to the cytoplasm and nucleus in transfected COS cells, and form oligomers in vitro. The CLLD4 gene is located in a region frequently deleted in several forms of cancer, including lung and ovarian tumors. In conclusion, we have identified and partially characterized AHNAK and HDC as two common targets of autoantibodies in SLE and APS1, respectively. We have also identified CSAD and CLLD4 as two minor autoantigens in APS1, one of which is a novel protein with unknown function.


The diffraction of obliquely incident plane waves by a half-plane having anisotropic conductivity is investigated. The half-plane is assumed to be perfectly conducting in one direction and to have finite conductivity in the transverse direction. The material of the half-plane is simulated by a resistive-type boundary condition with the resistivity being a constant tensor. By using the Fourier transform technique, the problem is formulated into a pair of simultaneous Wiener-Hopf equations which are decoupled by means of a polynomial transformation and then solved by standard techniques.


This thesis investigates the assertions that: information literacy is the nexus between accessing information and the creative acquisition of knowledge; and that the teaching of a structured information literacy program is an educational imperative.
Oberg, Hay & Henri (2000) claim that there appears to be a lack of a genuine expectation by teachers that students will engage in all aspects of the research cycle. How students use information and engage in the information-knowledge process is determined by their expectations of the research process. These expectations are largely determined by the teacher's perception of information literacy (Coulter, November 2001). The thesis examines teacher beliefs that information literacy serves as a pedagogical strategy, one aim of which is the creative, personalised acquisition of knowledge. The study is of significance when viewed in the current climate of curriculum reform and transition on the national Australian and Tasmanian levels.
Interviews were conducted with 18 teachers and five principals in seven schools associated with the Catholic Education Office, Hobart Diocese. Interviews focused on teacher's perception of the term 'information literacy'; what teachers discuss when engaged in curriculum reform; and how, when and why teachers currently acquire information literacy skills.
The study was effectively structured using Englebart's Augmentation Conceptual Framework (Friedewald, 1997) and qualified by means of postmodern and poststructuralist approaches to investigation.
Findings from this study concur with Bruce (2000) in that teachers tend to categorise 'information literacy' as being associated with information technology, information sources, information process and information control. This finding has significant implications for Tasmanian schools in that the new Tasmanian Curriculum model integrates ICT as an all-encompassing key learning area. ICT needs to be framed in this context; as a tool of enlightenment, and an instrument that assists investigations.
Curriculum reform was recognised as being a significant, constant and continuing aspect of a teacher's life, regardless of school location and size. A concern regarding the lack of uniformity, influence and/or direction of the curriculum was expressed by all teachers.
Teachers interviewed generally expressed positive feelings about the philosophy and structure of curriculum reform and that carefully constructed information literacy programs can reflect current Tasmanian Curriculum philosophical frameworks and marry well with the various statements of learnings produced by the Curriculum Corporation. The implications for any professional development and teacher-conversation in information literacy are clear:
•Ensure all staff receive the same professional development in information literacy.
•Confirm that school curriculum documents inform teaching and learning programs and professional development opportunities explicitly link to these.
•Reinforce student involvement in information literacy activities by highlighting and enhancing their resilience in information seeking behaviour.
Teachers from all schools strongly expressed a sense of confusion regarding the term 'information literacy'. There were few opportunities for professional dialogue and adequate professional development with regard to information literacy. The study showed that if information literacy is to be embraced by primary school teachers regularly and across the disciplines as an essential element in their inquiry-based teaching and learning programs, then school systems need to inform them about existing models and standards that give the term a tangible, 'teachable' structure.


Various non-stoichiometric compositions of Ni-Zn ferrites and Mg-Zn ferrites were
investigated. The samples were prepared by the conventional sintering method while
being subjected to an air annospheric condition. The measurement of magnetic
properties such as magnetic permeability, magnetic loss, Curie temperature, magnetic
flux density and microstructure were performed to understand the magnetic properties of
samples prepared by systematic compositional changes. X-ray diffraction results indicate
that the samples are in good crystalline form. Curie temperature variation can be
explained on the basis of Neel's two sub-lattices model and could be due to distribution
of magnetic ions between two sub-lattices. The dependence of magnetic permeability
with temperature shows that the trends exhibited by all the samples are similar. With
increase in temperature, permeability increases gradually and then shows sudden drop at
the Curie point because the anisotropy constant decreases more rapidly than the
saturation magnetization. The dependence of permeability on iron oxide content obeys
globus model. The change of permeability in the cation-deficient region is caused by the positive contribution of the anisotropy constant to the total anisotropy during
conversion of Fe3+ ions to Fe2+ ions. However, for the anion-deficient region, the
variation in permeability is mainly accounted to be due to microstructural changes.
The loss factor and the quality factor were also calculated and this study has revealed
that the iron oxide concentration is a determining factor for high quality ferrites. Finally,
this study shows that high permeability values of Ni-Zn and Mg-Zn ferrites occur in the
cation-deficient region with x = 0.002-0.006 weight percent.


This work is structured as follows:
In Section 1 we discuss the clinical problem of heart failure. In particular, we
present the phenomenon known as ventricular mechanical dyssynchrony: its
impact on cardiac function, the therapy for its treatment and the methods for
its quantification. Specifically, we describe the conductance catheter and its
use for the measurement of dyssynchrony. At the end of the Section 1, we
propose a new set of indexes to quantify the dyssynchrony that are studied
and validated thereafter.
In Section 2 we describe the studies carried out in this work: we report the
experimental protocols, we present and discuss the results obtained.
Finally, we report the overall conclusions drawn from this work and we try to
envisage future works and possible clinical applications of our results.
Ancillary studies that were carried out during this work mainly to investigate
several aspects of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) are mentioned in
Appendix.
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Ventricular mechanical dyssynchrony plays a regulating role already in normal
physiology but is especially important in pathological conditions, such as
hypertrophy, ischemia, infarction, or heart failure (Chapter 1,2.).
Several prospective randomized controlled trials supported the clinical
efficacy and safety of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients with
moderate or severe heart failure and ventricular dyssynchrony. CRT
resynchronizes ventricular contraction by simultaneous pacing of both left and
right ventricle (biventricular pacing) (Chapter 1.).
Currently, the conductance catheter method has been used extensively to
assess global systolic and diastolic ventricular function and, more recently,
the ability of this instrument to pick-up multiple segmental volume signals has
been used to quantify mechanical ventricular dyssynchrony. Specifically,
novel indexes based on volume signals acquired with the conductance
catheter were introduced to quantify dyssynchrony (Chapter 3,4.).
Present work was aimed to describe the characteristics of the conductancevolume
signals, to investigate the performance of the indexes of ventricular
dyssynchrony described in literature and to introduce and validate improved
dyssynchrony indexes. Morevoer, using the conductance catheter method
and the new indexes, the clinical problem of the ventricular pacing site
optimization was addressed and the measurement protocol to adopt for
hemodynamic tests on cardiac pacing was investigated.
In accordance to the aims of the work, in addition to the classical time-domain
parameters, a new set of indexes has been extracted, based on coherent
averaging procedure and on spectral and cross-spectral analysis (Chapter 4.).
Our analyses were carried out on patients with indications for
electrophysiologic study or device implantation (Chapter 5.). For the first time,
besides patients with heart failure, indexes of mechanical dyssynchrony
based on conductance catheter were extracted and studied in a population of
patients with preserved ventricular function, providing information on the
normal range of such a kind of values.
By performing a frequency domain analysis and by applying an optimized
coherent averaging procedure (Chapter 6.a.), we were able to describe some
characteristics of the conductance-volume signals (Chapter 6.b.).
We unmasked the presence of considerable beat-to-beat variations in
dyssynchrony that seemed more frequent in patients with ventricular
dysfunction and to play a role in discriminating patients. These non-recurrent
mechanical ventricular non-uniformities are probably the expression of the
substantial beat-to-beat hemodynamic variations, often associated with heart
failure and due to cardiopulmonary interaction and conduction disturbances.
We investigated how the coherent averaging procedure may affect or refine
the conductance based indexes; in addition, we proposed and tested a new
set of indexes which quantify the non-periodic components of the volume
signals.
Using the new set of indexes we studied the acute effects of the CRT and the
right ventricular pacing, in patients with heart failure and patients with
preserved ventricular function.
In the overall population we observed a correlation between the hemodynamic
changes induced by the pacing and the indexes of dyssynchrony, and this
may have practical implications for hemodynamic-guided device implantation.
The optimal ventricular pacing site for patients with conventional indications
for pacing remains controversial. The majority of them do not meet current
clinical indications for CRT pacing. Thus, we carried out an analysis to
compare the impact of several ventricular pacing sites on global and regional
ventricular function and dyssynchrony (Chapter 6.c.). We observed that right
ventricular pacing worsens cardiac function in patients with and without
ventricular dysfunction unless the pacing site is optimized. CRT preserves left
ventricular function in patients with normal ejection fraction and improves
function in patients with poor ejection fraction despite no clinical indication for
CRT. Moreover, the analysis of the results obtained using new indexes of
regional dyssynchrony, suggests that pacing site may influence overall global
ventricular function depending on its relative effects on regional function and
synchrony.
Another clinical problem that has been investigated in this work is the optimal
right ventricular lead location for CRT (Chapter 6.d.). Similarly to the previous
analysis, using novel parameters describing local synchrony and efficiency,
we tested the hypothesis and we demonstrated that biventricular pacing with
alternative right ventricular pacing sites produces acute improvement of
ventricular systolic function and improves mechanical synchrony when
compared to standard right ventricular pacing. Although no specific right
ventricular location was shown to be superior during CRT, the right ventricular
pacing site that produced the optimal acute hemodynamic response varied
between patients.
Acute hemodynamic effects of cardiac pacing are conventionally evaluated
after stabilization episodes. The applied duration of stabilization periods in
most cardiac pacing studies varied considerably.
With an ad hoc protocol (Chapter 6.e.) and indexes of mechanical
dyssynchrony derived by conductance catheter we demonstrated that the
usage of stabilization periods during evaluation of cardiac pacing may mask
early changes in systolic and diastolic intra-ventricular dyssynchrony. In fact,
at the onset of ventricular pacing, the main dyssynchrony and ventricular
performance changes occur within a 10s time span, initiated by the changes
in ventricular mechanical dyssynchrony induced by aberrant conduction and
followed by a partial or even complete recovery.
It was already demonstrated in normal animals that ventricular mechanical
dyssynchrony may act as a physiologic modulator of cardiac performance
together with heart rate, contractile state, preload and afterload. The present
observation, which shows the compensatory mechanism of mechanical
dyssynchrony, suggests that ventricular dyssynchrony may be regarded as an
intrinsic cardiac property, with baseline dyssynchrony at increased level in
heart failure patients.
To make available an independent system for cardiac output estimation, in
order to confirm the results obtained with conductance volume method, we
developed and validated a novel technique to apply the Modelflow method (a
method that derives an aortic flow waveform from arterial pressure by
simulation of a non-linear three-element aortic input impedance model,
Wesseling et al. 1993) to the left ventricular pressure signal, instead of the
arterial pressure used in the classical approach (Chapter 7.).
The results confirmed that in patients without valve abnormalities, undergoing
conductance catheter evaluations, the continuous monitoring of cardiac output
using the intra-ventricular pressure signal is reliable. Thus, cardiac output can
be monitored quantitatively and continuously with a simple and low-cost
method.
During this work, additional studies were carried out to investigate several
areas of uncertainty of CRT. The results of these studies are briefly presented
in Appendix: the long-term survival in patients treated with CRT in clinical
practice, the effects of CRT in patients with mild symptoms of heart failure and
in very old patients, the limited thoracotomy as a second choice alternative to
transvenous implant for CRT delivery, the evolution and prognostic
significance of diastolic filling pattern in CRT, the selection of candidates to
CRT with echocardiographic criteria and the prediction of response to the
therapy.


Degenerative disc disease Abstract Mechanical articulated device to replace intervertebral disc as a treatment for low back pain secondary to disc degeneration has emerged as a promising tool for selected patients. The potential advantages are prevention of adjacent segment degeneration, maintenance of mobility as well as avoidance of all the complications associated with fusion. The short-term results have been comparable to that of fusion, a few mid-term results have shown mixed outcome, but information on long- term results and performance are not available at present. The rationale for lumbar disc arthroplasty, indications, contraindications, the various artificial devices in the market and the concepts intrinsic to each of them, basic technique of insertion and complications are discussed.


This report provides a documentation of the global chemistry Transport Model version 5 (TM5), as applied in the GEMS subproject on Global Reactive Gases (GRG) for the period up to 2008. Details are also included on the grid handling (the zoom option), transport modeling and the latest version of the chemical scheme (CBM4). In addition specific settings for the GEMS project are given, as compared to the standard TM5 version, including a description of procedures related to the coupling to the Integrated Forecast System (IFS) at ECMWF, from the viewpoint of TM5. Throughout the document information on the specific settings of the reference model runs and sensitivity runs as performed in GEMS-GRG subproject are provided.


Objective Children treated for sacrococcygeal teratoma (SCT) may experience functional sequelae later in life. It is not known whether SCT and associated problems affect the patient's general quality of life (QoL). In a national survey, we evaluated general QoL in adults treated for SCT during childhood and compared the results to reference values for the Dutch population. Design The records of patients aged ≥18 years treated for an SCT in one of the six paediatric surgical centres in the Netherlands from 1970 to 1993 were retrospectively reviewed; patient characteristics were retrieved from medical records. General QoL was evaluated using the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36). The means of the eight SF-36 domain scores of patients treated for SCT were compared to reference values for the Dutch population (n=757, aged 18–43 years). Linear regression analysis was used to adjust for differences in baseline characteristics between both groups. Results 46 of 51 patients treated for SCT during childhood (90.2%), with a mean age of 26.3 years (range 18.3–41.1), returned completed SF-36 questionnaires. Their scores on all SF-36 subcategories were equivalent to those of the Dutch reference population. No significant differences in the scores of the SF-36 subcategories were found after linear regression analysis adjusting for differences in age, sex and living status between both groups. Conclusions The long-term QoL of patients treated for SCT during childhood does not differ from that of the general population. Moreover, patients do not show impairment in social, physical or emotional functioning in adulthood.