This exploratory research examines supermax confinement in the United States. An examination of counts of supermax institutions and inmates from 2001-2004 produced by the American Correctional Association and an examination of Criminal Justice Institute data found that different procedures made it difficult to compare numbers across states. Certain states produced incorrect figures about the number of supermax prisons and inmates because of reporting and/or recording errors. This study found, in short, that disagreements about definitions, changing policies and court decisions, reporting and recording errors, and different counting procedures have led to a lack of reliable and valid data on supermax issues. These findings indicate that researchers attempting to examine, or collect data on, supermax issues on the macrolevel (e.g., across states) face important difficulties. This article accounts for this confusion, discusses policy implications that may result from this confusion, and concludes with suggestions for future research.


Dolls have long been perceived as symbols of domesticity, maternity, and materialism, designed by men and loved by girls who wanted to 'play house.' In this engagingly written and illustrated social history of the American doll industry, Miriam Formanek-Brunell shows that this has not always been the case. Drawing on a wide variety of contemporary sources -- including popular magazines advertising, autobiographies, juvenile literature, patents, photographs, and the dolls themselves -- Formanek-Brunell traces the history of the doll industry back to its beginnings, a time when American men, women, and girls each claimed the right to construct dolls and gender. Formanek-Brunell describes how dolls and doll play changed over time: antebellum rag dolls taught sewing skills; Gilded Age fashion dolls inculcated formal social rituals; Progressive Era dolls promoted health and active play; and the realistic baby dolls of the 1920s fostered girls' maternal impulses. She discusses how the aesthetic values and business methods of women dollmakers differed from those of their male counterpart, and she describes, for example, Martha Chase, who made America's first soft, sanitary cloth dolls, and Rose O'Neill, inventor of the kewpie doll. According to Formanek-Brunell, although American businessmen ultimately dominated the industry with dolls they marketed as symbols of an idealized feminine domesticity, businesswomen presented an alternative vision of gender for both girls and boys through a variety of dolls they manufactured themselves.


This study explores how graduates who entered college as mature students, and 'disadvantaged' mature students, view and value Higher Education after graduating with a primary degree. The study highlighted the limited usefulness of the concept of disadvantaged mature student and the findings of the research were not significantly different whether one was a mature student or a disadvantaged mature student. The rationale given by the state for supporting mature students in Higher Education (HE) is that it will yield economic and social benefits for both the students and society. As a consequence a wide range of access policies has been developed to support the entry of 'non-traditional' students. However, to date there is very little research on what happens to such students while in HE and after graduation. This research gathered quantitative and qualitative data from the graduates of NUI Maynooth, Trinity College Dublin and the Dublin Institute of Technology. The economic, social and personal benefits of participation in Higher Education were examined as were barriers to further career and career progression. Although most students valued their educational experience very highly the monetary benefits were more modest than expected. But the educational qualifications enabled many graduates to move away from routine work often with low levels of autonomy, status and pay. Overall, the research shows that for working-class mature students, students with disabilities and ethnic minorities HE is a highly valued transitional space that affords a greater level of career choice and opportunities to renegotiate aspects of personal identities.
Key Words: mature students; access; Higher Education


Mobile devices are getting to be progressively public in the meantime, mobile location-based service (MLBS) is considered as a productive open door for service suppliers. However, there has been a moderate development in the MLBS market before few years. The goal for each location based data framework is to support with the precise data, at perfect place progressively with customized setup and location affectability. We have possessed the capacity to build various distinctive applications where we give the client data concerning a location he or she needs to travel. However, this software maybe restricted to computer only. We have to bring them on mobile gadgets. This paper deploys real-time location tracking framework for distinctive cell phones utilizing GPS gadgets. It concentrates on the administration and perception of a greater part of individuals can be anticipated. Our work can service an ongoing location tracking service for a various parties utilizing TCP/IP and GPS software in a mobile framework. The client may obtain and oversee location data of indicated subjects, who need special care progressively. Such client requiring particular defensive measures, elderly and kids. The proposed GPS and remote location based tracking framework may be extensive to different application areas that recognize client location data and use this at anytime, anyplace.


Retirement villages are regarded as a viable accommodation option for the ever increasing ageing population in Australia. This paper aims to identify sustainability features and practices adopted in retirement villages and associated benefits to improve the life quality of older people. A case study of an existing retirement village 10 kms from Brisbane CBD was conducted involving a series of interviews with the village managers and residents together with documents relating to the village's operations and activities. The environmentally friendly features that were incorporated into the development mainly include green design for the site and floor plan and waste management in daily operation. More importantly, a variety of facilities are provided to strengthen the social engagement and interactions among the residents. Additionally, different daily services are provided to assist independent living and improve the health conditions of residents. Also, the relatively low vacancy rate in this village indicates that these sustainability features offer good value of money for the residents. The paper provides a first look at sustainable retirement villages in terms of triple bottom line sustainability with emphasis on social aspects, reveals the importance in maintaining an appropriate balance, and provides examples of how this can be achieved in practice.


Doubling the chromosome number of diploid and haploid Echinacea purpurea plants have high applicable values for genetic improvements of the crop. Field experiments have shown that the tetraploid plants grow vigorously as compared to diploid plants. Tissue culture methodology provides a useful way to separate plant chimeras into their component genotypes. In general, mutated cells are difficult to monitor but mutations which result in a change in genome chromosome number are an exception, because chromosome number mutation can be identified by chromosome counting. In the present study, chimeric materials were used as explant source, and higher percentages of tetraploid shoots were induced from explants with higher ratio of tetraploid cells to diploid cells; explants possessing 26% tetraploid cells regenerated 10% tetraploid plants, explants possessing 15% tetraploid cells regenerated 4% tetraploid plants, and explants possessing 11% tetraploid cells regenerated 2% tetraploid plants. The reliability of the tetraploid nature of the regenerated plants, directly from colchicine treated culture and from chimeric materials was confirmed by regenerating buds again from explants of these plants, and amongst the six plants tested, five were confirmed to be true tetraploids that regenerated 100% tetraploid plants, and the rest one to be a chimera which regenerated 93% tetraploid plants. Results of the experiments indicate that in vitro culture method could provide a useful way to separate chimeras into individuals with one of the component cell genome numbers, and by this it could produce 100% pure tetraploids from chimera plants for further genetic studies of Echinacea purpurea L and for direct agricultural application. Key words: Breeding; Chimera; Chromosome; Purple coneflower; Regeneration; Tissue culture DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/tare.v13i1.3131 Tropical Agricultural Research and Extension 13(1) 2010 pp.11-15


Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is a multi-elemental analysis technique with various advantages and has the ability to detect any element in real time. This technique holds a potential for environmental monitoring and various such analysis has been done in soil, glass, paint, water, plastic etc confirms the robustness of this technique for such applications. Compared to the currently available water quality monitoring methods and techniques, LIBS has several advantages, viz. no need for sample preparation, fast and easy operation, and chemical free during the process. In LIBS, powerful pulsed laser generates plasma which is then analyzed to get quantitative and qualitative details of the elements present in the sample. Another main advantage of LIBS technique is that it can perform in standoff mode for real time analysis. Water samples from industries and agricultural strata tend to have a lot of pollutants making it harmful for consumption. The emphasis of this project is to determine such harmful pollutants present in trace amounts in industrial and agricultural wastewater. When high intensity laser is made incident on the sample, a plasma is generated which gives a multielemental emission spectra. LIBS analysis has shown outstanding success for solids samples. For liquid samples, the analysis is challenging as the liquid sample has the chances of splashing due to the high energy of laser and thus making it difficult to generate plasma. This project also deals with determining the most efficient method for testing of water sample for qualitative as well as quantitative analysis using LIBS.


DREADDs (designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs) reveal a mechanism for dyskinesia induced by transplanted neurons. Neurodegenerative diseases involve the loss of specific neurons, which compromises various brain functions. In Parkinson's disease, dopaminergic (DA) neurons of the substantia nigra die, causing uncontrollable movement. Strategies to restore these neurons by transplantation have met with some success, but some patients develop graft-induced dyskinesia (GID). Aldrin-Kirk et al. transplanted fetal rat DA neurons into a rat model of Parkinson's disease, then used adenoviruses to introduce various combinations of DREADDs (designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs) to either increase or decrease dopamine released from the grafted tissue. Activation of Gq- or Gs-coupled DREADDs (hM3Dq or rM3Ds, both responding to CNO) enhanced dopamine release, whereas activation of a Gi-coupled DREADD [KORD, which responds to salvinorin B (SalB)] reduced dopamine release and blocked the effect of CNO. Although CNO administration improved motor behavior in the grafted rats expressing hM3Dq and rM3Ds or rM3Ds alone, these animals developed GID. GID did not occur in rats expressing hM3Dq and KORD, suggesting that Gs signaling is responsible for GID. The serotonin receptors 5-HT4, 5-HT5, and 5-HT6 are Gs-coupled receptors implicated in GID, and administration of receptor-specific agonists to the rats expressing hM3Dq and KORD showed that 5-HT6 stimulation resulted in aberrant behaviors similar to those induced by CNO. Local administration of the 5-HT6 agonist produced an electrophysiological response in the transplanted neurons similar to that produced by local CNO application in the hM3Dq and KORD-expressing animals. Staining of the transplanted tissue showed that a subset of the DA neurons was positive for 5-HT6 and that the transplant and surrounding striatum were innervated by serotonin-releasing neurons (positive for the serotonin transporter SERT). Transplants of dissociated human fetal ventral mesencephalon or human embryonic stem cells in immunosuppressed rats showed that 5-HT6 was abundant in the DA neurons of the transplanted tissue. Postmortem analysis of the brain of a human patient that received a human fetal ventral mesencephalon graft also revealed high abundance of 5-HT6 in the transplanted tissue. Thus, chemogenetic manipulation of neuronal activity through designer G protein–coupled receptors identified a pathway that could be targeted to improve the transplantation success for Parkinson's disease patients. P. Aldrin-Kirk, A. Heuer, G. Wang, B. Mattsson, M. Lundblad, M. Parmar, T. Björklund, DREADD modulation of transplanted DA neurons reveals a novel parkinsonian dyskinesia mechanism mediated by the serotonin 5-HT6 receptor. Neuron 90, 955–968 (2016). [PubMed]


A parathyroid adenoma is a benign neoplasm of parathyroid parenchymal cells. There is an association with the HRPT2 gene (1q25-q31), which is associated with hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor syndrome (an autosomal dominant disorder). Parathyroid adenoma is the single most common cause of hyperparathyroidism. It is usually seen in patients in the fourth and fifth decades of life, and women are affected more often than men by a margin of 3 or 4 to 1.


Challenges in scientific research include the difficulty in obtaining overviews of the large amount of data required for analysis, and in resolving the differences in terminology used to store and interpret information in multiple, independently created data sets. Ontologies provide one solution for analysis involving multiple data sources, improving cross-referencing and data integration. This thesis looks at harnessing advanced human perception to reduce the cognitive load in the analysis of the multiple, complex data sets the bioinformatics user group studied use in research, taking advantage also of users' domain knowledge, to build mental models of data that map to its underlying structure. Guided by a user-centred approach, prototypes were developed to provide a visual method for exploring users' information requirements and to identify solutions for these requirements. 2D and 3D node-link graphs were built to visualise the hierarchically structured ontology data, to improve analysis of individual and comparison of multiple data sets, by providing overviews of the data, followed by techniques for detailed analysis of regions of interest. Iterative, heuristic and structured user evaluations were used to assess and refine the options developed for the presentation and analysis of the ontology data. The evaluation results confirmed the advantages that visualisation provides over text-based analysis, and also highlighted the advantages of each of 2D and 3D for visual data analysis.


We develop a new characteristic matrix-based method to analyze cyclotron resonance experiments in high mobility two-dimensional electron gas samples where direct interference between primary and satellite reflections has previously limited the frequency resolution. This model is used to simulate experimental data taken using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy that show multiple pulses from the substrate with a separation of 15 ps that directly interfere in the time-domain. We determine a cyclotron dephasing lifetime of 15.1 ± 0.5 ps at 1.5 K and 5.0 ± 0.5 ps at 75 K.


This document announces the extension of statewide temporary moratoria on the enrollment of new Medicare Part B non-emergency ground ambulance providers and suppliers and Medicare home health agencies, subunits, and branch locations in Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Texas, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, as applicable, to prevent and combat fraud, waste, and abuse. This extension also applies to the enrollment of new non-emergency ground ambulance suppliers and home health agencies, subunits, and branch locations in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program in those states.


Space-restricted techniques for visualizing hierarchies generally achieve high scalability and readability (e.g., tree maps, bundle views, sunburst). However, the visualization layout directly depends on the hierarchy, that is, small changes to the hierarchy can cause wide-ranging changes to the layout. For this reason, it is difficult to use these techniques to compare similar variants of a hierarchy because users are confronted with layouts that do not expose the expected similarity. Voronoi treemaps appear to be promising candidates to overcome this limitation. However, existing Voronoi treemap algorithms do not provide deterministic layouts or assume a fixed hierarchy. In this paper we present an extended layout algorithm for Voronoi treemaps that provides a high degree of layout similiarity for varying hierarchies, such as software-system hierarchies. The implementation uses a deterministic initial-distribution approach that reduces the variation in node positioning even if changes in the underlying hierarchy data occur. Compared to existing layout algorithms, our algorithm achieves lower error rates with respect to node areas in the case of weighted Voronoi diagrams, which we show in a comparative study.


To see through the eyes of essayist and dramaturge Jan Kott is to gain in knowledge not just of the theater but also of human culture. Since his "Shakespeare Our Contemporary" appeared in English in 1964, Kott's work has altered--and strengthened--the way critics and the public approach the theater as a whole. "The Memory of the Body" highlights a number of dramatic personalities and personages: authors and directors Witkiewicz, Brecht, Kantor, Grotoswki, Ingmar Bergman, Wedekind; Tilly Newes on the stage in turn-of-the-century Vienna; the all-too-mortal, two-thirds divine Gilgamesh; and a shaman in rural Korea. In a style flecked with passion, poignancy, and wit, Kott moves beyond a mere discussion of theater to speak of eroticism, painting, love, and death.


Reflective practices are considered an important part of a pre-service teachers' (PSTs) professional learning experiences. However, there has been much criticisms on its efficacy as a learning tool for teacher professional development. This paper will relate a study that was designed to compare reflective teaching practices in two culturally different countries, namely Malaysia and Australia. These two countries were chosen as they offered an opportunity to study differences in reflective thinking practices from an Asian and a Western cultural perspective among PSTs. The study used a framework using five constructs: lifelong learning skills, self-assessment, self-belief, teaching awareness, and reflective thinking. The sample consisted of 387 Malaysian PSTs and 378 Australian PSTs who are enrolled in Bachelor level programmes. The results clearly indicate that while reflective thinking is emphasised in the teacher education programmes, the conceptualisation of the process of reflective thinking between the two cohorts of PSTs are very different. Limitations and implications for practice are discussed.


Investments to prevent tropical deforestation and to limit wildlife trade will protect against future zoonosis outbreaks For a century, two new viruses per year have spilled from their natural hosts into humans (1). The MERS, SARS, and 2009 H1N1 epidemics, and the HIV and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemics, testify to their damage. Zoonotic viruses infect people directly most often when they handle live primates, bats, and other wildlife (or their meat) or indirectly from farm animals such as chickens and pigs. The risks are higher than ever (2, 3) as increasingly intimate associations between humans and wildlife disease reservoirs accelerate the potential for viruses to spread globally. Here, we assess the cost of monitoring and preventing disease spillover driven by the unprecedented loss and fragmentation of tropical forests and by the burgeoning wildlife trade. Currently, we invest relatively little toward preventing deforestation and regulating wildlife trade, despite well-researched plans that demonstrate a high return on their investment in limiting zoonoses and conferring many other benefits. As public funding in response to COVID-19 continues to rise, our analysis suggests that the associated costs of these preventive efforts would be substantially less than the economic and mortality costs of responding to these pathogens once they have emerged.


The ability of smart meters to communicate energy consumption data in (near) real-time enables data analytics for novel applications, such as pervasive demand response, personalized energy feedback, outage management, and theft detection. Smart meter data are characterized by big volume and big velocity, which make processing and analysis very challenging from a computational point of view. In this paper we presented SmartD, a dashboard that enables the data analyst to visualize smart meter data and estimate the typical load profile of new consumers according to different contexts, temporal aggregations and consumer segments.


The past decade has seen frequent use of a modified nonlinear Schroedinger equation to describe ultrashort pulse propagation in materials where free-carrier plasmas are present. The optical contribution from the resulting free-current densities in this equation is often described using a classical Drude model. However, the ultimate form of this contribution in the modified nonlinear Schroedinger equation is somewhat inconsistent in the literature. We clarify this ambiguity by deriving the modified nonlinear Schroedinger equation from the classical wave equation containing a free-current density contribution. The Drude model is then used to obtain an expression for the complex free-carrier current density envelope with temporal dispersion corrections for ultrashort laser pulses. These temporal dispersion corrections to the current-density term differ, to our knowledge, from all other models in the literature in that they depend more sensitively on the value of the Drude free-carrier collision time. These corrections reduce to the current models in the literature for limiting cases. Theoretical analysis and computer simulations show that these differences can significantly affect the dynamic interactions of plasma absorption and plasma defocusing for materials with free-carrier collision times on the order of one optical cycle (or less) of the applied field.


Information about heat resistance (D and z values) of target bacteria is needed for the thermal process design o n drink from Green Grass Jelly (Premna oblongifolia Merr.) and Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) , so it can guarantee quality and safety of the product. The objectives of this research were to isolate Staphylococcus aureus from commercial green grass jelly and to determine the D and z values of Staphylococcus aureus (from commercial product and standard clinical isolate ATCC 25923) on heating menstruum of green grass jelly and roselle. Isolation of S. aureus was done by inoculation in selective medium, D and z values of Staphylococcus aureus were assessed by heating at constant temperatures of 57, 53, 49, and 45°C during the time interval 2.5, 5, 10, and 15 minutes. The results show ed that one isolate (Isolate A) gave positive response of Staphylococcus aureus in isolation tests and ha d similar percentage with the reference culture of 41.8% using the API Staph Kit. Heat resistance of Staphylococcus aureus (represented as D value) isolated from green grass jelly at constant heating temperature of D 45 , D 49 , D 53 and D 57 were 32.3, 17.9, 4.6, and 1.5 minutes. On the other hand, D value of isolates ATCC 25923 (standard clinical isolate) at constant heating temperature of D 45 , D 49 , D 53 and D 57 were 18.5, 6.8, 2.9, and 1.4 minutes. The z value of i solates A and ATCC 25923 were 8.8°C and 10.8°C. Smaller z value of isolate A show ed that pasteurization process can be accelerated and optimized with increasing the temperature slightly but has the same lethality effect .


This study attempted to find out whether there were any
significant correlations among student's self-concept, his
aspirat ions and academic achievement. Two measures of self
concept were used, viz., student's self-concept as a learner and teacher's perception of student's self-concept as a learner.
Data on these variables were obtained by means of Waetjen's
'Self-concept As A Learner Scale' and Florida Key (A Scale to infer Learner Self-concept) respectively. Variables of
aspirations pertaining to the students also included educational
aspiration, occupational aspiration, educational expectation,
occupational expectation and parental aspiration for the child.
Data on these variables were collected by using another set of
questionnaire. Academic achievement referred to the students'
performance in the Malaysian Certificate of Education Examination.
A comparison was also made between the boys and girls as well as
the two levels of self-concept in terms of all the variables
under study.


The discourse surrounding the "war on terror" is dense with possible quilting points in need of analysis. While the theorization of the "war on terror" has been continuing for a decade now, both "suicide bombings" and attacks on Muslim populations have increased dramatically. Thus, while theorizing about the jihad and popularizing the figure of the jihadist has become commonplace, hundreds of thousands of people across the world are still suffering from the effects of real conflict. It can be argued that this condition demonstrates a deep dislocation between First World theory and reality, and that as this dislocation grows the gap of interlocution grows wider. This thesis attempts to highlight this disjuncture and offers suggestions as to how genuine contrapuntal discourse might begin in radical criticism. -- In this thesis I will argue that the temptation to theorize jihad, and especially to appropriate the figure of the jihadist, offers a fertile area from which to launch a discussion about the limits of current theory, particularly regarding the role of Muslim interlocutors in interpretation, the limits of secularism as the founding doctrine off postcolonial theory, and the often opaque debates focused on Islam's challenge to modernity. The jihadist has been employed by First world theorists as a tool to engage in self reflection on the state of the democratic project in Western countries, while Muslim interlocutors have become central to making visible the specter of the jihadist, playing the role of "good" Muslims in translating the motifs of the "bad" Muslims. Simultaneously, the "bad" Muslims have developed their own forms and discourses to represent themselves, without the mediation of interlocutors. This leads to a vastly heterogeneous discourse which both affirms and rejects dominant ideologies, producing a multi-dimensional "Muslim" response. This thesis discusses what these heterogeneous discourses offer to theory. -- The introduction establishes the methodological approach of the thesis: its contrapuntal and cross disciplinary approach towards a "democratic criticism." Chapter One argues that while drawing on predominantly Muslim countries as the source material for his theory, Said avoided Islam's radical critique of humanism, further isolating Islam from the growing field of postcolonial studies. Chapter Two focuses on the various forms of Orientalisms, from the neoconservatives and the left, that have arisen post 9/11 and the role of Muslims, either advertently or inadvertently, in supporting theses Orientalisms as the cultural logic for the militarization of Muslim countries. It studies the works of popular, but diverse, Muslim writers such as Irshad Manji Azar Nafisi, Khalid Hosseini, and Yasmina Khadra. Chapter Three further explores how the concept of jihad migrates of "travels" in theory to fit both the discourses of reform and revolution. This chapter compares the works of liberal reformists such as John Esposito, Oliver Roy and Imam Feisal Abdu Rauf as well as those of well-known radical thinkers, such as Slavoj Žižek and Terry Eagleton, to Islamic reformers, such as Ziaddiun Sardar, Anouar Majid, and Tariq Ramadan. Chapter Four explicitly examines the intentionality of jihad by employing a contrapuntal approach that includes fiction and critical analysis to compare fictional representations of the jihadist to biographical reconstructions of famous jihadists as interpreted by various sociologists and historians. John Updike's Terrorist, Don DeLillo's Falling Man, Slimane Benaissa's The Last Night of Damned Soul, Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Orhan Pamuk's Snow are discussed. Chapter Five examines the intentionality of the jihadist from his own perspective, through the direct interventions by infamous jihadist, such as Osama bin Laden, Adam Gadhan, Mohammed Siddique Khan, and Shehzad Tanweer, raising questions about the dialogic relationship between the jihadist, his audience, and the media. Arguing that the jihadist maintains both a performative and political stance by establishing a relationship between the jihadist and a community of responsible victims, these articulations are compared to those of noted interpreters such as Henry Giroux and Faisal Devji. The concluding chapter theorizes what jihad can contribute to contemporary theory, particularly to postcolonial studies, and positions the concept of jihad itself within the postcolonial tradition. The thesis concludes that by reclaiming the roots of contemporary jihad theory as a part of a postcolonial tradition, jihad can make a valuable contribution to the future of theory, which includes Islamic discourse in a serious debate on postcolonialism, particularly in the context of the ongoing 2010-2011 Arab revolutions.


UNLABELLED
The purpose of this investigation was to examine the value of using routinely available clinical and laboratory tests in combination to distinguish osteomyelitis from cellulitis in a diabetic population with mild to moderately infected forefoot ulcers. We conducted a case-control study of 54 diabetic patients with 54 locally infected ulcers admitted to a university-affiliated tertiary-care hospital over a 4.5-year period. A total of 30 clinical and laboratory characteristics obtained at admission were tested for their association with pathology-proven osteomyelitis using logistic regression techniques. Ulcer depth greater than 3 mm (univariate odds ratio 10.4, P = .001) and C-reactive protein greater than 3.2 mg/dL (univariate odds ratio 10.8, P < .001) were the most informative individual clinical and laboratory tests for differentiating osteomyelitis from cellulitis. Adding C-reactive protein also significantly improved upon the accuracy of the study's best clinical testing strategy (area under the curve improved from 0.80 to 0.88, P = .040). Strategies that combined ulcer depth with serum inflammatory markers proved most useful in detecting ulcerated patients with concomitant bone infections (sensitivity 100% [95% CI 89.7%-100%] for both ulcer depth greater than 3 mm or C-reactive protein greater than 3.2 mg/dL, and ulcer depth greater than 3 mm or erythrocyte sedimentation rate greater than 60 mm/h). We conclude that considering clinical and laboratory findings together can significantly improve our diagnostic accuracy for osteomyelitis in the diabetic foot. The specific combination of ulcer depth with serum inflammatory markers appears to be a particularly sensitive strategy that may allow for greater detection of early diabetic osteomyelitis.

LEVEL OF CLINICAL EVIDENCE
3.


Although Arctic tundra has been estimated to cover only 8 % of the global land surface, the large and potentially labile carbon pools currently stored in tundra soils have the potential for large emissions of carbon (C) under a warming climate. These emissions as radiatively active greenhouse gases in the form of both CO2 and CH4 could amplify global warming. Given the potential sensitivity of these ecosystems to climate change and the expectation that the Arctic will experience appreciable warming over the next century, it is important to assess whether responses of C exchange in tundra regions are likely to enhance or mitigate warming. In this study we compared analyses of C exchange of Arctic tundra between 1990 and 2006 among observations, regional and global applications of process-based terrestrial biosphere models, and atmospheric inversion models. Syntheses of flux observations and inversion models indicate that the annual exchange of CO2 between Arctic tundra and the atmosphere has large uncertainties that cannot be distinguished from neutral balance. The mean estimate from an ensemble of process-based model simulations suggests that Arctic tundra has acted as a sink for atmospheric CO2 in recent decades, but based on the uncertainty estimates it cannot be determined with confidence whether these ecosystems represent a weak or a strong sink. Tundra was 0.6 C warmer in the 2000s compared to the 1990s. The central estimates of the observations, process-based models, and inversion models each identify stronger sinks in the 2000s compared with the 1990s. Some of the process models indicate that this occurred because net primary production increased more in response to warming than heterotrophic respiration. Similarly, the observations and the applications of regional process-based models suggest that CH4 emissions from Arctic tundra have increased from the 1990s to 2000s because of the sensitivity of CH4 emissions to warmer temperatures. Based on our analyses of the estimates from observations, process-based models, and inversion models, we estimate that Arctic tundra was a sink for atmospheric CO2 of 110 Tg C yr−1 (uncertainty between a sink of 291 Tg C yr−1 and a source of 80 Tg C yr−1) and a source of CH4 to the atmosphere of 19 Tg C yr−1 (uncertainty between sources of 8 and 29 Tg C yr−1). The suite of analyses conducted in this study indicate that it is important to reduce uncertainties in Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 3186 A. D. McGuire et al.: Assessment of the carbon balance of Arctic tundra the observations, process-based models, and inversions in order to better understand the degree to which Arctic tundra is influencing atmospheric CO2 and CH4 concentrations. The reduction of uncertainties can be accomplished through (1) the strategic placement of more CO2 and CH4 monitoring stations to reduce uncertainties in inversions, (2) improved observation networks of ground-based measurements of CO2 and CH4 exchange to understand exchange in response to disturbance and across gradients of climatic and hydrological variability, and (3) the effective transfer of information from enhanced observation networks into process-based models to improve the simulation of CO2 and CH4 exchange from Arctic tundra to the atmosphere.


This essay explores a series of affective, sexual and temporal disturbances that Shakespeare's child characters create on the early modern stage and that lead these characters often to their deaths. It does so by turning to the murdered princes of Richard III and the ultimately extinguished boy-king Arthur of King John. A pervasive sentimentality about childhood shapes the way audiences and critics have responded to Shakespeare's children by rendering invisible complex and discomfiting erotic and emotional investments in childhood innocence. While Richard III subjects such sentimentality to its analytic gaze, King John explores extreme modes of affect and sexuality associated with childhood. For all of the pragmatic political reasons to kill Arthur, he is much more than an inconvenient dynastic obstacle. Arthur functions as the central node of networks of seduction, the catalyst of morbid displays of affect, and the signifier of future promise as threateningly mutable. King John and Richard III typify Shakespeare's larger dramatic interrogation of emergent notions of childhood and of contradictory notions of temporality, an interrogation conducted by the staging of uncanny, precocious, and ill-fated child roles.


The article dealt with implications of the human genome and the human genome diversity project. It examined some theological implications, such as: humans as the image of God, God as the creator of life, the changed role of miracles and healings in religion, the sacredness of nature, life and the genome. Ethical issues that were addressed include eugenics, germline intervention, determinism and the human genome diversity project. Economic and legal factors that play a role were also discussed. Whilst positive aspects of genome research were considered, a critical stance was adopted towards patenting the human genome and some concluding guidelines were proposed.


Abstract A sample of 392 students (aged 12-13 years, M± SD: 12. 52% girls) completed a learning module integrating informal hands-on mathematics and arts activity (extending STEM to STEAM). Within a 140 minute workshop period participants worked with commercially available '4Dframe' Math and STEAM learning toolkits to design and create original, personal and individual geometrical structures. Two science pedagogues acted as tutors supervising the process and intervened only when needed. A pre-/post-test design monitored individual creativity, relative autonomy, and career choice preference. Path analysis elaborated the role of creativity (measured with two subscales: act and flow), and it showed that post-act, post-flow as well as relative autonomy are valuable predictors of career choices. Similarly, pre-creativity scores were shown to significantly predict the related post-scores: act and flow. As a consequence, our STEAM module was shown to trigger both the creativity level and the career choice preferences. Conclusions for appropriate educational settings to foster STEAM environments are discussed.


From the Publisher:
C# was designed from the ground up for development on Microsoft's .NET framework. As such, it's a high-performance language that's simple, safe, object-oriented, and Internet-centric. Programming C#, 2nd Edition teaches this new language in a way that experienced programmers will appreciate—by grounding its applications firmly in the context of Microsoft's .NET platform and the development of desktop and Internet applications. The first part of this book introduces C# fundamentals, then goes on to explain: Classes and objects Inheritance and polymorphism Operator overloading Structs and interfaces Arrays, indexers, and collections String objects and regular expressions Exceptions and bug handling Delegates and events Part two of Programming C#, 2nd Edition focuses on development of desktop and Internet applications, including Windows Forms, ADO.NET and ASP.NET. ASP.NET includes Web Forms, for rapid development of web applications, and Web Services for creating objects without user interfaces, to provide services over the Internet. Part three gets to the heart of the .NET Framework, focusing on attributes and reflection, remoting, threads and synchronization, and streams. Part three also illustrates how to interoperate with COM objects. In much the way that you can see the features and personality of the parents and grandparents in young children, you can easily see the influence of Java, C++, Visual Basic, and other languages in C#. The level of information in Programming C#, 2nd Edition allows you to become productive quickly with C# and to rely on it as a powerful addition to your family of mastered programming languages.


This thesis presents biochar state of the art and investigations into the environmental benefits
and potential impacts of biochar application to soil.
Specifically, the opportunity biochar has to increase concentrations of potentially toxic
elements (PTE) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil was investigated and
contextualised. Results indicated limited environmental impacts in this regard.
The capacity of biochar to interact with organic compounds was studied in two contexts:
PAHs absorption and partitioning; and with respect to bioavailability and potential
deactivation of herbicides.
Regarding PAH partitioning, sewage sludge biochar (SSBC) was established to be more
efficient than sewage sludge (SS) in reducing the bioaccumulation of PAHs in Lactuca
satuva L. grown in contaminated soil; while increasing significantly (p < 0.05) biomass yield,
relatively to a soil only control.
Regarding herbicides, biochar amended soil was observed to reduce herbicide extractability
(< 2%). This extractability being far lower than that observed in the biochar free control soils
(40% and 90%). 14C-radiorespirometry indicated that herbicide sequestration within biochar
greatly reduced its bioavailability.
Biochar influence upon weed survival indicated high biochar application rates (5%) to reduce
the effectiveness of herbicides, suggesting that biochar incorporation in to soil at these levels
could potentially undermine agriculture that relies upon herbicides.
Finally, biochar was tested as microbial carrier. Rhizobacteria survival was established to be
higher in biochar produced from redwood than in peat (a common microbial carrier) at high
incubation temperatures (25°C and 35°C).
In conclusion, biochar addition to soil presents limited direct environmental pollution impact.
While biochar absorptivity may be beneficial in mitigating the bioavailability of organic
contaminants this trait needs to be considered carefully in agricultural soils where herbicides
are relied upon. Given the encouraging results regarding the potential for biochar to act as a
microbial inoculant carrier, further research is warranted.


Honing Bivalve History What are the lasting effects of extinction, both persistent background extinctions and major events, on surviving lineages? Roy et al. (p. 733) examined the excellent fossil record of marine bivalves over the past 200 million years, which spans the end-Cretaceous extinction. Background extinctions tended to be higher within certain lineages and depended on the previous history of extinctions within those lineages. Cenozoic taxa are still reflecting the end-Cretaceous event. Extinction rates of fossil bivalves tended to be higher in certain lineages and were influenced by prior events. Evolutionary histories of species and lineages can influence their vulnerabilities to extinction, but the importance of this effect remains poorly explored for extinctions in the geologic past. When analyzed using a standardized taxonomy within a phylogenetic framework, extinction rates of marine bivalves estimated from the fossil record for the last ~200 million years show conservatism at multiple levels of evolutionary divergence, both within individual families and among related families. The strength of such phylogenetic clustering varies over time and is influenced by earlier extinction history, especially by the demise of volatile taxa in the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. Analyses of the evolutionary roles of ancient extinctions and predictive models of vulnerability of taxa to future natural and anthropogenic stressors should take phylogenetic relationships and extinction history into account.


Since US output peaked in December 2007 growth has been anaemic and output remains below potential. In addition, US unemployment has been persistently high. It increased from 4.4 per cent in May of 2007 to 10 per cent in October 2009 and was still at 6.7 per cent at the beginning of 2014. The post-crash period is quite unlike typical post-war recession periods after which employment has generally recovered within about two years. This pattern has been followed in many EU countries too. The background to the long slump was a boom followed by a bust. Although the Federal Reserve seems to have pursued conventional monetary policy rules until 2002, from that point interest rates were kept too low for too long. This was an important policy mistake during the boom period. As well as mistakes in monetary policy, several complementary government failures ensured that the boom manifested itself disproportionately in the housing sector and encouraged excess risk taking in financial markets. The central underlying fact in the boom period, however, was loose monetary policy. Standard neo-classical macroeconomics does not have an adequate explanation for the slow pace of recovery from the financial crash. Many other economists continue to argue that the problem is a deficiency of 'aggregate demand'. These economists want us to 'stimulate' our way out of the slump. However, repeated stimulatory measures have not effected a complete recovery. In the UK, for example, government borrowing has led the national debt to double in five years while output is still below potential. Arguably, the financial crisis itself should have been sufficient to call into question the standard neo-classical and new-Keynesian economic paradigms. HM Queen Elizabeth II asked economists at the LSE why nobody saw the crisis coming. This was a good question and the answer she received was inadequate. One aspect of economic theory which has been neglected is the concept of 'animal spirits' or 'confidence'. Keynes, and others before him, discussed the importance of these ideas without ever developing a proper theory or explaining why and how confidence or animal spirits might affect the economy. The state of confidence determines whether banks are willing to lend because the costs and risks that banks perceive are made up of both objective and subjective elements. If a weak state of confidence leads banks to over-estimate the costs and risks of lending, then banks will lend less than they otherwise would. Other economic actors are also affected by the state of confidence. Confidence is undermined by policy uncertainty and the ability for 'Big Players' to unduly influence the economic system. Big Players include governments, monetary authorities and regulators, though there can also be Big Players in the private sector. Policy uncertainty increased after the financial crash and the evidence suggests that this affected investment and growth. For example, Baker et al. (2013) show that the increase in policy uncertainty in the US from 2006 to 2011 probably caused a persistent fall in real industrial production reaching as high as 2.5 per cent at one point. Also, after the crash, the UK suffered a productivity shock unprecedented in its industrial history. This was coincident with the top 100 British businesses increasing their cash holdings by over £42bn (34 per cent) in the five years to the autumn of 2013. Recent regulatory developments such as the Dodd–Frank Act violate the principle of the rule of law and therefore undermine confidence and increase policy uncertainty. For example, the Dodd–Frank Act will almost certainly be subject to arbitrariness in its implementation and firms will not be able to plan in advance knowing the legal consequences of their actions. In order to restore and maintain confidence, we need an economic constitution. This constitution needs three elements. Firstly, there must be long-term fiscal discipline: investors must know that they can plan for the long term without either taxation or borrowing getting out of hand. Secondly, the role of Big Players must be reduced. Finally, we need monetary competition and regulatory competition. Regulation should not be the responsibility of state bodies with considerable discretionary power.


In the past 46 years, the laser has developed from a ""solution looking for a problem"" to the foundation of the photonics revolution. Nowadays, lasers have applications in almost all areas of modern society. The Laser Physics and Technology Group at the CSIR National Laser Centre contributes to the world-wide research effort to improve current laser systems even further and to develop new lasers for tomorrow's demands.


Caulobacter crescentus is a flagellated bacterium that undergoes a transition from a motile swarmer cell to a stalked cell during cell division, which produces a new swarmer cell and the stalked cell. After division, the stalked cell can initiate DNA replication immediately, but the new swarmer cell must undergo the transition to a stalked cell in order to divide. During the swarmer-to-stalked cell transition (which corresponds to G1-to-S phase transition) and just before cell separation (predivisional cells), the response regulator and transcriptional regulator CtrA, which represses chromosome replication among other functions, must be localized to the stalked cell pole and degraded. Ryan et al. investigated the mechanism whereby CtrA polarity is established. Expression of various mutants fused to the green fluorescent protein variant (YFP) followed by microscopic analysis showed that neither phosphorylation nor proteolysis was required for proper polar localization of CtrA. The signal for polarization was located in the receiver domain. The authors also analyzed CtrA localization in cells carrying mutations in kinases (DivJ and PleC) responsible for regulating the phosphorylation status of response regulator DivK, which is necessary for CtrA proteolysis. Although DivK is localized to the stalked pole, a site of CtrA accumulation, it also localizes to the swarmer cell pole, a site that does not accumulate CtrA. Analysis of the divK, divJ, and pleC mutant strains indicated that polar localization of DivK was not required for stalked pole localization of CtrA--some cells maintained polar accumulation of CtrA, but aberrations in localization or timing of the polarity were also observed--but that these three components participate in a pathway that allows the phosphorylation state of DivK to dictate the activity of DivK and the asymmetric proteolysis of CtrA. Holtzendorff et al. have identified a global cell cycle regulator, GcrA, in Caulobacter crescentus, which forms an oscillatory circuit with the CtrA. GcrA depletion is lethal. Phosphorylated CtrA repressed the gcrA gene, and the abundance of GcrA was in inverse proportion to that of CtrA, such that in stalked cells, in which CtrA is proteolyzed, GcrA accumulated. GcrA in turn stimulated ctrA expression and was a direct transcriptional regulator that bound to the ctrA promoter. Microarray experiments indicated that GcrA regulated 125 genes, including those encoding PleC, DivK, and CtrA. Thus, GcrA and CtrA directly regulate each other so that their concentrations oscillate out of phase temporally and spatially during the cell cycle to drive cell cycle progression and expression of polar differentiation factors. K. R. Ryan, S. Huntwork, L. Shapiro, Recruitment of a cytoplasmic response regulator to the cell pole is linked to its cell cycle-regulated proteolysis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 101, 7415-7420 (2004). [Abstract] [Full Text] J. Holtzendorff, D. Hung, P. Brende, A. Reisenauer, P. H. Viollier, H. H. McAdams, L. Shapiro, Oscillating global regulators control the genetic circuit driving a bacterial cell cycle. Science 304, 983-987 (2004). [Abstract] [Full Text]


The aim of the present study is to analyze the triggering mechanisms of three thunderstorms (TSs) associated with severe rainfall, hail and lightening in the tropical central Andes of Peru, specifically above the Huancayo observatory (12.04◦ S, 75.32◦ W, 3313 m a.s.l.) located in the Mantaro valley during the spring-summer season (2015–2016). For this purpose, we used a set of in-situ pluviometric observations, satellite remote sensing data, the Compact Meteorological Ka-Band Cloud Radar (MIRA-35C), the Boundary Layer Tropospheric Radar and downscaling model simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model (resolutions: 18 km, 6 km and 2 km), and the Advance Regional Prediction System (ARPS) (resolution: 0.5 km) models in order to analyze the dynamic of the atmosphere in the synoptic, meso and local scales processes that control the occurrence of the three TS events. The results show that at synoptic scale, the TSs are characterized by the southern displacement of the South-east Pacific Subtropical Anticyclone up to latitudes higher than 35◦ S, by the weakening and south-eastern displacement of the Bolivian high–North east low system and by the intrusion of westerly winds along the west side of the central Andes at upper and medium levels of the atmosphere. At meso-scale, apparently, two important moisture fluxes from opposite directions are filtered through the passes along the Andes: one from the north-west and the other from the south-east directions converge and trigger the deep convection into the Mantaro valley. These moisture fluxes are generated by the intrusion of the sea-breeze from the Pacific ocean along the west of the Andes coupling with upper and middle westerly winds and by the thermally induced moisture fluxes coming from the South American low level jet at the east side of the Andes. At the local scale, there is a low-level conditional instability in the previous hours as well as during the occurrence of the TSs above the Huancayo observatory. In addition, the simulation results indicated the possibility of generation of inertial gravity waves in the Amazon basin, associated with geostrophic adjustment which transports energy and moisture into the central Andes plateau and consequently intensifies the thunderstorms above the Mantaro valley.


Generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) effects imply the probability of large losses is greater than standard mean-variance analysis suggests. Accurately capturing GARCH for housing markets is vital for portfolio management. Previous investigations of GARCH in housing have focused on narrow regions or aggregated effects of GARCH across markets, imposing one nationwide effect. This paper tests fifty state housing markets for GARCH, and develops individual GARCH models for those states, allowing for different effects in each. Results indicate there are GARCH effects in over half the states, and the signs and magnitudes vary widely, highlighting the importance of estimating separate GARCH models for each market.


The dominant emotion in violence-threatening situations is confrontational tension/fear (ct/f), which causes most violence to abort, or to be carried out inaccurately and incompetently. For violence to be successful, there must be a pathway around the barrier of ct/f. These pathways include: attacking the weak; audience-oriented staged and controlled fair fights; confrontation-avoiding remote violence; confrontation-avoiding by deception; confrontation-avoiding by absorption in technique. Successfully violent persons, on both sides of the law, are those who have developed these skilled interactional techniques. Since successful violence involves dominating the emotional attention space, only a small proportion of persons can belong to the elite which does most of each type of violence. Macro-violence, including victory and defeat in war, and in struggles of paramilitaries and social movements, is shaped by both material resources and social/emotional resources for maintaining violent organizations and forcing their opponents into organizational breakdown. Social and emotional destruction generally precedes physical destruction.


We describe a novel system for synthesising video choreography using sketched visual storyboards comprising human poses (stick men) and action labels. First, we describe an algorithm for searching archival dance footage using sketched pose. We match using an implicit representation of pose parsed from a mix of challenging low and high fidelity footage. In a training pre-process we learn a mapping between a set of exemplar sketches and corresponding pose representations parsed from the video, which are generalized at query-time to enable retrieval over previously unseen frames, and over additional unseen videos. Second, we describe how a storyboard of sketched poses, interspersed with labels indicating connecting actions, may be used to drive the synthesis of novel video choreography from the archival footage. We demonstrate both our retrieval and synthesis algorithms over both low fidelity PAL footage from the UK Digital Dance Archives (DDA) repository of contemporary dance, circa 1970, and over higher-definition studio captured footage.


PURPOSE
The role of postoperative therapy in extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EHCC) or gallbladder carcinoma (GBCA) is unknown. S0809 was designed to estimate 2-year survival (overall and after R0 or R1 resection), pattern of relapse, and toxicity in patients treated with this adjuvant regimen.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Eligibility criteria included diagnosis of EHCC or GBCA after radical resection, stage pT2-4 or N+ or positive resection margins, M0, and performance status 0 to 1. Patients received four cycles of gemcitabine (1,000 mg/m(2) intravenously on days 1 and 8) and capecitabine (1,500 mg/m(2) per day on days 1 to 14) every 21 days followed by concurrent capecitabine (1,330 mg/m(2) per day) and radiotherapy (45 Gy to regional lymphatics; 54 to 59.4 Gy to tumor bed). With 80 evaluable patients, results would be promising if 2-year survival 95% CI were > 45% and R0 and R1 survival estimates were ≥ 65% and 45%, respectively.

RESULTS
A total of 79 eligible patients (R0, n = 54; R1, n = 25; EHCC, 68%; GBCA, 32%) were treated (86% completed). For all patients, 2-year survival was 65% (95% CI, 53% to 74%); it was 67% and 60% in R0 and R1 patients, respectively. Median overall survival was 35 months (R0, 34 months; R1, 35 months). Local, distant, and combined relapse occurred in 14, 24, and nine patients. Grade 3 and 4 adverse effects were observed in 52% and 11% of patients, respectively. The most common grade 3 to 4 adverse effects were neutropenia (44%), hand-foot syndrome (11%), diarrhea (8%), lymphopenia (8%), and leukopenia (6%). There was one death resulting from GI hemorrhage.

CONCLUSION
This combination was well tolerated, has promising efficacy, and provides clinicians with a well-supported regimen. Our trial establishes the feasibility of conducting national adjuvant trials in EHCC and GBCA and provides baseline data for planning future phase III trials.


This presentation comments on the spatio-temporal dynamics of globalization, highlighting how it is shaped by the interaction on different scales between territorial logics and the space of flows. It refers to global cities, major city-regions, inter-regional cooperation, and macro-regional blocs as well as efforts to remove obstacles to the free flow of goods, capital investment, and money capital on a global scale. Particular attention is paid to the similarities and differences between forms of European integration (Europe of cities, Europe of regions, Europe of national states, federalism), to the significance of multi-level government and network governance, and to the dynamics of regional integration in East Asia and beyond. The presentation includes remarks on the North Atlantic financial crisis and the crisis of European integration and also concludes with brief remarks on the future of globalism and regionalism in the light of the global economic crisis.


We study expectations of credit market and default risk premium implicit in credit default swap prices in the case of Argentine default. We find that the default risk premium is substantial and its relation with default probability is not monotone. Default risk premium increases with rising default probability when default probability is low, but it declines when default probability reaches a certain level. This result suggests that default risk premium plays a primary role in the pricing of credit derivatives when default risk is moderate, but its impact declines when default risk becomes extremely high. We also find that the default risk premium in Argentine sovereign debt has an upward-sloping term structure throughout the sample period. Our results show that variation in default risk premiums in Argentine sovereign debt was affected by changes in the U.S. business cycle and credit conditions and the overall strength of the Argentine economy.


Decision-support tools are increasingly popular for informing policy decisions linked to environmental issues. For example, a number of decision-support tools on transport planning provide information on expected effects of different measures (actions, policies, or interventions) on air quality, often combined with information on noise pollution or mitigation costs. These tools range in complexity and scale of applicability, from city to international, and include one or several polluting sectors. However, evaluation of the need and utility of tools to support decisions on such linked issues is often lacking, especially for tools intended to support local authorities at the city scale. Here we assessed the need for and value of combining air pollution and climate change mitigation measures into one decision-support tool and the existing policy context in which such a tool might be used. We developed a prototype decision-support tool for evaluating measures for coordinated management of air quality and climate change; and administered a survey in which respondents used the prototype to answer questions about demand for such tools and requirements to make them useful. Additionally, the survey asked questions about participants' awareness of linkages between air pollution and climate change that are crucial for considering synergies and trade-offs among mitigation measures. Participants showed a high understanding of the linkages between air pollution and climate change, especially recognizing that emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants come from the same source. Survey participants were: European, predominantly German; employed across a range of governmental, non-governmental and research organizations; and responsible for a diversity of issues, primarily involving climate change, air pollution or environment. Survey results showed a lack of awareness of decision-support tools and little implementation or regular use. However, respondents expressed a general need for such tools while also recognizing barriers to their implementation, such as limited legal support or lack of time, finances, or manpower. The main barrier identified through this study is the mismatch between detailed information needed from such tools to make them useful at the local implementation scale and the coarser scale information readily available for developing such tools. Significant research efforts at the local scale would be needed to populate decision-support tools with salient mitigation alternatives at the location of implementation. Although global- or regional-scale information can motivate local action towards sustainability, effective on-the-ground implementation of coordinated measures requires knowledge of local circumstances and impacts, calling for active engagement of the local research communities.


We generalise an extension theorem for terraces for abelian groups to apply to non-abelian groups with a central subgroup isomorphic to the Klein 4-group $V$.  We also give terraces for three of the non-abelian groups of order a multiple of 8 that have a cyclic subgroup of index 2 that may be used in the extension theorem.  These results imply the existence of terraces for many groups that were not previously known to be terraced, including 27 non-abelian groups of order 64 and all groups of the form $V^s \times D_{8k}$ for all $s$ and all $k > 1$ where $D_{8k}$ is the dihedral group of order $8k$.


Advanced air mobility (AAM) is a broad concept enabling consumers access to on-demand air mobility, cargo and package delivery, healthcare applications, and emergency services through an integrated and connected multimodal transportation network. However, a number of challenges could impact AAM's growth potential, such as autonomous flight, the availability of take-off and landing infrastructure (i.e., vertiports), integration into airspace and other modes of transportation, and competition with shared automated vehicles. This article discusses the results of a demand analysis examining the market potential of two potential AAM passenger markets—airport shuttles and air taxis. The airport shuttle market envisions AAM passenger service to, from, or between airports along fixed routes. The air taxi market envisions a more mature and scaled service that provides on-demand point-to-point passenger services throughout urban areas. Using a multi-method approach comprised of AAM travel demand modeling, Monte Carlo simulations, and constraint analysis, this study estimates that the air taxi and airport shuttle markets could capture a 0.5% mode share. The analysis concludes that AAM could replace non-discretionary trips greater than 45 min; however, demand for discretionary trips would be limited by consumer willingness to pay. This study concludes that AAM passenger services could have a daily demand of 82,000 passengers served by approximately 4000 four- to five-seat aircraft in the U.S., under the most conservative scenario, representing an annual market valuation of the 2.5 billion USD.


Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) growers in North Dakota and South Dakota harvest- ed 593,522 ha in 2012, valued at $US600 million. Blackbirds, numbering about 75 million, annual- ly damage 2 to 3% of the crop. Damage tends to be clumped around cattail (Typha spp.) dominated wetlands with standing water. In an attempt to reduce sunflower damage, three general population management strategies have been tested over the past three decades. One potential strategy was to reduce blackbird numbers during winter in the southern U.S. A second strategy was to use an avicide at spring roost sites in eastern South Dakota. A third approach was to reduce local black- bird populations that were doing or about to damage ripening sunflower. All three schemes largely relied on the use of DRC-1339 (3-chloro-4-methylaniline hydrochloride) and related compounds and all failed because of logistics, cost-effectiveness, environmental risks and societal concerns. In this paper, I chronicle significant research efforts to implement these strategies.


Abstract It is a central tenet of ethical intuitionism as defended by W. D. Ross and others that moral theory should reflect the convictions of mature moral agents. Hence, intuitionism is plausible to the extent that it corresponds to our well-considered moral judgments. After arguing for this claim, I discuss whether intuitionists offer an empirically adequate account of our moral obligations. I do this by applying recent empirical research by John Mikhail that is based on the idea of a universal moral grammar to a number of claims implicit in W. D. Ross's normative theory. I argue that the results at least partly vindicate intuitionism.


The physics of protons makes them well-suited to conformal radiotherapy due to the well-known Bragg peak effect. From a proton's inherent stopping power, uncertainty effects can cause a small amount of dose to overflow to an organ at risk (OAR). Previous models for calculating normal tissue complication probabilities (NTCPs) relied on the equivalent uniform dose model (EUD), in which the organ was split into 1/3, 2/3 or whole organ irradiation. However, the problem of dealing with volumes <1/3 of the total volume renders this EUD based approach no longer applicable. In this work the case for an experimental data-based replacement at low volumes is investigated. Lung fibrosis is investigated as an NTCP effect typically arising from dose overflow from tumour irradiation at the spinal base. Considering a 3D geometrical model of the lungs, irradiations are modelled with variable parameters of dose overflow. To calculate NTCPs without the EUD model, experimental data is used from the quantitative analysis of normal tissue effects in the clinic (QUANTEC) data. Additional side projects are also
investigated, introduced and explained at various points. A typical radiotherapy course for the patient of 30×2Gy per fraction is simulated. A range of geometry of the target
volume and irradiation types is investigated. Investigations with X-rays found the majority of the data point ratios (ratio of EUD values found from calculation based and data based methods) at ∼20% within unity showing a relatively close agreement. The ratios have not systematically preferred one particular type of predictive method. No Vx metric was found to consistently outperform another. In certain cases there is a good agreement and not in other cases which can be found predicted in the literature. The overall results leads to conclusion that there is no reason to discount the use of the data
based predictive method particularly, as a low volume replacement predictive method.


If there is one idea that has consistently influenced western foreign policy since the Cold War, it is the notion that extending interdependence and tightening economic integration among nations is a positive development that advances peace, stability, and prosperity. As a post-Cold War idea guiding U.S. and European foreign policy, there is much to be said for it. The absorption of Eastern Europe in both the European Union and NATO helped consolidate market democracy. Globalization led to unprecedented growth in western economies, and facilitated the ascent of China and India, among others, taking billions of people out of poverty. Access to the international financial institutions also offered emerging powers the strategic option of exerting influence through existing institutions rather than trying to overturn them. Some policymakers and experts believe that this process holds the key to continuing great power peace and stability. Until recently, countries have acted as if increasing and freewheeling economic interdependence is a force for good in itself. Yet over the past five years it has become increasingly apparent that interdependence and integration carries strategic risks and challenges with it. These include a much greater level of volatility in the global economy, potentially destabilizing vulnerabilities in the U.S.–China bilateral relationship, tensions in Asia that stem in part from the reliance of small economies upon China, and an existential crisis in the European Union. Nations have begun to hedge against some of these risks by reining in some types of economic interdependence and by adopting national security policies to counterbalance them. For example, South East Asian nations have deepened their strategic ties to the United States to offset the effects of economic interdependence with China, and Western countries are placing restrictions on the activities of Chinese technology companies.


An overview of contemporary Catholic theology concerning the mystery of the Eucharist. The importance of biblical, patristic and liturgical studies is addressed.


Hyperspectral imagery combined with spatial features holds promise for improved remote sensing classification. In this letter, we propose a method for classification of hyperspectral data based on the incorporation of spatial arrangement of pixel's values. We use the semivariogram to measure the spatial correlation which is then combined with spectral features within the stacked kernel support vector machine framework. The proposed method is compared with a classifier based on first-order statistics. The overall classification accuracy is tested for the AVIRIS Indian Pines benchmark dataset. Error matrices are used to estimate individual class accuracy. Statistical significance of the accuracy estimates is assessed based on the kappa coefficient and z-statistics at the 95% confidence level. Empirical results show that the proposed approach gives better performance than the method based on first-order statistics.


Abstract Objective To investigate the efficacy of physiotherapy compared with a wait and see approach or corticosteroid injections over 52 weeks in tennis elbow. Design Single blind randomised controlled trial. Setting Community setting, Brisbane, Australia. Participants 198 participants aged 18 to 65 years with a clinical diagnosis of tennis elbow of a minimum six weeks' duration, who had not received any other active treatment by a health practitioner in the previous six months. Interventions Eight sessions of physiotherapy; corticosteroid injections; or wait and see. Main outcome measures Global improvement, grip force, and assessor's rating of severity measured at baseline, six weeks, and 52 weeks. Results Corticosteroid injection showed significantly better effects at six weeks but with high recurrence rates thereafter (47/65 of successes subsequently regressed) and significantly poorer outcomes in the long term compared with physiotherapy. Physiotherapy was superior to wait and see in the short term; no difference was seen at 52 weeks, when most participants in both groups reported a successful outcome. Participants who had physiotherapy sought less additional treatment, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, than did participants who had wait and see or injections. Conclusion Physiotherapy combining elbow manipulation and exercise has a superior benefit to wait and see in the first six weeks and to corticosteroid injections after six weeks, providing a reasonable alternative to injections in the mid to long term. The significant short term benefits of corticosteroid injection are paradoxically reversed after six weeks, with high recurrence rates, implying that this treatment should be used with caution in the management of tennis elbow.


In the last few years end user education has become increasingly important in the daily work of biomedical librarians: new technologies, databases, and innovative systems for accessing information have made information retrieval more complicated and challenging for librarians and users alike. The Library of the Istituto Superiore di Sanita (ISS) decided to plan a diversified program of seminars covering different library services to promote an effective use of technologies and library resources. Data were collected during 2018 utilizing a self-developed user satisfaction survey questionnaire formulated in order to identify the real satisfaction level of our users and in order to improve our activities.


We consider Pareto analysis of reachable states of multi-priced timed automata (MPTA): timed automata equipped with multiple observers that keep track of costs (to be minimised) and rewards (to be maximised) along a computation. Each observer has a constant non-negative derivative which may depend on the location of the MPTA. We study the Pareto Domination Problem, which asks whether it is possible to reach a target location via a run in which the accumulated costs and rewards Pareto dominate a given objective vector. We show that this problem is undecidable in general, but decidable for MPTA with at most three observers. For MPTA whose observers are all costs or all rewards, we show that the Pareto Domination Problem is PSPACE-complete. We also consider an ε-approximate Pareto Domination Problem that is decidable without restricting the number and types of observers. We develop connections between MPTA and Diophantine equations. Undecidability of the Pareto Domination Problem is shown by reduction from Hilbert's 10th Problem, while decidability for three observers is shown by a translation to a fragment of arithmetic involving quadratic forms. 2012 ACM Subject Classification Theory of computation: Timed and hybrid models


A collection of stories and analysis about women, luxury, fashion and education in South-Eastern Europe in pre-modern and modern times.


The success of modern technology in increasing yields on high-potential lands has been so great that researchers and policymakers alike have been quick to use modern inputs on marginal lands as well. But the results of applying Green Revolution technologies to marginal lands have often been disappointing. What changes in policy and technologies are necessary for use of modern technology to increase the productivity of these marginal lands effectively and sustainably? Research indicates that farms that had substantial yield increases were those that specialized in a few farm products, usually in the products where technological advances were most pronounced. Roles of Farm-Level Diversification in the Adoption of Modern Technology in Brazil, Research Report 104, by Marc Nerlove, Stephen Vosti, and Wesley Basel, focuses on the links between technology adoption and farmers' decisions on product mix and output diversification on what crops or livestock to produce and in what proportions. The report asks the following questions: Does the production of certain types or combinations of products promote or inhibit the use of modern technology? Does concentration on particular products reduce or increase modern input use? Are farmers who have radically altered their product mix more likely to use modern technology intensively?


Styles in creative works cannot adequately be represented by categories based on formal features. Instead, styles could be studied in terms of modal relationships between the features to provide a basis for definitions of structure in generative models. Modal relationships are more flexible and robust under the dynamic conditions of the artist's creative process. This article illustrates through the examples of Seljuk and Celtic patterns how these modal relationships emerge, why they are essential to detailed descriptions of style, and how they might be identified.


Advanced ceramics are being investigated quite actively. The characterization of the materials used to make the ceramics is important to final product performance. We have previously reported an application of diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectrometry to the determination of silicon dioxide (SiO2) in silicon carbide (SiC). The DRIFT technique was found to have a simpler application than that of transmission techniques, for the analysis of powdered solids, because DRIFT does not require the sample preparation of KBr disks or mineral oil mulls. However, the scattering caused by the analyte powder surface requires dilution of the SiC powder with KBr fine powder, to avoid distortion of the diffuse refractance spectrum. For quantitative work, this dilution requires accurate weighing and perfect mixing.


Abstract. The aim of this study was to analyse the reproducibility of off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy (OA-ICOS)-derived δ2H and δ18O measurements on a set of 35 water samples by comparing the performance of four laser spectroscopes with the performance of a conventional mass spectrometer under typical laboratory conditions. All samples were analysed using three different schemes of standard/sample combinations and related data processing to assess the improvement of results compared with mass spectrometry. The repeatability of the four OA-ICOS instruments was further investigated by multiple analyses of a sample subset to evaluate the stability of δ2H and δ18O measurements. Results demonstrated an overall agreement between OA-ICOS-based and mass spectrometry-based measurements for the entire dataset. However, a certain degree of variability existed in precision and accuracy between the four instruments. There was no evident bias or systematic deviations from the mass spectrometer values, but random errors, which were apparently not related to external factors, significantly affected the final results. Our investigation revealed that analytical precision ranged ±from ±0.56‰ to ±1.80‰ for δ2H and from ±0.10‰ to ±0.27‰ for δ18O measurements, with a marked variability among the four instruments. The overall capability of laser instruments to reproduce stable results with repeated measurements of the same sample was acceptable, and there were general differences within the range of the analytical precision for each spectroscope. Hence, averaging the measurements of three identical samples led to a higher degree of accuracy and eliminated the potential for random deviations.


Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) catalyzes the interconversion of pyruvate and lactate in the final step of anaerobic glycolysis. Many invasive tumors depend on an increased rate of glycolysis in order to maximize their growth potential under hypoxic environments, a phenomenon known as the "Warburg Effect." By finding a way to inhibit LDH, contributions would be made towards the management of cancerous cells by inhibition of their energy production. Human LDH isoenzyme A was subcloned into an in-house vector (pET28a with a PreScission cleavage site) and overexpressed in E. coli Tuner(DE3) cells as a fusion protein with maltose binding protein (MBP) to increase solubility. The fusion protein was cleaved, purified, and subjected to crystallization trials using the hanging drop vapor diffusion method. Crystals of the binary complex of LDH-A with NADH were obtained, and conditions continue to be optimized in order to increase crystal size and diffraction quality. Steady-state kinetic characterization revealed Km(Pyruvate) to be 130 ± 19 μM and the specific activity to be 382 ± 16 U/mg. The IC50 value for the known weak inhibitor oxamate was determined to be 65 ± 2 μM. Future plans include high-throughput screening (HTS) for novel LDH-A inhibitors, cocrystallization of LDH-A with HTS hit compounds, and the structure-based design of potent and specific inhibitors of this enzyme.


This study examines the effect of varying injectant molecular weight on the penetration of transverse injection jets into a supersonic crossflow. The injectants considered here are methane (W=16.04), air (W=28.97) and carbon dioxide, (W=44.01). These results augment the previous results obtained at Virginia Tech for helium (W=4.00) injection under the same test conditions to provide a very wide range of molecular weights. Second, since shocks are ubiquitous in scramjet combustors, their influence on penetration and mixing was also studied by arranging for an oblique shock to impinge near the injection station. The cases of a shock impinging upstream and downstream of the injector were both examined. One can anticipate an important influence of molecular weight here also because of the importance of density gradients on the generation of vorticity by baroclinic torque. Increasing molecular weight was found to increase penetration in general, as well as increase the lateral spreading of the plume. The majority of the data shows a weak dependency of the jet size on molecular weight, but there are indications that under certain circumstances large changes in the flow structure may occur due to molecular weight effects. The addition of an impinging shock is found to increase mixing and decrease penetration and plume size, especially with the shock impinging downstream of the injector.


Paddy var Rojoleleis asuperior paddy come from Klaten that released by Department of Agriculture in 2003. Its superior properties are resistant to pests leaf hoppers, fluffier, and fragrant. To increase the productivity of paddy that are of ten used by farmers is to use chemical-based fertilizers. The use of these chemicals will effect to adisruption of ecosystem balancing, reduction the amount of soil microflora which essential forplants. Endophytic bacteria are symbiotic microorganisms living within plant tissues, and does not cause negative effects on the host plant. Endophytic bacteria have a capability increasing crop productivity by producing growth hormone, contributes to plant health, and as bio-control agents. Some endophytic bacteria which contribute to plant growth are: Pseudomonas sp., Enterobacter sp., Staphylococcus sp., Azotobacter sp., And Azospirilum sp., Whereas endophytic bacteria that contribute to the health and plant protection several of them are: Pseudomonas sp., Serratia sp. ,Clavibacter sp., and Bacillus sp. This study was conducted to investigate potential of endophytic bacteria to increase Paddy var Rojolele productivity based on its ability to produce extracellular enzymes and resistance to multiple types of antibiotics. The method were endophytic bacteria isolation from three Paddy varRojolele plants, extracellular enzymes detection and antibiotic resistance testing to chloramfinekol, ampicillin and kanamycin. As the result, 43isolateswere isolated from Paddy var Rojolele. Four isolatesamong them havethe ability to produce extra cellular enzym esandresistant toampicillin, kanamycin, and chloramfinekol. Extra cellular enzyme production capability and resistance to antibiotics makes endophytic bacteria are potentialto improveplant health and also asbio-control agentwhich then willaffect to the productivity of rice. To further ensure its potential to plant, more research is needed.


Natural and anthropogenic disturbances commonly alter patterns of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. However, how food webs respond to these changes remains poorly understood. Here, we have described aquatic food webs using invertebrate and fish community composition, functional traits, and stable isotopes from twelve agricultural streams along a landscape disturbance gradient. We predicted that excessive inputs of fine inorganic sediment (sedimentation) associated with agricultural land uses would negatively influence stream trophic diversity (e.g., reduced vertical and horizontal trophic niche breadths). Food-web properties based on Bayesian analyses of stable isotope data (δ13C and δ15N) from consumers showed that increasing sediment disturbance was associated with reduced trophic diversity, indicated by the whole community (fish and invertebrates combined) occupying a smaller area in isotopic niche space. Reductions in trophic diversity were best explained by a narrowing of the consumer δ13C range, and to a lesser extent, consumer δ15N range along the sedimentation gradient. We hypothesized that multiple mechanisms associated with sedimentation may have caused trophic niche 'compression'. Decreased niche partitioning, driven by increasing habitat homogeneity, environmental filtering, and resource scarcity seemingly lead to a greater similarity in trophic roles. These pathways may have contributed to a reduction in trophic diversity, whereas increased resource homogeneity was seemingly less important. Our results also indicate downward shifts in the vertical trophic position of benthic meospredators and invertebrate prey relative to higher consumers. This 'trophic decoupling' suggests that terrestrial resource subsidies may offset reductions of aquatic prey for larger stream fishes. Sedimentation was associated with reduced trophic diversity, which may affect the functioning and stability of stream ecosystems. Our study helps explain how multiple mechanisms can influence food-web properties in response to this type of disturbance.


Neutral interstellar helium has been observed by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) since 2009, with a signal-to-noise ratio well above 1000. Because of the geometry of the observations, the signal observed from January to March each year is the easiest to identify. However, as we show via simulations, the portion of the signal in the range of intensities from 10−3 to 10−2 of the peak value, previously mostly left out from the analysis, may provide important information about the details of the distribution function of interstellar He gas in front of the heliosphere. In particular, these observations may inform us about possible departures of the parent interstellar He population from equilibrium. We compare the expected distribution of the signal for the canonical assumption of a single Maxwell–Boltzmann population with the distributions for a superposition of the Maxwell–Boltzmann primary population and the recently discovered Warm Breeze, and for a single primary population given by a kappa function. We identify the regions on the sky where the differences between those cases are expected to be the most visible against the background. We discuss the diagnostic potential of the fall peak of the interstellar signal, reduced by a factor of 50 due to the Compton–Getting effect but still above the detection limit of IBEX. We point out the strong energy dependence of the fall signal and suggest that searching for this signal in the data could bring an independent assessment of the low-energy measurement threshold of the IBEX-Lo sensor.


The Moomin family moves to a remote island for the sake of art"Another classic Moomin story reworked in full color, with a kid-proof but kid-friendly size, price, and format."""""Moominpappa has committed to writing a Great Novel About the Sea, and so the whole family moves to a desolate island where Moominpappa becomes the lighthouse keeper. It soon becomes apparent that there are a few problems with the island: It's haunted, there's nowhere to enjoy a good cup of tea, and the rat family living in the transistor radio has strictly forbidden the Moomins from using the radio until the children have all grown up and moved out. Determined, the Moomins set about planting a rose garden, painting the beacon cheery colors, and finding other ways to make the lonely place their own. In the end, though, is a bleak lighthouse any place for a Moomin? Tove Jansson's flawless cartooning is brought to life in a whole new way within these pages. A delight for the whole family!


Dark counts in superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) manifest themselves as spontaneous, transient voltage pulses, typically indistinguishable from photon counts. We present here a new readout technique based on integrating the SSPD with a low-noise, cryogenic high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) with high-input impedance. This arrangement allowed us to achieve amplitude resolution of the recorded output transients. In two-dimensional superconducting nanostripes, the physics of photon counting is based on the hotspot formation mechanism, while the dark counts correspond to voltage transients triggered by the vortex-antivortex motion and/or phase-slip centers. Thus, their respective transients can be distinguished by comparing the output pulse amplitude distributions. Our scheme also allowed us to perform photon-energy-resolution studies by comparing the SSPD output pulse amplitude distributions (the mean pulse amplitude and the distribution width) collected for incident single photons with different energies.


INTRODUCTION
Mucins are complex composition of carbohydrates seen in the epithelial cells lining the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Normal distribution of such mucins in different part of the GIT and its alteration in various inflammatory, benign and malignant lesions of GIT has aroused interest in the field of histochemistry.

AIM
By applying variety of histochemical techniques an attempt has been made to draw a map of mucin secretion by the different epithelial cell types in different parts of the stomach.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Fifty samples were taken each from different parts of the stomach like fundus, body and pylorus, from dissected fresh specimens (total of 150 specimens). Tissue samples were subjected for routine process and studied for histological and different histochemical staining.

RESULTS
Mucin pattern in adult predominantly secretes neutral mucosubstances. Surface epithelium shows predominant neutral mucin while cardiac and gastric glands with foveolar cells show moderate amount. Sialomucin is present in a few cells of the surface epithelium, foveolar cells and in most of the mucous neck cells. Small amount of sialomucin and sulphomucin are found in surface epithelial foveolar cells while traces of sulphomucin are found in deep foveolar cells. Mucous neck cells secrete both sulphomucin and sialomucin.

CONCLUSION
Normal gastric mucosa adjacent to gastric ulcers and malignant tumours of stomach secretes mucins which differ histochemically and biochemically from that of normal. Early recognition of such changes could be useful in recognizing the different type of carcinomas and their prognosis.


Global trade growth has been weak during the period following the 2007–09 financial crisis. This is an important development for Canada, given the Canadian economy's high degree of openness to trade. This article investigates some of the factors behind the slowdown in global trade and finds that the weakness of global demand and its changing composition, increased protectionism and diminishing incentives to expand trade have all played a role. Some of these factors are likely to have only a temporary effect on trade growth, but others could be more long-lasting.


We propose a cloaking mechanism to deter spoofing, a form of manipulation in financial markets. The mechanism works by symmetrically concealing a specified number of price levels from the inside of the order book. To study the effectiveness of cloaking, we simulate markets populated with background traders and an exploiter, who strategically spoofs to profit. The traders follow two representative bidding strategies: the non-spoofable zero intelligence and the manipulable heuristic belief learning. Through empirical game-theoretic analysis across parametrically different environments, we evaluate surplus accrued by traders, and characterize the conditions under which cloaking mitigates manipulation and benefits market welfare. We further design sophisticated spoofing strategies that probe to reveal cloaked information, and find that the effort and risk exceed the gains.


Escherichia coli O:H7 is a zoonotic pathogen and has been found as an important
foodborne and waterborne microorganism. The objective of this study was to investigate the
antimicrobial properties of Zataria multiflora boiss. essential oils nanoemulsion on Escherichia Coli
O157:H7 in pasteurized milk and in vitro.
Materials & Methods: The essential oil's nano-emulsion was prepared by inversion phase and its
particle size distribution was analyzed by dynamic light scattering method. Nano-emulsion's
antimicrobial properties in BHI and pasteurized milk (1.5 and 3.2 % fat ) were investigated by different
methods such as agar diffusion, vapor phase diffusion, Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC),
Minimum Bactericidal Concentration, (MBC) and microbial inactivation curve after 0, 15, 30, 45, and
60 min.
Results: The average droplet size was 66.5 nm. The diameter of inhibition zone in agar diffusion method
was 8.74±0.4 mm, and in the vapor phase diffusion zone was not formed measurable. And MIC and
MBC were 2500 μL/ml. Effects of three nanoemulsion dilution 0.1, 0.01, 0.001 on microbial inactivation
in BHI broth showed that in 0.1 and 0.01 dilution after 1 hour, 6 log reduction can be observed in
microbial population. In pasteurized milk with 1.5% fat, in the dilutions mentioned above, decreased by
approximately 3.5 log was observed in the growth of bacteria. In pasteurized milk containing 3.2% fat,
about 2.5 log reduction in microbial population for all three dilutions.
Conclusion: According to the results obtained in this study, we concluded that by optimizing this
method, this nanoemulsion can be used to adequately control microbial pathogens


Current signature detection mechanisms can be easily evaded by malware writers by applying obfuscation techniques. Employing morphing code techniques, attackers are able to generate several variants of one malicious sample, making the corresponding signature obsolete. Considering that the signature definition is a laborious process manually performed by security analysts, in this paper we propose a method, exploiting static analysis and Machine Learning classification algorithms, to identify whether a mobile application is modified by means of one or more morphing techniques. We perform experiments on a real-world dataset of Android applications (morphed and original), obtaining encouraging results in the obfuscation technique(s) identification.


The ecological effects of forest fires burning with high severity are long-lived and have the greatest impact on vegetation successional trajectories, as compared to low-to-moderate severity fires. The primary drivers of high severity fire are unclear, but it has been hypothesized that wind-driven, large fire-growth days play a significant role, particularly on large fires in forested ecosystems. Here, we examined the relative proportion of classified burn severity for individual daily areas burned that occurred during 42 large forest fires in central Idaho and western Montana from 2005 to 2007 and 2011. Using infrared perimeter data for wildfires with five or more consecutive days of mapped perimeters, we delineated 2697 individual daily areas burned from which we calculated the proportions of each of three burn severity classes (high, moderate, and low) using the differenced normalized burn ratio as mapped for large fires by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity project. We found that the proportion of high burn severity was weakly correlated (Kendall τ = 0.299) with size of daily area burned (DAB). Burn severity was highly variable, even for the largest (95th percentile) in DAB, suggesting that other variables than fire extent influence the ecological effects of fires. We suggest that these results do not support the prioritization of large runs during fire rehabilitation efforts, since the underlying assumption in this prioritization is a positive relationship between severity and area burned in a day.