This article analyzes how Tridentine reform was introduced to rural and township parishes of the Cracow diocese in the initial stage of the reform's implementation. The work focuses on those areas where the Reformation was at its most advanced. Calvinism and to a small extent Antitrinitarianism became popular mostly with the nobility and the gentry, but seldom did they gain followers in other social strata of the day. Several themes are important in what follows. The Catholic church fought with isolated heterodoxy mostly by taking back the parish churches the Protestants had appropriated.The regulating of religious life comprised mostly attempts at the improvement of the morals of both parishioners and clergy as well as the sense of duty of the latter. Diocesan authorities stressed the need to explain the rudiments of the creed to the laity. Their religious practices and the ways they were to be molded represented a continuation of medieval heritage.


An experimentally based study to investigate near infrared laser photoacoustic spectroscopy as a technique to measure oil pollution is described. Photoacoustic spectroscopy is shown to be well suited to the application of monitoring oil in water in a pipeline. The role of the physical parameters important to photoacoustic generation is shown to lead to an effective amplification of differences in the optical absorption coefficients for many hydrocarbons and alcohols in water. This amplification is typically an order of magnitude and persists at low concentrations of arialyte, such that a Nd:YAG source (2 mJ pulses) yields a 7.2 % increase in the photoacoustic signal magnitude for a 500 mg/I oil in water sample compared to distilled water, corresponding to a detection limit of 4 mg/I. Using a 904 nm diode laser as a source for photoacoustic generation, a detection limit of 400 mg/1 of oil is demonstrated. In addition there is found to be no discernible effect on the magnitude of the photoacoustic signal caused by the presence of optically scattering particles. The design and development of a photoacoustic instrument to measure oil in water is described, and the performance of such an instrument is compared to that of the competing technology.


Mostly written between 1070 and 1080, before he became Archbishop of Canterbury, the prayers and meditations of Anselm of Aosta created a tradition of intimate, intensely personal devotional works written in subtle and theologically daring prose. While the "Prayer to God" is based on the "Lord's Prayer", the "Prayer to Christ" is inspired by ardent private emotion and other prayers invest saints with individual attributes, with John the Baptist as the friend, Peter as the shepherd and Mary Magdalene as the forgiving lover, among many others. The meditations include a searching exploration of the state of the soul and a lament on the loss of purity, and the "Proslogion" discusses the mysteries of faith. With their bright imagery, beautiful language and highly original thought, the works of Anselm have secured a lasting place in both religious and secular literature.


Wen, N, Dalbo, VJ, Burgos, B, Pyne, DB, and Scanlan, AT. Power testing in basketball: Current practice and future recommendations. J Strength Cond Res 32(9): 2686-2700, 2018-Numerous foundational movements performed during basketball are predicated on underlying power-related attributes, including speed, change-of-direction (COD), and jumping. Accordingly, fitness testing batteries for basketball have incorporated an assortment of linear speed tests, COD tests, and jump tests. However, because of the wide variety of testing options, it is difficult for basketball practitioners to select appropriate testing protocols for the assessment of power-related attributes. As a result, there is a need to review the relevant literature to identify game-specific, power-related attributes important in basketball and the most appropriate tests available to assess power-related attributes for basketball practitioners. Therefore, the aims of this review were to: (a) identify essential power-related attributes important in basketball; (b) discuss the suitability of common and novel power-related tests; and (c) provide recommendations for future research and best practice approaches for basketball coaching staff. In this review, we propose a series of novel tests that are more targeted and specific to basketball movements including: (a) 5- and 10-m linear sprints, (b) modified agility T-test, (c) change-of-direction deficit (CODD), (d) lateral bound, (e) Sargent jump, (f) one-step jump, and (g) isometric midthigh pull test. Improved testing of power-related attributes should enable basketball practitioners to develop targeted training plans for enhancing player performance.


Inhaled multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) may cause adverse pulmonary responses due to their nanoscale, fibrous morphology and/or biopersistance. This study tested multiple factors (dose, time, physicochemical characteristics, and administration method) shown to affect MWCNT toxicity with the hypothesis that these factors will influence significantly different responses upon MWCNT exposure. The study is unique in that (1) multiple administration methods were tested using particles from the same stock; (2) bulk MWCNT formulations had few differences (metal content, surface area/functionalization); and (3) MWCNT retention was quantified using a specialized approach for measuring unlabeled MWCNTs in rodent lungs. Male Sprague–Dawley rats were exposed to original (O), purified (P), and carboxylic acid functionalized (F) MWCNTs via intratracheal instillation and inhalation. Blood, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and lung tissues were collected at postexposure days 1 and 21 for quantifying biological responses and MWCNTs in lung tissues by programmed thermal analysis. At day 1, MWCNT instillation produced significant BALF neutrophilia and MWCNT-positive macrophages. Instilled O- and P-MWCNTs produced significant inflammation in lung tissues, which resolved by day 21 despite MWCNT retention. MWCNT inhalation produced no BALF neutrophilia and no significant histopathology past day 1. However, on days 1 and 21 postinhalation of nebulized MWCNTs, significantly increased numbers of MWCNT-positive macrophages were observed in BALF. Results suggest (1) MWCNTs produce transient inflammation if any despite persistence in the lungs; (2) instilled O-MWCNTs cause more inflammation than P- or F-MWCNTs; and (3) MWCNT suspension media produce strikingly different effects on physicochemical particle characteristics and pulmonary responses.


The big three performance variables -- growth in real GDP, inflation rate, and unemployment rate -- are important starting points for delving into the macroeconomies of any country. This note offers some brief background on the policy environment surrounding performance reporting in the United States and the Eurozone; exhibits show historical performance on each of the big three variables for both. Students are asked to relate important events in the world economy to the path of the three variables from 1999 through mid-2009. Differences in performance in each country/region over time and differences among the regions are also requested in the assignment questions.


In this study, magnetic alginate beads were successfully synthesized by integrating superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4) in sodium alginate microbeads during the synthesis. The as-obtained dried samples were analyzed by means of their water detention capacity and drug encapsulation efficiency. Further, an anti-inflammatory drug (Cefazolin), mostly used for the treatment of joint inflammations after surgery, was used as a model drug in order to evaluate the stimuli-responsive properties of macrocomposites under magnetic field for the development of on-site drug delivery system. To do so, their drug release kinetics at changing environmental conditions, such as pH, temperature, and magnetic field were investigated and compared with bare alginate beads.


Abstract. Long-term oxygen and nutrient transports in the Baltic Sea are reconstructed using the Swedish Coastal and Ocean Biogeochemical model (SCOBI) coupled to the Rossby Centre Ocean model (RCO). Two simulations with and without data assimilation covering the period 1970–1999 are carried out. Here, the weakly coupled scheme with the Ensemble Optimal Interpolation (EnOI) method is adopted to assimilate observed profiles in the reanalysis system. The reanalysis shows considerable improvement in the simulation of both oxygen and nutrient concentrations relative to the free run. Further, the results suggest that the assimilation of biogeochemical observations has a significant effect on the simulation of the oxygen-dependent dynamics of biogeochemical cycles. From the reanalysis, nutrient transports between sub-basins, between the coastal zone and the open sea, and across latitudinal and longitudinal cross sections are calculated. Further, the spatial distributions of regions with nutrient import or export are examined. Our results emphasize the important role of the Baltic proper for the entire Baltic Sea, with large net transport (export minus import) of nutrients from the Baltic proper into the surrounding sub-basins (except the net phosphorus import from the Gulf of Riga and the net nitrogen import from the Gulf of Riga and Danish Straits). In agreement with previous studies, we found that the Bothnian Sea imports large amounts of phosphorus from the Baltic proper that are retained in this sub-basin. For the calculation of sub-basin budgets, the location of the lateral borders of the sub-basins is crucial, because net transports may change sign with the location of the border. Although the overall transport patterns resemble the results of previous studies, our calculated estimates differ in detail considerably.


Experiments in the cleavage-parallel compression of slate demonstrate important changes in the mode of deformation with increasing confining pressure. At pressures up to 3 kb shear fractures are dominant. In the range 3.5 to 7.24 kb the rock yields through the development of an intersecting network of narrow kink-bands. The transition is reflected in a marked change in the slope of the Mohr envelope at a confining pressure of 3 kb, indicating that different failure criteria are relevant to the two types of deformation, that also give stress-strain curves of different shape. The geometrical relationship between shear fractures and kink-bands is described in detail. The shear fractures make a much smaller angle (mean value 30.7°) with the direction of maximum compression than do the kink-bands (mean value 55.4°). At the highest confining pressures employed (about 7 kb), there is evidence of kink-band growth by lateral migration and separation of the bounding kink-planes. At all lower pressures the length of the rotating, kinked, segment of foliation is determined at inception.


Book Abstract: This work is the result of a workshop organized by Mavis Maclean and held between May 26 and June 2, 1999, at the International Institute for the Sociology of Law (IISL) in O ati, Spain. It analyzes the concept of the family in the context of increasing challenges and questions created by multicultural societies in ever more complicated international and transnational legal contexts. How is the family defined across cultural and national divides? To what extent and under what conditions should any particular state intervene? The collected essays in this volume seek to answer these and other difficult questions through grounded empirical research and insightful appreciation of how political systems function in various countries. An underlying concern is to explore to what extent and under what terms will the family endure in the future as a basic unit of social management and control.


Background: Thousands of Copy Number Variations (CNVs) obtained from Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies present a rich information for biologists. Such huge information is tempting for discovering the inherent characteristics for a population's genome. Copy Number Variations (CNVs) are deletions and duplications in the genome, that may associate with certain phenotypic characteristics as diseases or may be specific to populations. Objectives: Developing a method for identifying relations between CNVs in the Qatari population. This is used for detecting networks of CNVs that span several pathways, and which are enriched in deletions or duplications for this population. It is also used to investigate genes and pathways that are affected by multiple CNVRs in the same individual/population. Finding networks associated with each Qatari subpopulation (Bedouin, Persian and African) are also investigated. Materials & Methods: A set of 108 Qatari genomes was used in this study. A method for inferring Copy Number Variations Networks (CNVNs) using genes associated with CNVs is proposed. After reducing CNVs to Copy Number Variation Regions (CNVRs), the CNVRs are annotated with associated genes using biological databases. Biological pathways associated with those genes are then identified. For each individual, pairwise similarities between CNVRs are calculated based on the number of overlapping gene pathways. Similarity values are used to construct the edges of an individual-level CNVN. Aggregation of edges from all individuals' CNVNs is used to construct a population-lev el CNVN. Based on a specific edge weight threshold, sub-networks that connect groups of related CNVRs are found. Results: A set of 108 genomes was used to investigate CNVNs associated with the 3 subpopulations (Bedouin, Persian and African) in the Qatari cohort. More than 16,000 CNVRs were used to construct the network, based on around 3000 genes associated with the CNVRs, and around 200 pathways associated with those genes. Sub-networks connecting CNVRs from several chromosomes were identified. Health and Biomedical


Richard Nixon fundamentally changed the prison system in America when he launched the "War on Drugs" in 1969, leading to a series of federal laws imposing harsh mandatory sentences on drug offenders. In an attempt to shield children from drugs, New Jersey followed other states in passing a "drug-free school zone" statute. The statute imposed harsh mandatory minimum sentences for all drug offenders arrested within 1,000 feet of schools, regardless of whether children were involved. This law has had a disparate impact on minorities in New Jersey, who disproportionately populate urban communities that happen to be located within all-encompassing drug-free school zones. This Note analyzes the effect of the statutes passed during the War on Drugs, and argues that New Jersey must modify its drug-free school zone statute to create smaller zones, require a nexus to the school, and focus on drug dealers most likely to target children.


The relation between pathological findings and clinical and cognitive decline in Multiple Sclerosis remains unclear. Here, we tested the hypothesis that altered functional connectivity could provide a missing link between structural findings, such as thalamic atrophy and white matter lesion load, and clinical and cognitive dysfunction. Resting-state magnetoencephalography recordings from 21 MS patients and 17 gender- and age matched controls were projected onto atlas-based regions-of–interest using beamforming. Average functional connectivity was computed for each ROI and literature-based resting-state networks using the phase-lag index. Structural measures of whole brain and thalamic atrophy and lesion load were estimated from MRI scans. Global analyses showed lower functional connectivity in the alpha2 band and higher functional connectivity in the beta band in patients with Multiple Sclerosis. Additionally, alpha2 band functional connectivity was lower for the patients in two resting-state networks, namely the default mode network and the visual network. Higher beta band functional connectivity was found in the default mode network and in the temporo-parietal network. Lower alpha2 band functional connectivity in the visual network was related to lower thalamic volumes. Beta band functional connectivity correlated positively with disability scores, most prominently in the default mode network, and correlated negatively with cognitive performance in this network. These findings illustrate the relationship between thalamic atrophy, altered functional connectivity and clinical and cognitive dysfunction in MS, which could serve as a bridge to understand how neurodegeneration is associated with altered functional connectivity and subsequently clinical and cognitive decline.


Internet address lookup is a challenging problem because of the increasing routing table sizes, increased traffic, higher speed links, and the migration to 128 bit IPv6 addresses. Routing lookup involves computation of best matching prefix for which existing solutions scale poorly when traffic in the router increases or when employed for IPV6 address lookup. Our paper describes a novel approach which employs multiple hashing on reduced number of hash tables on which ternary search on levels is applied in parallel. This scheme handles large number of prefixes generated by controlled prefix expansion by reducing collision and distributing load fairly in the hash buckets thus providing faster worst case and average case lookups. The approach we describe is fast, simple, scalable, parallelizable, and flexible.


A Safety Laser Interlock System was required for the Laser Laboratories in the HiLASE Centre in Dolni Brezany. The goal of the work was to develop a universal Laser Interlock System, which would control all the laboratories and the interlocks of multiple lasers with different powers and wavelengths in the laser laboratories in compliance with ISO EN 13849-1, Safety Performance Level PLe. The Safety Control System was implemented using Safety PLCs, sensors, and other safety equipment certified for the PLe level. The HiLASE laser facility consists of nine laser laboratories interconnected by doors, some of them being walkthrough. The laboratories are additionally interconnected by two separate Laser Beam Distribution Systems, which enables the laser beams to be distributed among them. The Safety Control logic and key parts of the Personal Safety System as well as a laboratory Personal Access System and the Laser Beam Distribution System control logic are described in this article.


This study solves the problem of unsteady free convection from an inclined heated tube both numerically and analytically. The tube is taken to have an elliptic cross-section having a constant heat flux applied to its surface. The surrounding fluid is viscous and incompressible and infinite in extent. The Boussinesq approximation is used to describe the buoyancy force driving the flow. The underlying assumptions made in this work are that the flow remains laminar and two-dimensional for all time. This enables the Navier-Stokes and energy equations to be formulated in terms of the streamfunction, and vorticity. We assume that initially an impulsive heat flux is applied to the surface and that both the tube and surrounding fluid have the same initial temperature. The problem is solved subject to the no-slip and constant heat flux conditions on the surface together with quiescent far-field and initial conditions. An approximate analytical-numerical solution was derived for small times, t and large Grashof numbers, Gr. This was done by expanding the flow variables in a double series in terms of two small parameters and reduces to solving a set of differential equations. The first few terms were solved exactly while the higher-order terms were determined numerically. Flow characteristics presented include average surface temperature plots as well as surface vorticity and surface temperature distributions. The results demonstrate that the approximate analytical-numerical solution is in good agreement with the fully numerical solution for small t and large Gr.


Humans communicate their affective states through different media, both verbal and non-verbal, often used at the same time. The knowledge of the emotional state plays a key role to provide personalized and context-related information and services. This is the main reason why several algorithms have been proposed in the last few years for the automatic emotion recognition. In this work we exploit the correlation between one's affective state and the simultaneous body expressions in terms of speech and gestures. Here we propose a system for real-time emotion recognition from gestures. In a first step, the system builds a trusted dataset of association pairs (motion data → emotion pattern), also based on textual information. Such dataset is the ground truth for a further step, where emotion patterns can be extracted from new unclassified gestures. Experimental results demonstrate a good recognition accuracy and real-time capabilities of the proposed system.


McClelland and Rumelhart's "Parallel Distributed Processing "was the first book to present a definitive account of the newly revived connectionist/neural net paradigm for artificial intelligence and cognitive science. While "Neural Computing Architectures "addresses the same issues, there is little overlap in the research it reports. These 18 contributions provide a timely and informative overview and synopsis of both pioneering and recent European connectionist research. Several chapters focus on cognitive modeling, however, most of the work covered revolves around abstract neural network theory or engineering applications, bringing important complementary perspectives to currently published work in PDP.In four parts, chapters take up neural computing from the classical perspective, including both foundational and current work; the mathematical perspective (of logic, automata theory, and probability theory), presenting less well-known work in which the neuron is modeled as a logic truth function that can be implemented in a direct way as a silicon read only memory. They present new material both in the form of analytical tools and models and as suggestions for implementation in optical form, and summarize the PDP perspective in a single extended chapter covering PDP theory, application, and speculation in U.S. research. Each part is introduced by the editor.Igor Aleksander is Professor of Computer Science at Imperial College in London


We study how the separation between time and risk preferences relates to a new behavioral property that generalizes impatience to stochastic environments: Stochastic Impatience. We show that Stochastic Impatience holds if and only if risk aversion is \not too high" relative to the inverse elasticity of intertemporal substitution. This result has implications for many known models. For example, in the models of Epstein and Zin (1989) and Hansen and Sargent (1995), Stochastic Impatience is violated for all commonly used parameters. If Stochastic Impatience is taken normatively, this suggests a limit on the amount of separation between time and risk preference; otherwise, it provides a simple one-question test for it.


According to W. J. T. Mitchell, a "color-blind" post-racial world is neither achievable nor desirable. Against popular claims that race is an outmoded construct that distracts from more important issues, Mitchell contends that race remains essential to our understanding of social reality. Race is not simply something to be seen but is among the fundamental media through which we experience human otherness. Race also makes racism visible and is thus our best weapon against it. The power of race becomes most apparent at times when pedagogy fails, the lesson is unclear, and everyone has something to learn. Mitchell identifies three such moments in America's recent racial history. First is the post-Civil Rights moment of theory, in which race and racism have been subject to renewed philosophical inquiry. Second is the moment of blackness, epitomized by the election of Barack Obama and accompanying images of blackness in politics and popular culture. Third is the "Semitic Moment" in Israel-Palestine, where race and racism converge in new forms of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Mitchell brings visual culture, iconology, and media studies to bear on his discussion of these critical turning points in our understanding of the relation between race and racism.


Salicylaldehyde 2-chlorobenzoyl hydrazone (H2LASSBio-466), salicylaldehyde 4-chlorobenzoyl hydrazone (H2LASSBio-1064) and their complexes [Zn(LASSBio-466)H2O]2 (1) and [Zn(HLASSBio-1064)Cl]2 (2) were evaluated in animal models of peripheral and central nociception, and acute inflammation. All studied compounds significantly inhibited acetic acid-induced writhing response. Upon coordination the anti-nociceptive activity was favored in the complex 1. H2LASSBio-466 inhibited only the first phase of the formalin test, while 1 was active in the second phase, like indomethacin, indicating its ability to inhibit nociception associated with the inflammatory response. Hence coordination to zinc(II) altered the pharmacological profile of H2LASSBio-466. H2LASSBio-1064 inhibited both phases but this effect was not improved by coordination. The studied compounds did not increase the latency of response in the hot plate model, indicating their lack of central anti-nociceptive activity. All compounds showed levels of inhibition of zymosan-induced peritonitis comparable or superior to indomethacin, indicating an expressive anti-inflammatory profile.


All major web browsers include a private browsing mode that does not store browsing history, cookies, or temporary files across browsing sessions. Unfortunately, users have misconceptions about what this mode does. Many factors likely contribute to these misconceptions. In this paper, we focus on browsers» disclosures, or their in-browser explanations of private browsing mode. In a 460-participant online study, each participant saw one of 13 different disclosures (the desktop and mobile disclosures of six popular browsers, plus a control). Based on the disclosure they saw, participants answered questions about what would happen in twenty browsing scenarios capturing previously documented misconceptions. We found that browsers» disclosures fail to correct the majority of the misconceptions we tested. These misconceptions included beliefs that private browsing mode would prevent geolocation, advertisements, viruses, and tracking by both the websites visited and the network provider. Furthermore, participants who saw certain disclosures were more likely to have misconceptions about private browsing»s impact on targeted advertising, the persistence of lists of downloaded files, and tracking by ISPs, employers, and governments.


Clinicians in the ED at Alexandria Inova Hospital in Alexandria, VA, have been able to streamline the medicine reconciliation process with the help of a new high-tech tool that retrieves a patient's medication history in a matter of minutes and transforms the data into a form that can automatically populate the patient's electronic medical record.The approach is facilitated by the regional health information exchange (HIE) organization, and will eventually be available to other providers in northern Virginia. Thus far, 80% to 90% of patients who have come through the ED have consented to have their medication history electronically retrieved. Eventually, administrators anticipate that the same approach will be used to share patient radiology studies, laboratory results, and other patient information across providers. Experts predict this practice will be commonplace among U.S. hospitals within five years, but they encourage hospital and ED administrators to take advantage of opportunities to leverage regional HIEs.


This paper reports on a project which explored the experiences of a group of East Asian students studying postgraduate business programmes at a British university. Data drawn from a series of in-depth interviews with the students and their lecturers provided clear evidence that many of the students faced a substantial number of difficulties which affected their learning. The data also show that the lecturers and students had differing perceptions about why such difficulties arose. Whilst lecturers regarded language as the essential cause of East Asian students' difficulties, the students recognised that, additionally, a lack of culturally-related knowledge of UK HE academic norms presented a fundamental challenge to their learning. The authors argue that these culturally-based academic practices need to be made more explicit to students. We also suggest that the complexity of East Asian cultures of learning are not fully understood or appreciated in British universities where, despite much relevant research and a range of institutional initiatives, a "deficit view" of international student behaviour and ability is still widespread. We contend that current university strategies may need to be reviewed if institutions and academic staff are to understand and resolve some of the difficulties international students face during their studies.


While many bug prediction algorithms have been developed by academia, they're often only tested and verified in the lab using automated means. We do not have a strong idea about whether such algorithms are useful to guide human developers. We deployed a bug prediction algorithm across Google, and found no identifiable change in developer behavior. Using our experience, we provide several characteristics that bug prediction algorithms need to meet in order to be accepted by human developers and truly change how developers evaluate their code.


The aim of this study was to investigate familial associations in leisure time physical activity. We used data form the HUNT study, where we included parents form HUNT1 (1984-1986) and their adult offspring form HUNT3 (2006-2008). The family relationship between parents and their offspring was found using their unique 11-digit personal identification number at Statistics Norway. The analysis consisted of 24 649 mother-offspring pairs, 20 965 father-offspring pairs, and we also constructed 17 692 trios including mother, father and offspring. We measured leisure time physical activity in three different perspectives. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratio (OR). All analysis were adjusted by possible confounders; parental age, body mass index (BMI), education level, and smoking habits. The results showed that offspring physical activity level was associated with parental physical activity level; offspring of parents who were highly physically active had lower OR of inactivity, than those of parents who were less active or inactive. We also found that offspring of parents who were physically active had a higher OR of being physically active themselves. These associations became stronger the more physically active the parents were. Finally, the results show that physical activity in either parent was associated with a reduced OR, partly irrespective of the other parent physical activity level. In conclusion, with this population-based family study, we found consistent associations between parents and their adult offspring for all three leisure time physical activity measures studied.Keywords: genetic epidemiology, familial relationship, adult offspring, public health, physical activity.


HYPOTHESIS
In July 2011, surgical interns were prohibited from being on call from home by the new residency review committee guidelines on work hours. In support of the new Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education work-hour restrictions, we expected that a period of intern home call would correlate with increased rates of postoperative morbidity and mortality.

DESIGN
Prospective cohort.

SETTING
University-affiliated tertiary Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

PATIENTS
All patients identified in the Veterans Affairs National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database who underwent an operation performed by general, vascular, urologic, or cardiac surgery services between fiscal years (FYs) 1999 and 2010 were included.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
During FYs 1999-2003, the first call for all patients went to an in-hospital intern. In the subsequent period (FYs 2004-2010), the first call went to an intern on home call. Thirty-day unadjusted morbidity and mortality rates and risk-adjusted observed to expected ratios were analyzed by univariate analysis and joinpoint regression, respectively.

RESULTS
Unadjusted overall morbidity rates decreased between 1999-2003 and 2004-2010 (12.14% to 10.19%, P = .003). The risk-adjusted morbidity observed to expected ratios decreased at a uniform annual percentage change of -6.03% (P < .001). Unadjusted overall mortality rates also decreased between the 2 periods (1.76% to 1.26%; P = .05). There was no significant change in the risk-adjusted mortality observed to expected ratios during the study.

CONCLUSIONS
The institution of an intern home call schedule was not associated with increased rates of postoperative morbidity or mortality.


From the Publisher:
Network synchronization deals with the distribution of time and frequency across a network of clocks often spread over a wide geographical area. The goal is to align (i.e. synchronize) the time and frequency scales of all clocks, by using the communication capacity of their interconnecting links.
Network synchronization plays a central role in digital telecommunications as it determines the quality of most services offered by the network operator. However, the importance of network synchronization is often underestimated and how to solve quality-of-service degradation caused by synchronization difficulties can become problematical to all but a synchronization engineer.
Systematically covers a wide spectrum of both theoretical and practical topics
Features a clear and profound description of synchronous and asynchronous digital multiplexing (PDH, SDH), jitter and timing aspects of SDH networks
Expounds synchronization network principles and implementation issues, clock modelling, time and frequency measurement
Presents recent advances in telecommunications clock characterization and measurement
If you are a system engineer, researcher, designer or postgraduate student searching for both the basics and an insight into more advanced areas currently under discussion then you will find Synchronization of Digital Telecommunications Networks an enlightening read. It will also prove to be a valuable sourcebook for senior undergraduates and technical personnel in telecommunications companies.


For the purpose of discovering natural products which possess hair growing activity, we examined about 1000 kinds of plant extracts concerning growth-promoting activity with respect to hair follicle cells. After an extensive search, we discovered that proanthocyanidins extracted from grape seeds promote proliferation of hair follicle cells isolated from mice by about 230% relative to controls (100%); and that proanthocyanidins possess remarkable hair-cycle-converting activity from the telogen phase to the anagen phase in C3H mice in vivo test systems. The profile of the active fraction of the proanthocyanidins was elucidated by thiolytic degradation and tannase hydrolysis. We found that the constitutive monomers were epicatechin and catechin; and that the degree of polymerization was 3.5. We demonstrated the possibility of using the proanthocyanidins extracted from grape seeds as agents inducing hair growth.


This paper investigates the syntactic behaviour of adverbial clauses in contemporary German and Italian. It focuses on three main questions: (i) How many degrees of syntactic integration of adverbial clauses are there to be distinguished by an adequate grammatical description of the two languages? (ii) Which linear and hierarchical positions in the structure of the matrix sentence can be occupied by adverbial clauses? (iii) Which is the empirical distribution of adverbial clauses introduced by the conjunctions als , wahrend , wenn , obwohl and weil in German, as well as quando , mentre , se , sebbene and perche in Italian? Responding to question (i), a distinction is drawn between strongly integrated, weakly integrated and syntactically disintegrated adverbial clauses. There are further degrees on the gradient of syntactic integration, which are not examined in this paper. Responding to question (ii), eight classes of structural positions in the matrix sentence are identified that can be occupied by adverbial clauses. Five of them are positions of syntactic integration, three are positions of disintegration. Responding to question (iii), the distribution of the ten classes of adverbial clauses is described on the basis of a corpus of internet data. Strongly integrated, weakly integrated and disintegrated adverbial clauses show clearly different distributions within the structure of the matrix sentence. Also the semantic classes of adverbial clauses (temporal, adversative, conditional, concessive, causal) are distributed differently.


Over the years, indigenous contractors in Nigeria have recorded a low level of participation and have often been sidelined in large scale construction activities. This has been attributed to, amongst a number of factors, mismanagement of funds and working capital which makes them prone to bankruptcy, with poor project execution and abandonment the likely outcome. The paper thus focused on studying the extent of participation of indigenous contractors in Nigerian construction projects, identifying and examining the most severe factors that hinder effective and efficient working capital management and affect the level or amount of working capital requirement of indigenous contractors. Literature studies, field survey and oral interviews were carried out to determine the major challenges faced by contractors in managing working capital and the extent of indigenous participation in public projects respectively, while questionnaires were distributed to a selected sample of contractors in Imo state to obtain the severity weight of each factor. Findings revealed that evidently, the common challenges facing Nigerian indigenous contractors in Nigeria in the area of working capital management are low awareness of the need for working capital management, one-man business setbacks, under-capitalization, poor funding and cash flow problems, high cost of construction finance, economic recession, reckless spending and diversion of funds, poor project planning and control. Factors affecting the level of working capital requirements comprises: inflation, delays in interim payments, taxation at source and deduction of retention funds. Indigenous contractors also recorded a low level of participation on major public contracts. Results of the severity ranking exercise indicated that the problems of the one-man business set up is the most severe of the factors hindering proper working capital management, while deduction of retention fund and inflation respectively, ranked highest in factors affecting the level or amount of the contractors' working capital requirement. It was thus recommended that in order to enable indigenous contractors realize construction projects within pre-planned cost, time and quality, reduce the incidences of project abandonment and improve their overall participation, there is need for concerted efforts on the part of the contractors to take appropriate steps in maximizing their awareness on the gains of proper working management and minimize incidences that will lead to cost escalation of his working capital requirement and on the part of the Government, a focused, political will to devise policies and create the enabling environment for improving indigenous content in the construction industry.


In the present electronically driven world, it is vitally important for lawyers to understand advancing or new technology and to have adequate computer literacy in order to best represent their clients. The so-called "e-information explosion" requires lawyers to request, produce and manage electronic documents in order to protect their clients' interests and to obtain a strategic advantage over their opponents. Lawyers or legal practitioners should adapt to technological changes, develop an awareness of the unique challenges posed by the advances in technology, and embrace technology's role in both their practices and the legal system. This article examines issues pertaining to electronic discovery and cloud-computing technology in civil practice in South Africa, the United States of America and the United Kingdom. The article also examines current electronic discovery (e-discovery) practices and the use of cloud-computing technology in the United States of America and the United Kingdom to ascertain whether useful lessons can be gleaned from these jurisdictions for possible incorporation into South African law. The study notes that, while South African law has taken great strides to address advancing technology, useful lessons from abroad can be adopted such as, inter alia, the need for greater preservation of electronic evidence; the use of a wider definition of the term 'document' to include all types of electronic information and future technological developments; the amendment of the rules to include the discovery of electronically stored information; the use of the proportionality principle in trials, and the incorporation of the cost-shifting regime. The article concludes that lawyers need to learn more about relevant law such as the ECT Act and POPI, and embrace advancing technology more enthusiastically, yet responsibly, in order to succeed in their new competitive and changing legal environments and to provide the best service for their clients.


This paper describes a research project that investigated the process of redesigning a fully-online unit, in order to enhance undergraduate Education students' engagement in their learning. This redesign was guided by the development of an Engagement Framework, which presents five elements of engagement that are distinct yet interrelated. The results of this redesigned unit indicate that this Engagement Framework has the potential to offer unit developers and instructors a strong pedagogical and theoretical foundation for enhancing engagement in online learning. This paper provides a description of the Engagement Framework, the processes undertaken in redesigning a fully-online unit, the findings, and several emerging understandings related to the Framework and student engagement more broadly.


Dissecting the functional roles of neuronal circuits and their interaction is a crucial step in basic neuroscience and in all the biomedical field. Optogenetics is well-suited to this purpose since it allows us to study the functionality of neuronal networks on multiple scales in living organisms. This tool was recently used in a plethora of studies to investigate physiological neuronal circuit function in addition to dysfunctional or pathological conditions. Moreover, optogenetics is emerging as a crucial technique to develop new rehabilitative and therapeutic strategies for many neurodegenerative diseases in pre-clinical models. In this review, we discuss recent applications of optogenetics, starting from fundamental research to pre-clinical applications. Firstly, we described the fundamental components of optogenetics, from light-activated proteins to light delivery systems. Secondly, we showed its applications to study neuronal circuits in physiological or pathological conditions at the cortical and subcortical level, in vivo. Furthermore, the interesting findings achieved using optogenetics as a therapeutic and rehabilitative tool highlighted the potential of this technique for understanding and treating neurological diseases in pre-clinical models. Finally, we showed encouraging results recently obtained by applying optogenetics in human neuronal cells in-vitro.


Serum cholesterol (Total and free) as well as B-carotene and vitamin C level concentrations during and after severe infection by Plasmodium falciparum were determined. The decrease in the concentrations of cholesterol and B-carotene during and after infection was not statistically significant (P > 0.01), while the decrease in vitamin C was statistically significant (P < 0.01) during and after infection.


In this study, a new triphenylamine-alt-fluorene conjugated copolymer, HPBPYFL6, with hexaphenylbenzene (HPB) and pyrene as asymmetrical pendant groups was synthesized via Suzuki coupling polymerization. The conjugated polymer had a weight-average molecular weight of 5.8 × 104 g mol−1 with a polydispersity index of 2.5 characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). HPBPYFL6 showed good solubility in common organic solvents such as NMP, THF, toluene and dichloromethane at 25 °C. In addition, HPBPYFL6 possessed a high glass transition temperature of 260 °C and a 10% weight-loss temperature of 503 °C in nitrogen. HPBPYFL6 bearing a pyrene moiety had a solvatochromic fluorescence shift from a green to an orange emission as the polarity of the solvent increased. Cyclic voltammetry of HPBPYFL6 films cast onto indium-tin oxide-coated glass (ITO-glass) exhibited two oxidation redox couples at an E1/2 value of 0.82 and 1.17 V versus Ag/Ag+ in an acetonitrile solution. The HPBPYFL6 film on graphene-coated PET had an E1/2 value of 0.24 and 1.12 V. Conjugated polymer films exhibited reversible electrochromic behaviour with a colour change from pale yellow to deep blue upon electrochemical oxidation and high absorbance in the near-infrared (NIR) region. The switching and bleaching times were 5.16 s and 3.12 s for 1231 nm and were 3.30 s and 3.74 s for 1030 nm of HPBPYFL6 on ITO-glass. The strong NIR electrochromic absorbance of HPBPYFL6 was attributed to intervalence charge transfer by the incorporation of the HPB moiety. This phenomenon was confirmed by chemical oxidation as the oxidant contents increased in the solution state. Furthermore, the electrochromic mechanism was interpreted by DFT calculation and the simulated NIR electrochromic spectra of model compound HPBPYFL are in good agreement with the experimental data.


This article surveys various long-standing ambiguities and confusions that continue to dog lexicostatistics and glottochronology. I aim to offer some novel perspectives and clarifications, which also help map out how we might devise new, alternative methods to build upon the good in Swadesh's troubled legacy. I challenge the recent trend towards honing down Swadesh's original list to a minimal core. A richer signal on language relationships is to be had not by discarding the data in meanings considered 'unstable', but by exploring the revealing patterns that emerge only when those meanings are kept, and contrasted against their 'core' counterparts.


Prolonged ischemia and reperfusion frequently occur during clinical operations. The bioenergetic status decreases during ischemia and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are formed during reperfusion, which may lead to irreversible tissue injury. During prolonged ischemia, such as in complicated microsurgical operations, tissue injury should be minimized to improve the chance of full recovery and function. Irradiation has previously been shown to improve functional recovery of cold-stored rat hearts via conservation of ATP. In this thesis, we used photons at 634 nm produced from a singlet oxygen system to investigate whether irradiation improves the bioenergetic status in skeletal muscle and graft hearts and decreases ROS in monocytes, and thus decreases tissue injury. The effect of irradiation on bioenergetic status was examined in rat rectus femoris muscle in vitro following 5 h ischemia. Phosphocreatine (PCr), ATP and inorganic phosphate (Pi) levels were measured using high resolution 11.75T 31 P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). PCr and ATP were significantly higher in the irradiated groups than in the non-irradiated group, but no difference in Pi was observed. The effect of irradiation on bioenergetic status was examined in rat rectus femoris muscle in vivo following 4 h ischemia and 1 reperfusion. ATP, PCr and Pi levels were measured using 2.35T 31 P MRS. After 4 h ischemia, ATP levels in the irradiated group were significantly higher than in the non- irradiated group, but no difference in PCr/(PCr+Pi) levels were observed. After 1 h reperfusion, ATP and PCr/(PCr+Pi) levels in the irradiated groups were significantly higher than in the nonirradiated groups. Blood-perfusion was measured using laser Doppler flowmetry and did not differ between the groups. The effect of irradiation on xenografts was examined in vivo following heart xenotransplantation from hamster to rat. PCr and ATP levels were measured daily using 2.35T 31 P MRS over 4 days. Irradiation of xenografts before reperfusion preserved the energetic status of hamster grafts, as demonstrated by a significantly higher PCr/ATP ratio in the irradiated group than in the non-irradiated group on the first postoperative day. However, irradiation did not delay the rejection process in this experimental model. Finally, the effect of irradiation was examined in human monocytes. Intracellular ROS, nitric oxide (NO) release and ATP were measured using chemiluminescence assays. iNOS and eNOS mRNA levels were measured using reverse transcription PCR. NO levels were significantly higher in the irradiated group than in the non-irradiated group, but no differences in iNOS or eNOS mRNA were observed. Intracellular ROS release was significantly lower in the irradiated group than in the non-irradiated group, and there was no difference in ATP levels. The salvaging effect of irradiation may have a wide range of clinical applications, for example in complex microsurgery and transplantation surgery.


Motivational Interviewing (MI) has been shown to be an effective treatment for substance abuse and other lifestyle and/or behavioural problems. However, mechanisms of change remain a topic of speculation. It has been hypothesised that MI works by eliciting and resolving a client's ambivalence, thereby enhancing their motivation and commitment to change. Research has supported the theory that enhancing commitment is an integral element
of MI, however little is known about the role ambivalence plays in producing change. The aim of this project was to investigate this role, and the possible role of other relevant models from social psychology such as cognitive dissonance.

First, the social psychology literature relating to the process of ambivalence and dissonance was reviewed to determine whether this was adequately reflected in the literature on MI. It was found that a comprehensive, contemporary view of these processes is largely absent
from the literature on MI, and that this may be potentially valuable in furthering an understanding of the mechanisms of change.

Second, a secondary analysis of data from a completed randomized controlled study (the United Kingdom Alcohol Treatment Trial - UKATT) on the effectiveness of Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET), an adaptation of MI, was carried out. This used a thematic analysis with an a priori coding frame based upon constructs shown previously by research in social psychology to be important in ambivalence and dissonance. The aim was to explore the
relevance of these constructs to understanding the processes within sessions of MI, and to determine whether either the model of ambivalence or cognitive dissonance offers an advantage in analysing the data.

Application of the a priori coding frame developed, to MET transcripts revealed variations in the expression of ambivalence and cognitive dissonance in client language.
Inconsistencies both within and between the different cognitive components outlined in both theories occurred in close proximity to one another, inferring an experience of inconsistent related discomfort within the client. The thematic analysis also enabled the identification of
additional themes, relevant to both ambivalence and cognitive dissonance theories, in client language. In total fourteen themes were identified, five ambivalence and nine cognitive dissonance. Ambivalence themes were expressed on 107 occasions and cognitive dissonance on 205.

Ambivalence and cognitive dissonance theories prove to be valuable in examining and interpreting client language, providing a discrepancy-related model to enhance understanding of MI's motivational processes. It is concluded that cognitive dissonance more adequately captures
the motivational processes reflected in client language: however ambivalence theory provides a more specific model, guiding clinicians and researchers delivering and investigating the elicitation and resolve of the ambivalent experience.


Abstract: A person's sense of dignity is a complex phenomenon and is intertwined with their sense of feeling human and being respected as a human being. In 2010, the School of Health and Social Care developed a collaborative lifeworld led transprofessional curriculum for health and social work disciplines harnessing technology to connect learners to a wider view of evidence based practice. The purpose was to increase use of technology-enhanced learning, introduce lifeworld-led philosophy to the curriculum, release staff potential, and expose students to research undertaken within the School. Delivered to undergraduate students the Exploring Evidence to Guide Practice Unit was facilitated by a number of resources including lectures, group work and a variety of web-based learning materials.
Central to the unit were seventeen web-based case studies which included the human experience of the impact of specific illnesses (such as stroke and living with dementia) and more general experiences (such as social isolation and homelessness). Each case study provided stories and poems, qualitative and quantitative research and policy and practice issues related to specific topics.
At the heart of the philosophy underpinning the unit was an opportunity for students to integrate understandings about different kinds of knowledge for practice, conventional evidence, understandings about the person's or service user's experience and the student's own insights that came from imagining 'what it was like' for the person experiencing a condition or situation and encountering human. The project built on the successful development of Wessex Bay, a virtual community of case scenarios, used as problem-based triggers to engage students in learning activities relating to residents.
This paper discusses the development of the web-based case studies and how they integrated visual and audio materials with the aim of enhancing the lifeworld experience of students and helping to show the importance of humanising healthcare.
Keywords: Lifeworld, technology, transprofessional, web, humanising care, healthcare


Abstract The article reports the growth stop phenomenon, which was documented only for baobabs, i.e. for trees belonging to the Adansonia genus. The identification of growth stop was enabled by radiocarbon dating, which allows a complex investigation of samples collected from the trunk/stems of baobabs. In several cases, the outermost rings of baobabs, which were close to the bark, were found to be old, with ages of several hundreds of years, instead of being very young. Dating results of samples collected from six baobabs are presented. For multistemmed baobabs, the growth stop may occur only for one or several stems. We identified four factors that may induce the growth stop: (i) stress determined by severe climate conditions, (ii) old age, (iii) the need to keep a stable internal architecture, and (iv) the collapse of stems that survive this trauma. Baobabs and their stems affected by growth stop may survive for several centuries, by continuing to produce leaves, flowers, and fruits. This phenomenon was associated with the capacity of baobabs to store large amounts of water in their trunks/stems in the rainy season. This reservoir of water is used during the dry season and allows the trees to survive prolonged drought periods.


To evaluate the atrial natriuretic peptide response to angiotensin II (Ang II) infusion in non-modulating hypertension, we studied 31 men with essential hypertension. These patients were subdivided into groups of low renin patients (n = 8), non-modulators (n = 11), and modulators (n = 12) according to their renin profile and ability to modulate renin and aldosterone responses to a graded infusion of Ang II (1.0 and 3.0 ng/kg per minute) on a low Na+ intake (10 mmol Na+ per day). During basal conditions, plasma atrial natriuretic peptide was higher (p < 0.05) in low renin patients (16.34 +/- 2.67 fmol/mL) than in both modulators (10.59 +/- 4.29 fmol/mL) and non-modulators (9.85 +/- 2.64 fmol/mL). During Ang II infusion, plasma atrial natriuretic peptide significantly increased in both low renin (27.67 +/- 2.61 fmol/mL at 60 minutes, p < 0.01) and modulating (20.36 +/- 3.07 fmol/mL at 60 minutes, p < 0.05) patients, whereas it did not change in non-modulators (13.94 +/- 4.39 fmol/mL, NS). After 5 days on a high sodium intake (200 mmol Na+ per day), plasma atrial natriuretic peptide rose in modulating (20.61 +/- 2.31 fmol/mL, p < 0.01 versus low sodium intake), non-modulating (20.11 +/- 6.48 fmol/mL, p < 0.01 versus low sodium intake), and low renin (26.13 +/- 3.81 fmol/mL, p < 0.001 versus low sodium intake) hypertensive patients. When the Ang II infusion was repeated with a high sodium intake, plasma atrial natriuretic peptide increased again in low renin and modulating patients, whereas it did not change in non-modulators.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Comprehensive global decarbonization requires transportation services cease to rely on fossil fuels for power generation. This paper develops a generic, timedriven life-cycle cost model for mobility services to address two closely related questions central to the emergence of clean energy transportation services: (i) the utilization rates (hours of operation) that determine how alternative drivetrains can be ranked in terms of their cost, and (ii) the cost-efficient share of clean energy drivetrains in a vehicle fleet composed of competing drivetrains. The model ranks alternative drivetrains with different environmental and economic characteristics in terms of their life-cycle cost for any given duty cycle. The critical utilization rate that equates any two drivetrains in terms of their life-cycle cost is shown to also provide the optimization criterion for the efficient mix of vehicles in a fleet. This model framework is then calibrated in the context of urban transit buses, on the basis of actual costand operational data for an entire bus fleet. In particular, our analysis highlights how the eco1Corresponding author Preprint submitted to Elsevier November 19, 2020 nomic comparison between diesel and battery-electric transit buses depends on the specifics of the duty cycle (route) to be served. While electric buses entail substantially higher upfront acquisition costs, the results show that they obtain lower life-cycle costs once utilization rates exceed only 20% of the annual hours, even for less favorable duty cycles. At the same time, the current economics of the service profile examined in our study still calls for the overall fleet to have a one-third share of diesel drivetrains.


ORFEO, the PLEIADES Accompaniment Program, was set up by CNES, the French Space Agency, to prepare, accompany and promote the use and the exploitation of the images acquired by this Very High Resolution optical sensor. It was initiated in 2004 and will last until the end of the first year of the satellite life (launched in December 2011) . The Thematic part of the ORFEO accompaniment program covers a large range of applications, and aims at specifying and validating products and services required by users. An in-depth work of user needs assessments in eight thematic domains (sea and coastline, risks and humanitarian aid, cartography and urban planning, geophysical hazards, hydrology, forestry, agriculture and defence) has given rise to a large number of feasibility studies from 2006 to 2011. The Methodological Part of the ORFEO accompaniment program aims at preparing the use and exploitation of these submetric images. CNES decided to develop Orfeo Toolbox (OTB), an open source library capitalising the methodological know-how as a set of image processing and algorithmic components. Among other, OTB provides a number of heavily documented image processing functionalities such as filtering, feature extraction, segmentation, classification, change detection, 3D extraction, GIS links,.... As a conclusion to the ORFEO program, the PLEIADES Users Thematic Commissioning (UTC) started three months after the satellite launch and will last until mid 2013. It covers a large number of specific interest ORFEO sites, on which PLEIADES images are being intensively acquired and processed. These ORFEO sites have been chosen according to the expectations expressed by the users in terms of their interest for dedicated thematic, their geographic location and their multi-thematic content. This paper presents the ORFEO program achievements (thematic and methodology) and the organisation of the Users Thematic Commissioning (sites, studies). The paper is illustrated with some examples of multi-thematic studies, lead through ORFEO, covering a large range of applications, and aiming at validating value added products and services provided to end users from PLEIADES imagery.


The study was conducted to analyse the relationship of academic self-efficacy to self-regulated learning, school identification, test anxiety and academic achievement at secondary school level. Another purpose was to examine whether self-efficacy and school identification predict academic achievement or not. Four instruments were administered to a sample of 426 students of Grade 10 (205 boys, and 221 girls). Results revealed significant correlation between the variables. Strongest relationship was found between students' academic self-efficacy and self-efficacy for self-regulation. Self-efficacy beliefs at academic domain level were found contributing significantly to the prediction of academic achievement. Significant gender differences were not found on measures of self-efficacy beliefs at academic domain level, school identification, and anxiety. Girls' academic achievement was found better than the boys' achievement. Boys were reported better than girls on measure of self-efficacy for self-regulated learning.


Standing balance relies on the integration of multiple sensory inputs to generate the motor commands required to stand. Mechanical and sensory perturbations elicit compensatory postural responses that are interpreted as a window into the sensorimotor processing involved in balance control. Popular methods involve imposed external perturbations that disrupt the control of quiet stance. Although these approaches provide critical information on how the balance system responds to external disturbances, the control mechanisms involved in correcting for these errors may differ from those responsible for the regulation of quiet standing. Alternative approaches use manipulations of the balance control loop to alter the relationship between sensory and motor cues. Coupled with imposed perturbations, these manipulations of the balance control loop provide unique opportunities to reveal how sensory and motor signals are integrated to control the upright body. In this review, we first explore imposed perturbation approaches that have been used to investigate the neural control of standing balance. We emphasize imposed perturbations that only elicit balance responses when the disturbing stimuli are relevant to the balance task. Next, we highlight manipulations of the balance control loop that, when carefully implemented, replicate and/or alter the sensorimotor dynamics of quiet standing. We further describe how manipulations of the balance control loop can be used in combination with imposed perturbations to characterize mechanistic principles underlying the control of standing balance. We propose that recent developments in the use of robotics and sensory manipulations will continue to enable new possibilities for simulating and/or altering the sensorimotor control of standing beyond compensatory responses to imposed external perturbations.


ABSTRACT Sodium concentration cycling was examined as a new strategy for redistributing carbon storage products and increasing autofermentative product yields following photosynthetic carbon fixation in the cyanobacterium Arthrospira (Spirulina) maxima. The salt-tolerant hypercarbonate strain CS-328 was grown in a medium containing 0.24 to 1.24 M sodium, resulting in increased biosynthesis of soluble carbohydrates to up to 50% of the dry weight at 1.24 M sodium. Hypoionic stress during dark anaerobic metabolism (autofermentation) was induced by resuspending filaments in low-sodium (bi)carbonate buffer (0.21 M), which resulted in accelerated autofermentation rates. For cells grown in 1.24 M NaCl, the fermentative yields of acetate, ethanol, and formate increase substantially to 1.56, 0.75, and 1.54 mmol/(g [dry weight] of cells·day), respectively (36-, 121-, and 6-fold increases in rates relative to cells grown in 0.24 M NaCl). Catabolism of endogenous carbohydrate increased by approximately 2-fold upon hypoionic stress. For cultures grown at all salt concentrations, hydrogen was produced, but its yield did not correlate with increased catabolism of soluble carbohydrates. Instead, ethanol excretion becomes a preferred route for fermentative NADH reoxidation, together with intracellular accumulation of reduced products of acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) formation when cells are hypoionically stressed. In the absence of hypoionic stress, hydrogen production is a major beneficial pathway for NAD+ regeneration without wasting carbon intermediates such as ethanol derived from acetyl-CoA. This switch presumably improves the overall cellular economy by retaining carbon within the cell until aerobic conditions return and the acetyl unit can be used for biosynthesis or oxidized via respiration for a much greater energy return.


Botanists, including those with an economic bent, and ecologists recognize the importance of palms for a multitude of reasons. As such, palms have been the focus of much research. Tomlinson (1990) provided a solid understanding of palm anatomy and Johnson (1996) outlined issues in palm conservation. Even a fairly thorough review of the economic botany literature pertaining to palms has been compiled by Balick and Beck (1990). Several authors have addressed palm evolution and classification: Moore (1973), Uhl and Dransfield (1987), and Henderson and Borchenius (1999). The last, like many edited volumes, is a spotty treatment of the topic. In this new book Henderson brings us up to date in our present understanding of palm evolution while acknowledging that more data are needed to fill in the many gaps and come to a new understanding of their evolutionary relationships. Given the importance of palms in tropical ecosystems, the lack of a family-based ecological synthesis has been another significant gap in their study. Economic botanists increasingly engage in studies that consider ecological parameters of plant use and management, and palms are frequently the plants of choice. Thus, Henderson's newest book is a welcome addition on our library shelves. The introductory chapter provides a synopsis and a theoretical framework on which Henderson bases his book, materials and methods, and a summary of the major groups of palms recognized (after Moore). This chapter, plus the next four, review: palm morphology and evolution—stem growth and development; stem size and shape; leaves; and inflorescences. Henderson's stated emphasis is on stems. He builds his case for their central importance in palm evolution, while acknowledging that he downplays leaves and inflorescences in part because much of their morphology is due to stem size and shape, and also because much has already been published on them. The remaining six chapters address specific ecological aspects of palms: duration of reproduction; phenology of breeding systems; pollination; fecundity and gestation; fruits and seeds—predation and dispersal; and germination. The emphasis here is decidedly on reproduction. Palms have their own terminology and a four page glossary is dutifully provided to assist the uninitiated. The lengthy (21 pages) bibliography is welcome. A 45 page appendix includes 1,245 palm species, arranged by major group, in which Henderson summarizes major morphological traits, germination, habitat, and parity for each. The one page epilogue recapitulates what has proceeded and nicely lays out what Henderson thinks are the most important things to know when considering palm evolution and ecology. Any economic botanist with so much as a passing interest in palms should at the very least take a gander at it (the glossary handily begins on the facing page), and consider well its implications for our studies. Indeed, it would have been wonderful if Henderson had helped us make more connections between people and palms. Alas, he makes only a few passing references. That's okay. It wasn't his task. Let's thank him for his synthesis and work on that part ourselves, made a bit easier, now that he's provided us with an evolutionary and ecological frame on which to build.


BACKGROUND
The British Army has over 100 career employment groups to which recruits may apply. The Infantry is one of these career employment groups; it accounts for 25% of the overall strength. It is of concern that Infantry recruit attrition within the first 12 weeks of training remains consistently above 30% . Poor selection methods that lead to the enlistment of unsuitable recruits have negative financial and personal consequences, but little is known about the personal experiences of those who fail.

OBJECTIVE
The aim of this research was to understand why infantry recruits choose to leave and explore the personal experiences of those that fail.

METHODS
This study draws on qualitative data from the second phase of a larger mixed method study. The foci of this paper are the findings directly related to the responses of recruits in exit interviews and their Commanding Officers' training reports. An exploratory qualitative, inductive method was used to generate insights, explanations and potential solutions to training attrition.

RESULTS
What the data describes is a journey of extreme situational demands that the recruits experience throughout their transition from civilian life to service in the British Infantry. It is the cumulative effect of the stressors, combined with the recruit being dislocated from their established support network, which appears to be the catalyst for failure among recruits.

CONCLUSION
There are clearly defined areas where either further research or changes to current practice may provide a better understanding of, and ultimately reduce, the current attrition rates experienced by the Infantry Training Centre.


Second, Fraser and Hazelwood created some confusion over how to analyze student speech rights, and in particular which case - Tinker, Fraser, or Hazelwood - should govern the typical high school speech case. Indeed, a close reading of Morse suggests that viewpoint restrictions on core speech will certainly be subject to the Tinker standard, in which schools can prohibit speech only when it poses a very real threat to substantially interfere with school operations or would infringe on the rights of other students. In doing so, the Court stated that student speech rights must be analyzed in the context of the educational needs of schools, and, in particular, the school officials' need to maintain discipline and order. Roberts then concluded that drug abuse is a serious and real problem facing schools, justifying restrictions on student speech advocating illegal drug use, stating: The "special characteristics of the school environment," and the governmental interest in stopping student drug abuse, allow schools to restrict student expression that they reasonably regard as promoting illegal drug use. In the same way, his concurrence in Morse can be read as affirming student speech rights, but Alito saw the banner displayed by Frederick as a narrow exception, both because of the nature of the speech itself and because of the critical school interest in combating drug abuse. Thus, the type of balancing contemplated in Morse is really reserved for speech restrictions that do not involve either a school-created speech forum nor school-sponsored speech. Of the five decisions, Mergens is the only one that directly involved student speech in high schools, and the only one based on statutory, rather than constitutional, free speech rights. Parks, the Fourth Circuit held a policy unconstitutional that said a school could prohibit distribution only if the principal could "forecast substantial disruption of or material interference with school activities." This quote from Tinker suggests two possible justifications to restrict student speech, even speech that concerns core political or religious messages, or commentary on social issues. Thus, the court rejected the broader principle that any derogatory statements aimed at individuals or groups could be prohibited, stating that t-shirts saying, "Young Republicans Suck," or "Young Democrats Suck" would be protected speech, since such messages would not be "sufficiently damaging to the individual or to the educational process" to justify restrictions.


One of the strategies to maintain optimal gut health in animal production in the absence of antibiotic growth promoters is to support the active immunity of the animal. Immunity at the level of the digestive system is concentrated in the mucosal immune system of the gut associated lymphoid tissue (GALT). Therefore, the GALT is the obvious target if we want to increase intestinal immunity. M cells and dendritic cells sample the intestinal contents and bring pathogens in close contact with macrophages, B and T cells in specialized regions in the intestinal epithelium like e.g. the Peyer's patches (inductive site). Macrophages destroy the pathogen and stimulate the B and T cells to launch an immune response that is specific to this pathogen. Depending on the pathogen and the co-stimulatory signals this response can be the activation of cellular (cytoxic T lymphocytes (CTL)) or humoral (antibodies) immunity. Antibodies (IgA) are secreted at the effector site and transported through the epithelial cells to neutralize the pathogens already in the intestinal lumen. Macrophages thus act at the first line and stimulate a whole cascade of events leading to final antibody production. The intense contact between intestinal contents and immune cells at the mucosa offers opportunities to modulate intestinal immunity via the feed. While immunostimulating activities are claimed on many feed additives like phytoproducts, organic acids, chelates, pre- and probiotics and many others these additives mostly have only bacteriostatic effects or indirect effects on the immune system. On the contrary, it has been widely demonstrated that β-glucans have a direct immunostimulating effect. More specifically they bind to a receptor on macrophages and increase their activity towards stimulation of B and T cells. As a consequence, increased antibody titers after vaccination and better protection after challenges with a pathogen have been observed when β-glucans were incorporated in the feed. However, not all β-glucans are equally effective and their interaction with the receptor on the macrophage depends on their primary and secondary structure (degree of polymerization (DP) and degree of substitution (DS)). Since immunization and challenge trials are laborious, time consuming and therefore very costly we propose to develop a model system based on in vitro assays that can be used to evaluate the immunomodulating property of feed additives. Β-glucans with different purity, DP and DS can thus be compared. Most if not all sources of β-glucans that are used in feed are impure or semi-purified compounds that contain a variety of oligosaccharides including mannan-oligosaccharides or MOS. These molecules can interfere with the attachment of pathogenic bacteria (e.g. enterotoxic Escherichia coli or ETEC) to the intestinal epithelial thus reducing their colonization. Next to immunomodulation this is another aspect of the possible positive effect of these compounds on gut health. In our lab, interference of attachment of bacteria to the intestinal epithelium can also be quantified in vitro. As outlined above, once a pathogen is sampled out of the intestinal contents a local immune response in the intestinal mucosa is generated in different steps. At first macrophages and other phagocytic cells (like dendritic cells ; non-specific immunity) take up the pathogen. They destroy the pathogen with enzymes and O-radicals and process it for presentation to local T cells. Phagocytic cells also secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines that stimulate the activity and proliferation of those T and B cells that are most fit to attack the type of pathogen that was presented by the phagocytic cell (specific immunity). Finally the B cells will produce antibodies (IgA) that can be secreted in the intestinal lumen to neutralize the pathogens. The benefits and values of these assays are that the activity of all the samples within each test will be comparable. Also, the results will give an activity profile of each sample, indicating at what level the immunological response is most probably modulated when the sample is included in the feed. Furthermore, the capacity of a sample to interfere with attachment of E coli is a measure of protection against attachment and colonization of the intestinal epithelium in vivo. And finally, validation of the results of the in vitro screening towards gut health and protection against pathogenic challenges will have to be performed by in vivo tests.


One of the most consistent findings in rating scale research with children and adolescents is the modest agreement among different informants' ratings. The present study systematically explored patterns of agreement among teachers, parents/caregivers, and students in domains of social skills and problem behaviors using the Social Skills Improvement System-Rating Scales (SSIS-RS; F. M. Gresham & S. N. Elliott, 2008). Two subsamples from the normative sample of the SSIS-RS were used. The first sample of participants consisted of 168 students who had all 3 informants (parent, teacher, and self) complete the SSIS-RS scales, which was necessary to assess agreement across different raters. The second sample consisted of 164 students who had raters in a similar or same role (father-mother, teacher-teacher). The results replicated an extensive literature showing that cross-informant agreements for social skills and problem behaviors are weak to moderate. The current study invoked multitrait-multimethod logic to interpret the correlations among raters derived from different informants and showed that the convergent validity coefficients were consistently stronger than the discriminant validity correlations. Implications for assessment practices and future research are discussed.


A conceptual framework was constructed for United Nations' complex Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 4.7 focusing on education for sustainable development (ESD), and used to analyse the usefulness and character of indicators produced from a values-based approach called ESDinds, compared to a UN process. The analysis shows that the latter generated very few indicators concerning the wider aspects of knowledge such as 'critical thinking' or 'learning to learn'. The values-based approach, created for a different purpose, produced complementary if not better coverage of Target 4.7, including finely-developed concepts for competencies and less tangible aspects. It is suggested that the UN process would benefit from ESDinds design elements such as intersubjective and slightly disruptive elements, purposeful contextualisation at group level, and a holistic and inductive consideration of values. The use of a reference 'fuzzy framework' of slightly generalised proto-indicators suited for deep contextualisation locally is recommended, rather than any rigid global-level indicator with unclear local value. It is recommended that ESD practitioners immediately develop localised interpretations of valid measures for whatever final Target 4.7 indicator is selected by the UN, as this localisation process will itself cause important learning towards local ESD achievements.


In 2019, the Queensland Parliament enacted a Human Rights Act, enshrining, inter alia, the human right to life. The Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) presents a timely opportunity to open the next chapter in Australia's climate change litigation history – a human rights-based climate change case. This article will consider the possible characterisation of such a case, drawing on international experience. Ultimately, it will conclude that a rights-based climate change case is feasible in Queensland, and a successful case would have national and international ramifications, due to the potential for Queensland coal deposits to contribute to global climate change. Further, a successful rights-based climate change case in Queensland has the capability to set powerful precedent in the growing body of climate litigation both domestically and internationally, where international climate litigation has been observed as taking a 'rights turn'.


The article discusses the state-building and nation-building processes within Liberia, with primary focus given to the ways in which dual citizenship legislation informs these processes. The author explains the importance of forging a Liberian national identity to the post-conflict state-building process, and notes Liberia's history as a primarily diasporic nation. Economic development programs beginning with Liberia's interim government of 2003 are outlined, and the exclusionary nature of the country's immigration and citizenship laws as of 2012 is detailed.


There has been increased emphasis on the linkages between international migration and development at international, regional and national levels in the past two decades. This recognition of migration as a developmental tool has generated calls for mainstreaming migration in development with some origin countries making specific attempts at incorporating migration concerns into their development agendas. Yet this approach is being promoted in a context where there is still inadequate understanding of the precise linkages between migration and development. The paper reviews the situation in South Asia with respect to mainstreaming arguments. It first reviews the analytical issues involved in mainstreaming including definitions and mechanisms proposed. Next the main linkages identified between migration and development – remittances, return migration and diasporas – are discussed in relation to country experiences in South Asia. Some contradictions in the mainstreaming discourse are highlighted followed by some conclusions and policy implications.


Urbanization is accelerating worldwide and creates novel habitat conditions including increases in environmental temperature and changes in presence and abundance of predators, prey and parasites. For species that use urban habitats, these changes can have strong impacts on phenotypes. Anolis lizards commonly exploit urban habitats and, as ectotherms, are likely to experience pressures from these novel environments. Previous research shows that anoles may adapt to some aspects of urban habitats, but we lack an understanding of the breadth of traits that may shift in response to urbanization and how widespread these changes may be. To assess effects of urban habitat use on anole phenotypes, we measured morphology, thermal preference and parasitism in brown anoles (Anolis sagrei) and crested anoles (Anolis cristatellus) from urban and natural habitats within the Miami metropolitan area (FL, USA). In urban areas, individuals of both species were larger, but did not show any differences in preferred body temperatures. These results agree with other studies showing increased body size in anoles inhabiting urban areas, but the mechanisms underlying this pattern are unclear. Brown anoles experienced higher levels of parasite infection intensity in urban habitats, but crested anoles showed no differences between urban and natural sites. Increased infection intensity in urban brown anoles suggests that exploiting urban habitats may have costs and shows that urbanization can lead to species-specific changes in ecologically similar congeners. Understanding how urban habitats alter phenotypes of organisms that exploit these areas will be important in predicting costs of and adaptive responses to future urbanization.


Levy, S. (1972).Brit. J. industr. Med.,29, 196-200. A study of the medical causes of absence from duty aboard South African merchant ships. Over a period of four and a half years 556 instances occurred in which crew members were put off duty on medical grounds for a period of four or more days. Illness accounted for 297 cases whereas accidents were responsible for 259 cases. Illiness and accident cases were off duty for an average period of 28 and 34 days respectively. Slightly more working days were thus lost on account of accidents. Admission to hospital was required in 90% of illnesses compared with only 36% of accidents. Appendicitis (of questionable veracity), peptic ulceration, and psychiatric disturbances were among the more common causes of incapacity. Forty percent of accidents occurred on deck and in the cargo holds. Fractures occurred most commonly in the upper limbs, especially the hand. Eleven percent of the accidents occurred ashore, mostly due to assault. Further study is required to elucidate whether the emotional problems encountered are brought to sea by the personnel or are a result of life on board ship. The high incidence of accidents stresses the fact that a sea career is one of the more dangerous occupations.


The Health Protection Agency has reviewed research undertaken to examine the suggested links between emissions from municipal waste incinerators and effects on health. While it is not possible to rule out adverse health effects from modern, well regulated municipal waste incinerators with complete certainty, any potential damage to the health of those living close-by is likely to be very small, if detectable. This view is based on detailed assessments of the effects of air pollutants on health and on the fact that modern and well managed municipal waste incinerators make only a very small contribution to local concentrations of air pollutants. The Committee on Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment has reviewed recent data and has concluded that there is no need to change its previous advice, namely that any potential risk of cancer due to residency near to municipal waste incinerators is exceedingly low and probably not measurable by the most modern techniques. Since any possible health effects are likely to be very small, if detectable, studies of public health around modern, well managed municipal waste incinerators are not recommended.


Abstract. There are distinct spectral features of water vapor in the wavelength range covered by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) visible channel. Although these features are much weaker than those at longer wavelengths, they can be exploited to retrieve useful information about water vapor. They have an advantage in that their small optical depth leads to fairly simple interpretation as measurements of the total water vapor column density. We have used the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) OMI operational retrieval algorithm to derive the slant column density (SCD) of water vapor using the 430–480 nm spectral region after extensive optimization. We convert from SCD to vertical column density (VCD) using the air mass factor (AMF), which is calculated using look-up tables of scattering weights and assimilated water vapor profiles. Our Level 2 product includes not only water vapor VCD but also the associated scattering weights and AMF. In the tropics, our standard water vapor product has a median SCD of 1.3 × 1023 molecules cm−2 and a median relative uncertainty of about 11%, about a factor of 2 better than that from a similar OMI algorithm that uses a narrower retrieval window. The corresponding median VCD is about 1.2 × 1023 molecules cm−2. We have examined the sensitivities of SCD and AMF to various parameters and compared our results with those from the GlobVapour product, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Aerosol Robotic NETwork (AERONET).


Sampling of 1367 trees was conducted in the Side wildfire (4 May 1996), Bridger-Knoll wildfire (20 June 1996) and Dauber prescribed fire (9 September 1995) in northern Arizona ponderosa pine forests (Pinus ponderosa). Tree mortality was assessed for 3 years after each fire. Three-year post-fire mortality was 32.4% in the Side wildfire, 18.0% in the Dauber prescribed fire, and 13.9% in the Bridger-Knoll wildfire. In the Dauber and Side fires, 95% and 94% of 3-year post-fire mortality occurred by year 2, versus 76% in the Bridger-Knoll wildfire. Compared with trees that lived for 3 years after fire, dead trees in all fires had more crown scorch, crown consumption, bole scorch, ground char, and bark beetle attacks. Logistic regression models were used to provide insight on factors associated with tree mortality after fire. A model using total crown damage by fire (scorch + consumption) and bole char severity as independent variables was the best two-variable model for predicting individual tree mortality for all fires. The amount of total crown damage associated with the onset of tree mortality decreased as bole char severity increased. Models using diameter at breast height (dbh) and crown volume damage suggested that tree mortality decreased as dbh increased in the Dauber prescribed fire where trees were smallest, and tree mortality increased as dbh increased in the Side and Bridger-Knoll wildfires where trees were largest. Moreover, a U-shaped dbh–mortality distribution for all fires suggested higher mortality for the smallest and largest trees compared with intermediate-size trees. We concluded that tree mortality is strongly influenced by interaction between crown damage and bole char severity, and differences in resistance to fire among different-sized trees can vary among sites.


Horizon scanning is not new, nor is its use in the public sector. In this article we report and reflect on our experience in the Australasian Joint Agencies Scanning Network (AJASN), a horizon scanning group started in 2005 with the support of four Australian Commonwealth government agencies that in 2012 has a membership of over twenty agencies from Australia and New Zealand. A survey of members past and present in 2012 highlights the importance of leadership, timing and processes in adopting horizon scanning into decision making and planning. The paper places the lessons learnt in context with the broader literature.


Without the virtually free services of nature like clean air and water, humans would not last long. Natural systems can be incorporated in existing urban structures or spaces to add public amenity, mitigate the heat island eff ect, reduce pollution, add oxygen, and ensure water,
electricity and food security in urban areas. Th ere are many eco-solutions that could radically reduce resource consumption and pollution and even provide surplus ecosystem services in the built environment at little or no operational cost, if adequately supported by design.
Th is is the second part of a two part paper that explains what eco-services are, then provides examples of how design can generate natural as well as social capital. Using examples of actual and notional solutions, both papers set out to challenge designers to 'think again', and
invent ways of creating net positive environmental gains through built environment design.


PURPOSE
Combination gemcitabine and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) may have activity in metastatic renal cell cancer. To identify patient subgroups most likely to benefit and compare survival to that in previously described patient series long-term survival as a function of known and suspected prognostic variables was determined.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The survival status of 153 patients with metastatic renal cell cancer treated on 1 phase I and 4 phase II trials of gemcitabine/5-FU based regimens was updated. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were constructed using multiple imputation for missing values.

RESULTS
Performance status, prior nephrectomy, number of metastatic sites, decreased albumin and elevated alkaline phosphatase were highly prognostic for survival. Sarcomatoid differentiation and hypercalcemia had borderline prognostic significance. Using a previous described prognostic model that divided patients into 3 risk groups survival in those treated with gemcitabine/5-FU in this series was consistently better than survival in similar patients treated in the Motzer series.

CONCLUSIONS
Previously described prognostic factors for survival in metastatic renal cancer were confirmed. There is no clearly identifiable group that is most likely to benefit from a gemcitabine/5-FU regimen but there is a continued suggestion that this regimen provides a modest improvement over historical chemotherapy approaches.


Abstract This article explores original empirical findings from a research project investigating representations of cyberterrorism in the international news media. Drawing on a sample of 535 items published by 31 outlets between 2008 and 2013, it focuses on four questions. First, how individuated a presence is cyberterrorism given within news media coverage? Second, how significant a threat is cyberterrorism deemed to pose? Third, how is the identity of 'cyberterrorists' portrayed? And, fourth, who or what is identified as the referent – that which is threatened – within this coverage? The article argues that constructions of specificity, status, and scale play an important, yet hitherto under-explored, role within articulations of concern about the threat posed by cyberterrorism. Moreover, unpacking news coverage of cyberterrorism in this way leads to a more variegated picture than that of the vague and hyperbolic media discourse often identified by critics. The article concludes by pointing to several promising future research agendas to build on this work.


Samuel Barber (1910-1981) was one of the most important and honoured American composers of the twentieth century. Writing in a great variety of musical forms - symphonies, concertos, operas, vocal music, chamber music - he infused his works with poetic lyricism and gave tonal language and forms new vitality. His rich legacy includes such famous compositions as the Adagio for Strings, the orchestral song Knoxville: Summer of 1915, three concertos, and his two operas, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Vanessa and Antony and Cleopatra, a commissioned work that opened the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. Generously documented by letters, sketchbooks, original musical manuscripts, and interviews with friends, colleagues and performers with whom he worked, this is the first book to cover Barber's entire career and all of his compositions. The biographical material on Barber is closely interspersed with a discussion of his music, displaying Barber's creative processes at work from his early student compositions to his mature masterpieces. Heyman also provides the social context in which this major composer grew: his education, how he built his career, the evolving musical tastes of American audiences, his relationship to musical giants like Serge Koussevitzky, and the role of radio in the promotion of his music. A testament to the significance of the new Romanticism, Samuel Barber stands as a model biography of an important American musical figure.


Improved measurement of environmental performance should be part of the regular business activities of any organisation. However, it requires a set of environmental performance indicators (EPIs) that can be applied to the particular organisation's unique functions and culture. This paper presents the development of EPIs within an information technology systems and services organisation, ICL plc. (International Computers Ltd; now Fujitsu Services Ltd). EPIs have been developed, based on the company's environmental policy and targets, and a framework for their measurement outlined. ISO 14001 certification requires that certified companies demonstrate continuous improvement in their environmental performance, and EPIs have been developed in order that the company can demonstrate such improvements year on year. The results show that a simple and logical methodology can be applied to identify EPIs that are compatible with ISO 14031. Finally, a risk assessment methodology is applied to demonstrate the effects of business constraints in the decision-making process regarding environmental programmes.


Background and Objective Infants and young children in low to middle-income countries are at risk for adverse neurodevelopment due to multiple risk factors. In this study, we sought to identify stimulation and learning opportunities, growth, and burden of respiratory infections and diarrhea as predictors for neurodevelopment. Methods We visited 422 North Indian children 6 to 30 months old weekly for six months. Childhood illnesses were assessed biweekly. At end study, we assessed neurodevelopment using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire 3rd ed. (ASQ-3) and gathered information on stimulation and learning opportunities. We identified predictors for ASQ-3 scores in multiple linear and logistic regression models. Results We were able to explain 30.5% of the variation in the total ASQ-3 score by the identified predictors. When adjusting for child characteristics and annual family income, stimulation and learning opportunities explained most of the variation by 25.1%. Height for age (standardized beta: 0.12, p<.05) and weight for height z-scores (std. beta: 0.09, p<.05) were positively associated with the total ASQ-3 score, while number of days with diarrhea was negatively associated with these scores (std. beta: -0.13, p<0.01). Conclusion Our results support the importance of early child stimulation and general nutrition for child development. Our study also suggests that diarrhea is an additional risk factor for adverse neurodevelopment in vulnerable children.