This paper argues that transitional justice needs to adopt a participatory approach to achieve longer-term sustainability, shifting away from the top-down 'one-size-fits-all' approach to allow 'voices from below' to be heard and heeded. It critiques dominant interpretations of key transitional justice concepts, and links them to the difficulties of post-conflict transitional justice in a range of violently divided societies. Popular participation and local agency, it is argued, is necessary to achieve ends identified in much transitional justice discourse, and to embed mechanisms for the creation of sustainable peace. A Northern Ireland initiative (the Ardoyne Commemoration Project) will be explored in-depth, illustrating how a bottom-up 'truth-telling' process can make a significant contribution to transitional justice and casting doubt on the validity of the deference to legal dominance in current policy and practice. The paper recommends that knowledge available in development studies and participatory theory be applied more clearly in debates and approaches in transitional justice.


The present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of Mr. Trivedi's biofield energy treatment on mustard (Brassica juncea) and chick pea (Cicer arietinum) for their growth, yield, and yield attributes. Both the samples were divided into two groups. One group was remained as untreated and coded as control, while the other group (both seed and plot) was subjected to Mr. Trivedi's biofield energy treatment and referred as the treated. The result showed the plant height of mustard and chick pea was increased by 13.2 and 97.41%, respectively in the treated samples as compared to the control. Additionally, primary branching of mustard and chick pea was improved by 7.4 and 19.84%, respectively in the treated sample as compared to the control. The control mustard and chick pea crops showed high rate of infection by pests and diseases, while treated crops were free from any infection of pests and disease. The yield attributing characters of mustard showed, lucidly higher numbers of siliquae on main shoot, siliquae/plant and siliquae length were observed in the treated seeds and plot as compared with the control. Moreover, similar results were observed in the yield attributing parameters of chick pea viz. pods/plant, grains/pod as well as test weight of 1000 grains. The seed and stover yield of mustard in treated plots were increased by 61.5% and 25.4%, respectively with respect to the control. However, grain/seed yield of mustard crop after biofield energy treatment was increased by 500% in terms of kg per meter square as compared to the control. Besides, grain/seed yield of chick pea crop after biofield energy treatment was increased by 500% in terms of kg per meter square. The harvest index of biofield treated mustard was increased by 21.83%, while it was slight increased in case of chick pea. In conclusion, the biofield energy treatment could be used on both the seeds and plots of mustard and chick pea as an alternative way to increase the production and yield.


In this study we use datasets from the 1995 and 2000 Community Water Supply surveys to examine the production costs of water supply systems. We first estimate the economies of scale in water supply by estimating the total unit cost as well as individual component cost elasticities. For total unit cost elasticity, we find that a 1% increase in production reduces unit costs by a statistically significant 0.16%. For individual component cost elasticities, we find that higher economies of scale exist in capital costs, outside costs, other costs, and materials costs; labor costs and energy costs exhibit lower but still positive economies of scale. These economies of scale may reflect production economies or suggest that larger systems are better than smaller systems at bargaining and can obtain inputs at a lower unit cost. Importantly, bargaining gains and some production economies do not necessarily depend on water systems' becoming physically interconnected.


A successful HIV vaccine will likely induce both humoral and cell-mediated immunity, however, the enormous diversity of HIV has hampered the development of a vaccine that effectively elicits both arms of the adaptive immune response. To tackle the problem of viral diversity, T cell-based vaccine approaches have focused on two main strategies (i) increasing the breadth of vaccine-induced responses or (ii) increasing vaccine-induced responses targeting only conserved regions of the virus. The relative extent to which set-point viremia is impacted by epitope-conservation of CD8+ T cell responses elicited during early HIV-infection is unknown but has important implications for vaccine design. To address this question, we comprehensively mapped HIV-1 CD8+ T cell epitope-specificities in 23 ART-naïve individuals during early infection and computed their conservation score (CS) by three different methods (prevalence, entropy and conseq) on clade-B and group-M sequence alignments. The majority of CD8+ T cell responses were directed against variable epitopes (p<0.01). Interestingly, increasing breadth of CD8+ T cell responses specifically recognizing conserved epitopes was associated with lower set-point viremia (r = - 0.65, p = 0.009). Moreover, subjects possessing CD8+ T cells recognizing at least one conserved epitope had 1.4 log10 lower set-point viremia compared to those recognizing only variable epitopes (p = 0.021). The association between viral control and the breadth of conserved CD8+ T cell responses may be influenced by the method of CS definition and sequences used to determine conservation levels. Strikingly, targeting variable versus conserved epitopes was independent of HLA type (p = 0.215). The associations with viral control were independent of functional avidity of CD8+ T cell responses elicited during early infection. Taken together, these data suggest that the next-generation of T-cell based HIV-1 vaccines should focus on strategies that can elicit CD8+ T cell responses to multiple conserved epitopes of HIV-1.


This study explores the ways in which children develop literacy skills through play, and investigates the teacher's role is in this literacy related play. Specifically, it focuses on the ways that preschool children develop literacy through free play and structured play, and how the level of teacher involvement in this play affects the children's literacy development. This study took place over a nine week period, focusing on three preschool age focal children during observations of the children's play sessions in the preschool room of a daycare located in and affiliated with a church in a rural town in Western New York. The collected data included field notes, interviews with children, and transcripts of videotapes. Findings suggest that children do develop literacy skills through both free play and structured play, and that the level of teacher involvement in the children's play affects the children's development of literacy skills. Many different types of play and play contexts are conducive to the development of literacy skills in preschool children. Recommendations for future research include exploring how literacy-related play differs for children of different ages, genders, or socioeconomic statuses, investigating how the addition of reading props affects literacy-related play, and observing the children's free play after teacher-directed play activities to determine if those activities would have any impact on the literacy-related play activities in which the children would engage in during free play. EXAMINING THE DEVELOPMENT OF PLAY THROUGH LITERACY iii Table of


This paper offers new insights into the Italian mutual fund industry. Surveying Italian professionals, we do not only reveal typical gender differences but also detect divergence to their German counterparts. While disclosing Italian professionals' overly positive self-assessment in general, we find evidence for male overconfidence in particular though without being accompanied by excessive control illusion of the own information level. Asset managers' risk taking reveals further differences: Italian female professionals do not only assess themselves as more risk averse than their male colleagues, they also prefer a more passive portfolio management compared to the level they are allowed to. Moreover, in a tournament scenario near the end of the investment period female asset managers do not try to become the ultimate top performer when they have outperformed their peer group so far. However, in case of underperformance, the risk of deviating from the benchmark makes especially female professionals willing to seize a chance of catching up. Overall, compared to their German counterparts, we find Italian asset managers to be slightly more risk averse. Matching bounded former results on Italian mutual funds, we discuss interdependencies as well as impact of our findings at the individual asset managers' level on trading activity, management style and performance.


In recent years, cancer stem cells have taken center stage in studies involving cancer origins and metastasis ( 1 ). Unlike somatic cells, which often follow symmetric cell division yielding two identical daughter cells, stem cells often undergo asymmetric division leading to non-identical cell types such as progenitor cells of various tissue origins during embryogenesis ( 2 ). This unique asymmetric division feature helps stem cells maintain homeostasis, with a constant number of daughter stem cells and differentiated cells. Even though stem cells undergo asymmetric division in most cases, they do undergo symmetric division in some tissue contexts such as Lgr5 + crypt base columnar cells in intestine to stabilize the number of cells ( 3 ). Cancer stem cells, which are also known as tumor initiating cells, behave in a similar manner to stem cells and undergo asymmetric division in response to loss of tumor suppressors. Now a recent paper reveals an intriguing connection between colon cancer stem cells and a non-coding RNA called miR-34 (4).


Microtextures of juvenile pyroclasts from Kīlauea's (Hawai'i) early A.D. 2008 explosive activity record the velocity and depth of convection within the basaltic magma-filled conduit. We use X-ray microtomography (μXRT) to document the spatial distribution of bubbles. We find small bubbles (radii from 5 μm to 70 μm) in a halo surrounding larger millimeter-size bubbles. This suggests that dissolved water was enriched around the larger bubbles—the opposite of what is expected if bubbles grow as water diffuses into the bubble. Such volatile enrichment implies that the volatiles within the large bubbles were redissolving into the melt as they descended into the conduit by the downward motion of convecting magma within the lava lake. The thickness of the small bubble halo is ∼100–150 μm, consistent with water diffusing into the melt on time scales on the order of 103 s. Eruptions, triggered by rockfall, rapidly exposed this magma to lower pressures, and the haloes of melt with re-dissolved water became sufficiently supersaturated to cause nucleation of the population of smaller bubbles. The required supersaturation pressures are consistent with a depth of a few hundred meters and convection velocities of the order of 0.1 m s−1, similar to the circulation velocity observed on the surface of the Halema'uma'u lava lake.


Graphics processing units supporting tessellation of curved surfaces with displacement mapping exist today. Still, to our knowledge, culling only occurs after tessellation, that is, after the base primitives have been tessellated into triangles. We introduce an algorithm for automatically computing tight positional and normal bounds on the fly for a base primitive. These bounds are derived from an arbitrary vertex shader program, which may include a curved surface evaluation and different types of displacements, for example. The obtained bounds are used for backface, view frustum, and occlusion culling before tessellation. For highly tessellated scenes, we show that up to 80% of the vertex shader instructions can be avoided, which implies an "instruction speedup" of 5×. Our technique can also be used for offline software rendering.


The Handover Keying (HOKEY) Working Group seeks to minimize handover
delay due to authentication when a peer moves from one point of
attachment to another. Work has progressed on two different approaches
to reduce handover delay: early authentication (so that authentication
does not need to be performed during handover), and reuse of
cryptographic material generated during an initial authentication to
save time during re-authentication. A basic assumption is that the
mobile host or "peer" is initially authenticated using the Extensible
Authentication Protocol (EAP), executed between the peer and an EAP
server as defined in RFC 3748. This document defines the HOKEY
architecture. Specifically, it describes design objectives, the
functional environment within which handover keying operates, the
functions to be performed by the HOKEY architecture itself, and the
assignment of those functions to architectural components. It goes on
to illustrate the operation of the architecture within various
deployment scenarios that are described more fully in other documents
produced by the HOKEY Working Group. This document is not an Internet
Standards Track specification; it is published for informational
purposes.


The deployment of space robots for servicing and maintenance operations that are teleoperated from the ground is a valuable addition to existing autonomous systems, because it will provide flexibility and robustness in mission operations. In this connection, not only robotic manipulators are of great use, but also free‐flying inspector satellites supporting the operations through additional feedback to the ground operator. The manual control of such an inspector satellite at a remote location is challenging, because navigation in three‐dimensional space is unfamiliar and large time delays can occur in the communication channel. This paper shows a series of robotic experiments, in which free flyers are controlled by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The Synchronized Position Hold Engage Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) were utilized to study several aspects of a remotely controlled inspector satellite. The focus in this case study is investigating different approaches to human–spacecraft interaction with varying levels of autonomy under zero‐gravity conditions. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Objective: To describe a rare patient with ruptur aneurysm case of distal anterior choroidal artery (AChA) and intraventricular hemorrhage. A 56-year old female came to our hospital with chief complaint sudden onset of severe headache and vomiting. Methods: Head computed tomography (CT)-scan and angiography on the lesion was performed at the Department of Radiology, Siloam Hospital, Tangerang, Indonesia. Results: Head CT-scan imaging revealed an intraventricular hemorrhage, primarily in the right lateral ventricle, with slight enlargement of both lateral, 3rd and 4th ventricles. Angiography examination revealed a round vascular lesion at the wall of the posterior cornu of the lateral ventricle and an occlusion of the M1 base segment of the left middle cerebral artery. Conclusions: The lesion, distal AChA aneurysm, at the posterior cornu was reached using an infratemporal lobe approach with the help of neuronavigation. Microsurgical clipping was successfully performed. Keywords: Aneurysm, distal anterior choroidal artery, neuronavigation DOI: 10.15850/ijihs.v4n2.837


Here we address the problem to partition edge colored hypergraphs by monochromatic paths and cycles generalizing a well-known similar problem for graphs. We show that $r$-colored $r$-uniform complete hypergraphs can be partitioned into monochromatic Berge-paths of distinct colors. Also, apart from $2k-5$ vertices, $2$-colored $k$-uniform hypergraphs can be partitioned into two monochromatic loose paths. In general, we prove that in any $r$-coloring of a $k$-uniform hypergraph there is a partition of the vertex set into monochromatic loose cycles such that their number depends only on $r$ and $k$.


This paper proposes a novel algorithm combining path relinking with a set of cooperating trajectory based parallel algorithms to yield a new metaheuristic of enhanced search features. Algorithms based on the exploration of the neighborhood of a single solution, like simulated annealing(SA), have offered accurate results for a large number of real-world problems in the past. Because of their trajectory based nature, some advanced models such as the cooperative one are competitive in academic problems, but still show many limitations in addressing large scale instances. In addition, the field of parallel models for trajectory methods has not deeply been studied yet (at least in comparison with parallel population based models). In this work, we propose a new hybrid algorithm which improves cooperative single solution techniques by using path relinking, allowing both to reduce the global execution time and to improve the efficacy of the method. We applied here this new model using a large benchmark of instances of two real-world NP-hard problems: DNA fragment assembly and QAP problems, with competitive results.


The model quality assessment problem consists in the a priori estimation of the overall and per‐residue accuracy of protein structure predictions. Over the past years, a number of methods have been developed to address this issue and CASP established a prediction category to evaluate their performance in 2006. In 2008 the experiment was repeated and its results are reported here. Participants were invited to infer the correctness of the protein models submitted by the registered automatic servers. Estimates could apply to both whole models and individual amino acids. Groups involved in the tertiary structure prediction categories were also asked to assign local error estimates to each predicted residue in their own models and their results are also discussed here. The correlation between the predicted and observed correctness measures was the basis of the assessment of the results. We observe that consensus‐based methods still perform significantly better than those accepting single models, similarly to what was concluded in the previous edition of the experiment. Proteins 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Sacred prostitution remained for several years a taboo topic in the study of the ancient Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. Despite the fact that some ancient writers refer to it, several scholars doubted its practices in the frame of the noble Greek civilization. Recently, R. Strong put the question, re-interpreting archaeological data from sites reported as places in which sacred prostitution took place. Regarding Minoan archaeology, the single reference to the subject is included in Nikolaos Platon's notes on his lectures for the students of the Thessaloniki University. There, the question is cited, with a positive answer considered possible, especially on the basis that the Paphian Aphrodite's "Tri-partite Shrine" originates from Crete. Some years later, in Zakros, Platon excavated a building, the architecture and the finds of which could be connected with this matter. The paper re-examines the data from this structure, attempting to give a new interpretation of its function and significance. DOI:10.2458/azu_jaei_v07i3_platon


In the first exhaustive treatment of the field in 20 years, Scott Shane extends the analysis of entrepreneurship by offering an overarching conceptual framework that explains the different parts of the entrepreneurial process - the opportunities, the people who pursue them, the skills and strategies used to organize and exploit opportunities, and the environmental conditions favorable to them - in a coherent way. Given the level of interest devoted to entrepreneurship in the economy and among academics at business schools, one would think that researchers would have deep insights into this phenomenon. However, those who look closely at academic investigations of entrepreneurship realize that scholarly understanding of this field is quite limited. Unlike its sister fields of accounting, marketing, finance, organizational behavior and strategic management, entrepreneurship is rather poorly explained by academics. Scott Shane resolves this by considering the nexus of enterprising individuals and valuable opportunities and by using that nexus to understand the processes of discovery and exploitation of opportunities, the acquisition of resources, entrepreneurial strategy and the organi


As web search increasingly becomes reliant on social signals, it is imperative for us to understand the effect of these signals on users' behavior. There are multiple ways in which social signals can be used in search: (a) to surface and rank important social content; (b) to signal to users which results are more trustworthy and important by placing annotations on search results. We focus on the latter problem of understanding how social annotations affect user behavior. In previous work, through eyetracking research we learned that users do not generally seem to fixate on social annotations when they are placed at the bottom of the search result block, with 11% probability of fixation [22]. A second eyetracking study showed that placing the annotation on top of the snippet block might mitigate this issue [22], but this study was conducted using mock-ups and with expert searchers. In this paper, we describe a study conducted with a new eyetracking mix-method using a live traffic search engine with the suggested design changes on real users using the same experimental procedures. The study comprised of 11 subjects with an average of 18 tasks per subject using an eyetrace-assisted retrospective think-aloud protocol. Using a funnel analysis, we found that users are indeed more likely to notice the annotations with a 60% probability of fixation (if the annotation was in view). Moreover, we found no learning effects across search sessions but found significant differences in query types, with subjects having a lower chance of fixating on annotations for queries in the news category. In the interview portion of the study, users reported interesting "wow" moments as well as usefulness in recalling or re-finding content previously shared by oneself or friends. The results not only shed light on how social annotations should be designed in search engines, but also how users make use of social annotations to make decisions about which pages are useful and potentially trustworthy.


Advertisements are an integral part of internet economics and culture, and video ads are the most popular and arguably the most entertaining form of advertisements. With the recent growth in digital marketing, video ads have seen unprecedented growth and are growing in importance as an advertising means. Video ads are expensive to create and are not always effective. The effectiveness of a video ad is usually not known before its deployment, which is non-ideal for creators, advertisers, and ad platforms. In this paper, we outline an idea to provide feedback before an ad is placed on its effectiveness based on the video along with the historical data about the effectiveness of other video ads. We propose a multi-modal mixture based algorithm to predict the effectiveness automatically. Specifically, we exploit rich textual information often found with an advertisement as well as visual information to learn a finite mixture model. Our experiments on a publicly available dataset show that our approach can outperform other baseline approaches.


Geostatistics and geographical information system (GIS) procedures are novel techniques helpful for the identification of environmental correlates sustaining contact zones among subspecies or closely related species. In this paper, we tried to infer evolutionary scenarios for Vipera ammodytes across the European part of its distribution area using geostatistics and ecological niche-based models, hence trying to solve several biogeographical questions that remained unclear after the application of classical morphological tools and genetic analyses. Eleven morphological traits from 871 vipers were analysed with geostatistics and ecological niche-based modelling. Interpolation by kriging was used to generate surfaces of morphological variation, which were combined with spatial principal components analysis (SPCA). SPCA maps were used to test putative morphological differentiated groups with discriminant function analysis (DFA). Maximum entropy modelling and seven environmental variables were used to identify factors limiting the distribution of groups and areas for the potential occurrence of such groups. Three patterns of morphological variation were observed: a north-west/south-west cline, transition zones with steep clines of variation in a west–east arc, and particular character traits that disturbed the general cline. SPCA identified between three and nine putative population groups, of which three were supported by DFA. Areas of potential occurrence of these groups were coherent with the range of the three subspecies of V. ammodytes currently recognized. The distribution of all subspecies was mostly related to precipitation in the driest month. Areas of probable sympatry between subspecies are generally small and restricted. The main patterns of geographic variation of morphological characters for V. ammodytes were similar to the patterns obtained for Vipera latastei and Vipera monticola; the same environmental factors limit the distribution of differentiated groups of vipers in the Balkans and the Iberian Peninsula. The influence of humidity on the variation of morphological traits in spatially separated viper taxa from the two European peninsulas coincides with their phylogenetic relatedness. Geostatistics and GIS procedures were successful in the identification of environmental correlates sustaining contact zones among V. ammodytes subspecies in the Balkans. The same techniques should be applied for studying other parapatric forms and refugia regions. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 101, 651–666.


The emergence of nanotechnology as a general purpose technology has introduced a new dimension to science and technology and has a ffected various technological domains.Thus, it is not a homogeneous technology, but rather a group of related technologies. The inherent potential of nanotechnology and its economic benefi t have persuaded many countries to invest billions in research and development of nanotechnology. The evidence implies that nano science has shifted from a theoretical to applied phase since basic research moves toward engineering fields. However, delivering the result of research to the market and entering into the commercialization process requires proper infrastructure, experience in manufacturing process, knowledge of marketing strategies and indeed an investment as engine of any business. In this process universities play a signifi cant role in linking science and innovation, particularly in an emerging domain such as nanotechnology. This study explores the available mechanisms of technology transfer in nanotechnology. Di ffusion of nanotechnology into the business is examined in the nine Nordic universities and the linkage between universities and the fi rms is investigated from the university perspective. The main research issues addressed include the mechanisms of technology transfer, the impact of interdisciplinary of nanotechnology, the interaction of the university and firm, the role of policy makers and intermediary organizations in the di ffusion of nanotechnology and the faculty attitudes. The method used include data analysis based on a web-based questionnaire. The descriptive statistics and an analytical modeling are used on the original data collected through this questionnaire.


HESS J0632+057 is a gamma-ray binary composed of a compact object orbiting a Be star with a period of about 315 days. Extensive X-ray and TeV gamma-ray observations have revealed a peculiar light curve containing two peaks, separated by a dip. We present the results of simultaneous observations in hard X-rays with NuSTAR and in TeV gamma-rays with VERITAS, performed in 2017 November and December. These observations correspond to the orbital phases ϕ ≈ 0.22 and 0.3, where the fluxes are rising toward the first light-curve peak. A significant variation of the spectral index from 1.77 ± 0.05 to 1.56 ± 0.05 is observed in the X-ray data. The multiwavelength spectral energy distributions (SED) derived from the observations are interpreted in terms of a leptonic model, in which the compact object is assumed to be a pulsar and nonthermal radiation is emitted by high-energy electrons accelerated at the shock formed by the collision between the stellar and pulsar wind. The results of the SED fitting show that our data can be consistently described within this scenario, and allow us to estimate the magnetization of the pulsar wind at the location of the shock formation. The constraints on the pulsar wind magnetization provided by our results are shown to be consistent with those obtained from other systems.


Interactive image search or relevance feedback is the process which helps a user refining his query and finding difficult target categories. This consists in a step-by-step labeling of a very small fraction of an image database and iteratively refining a decision rule using both the labeled and unlabeled data. Training of this decision rule is referred to as transductive learning. Our work is an original approach for relevance feedback based on Graph Laplacian. We introduce a new Graph Laplacian which makes it possible to robustly learn the embedding of the manifold enclosing the dataset via a diffusion map. Our approach is two-folds: it allows us (i) to integrate all the unlabeled images in the decision process and (ii) to robustly capture the topology of the image set. Relevance feedback experiments were conducted on simple databases including Olivetti and Swedish as well as challenging and large scale databases including Corel. Comparisons show clear and consistent gain of our graph Laplacian method with respect to state-of-the art relevance feedback approaches.


We propose a general framework for interactively learning models, such as (binary or non-binary) classifiers, orderings/rankings of items, or clusterings of data points. Our framework is based on a generalization of Angluin's equivalence query model and Littlestone's online learning model: in each iteration, the algorithm proposes a model, and the user either accepts it or reveals a specific mistake in the proposal. The feedback is correct only with probability $p > 1/2$ (and adversarially incorrect with probability $1 - p$), i.e., the algorithm must be able to learn in the presence of arbitrary noise. The algorithm's goal is to learn the ground truth model using few iterations.
Our general framework is based on a graph representation of the models and user feedback. To be able to learn efficiently, it is sufficient that there be a graph $G$ whose nodes are the models and (weighted) edges capture the user feedback, with the property that if $s, s^*$ are the proposed and target models, respectively, then any (correct) user feedback $s'$ must lie on a shortest $s$-$s^*$ path in $G$. Under this one assumption, there is a natural algorithm reminiscent of the Multiplicative Weights Update algorithm, which will efficiently learn $s^*$ even in the presence of noise in the user's feedback.
From this general result, we rederive with barely any extra effort classic results on learning of classifiers and a recent result on interactive clustering; in addition, we easily obtain new interactive learning algorithms for ordering/ranking.


Sensitive and reproducible tests are essential to investigate the mechanisms of gastric motility and sensation in healthy humans and patients with unexplained upper gastrointestinal symptoms. Electrogastrography, manometry, scintigraphic emptying, and barostat studies with an intragastric balloon were initially used to understand physiology and pathophysiology of gastric motility. However, manometry and barostat studies are time-consuming, costly, and invasive, thus reducing their widespread clinical application. To overcome these shortcomings, several novel approaches have been proposed: water/nutrient drink test, paracetamol absorption test, 13C-octanoic acid or spirulina breath tests, ultrasonography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and tensostat. The water/nutrient (satiety) test is a noninvasive test proposed as an alternative to sensory studies performed with an intragastric balloon. The satiety test cannot measure gastric accommodation; interpretation of sensory tests usually has required independent assessment of accommodation or compliance. The tensostat can be used as a gastric sensation test because it measures gastric wall tension, which is related to the perception of gastric distention. To measure gastric emptying, the paracetamol absorption test, 13C breath tests, ultrasound, or MRI can be used. The paracetamol absorption test can measure the gastric emptying of liquids. 13C breath test can measure the gastric emptying of solids or liquids and can achieve accuracy comparable with gastric scintigraphy. Ultrasonography requires special skills, and MRI requires costly equipment. To measure gastric accommodation to a meal, ultrasound, MRI, and SPECT have been proposed. The recently introduced SPECT requires an intravenous injection of 99mTc-pertechnetate, which the gastric mucosa specifically takes up, and specialized imaging and analysis, which have potential to be automated. Thus, novel, noninvasive approaches assess different dimensions of gastric motility and sensation testing. With further development of these techniques, refinement of their conduct and analysis, and validation of clinical usefulness, they are likely to be applicable in clinical practice to enhance cost-effective, evidence-based management of upper gastrointestinal symptoms. Such applications may provide an alternative to sequential empirical trials for symptoms.


During molecular processes, protein flexibility is a fundamental property allowing protein-protein interaction. Following structural changes during these interactions is then of crucial interest. Site-Directed Spin Labeling (SDSL) combined to EPR spectroscopy is a powerful technique to follow structural modifications within proteins and during protein-protein interactions. Usual nitroxide labels target cysteine residues and afford a 3-line spectrum, whose shape is informative of the structural environment of the label. However, it is not possible to probe two regions of a protein or two partner proteins at the same time because of the overlapping of EPR signatures. Previously, we reported the design and the characterization of a spin label based on a β-phosphorylated (PP) nitroxide yielding a 6-line spectrum. Here, we report the use of two labels with different EPR signatures, namely maleimido-proxyl (P) and PP, to follow structural changes during a protein-protein interaction process in one single experiment. As a model system, we chose a disordered protein that undergoes an induced α-helical folding upon binding to its partner. We show that the EPR spectrum of a mixture of labeled interacting proteins can be analyzed in terms of structural changes during the interaction. This study represents an important step forward in the extension of the panoply of SDSL-EPR approaches.


Taking the case of Morocco, this paper aims to explore the challenges to system-building initiatives for the development of the solar energy sector. Drawing on innovation systems (ISs) literature, I examine factors that contribute to the emergence of a solar energy sector and delve into how complex governance dynamics affect such developments in Morocco. Aside from low capabilities and knowledge on solar energy technologies, a key challenge to the development of an IS in Morocco is the lack of a strategic approach that not only engages all relevant stakeholders but also integrates diverse objectives. The role played by the state (and its supported institutions) in the society and its participation in the economy is likely to explain why these processes are slow to prevail.


Gene-for-gene relationships are a common feature of plant-parasite interactions. Polymorphism at host resistance and parasite avirulence loci is maintained if there is negative, direct frequency-dependent selection on alleles of either gene. More specifically, selection of this kind is generated when the disease is polycyclic with frequent auto-infection. When an incompatible interaction occurs between a resistant host and an avirulent parasite, systemic defenses are triggered, rendering the plant more resistant to a later attack by another parasite. However, induced resistance (IR) incurs a fitness cost to the plant. Here, the effect of IR on polymorphism in gene-for-gene interactions is investigated. First, in an infinite population model in which parasites have two generations per host generation, increasing the fitness cost of IR increases selection for susceptible plants at low disease severity, while increasing the effectiveness of IR against further parasite attacks enhances selection for resistant plants at high disease severity. This reduces the possibility of polymorphism being maintained in host and parasite populations. In finite population models, the number of plants varies over time as a function of the disease burden of the population. Polymorphism in gene-for-gene relationships is then more stable at high disease prevalence and severity if IR reactions are more costly when there is competition for resources between plants.


We develop and implement what we believe is the first conceptually valid health-inclusive poverty measure (HIPM)—a measure that includes health care or insurance in the poverty needs threshold and health insurance benefits in family resources—and we discuss its limitations. Building on the Census Bureau's Supplemental Poverty Measure, we construct a pilot HIPM for the under-65 population under ACA-like health reform in Massachusetts. This pilot is intended to demonstrate the practicality, face validity and value of a HIPM. Results suggest that public health insurance benefits and premium subsidies accounted for a substantial, one-third reduction in the poverty rate. Among low-income families who purchased individual insurance, premium subsidies reduced poverty by 9.4 percentage points.


Abstract Background: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, age, sex distribution and blood pressure (BP) pattern of patients with orthostatic hypertension in a cohort of hypertensives. Method: A total of 179 patients on follow-up treatment in a hypertension clinic were assessed for age, sex and BP in the seated position, and after two minutes in the erect position, on three consecutive visits. Orthostatic hypertension was defined as an increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP) of ≥ 20 mmHg on more than one occasion in the erect position. Orthostatic hypotension was defined as a decrease in BP on more than one occasion, between the seated and erect SBP, of ≥ 20 mmHg. The mean ages of the participants with and without orthostatic hypertension were compared by t-test for any significant difference. The means of the seated SBP of participants with and without orthostatic hypertension were also compared with the t-test. The effect of gender on orthostatic hypertension was tested with a chi-square (χ2). The differences between the mean seated and mean erect SBPs of participants with and without orthostatic hypertension were compared with the paired t-test. Results: Thirty-eight (21.23%) of the participants had orthostatic hypertension. The mean age of those with orthostatic hypertension was not significantly different from that of the participants without orthostatic hypertension (p-value = 0.789). There was no significant effect of gender on orthostatic hypertension (p-value = 0.795). The mean of the seated SBP was significantly lower in the participants with orthostatic hypertension (p-value = 0.008). The mean seated SBP was significantly different from the mean erect SBP for those with orthostatic hypertension, compared to those without orthostatic hypertension (p-value = 0.000 vs. p-value = 0.169). Five (2.79%) of the participants had orthostatic hypotension. Conclusion: Orthostatic hypertension, a form of BP dysregulation, may be more common among treated hypertensives than what is presently known.


Exchange rate movements are difficult to predict but there appear to be discernible patterns in how currencies jointly appreciate or depreciate against the dollar. In this paper, we study the dependence structure of a number of exchange rate pairs against the dollar. We employ a conditional copula approach to recover the joint distributions for pairs of exchange rates and study both the correlation and the upper and lower tail dependence of these distributions. We analyze changes in dependence measures over time, and we investigate whether these measures are affected by the business cycle or interest rate differentials. Our results show that dependencies are indeed time-varying. We find that foreign and U.S. recessions affect the joint dependence structure and that currencies with higher interest rate differentials tend to move less closely together, not only on average (correlation), but also when extreme events occur (tails).


The Dead Sea fault zone is a major left-lateral strike-slip fault. South of the Dead Sea basin, the Wadi Araba fault extends over 160 km to the Gulf of Aqaba. The Dead Sea fault zone is known to have produced several relatively large historical earthquakes. However, the historical events are unequally distributed along the fault and only four events have been reported in the Araba valley over the last few thousands of years. Magnitudes estimated from the historical record are probably slightly smaller than that of the M_w ∼ 7.3 earthquake that struck the Gulf of Aqaba in 1995. The fault cuts straight across Pleistocene to Holocene alluvium and shows morphologic evidence for essentially pure strike-slip motion. Regional seismic monitoring reveals little microseismicity along the fault except around the Dead Sea and Gulf of Aqaba, where the fault splays into complex pull-apart basin fault systems. We have investigated the fault zone at several sites selected from SPOT images and the study of aerial photography. At the site of the now destroyed Tilah Castle, a well-preserved wall, dated to be about 1200 yr BP (^(14)C age on charcoal), is cut by the fault and offset by 2.2 m. Comparison with offset gullies at a nearby site 3 km to the north and at three other sites, respectively 25, 50 and 65 km to the south, reveals that this specific fault displacement is probably related to the last seismic event that ruptured that fault segment, possibly in AD 1458.

Moreover, the offset gullies suggest a characteristic slip behaviour with recurring slip of about 1.5 m on average. Given the 4 ± 2 mm yr^(−1) slip rate derived for this fault segment, we infer that the fault should produce M_w ∼ 7 earthquakes along some segment in the Araba valley about every 200 years. The historical period, with only four well-documented large earthquakes in AD 1068, AD 1212, AD 1293 and AD 1458, thus appears to have been relatively quiescent, with a 20 per cent deficit of M_w ∼ 7 earthquakes. However, our data do not exclude the possibility of larger M_w ∼ 7.6 earthquakes or time clustering of earthquakes over longer timespans. An alternative seismic behaviour involves M_w ∼ 7.6 earthquakes about every 6000 years and M_w ∼ 7 earthquakes about every 250 years. The historical catalogue would then appear to be complete for M_w ∼ 7 earthquakes.


Use of hot water has become extensive, especially in bitumen extraction from oil sands and in the production of heavy oil. The hot water is often under pressure and is 80–90°C, which is well above temperatures that result in immediate, potentially severe burn injuries. The ASTM F2701-08 apparatus consists of a funnel through which hot liquid is hand-poured to produce a 10 s exposure. Two 40 mm diameter copper calorimeters, mounted in an insulating sheet are positioned beneath the funnel outlet and are intended to measure the energy transfer through the fabric from the hot liquid. For this research, changes were made to the apparatus and procedures to more closely simulate low pressure hot water streams found in the oil industry and to improve reproducibility. The funnel producing the liquid splash was replaced with a small pipe directly fed by a circulating hot water bath via a small pump, through a hose and valve system, allowing for consistent application of a given quantity of water at a consistent temperature and flow rate. Water temperature, flow rate, and pressure can be altered as desired. A series of fabrics varying systematically on several parameters were tested with the modified equipment. Resulting heat transfer data suggest the system differentiates well among both semi-permeable and impermeable fabrics. Specifications for hot water protection are proposed.


I argue that the question �what is complexity science?� presents an opportunity to think critically about complexity science, and to ask the question tells us something about what work still needs to be done in understanding complex social dynamics. The paper is a performance of complexity science, putting complexity science to the ultimate test asking, how can complexity science help us answer the question �what is complexity science�? Making a distinction between the study of complex social orders and complex social orderings, I argue there continues to be a problem of establishing the grounds upon which complexity science can be seen to offer an adequate account of social dynamics, in particular because of a continued tendency towards determinism and reductionism. I suggest that the concept of emergence needs to be re-thought, and, drawing upon Luhmann, that a key role for complexity science is to ask, how is ignorance dealt with?


The purpose of this article is to explain how the law of the European Union (EU) has revolutionized the freedom of professional athletes' abilities to move from one club to another, and from one EU member state to another, in order to avail themselves of employment opportunities that come their way. The article also provides an assessment of the ongoing endeavours of sports organizations and the EU to forge a new working relationship in the wake of the Bosman ruling. Sports organizations want to establish an arrangement that will protect sport from the full rigours of EU law; but the EU is equally concerned with ensuring that fundamental, immutable principles of EU law are respected by clubs, governing bodies and other sporting organizations. One of the key principles that the EU regards as sacrosanct is the principle of the free movement of workers – the right for people to move from one member state to another in order to work – and it was issue that was at the heart of Belgian Football Association v. Bosman (hereafter 'Bosman') ([1996] All ER (EC) 97) Consequently the starting point for this article is the European Court of Justice's ruling in Bosman, which heralded the demise of two of European football's sacred cows–the transfer system and the player quota rules– as a consequence of the application of the laws on freedom of movement.


This book published in October 2005 is a revised version of O Donaill's doctoral thesis, which was completed in July 2004. It was published as number IV in the Maynooth Medieval Irish Texts series which aims to cater for a broad readership, from students of Medieval Irish to accomplished scholars. O Donaill's edition of Talland Etair seeks to improve greatly on the previous edition of the prose sections by Whitley Stokes (1887), and that of the long roscad by Margaret Dobbs (1949), by treating the text as a whole and by providing a critical edition which reappraises the extant manuscript evidence in light of the many advances made in our understanding of Medieval Irish since the preceding works were published. The current work makes available for the first time a diplomatic edition of the Harleian 5280 copy of the tale which contains some otherwise unattested forms, as well as a fresh reading of the Book of Leinster copy. The textual notes section of the book is structured in such a way as to bring the attested readings, the restored and normalised text, and the relevant notes together in one place for the ease of the reader, this follows the method adopted in number I in the series. The date of composition of the tale is considered in the introduction, with a date in the latter half of the Old Irish period being established. O Donaill also analyses here the structure and make up of the tale and he argues strongly against the theory put forward by Frank O'Connor in The Backward Look that the tale as it has come down to us, is 'the work of a storyteller suffering from acute schizophrenia' referring to what he saw as the disjointed appearance of the various compositional styles employed in the tale.


Exposure of Arabidopsis thaliana plants to high levels of light revealed specific phosphorylation of a 40 kDa protein in photosynthetic thylakoid membranes. The protein was identified by MS as extracellular calcium‐sensing receptor (CaS), previously reported to be located in the plasma membrane. By confocal laser scanning microscopy and subcellular fractionation, it was demonstrated that CaS localizes to the chloroplasts and is enriched in stroma thylakoids. The phosphorylation level of CaS responded strongly to light intensity. The light‐dependent thylakoid protein kinase STN8 is required for CaS phosphorylation. The phosphorylation site was mapped to the stroma‐exposed Thr380, located in a motif for interaction with 14‐3‐3 proteins and proteins with forkhead‐associated domains, which suggests the involvement of CaS in stress responses and signaling pathways. The knockout Arabidopsis lines revealed a significant role for CaS in plant growth and development.


The model of criminal justice system in the Philippines follows the five pillars, namely: law enforcement, prosecution, judiciary, correction and community. Although based on the four subsystems used in the United States, it omits the legislative, and added the prosecution and the community components. The system, however, is plagued by many ills which is a direct consequence of a faulty theory. Aside from eliminated subsystem and the added pillars, the flaws include the model's translation from a circular representation to a linear one without a clear feedback loop. It did not carefully identify the rightful components of a functional criminal justice system and disregarded the structural subsystems. With the theoretical problems of the five pillars model, the Gavel Model is proposed which improves on the existing model by: 1) adding back the legislative system; 2) adding the public defender's office; 3) cooperation between law enforcement and prosecution; 4) interaction of Prosecution and Defense; 5) cooperation between courts and corrections; and 6) tapping the civil society. The proposed model is a rational application of the concept of check-and-balanced and addresses the ills in the present system.


The club-like appendage of the stomatopod or mantis shrimp called the dactyl club which it uses to smash the shells of its prey possesses a structure which has been found to contribute to the dactyl club's impact strength, along with unique properties which are open t. This study computationally determines the properties which significantly contribute to the structure's strength through simulated impact tests, verifies simulated results experimentally through the employment of flexural tests, and provides a novel design, integrating all favorable qualities into a single optimized structure which performs significantly better than both standard quasi-isotropic designs which aerospace and composite industries currently use, and designs obtained from multi-objective evolutionary algorithms which have been used as the standard mode of optimization for composite structures. This could be used in the creation of cheaper and stronger plywood which could significantly help in the construction of disaster-proof housing. Furthermore, this study also provides researchers with a fine-tuned model that can be applied to virtually all fields which use composite laminates and plywood composites.


More than 270,000 Indian cotton farmers have committed suicide since 1995, and India's agricultural sector, which directly or indirectly employs more than 70 million Indians, faces severe crises in terms of air, water, and soil degradation, pervasive chemical-led farming, debts, and lack of a profitable and sustainable livelihood system. In addition, India is losing traditional knowledge of farming and other craftsmanship, which was more natureand community-friendly. This has led to a loss of community identity, severe malnutrition, and loss of livelihood, leading to displacement of indigenous people. Despite governmental support, the situation has not changed significantly. In this paper, we analyzed design and social interventions in the Indian farming sector via permaculture, which mimics relationships found in natural ecology. This design approach has a very successful history of solving the food crisis in different ecosystems across the world. Our study looks at Indian designers engaged in farming cotton and food crops in an attempt to contribute to design literature through the application of permaculture. We measure successes in terms of three ethical parameters: care for the earth, care for the people, and return of surplus to the ecosystem. Our observational variables are design and social interventions in three Odisha communities, through interviews with designers, experts, and farmers. We applied conceptual and relational content analysis to understand commonalities among the selected design processes and social interventions that led to better livelihoods and income for the farmers. The findings may help replicate, modify and build other thriving farming communities in India and other countries, and also invite further research in permaculture design to address social issues and influence design research and education.


A new Early Albian ammonite fauna is described from erratic boulders of morainal plain deposits at Wolgast-Hohendorf near Greifswald in north-eastern Germany. They contain species indicative essentially of the Proleymeriella schrammeni Zone, the Leymeriella tardefurcata Zone and possibly the earliest Douvilleiceras mammillatum Superzone. This dates the transgressive glauconitic sandstones, representing a major pulse of the initial Cretaceous transgressive history in the Danish-Polish Trough. The largest element of the ammonite fauna consists of Hypacanthoplites elegans, a species that is fairly widely distributed but endemic to Europe and is particularly common in the Lower Saxony Basin. A significant part of the fauna indicates an Arctic incursion of ammonites during the Early Albian, with Arcthoplites jachromensis and Grycia? sp. We identify some relations to the Early Albian ammonite fauna of Bornholm which is revised. The Hohendorf assemblage also yields the first Bellidiscus assemblage recorded outside of the Mangyshlak Peninsula in Kazakhstan that stresses its character as fairly cosmopolitan. Palaeogeographically the presence of a small Early Albian seaway from the Arctic to the Danish-Polish Trough which connects also faunas of the southern rim of the Scandinavian (Baltic) Shield to the southern rim of the Russian Platform is confirmed. The record of cool temperate ammonites among the material at hand might be explained by cool polar regions during the Early Albian and agrees with data from other ammonite faunas recorded from Europe.


Introduction: Current Thermal cycling units fail to simulate the drinking behaviors, and oral balancing temperature. They cannot also simulate other oral conditions such as drink coloring, and chemicals like tea, coffee, carbonated and noncarbonated, citrus juices as well as alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks and also saliva and milk itself. The main objective of this study is to introduce the designing and manufacturing the first Drinking Simulator Unit (DSU) that reproduces the thermal, color and chemicalcycling as well as the drinking behavior and oral temperature in lab conditions uniquely. Methods: The invented system generally has two parts: the hardware and the software parts. The hardware consists of the mechanical and electronic parts. The software part is responsible for controlling the heating and cooling systems, electric valves, the pumps, and automatic filling systems of tanks as well as the sensors of the machine. Results: DSU is the first unit can reproduce the thermal, color and chemical cycling as well as the drinking behavior and oral temperature in lab conditions. Different kinds of colored and acidic drinks and also other chemical materials such as bleaching substances as well as detergents and antiseptics used for dentistry, industrial and medical purposes can be tested by DSU. DSU has also to be considered as an appliance performing in-vitro researches on dental structures. Conclusion: The invented system can greatly improve and validate the results of such researches.


Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the analgesic properties of Metoclopramide, a frequently prescribed antiemetic, for relieving postoperative pain following ovariohysterectomy in dogs. Study design: Experimental study Animals: Sixteen intact bitches, mean weight 15±2 kg. Methods: The dogs were randomly placed into two equal groups(A and B). Prior to surgery, the dogs in group A, received Metoclopramide (0.5mg/kg/ IV) and the dogs in group B, received the same volume of saline placebo intravenously. Under general anesthesia (acepromazine [0.1mg/kg/IM], thiopental Na [8 mg/kg/IV] and inhalation of 1.6 % isoflurane in 100% oxygen) traditional midline ovariohysterectomy was performed in all dogs. Pain scores were recorded using a University Melbourne Pain Scale (UMPS) before surgery and at 0.5, 1, 3, 6 and 24 hours following surgery. All data were analyzed by SPSS software using the student's t test for normally distributed data and the Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon signed-rank test for skewed data. P-value less than 0.05 was considered to be significant. Results: The mean of recovery time was significantly higher in group B (18.6±2.3) in compared to group A (11.4±2.3)(P=0.001). Median pain scores were significantly higher in the group B than group A at all postoperative times (P<0.05) except 24 hours following the surgery (P=0.6). Median postoperative pain scores were significantly higer than preoperative pain scores at 0.5, 1, 3 and 6 hours in both groups (P<0.05). Conclusion: It is concluded that metoclopramide has analgesic properties and can alleviate postoperative pain following ovariohysterectomy in dogs during 6 hours after surgery. In addition following injection of the drug duration of recovery time is significantly decreased.


Due to the advent of digitization, service innovation has become even more important for both business and service research alike. Current service systems engineering approaches have employed a recombinant perspective that follows innovation mechanisms to leverage existing company resources for new service innovations. Employing these innovation mechanisms is still challenging, since there is little support on how to structure and identify these mechanisms. We propose a model-based service system engineering approach to structure existing resources into one formal model, enabling the formalization of service innovation mechanisms. The formalized service innovation mechanisms allow for a graphical illustration and enable future research to apply functions to analyze how innovation impacts entire or specific parts of service systems. Furthermore, the mathematical model enables an object-oriented value-driven perspective on service systems and is basis for graphical software tools. We contribute to literature by formalizing service innovations and its mechanisms in the context of service systems and by combining concepts of service innovation and service systems engineering. We do so by a) formalizing service innovation mechanisms and b) demonstrating the application of formal service innovations along one specific software implementation case. For practice, the service system model can with simulating the effects of service innovations.


Motor axons regenerating after transection of mixed nerve preferentially reinnervate distal motor branches and/or muscle, a process termed "preferential motor reinnervation." Collaterals of a single motor axon often enter both sensory and motor Schwann cell tubes of the distal stump; specificity is generated by pruning collaterals from sensory pathways while maintaining those in motor pathways. Previous experiments in the rat femoral nerve model evaluated reinnervation of the femoral motor branch and quadriceps muscle as a unit. In this study, pathway contributions are analyzed separately by denying muscle contact, or by reinnervating muscle through inappropriate, formerly sensory pathways. Motor axons preferentially reinnervate motor pathways, even when these pathways end blindly in a silicon tube. If the femoral nerve is removed as a graft and reinserted with correct or reversed alignment of the sensory and motor branches, more motoneurons reinnervate muscle through correct motor than through incorrect sensory pathways. Motor pathways thus differ from sensory pathways in ways that survive Wallerian degeneration and transplantation as a graft, and that can be used by regenerating motor axons as a basis for collateral pruning and specificity generation.


ABSTRACT Tobacco and substance use is a great public health concern in Asia. The prevalence of tobacco smoking, while steadily declined in Western countries over past few decades, has increased in many regions of Asia, especially in low- and middle-income countries. And high-income countries in the region have reported rapid growth rates in e-cigarette use in recent years. Furthermore, illicit drugs, specially cannabis, amphetamines, and opioids, have begun to threaten the health of the people in the region like never before. To better understand the landscape of the two primary public health concerns in Asia, tobacco and substance use, this special issue examines cigarette/e-cigarette use and tobacco control policies for five selected countries (Singapore, China, South Korea, Japan, and Laos People's Democratic Republic); and explores substance use related issues focused on prevention, influencing factors, and policies of three countries (Hon Kong, Malaysia, and India). The research, policy, and clinical implications from this issue will contribute to mitigating the global burden of tobacco and substance use-related public health issues in Asia.


Abstract. Cloud measurements are usually carried out with airborne campaigns, which are expensive and are limited by temporal duration and weather conditions. Ground-based measurements at high-altitude research stations therefore play a complementary role in cloud study. Using the meteorological data (wind speed, direction, temperature, humidity, visibility, etc.) collected by the German Weather Service (DWD) from 2000 to 2012 and turbulence measurements recorded by multiple ultrasonic sensors (sampled at 10 Hz) in 2010, we show that the Umweltforschungsstation Schneefernerhaus (UFS) located just below the peak of Zugspitze in the German Alps, at a height of 2650 m, is a well-suited station for cloud–turbulence research. The wind at UFS is dominantly in the east–west direction and nearly horizontal. During the summertime (July and August) the UFS is immersed in warm clouds about 25 % of the time. The clouds are either from convection originating in the valley in the east, or associated with synoptic-scale weather systems typically advected from the west. Air turbulence, as measured from the second- and third-order velocity structure functions that exhibit well-developed inertial ranges, possesses Taylor microscale Reynolds numbers up to 104, with the most probable value at ~ 3000. In spite of the complex topography, the turbulence appears to be nearly as isotropic as many laboratory flows when evaluated on the "Lumley triangle".


BACKGROUND
The purpose of this 30-day blinded, parallel-design study was to compare the effect of 2 powered toothbrushes, the Rowenta MH700 and the Braun Plak Control Ultra, on reducing plaque accumulation, gingivitis, and gingival bleeding in a cohort of 60 healthy adults.

METHODS
After baseline evaluation of plaque, gingivitis, and gingival bleeding, subjects were randomly assigned to one of the experimental groups, provided written and verbal toothbrushing instructions, and had their teeth polished. At 2 weeks (follow-up 1) and 4 weeks (follow-up 2) all clinical parameters were again evaluated.

RESULTS
The Braun group demonstrated a nearly significant reduction in gingival index (Gl) and a significant reduction in GI at follow-up 2. The Rowenta group demonstrated significant reductions in GI, plaque index (PI), and bleeding index (GBI) at both follow-up 1 and 2 examinations. At follow-up 1, the Braun group demonstrated a nearly significant reduction in GI, a significant reduction in PI, and a non-significant reduction in GBI. At follow-up 2, the Braun group demonstrated a significant reduction in GBI, but not a significant reduction in PI. The reduction in GI for the Rowenta group was significantly greater (P values of 0.0001 and 0.0001, respectively) than that demonstrated in the Braun group. However, the Rowenta group did not demonstrate a significantly greater reduction in PI (P values of 0.7135 and 0.3184 for follow-up 1 and follow-up 2, respectively) or GBI than the Braun group at either examination (P values of 0.0663 and 0.3397 for followup 1 and 2, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study support the findings of numerous other studies that powered toothbrushes have great potential to remove plaque and improve gingival health and that the improvement can be demonstrated in a relatively short period of time. J Periodontol 1999;70:840-847.


The permeability of the fractured geothermal systems in the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) of New
Zealand is continually evolving due to mineral deposition and stress transients. It is generally accepted
that a cyclic process, involving mineral deposition and crack dilation, is responsible for the formation
of mineral veins of up to a metre in thickness. Studies of vein formation have focussed on the mechanics
of dilation. Seismic activity and hydrofracturing are commonly accepted as mechanisms that generate
the stress transients required to cause refracturing. By contrast, thermal stress transients generated
during the mineral deposition process have received very little attention. In this thesis we construct
and analyse mathematical models to investigate aspects of possible thermo-fracturing quartz vein
formation processes.
A first model is presented for thermally driven flow in a homogeneous porous medium. Approximate
steady state analytical solutions are obtained for the flow resulting from point and line heat sources
using similarity methods and asymptotic analysis for different permeability structures representing
the extreme cases of very small and very large crack spacing. These solutions are used as the basis to
perform a detailed study, in a simple geometry, of the transient process of a single fracture, within the
porous medium, healing by silica deposition. Solutions are obtained using analytical and numerical
techniques. It is shown that the resulting temperature variations in the plume are always small and
depend on the thickness and profile of the initial fracture aperture.
Using the ideas and insight obtained, a simplified model is constructed for a radially fractured
upflow zone which incorporates the thermally driven flow, silica deposition and thermal stress effects.
It is shown that a temperature change of as little as 10°C in the upflow zone is sufficient to generate
lithostatic size stresses in the upper kilometre of the hydrothermal system. A numerical solution is
obtained using asymptotic analysis for the case of a large number of small individual fractures. The
solution indicates that thermal stresses can act to enhance fracture permeability in upflow zones.
The results of the modelling indicate that the permeability structure in a geothermal system has
considerable affect on the distribution of temperature variations in the plume. For a large crack
spacing the temperature variations in the upflow zones of geothermal systems are confined to a region
with sharp outer boundary. The results also show that the effect of silica deposition in fractured
geothermal systems depends highly on the permeability structure. Silica deposition resulting in large
fractures within a smaller scale fracture system produces only small changes in plume temperature,
whilst silica deposition in large fractures in a less permeable rock mass can cause 'choking' of the flow
and hence large changes in flow paths and temperatures in the plume.


Aims: To demonstrate ultrahigh-resolution, three-dimensional optical coherence tomography (3D-OCT) and projection OCT fundus imaging for enhanced visualisation of outer retinal pathology in non-exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: A high-speed, 3.5 μm resolution OCT prototype instrument was developed for the ophthalmic clinic. Eighty-three patients with non-exudative AMD were imaged. Projection OCT fundus images were generated from 3D-OCT data by selectively summing different retinal depth levels. Results were compared with standard ophthalmic examination, including fundus photography and fluorescein angiography, when indicated. Results: Projection OCT fundus imaging enhanced the visualisation of outer retinal pathology in non-exudative AMD. Different types of drusen exhibited distinct features in projection OCT images. Photoreceptor disruption was indicated by loss of the photoreceptor inner/outer segment (IS/OS) boundary and external limiting membrane (ELM). RPE atrophy can be assessed using choroid-level projection OCT images. Conclusions: Projection OCT fundus imaging facilities rapid interpretation of large 3D-OCT data sets. Projection OCT enhances contrast and visualises outer retinal pathology not visible with standard fundus imaging or OCT fundus imaging. Projection OCT fundus images enable registration with standard ophthalmic diagnostics and cross-sectional OCT images. Outer retinal alterations can be assessed and drusen morphology, photoreceptor impairment and pigmentary abnormalities identified.


The kinetics of the inhibition of DNA polymerases-alpha and -beta from sea urchin embryos by pyridoxal 5-phosphate were studied. The inhibition of DNA polymerase-alpha activity by pyridoxal 5-phosphate was competitive with activated DNA but noncompetitive with each deoxynucleoside triphosphate. With poly(dC)-oligo(dG)12-18 as a template-primer, however, the inhibition of DNA polymerase-alpha was competitive with dGTP but noncompetitive with the template-primer. These results suggest that DNA polymerase-alpha interacts with activated DNA and poly(dC)-oligo(dG)12-18 in different ways. The inhibition of DNA polymerase-beta by pyridoxal 5-phosphate was competitive with deoxynucleoside triphosphate using activated DNA as a template-primer and noncompetitive with activated DNA. Using poly(rA)-oligo(dT)12-18 as a template-primer, DNA polymerase-beta activity yielded sigmoid curves against both dTTP and the template-primer concentrations and was inhibited by pyridoxal 5-phosphate noncompetitively with respect to both dTTP and the template-primer. These results indicate that the inhibitory mode of DNA polymerase-alpha by pyridoxal 5-phosphate is different from that of DNA polymerase-beta.


This paper examines how financial aid reform based on postsecondary institutional performance impacts student choice. Federal and state regulations often reflect concerns about the private, for-profit sector's poor employment outcomes and high loan defaults, despite the sector's possible theoretical advantages. We use student level data to examine how eliminating public subsidies to attend low-performing for-profit institutions impacts students' college enrollment and completion behavior. Beginning in 2011, California tightened eligibility standards for their state aid program, effectively eliminating most for-profit eligibility. Linking data on aid application to administrative payment and postsecondary enrollment records, this paper utilizes a differences-in-differences strategy to investigate students' enrollment and degree completion responses to changes in subsidies. We find that restricting the use of the Cal Grant at for-profit institutions resulted in significant state savings but led to relatively small changes in students' postsecondary trajectories. For older, non-traditional students we find no impact on enrollment or degree completion outcomes. Similarly, for high school graduates, we find that for-profit enrollment remains strong. Unlike the older, non-traditional students, however, there is some evidence of declines in for-profit degree completion and increased enrollment at community colleges among the high school graduates, but these results are fairly small and sensitive to empirical specification. Overall, our results suggest that both traditional and non-traditional students have relatively inelastic preferences for for-profit colleges under aid-restricting policies.


Software Defined Radios are computer based systems that emulate the behavior of traditional radio systems by processing digitized radio signals. A SDR replaces the traditional fixed hardware radio with a system that may be reconfigured, both during operation to provide greater flexibility and by providing software upgrades to add new capabilities without requiring new hardware. These are powerful reasons for using SDR technology; however this flexibility comes at the cost of increased hardware cost and greater power consumption compared with traditional hardware radios. This report presents measurements of memory and processor usage for a Software Communication Architecture (SCA) waveform running on an OMAP starter kit and a desktop PC. The process used to build software, originally targeted for a desktop computer, on an embedded machine with a different processor architecture is described. OSSIE, an open source SCA implementation developed at Virginia Tech, was ported to the ARM processor by adding support for building OSSIE into the OpenEmbedded build system. Once the port for the OMAP starter kit was complete, it became possible to easily re-target OSSIE for a variety of other hardware platforms. For testing purposes a simple waveform capable of transmitting several common digital modulation formats was developed. A SCA device for the Universal Software Radio Peripheral was developed to interface the waveform to the antenna. One method to reduce the cost and power consumption is to limit the amount of memory used in the radio. This reduces both cost and power consumption. This report describes the memory manager portion of the Linux kernel and how it helps reduce the memory used by the system. The exmap tool for accurately measuring memory usage is described and used to measure the memory usage of the OSSIE based test waveform. These techniques help radio developers measure and reduce the amount of memory required for the SDR, reducing system cost and power consumption. Finally, the oprofile was used to measure relative processor usage of the waveform components. Oprofile can also provide details about specific sections of waveform code that use the most processor cycles. This information helps the radio designer reduce the number of processing cycles required. This allows the hardware to use a lower speed part, or add more capability to the radio design. This work received support from Wireless@VT Affiliates, the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Justice.


An exploratory study was done to unveil a more contemporary and intimate look at women and aging in U.S. society. This qualitative research explored what women do, if anything, to confront pressures associated with aging. Purposeful sampling was used to homogenize the participant sample for increased richness of data. Criterion was as follows: women, 50's age range, married with children, Caucasian, from the Midwest, and who currently use one or more anti‐aging products. In total, 17 women of similar status and background participated in this research. Data collection consisted of in‐depth audio taped interviews followed by immediate transcription. The analysis process incorporated open coding then axial coding to deduce themes. Four major categories were established: Views of Aging, Influences on Views of Aging, What Women do About Aging, and Women's Overall Recommendations Regarding Aging. Five major findings will be highlighted. First, participants admitted to being mildly affected by mediated messages concerning aging, but believed they had not internalized such messages. Second, the role of spouse, children, and friends as support systems helped offset aging pressures and concerns. Third, cost and ingredients played roles in the purchase of anti‐aging product(s). Fourth, participants indicated the use of the same anti‐aging product for over 20 years. Fifth, most participants dyed their hair routinely to mask greys and were conscious about "age appropriate" clothing choices. Sixth, participants recommended self‐acceptance and encouraged other women who might be struggling with their aging journey to find a support system. Three of the most significant real‐world implications from this research will be highlighted. First, this research provides insight into how, if at all, mediated messages affect aging perceptions. Second, the term "beauty work" is discussed as it relates to the use of appearance‐enhancing cosmetics and/or procedures, and how participants' daily enacted beauty routines (hair, nails and clothes) underscore and reinforce aging insecurities. Third, the positive influences of a strong support system or spouse in offsetting aging concerns are discussed. Future research could include younger women or different ethnicities which would provide new insight into the role of aging in the lives of women. BEHIND THE MASK: AN ANALYSIS OF WOMEN'S PERCEPTIONS AND RATIONALE TOWARD THE PURCHASE AND USE OF ANTI‐AGING PRODUCTS


This paper explores how language proficiency influences the dynamics of labour market entry among young Russians and the native populations in two former Soviet Republics—Estonia and Ukraine. We use data from the Estonian TIES survey and the Youth Transition Survey in Ukraine to compare the speed of finding any first job with that of entry to the first higher-status employment requiring good communication skills, thus revealing the role of language proficiency in the job-entry process. The results from event-history analyses show that proficiency in the official Estonian language plays a pivotal role for labour market entry in Estonia, particularly for higher-status employment. In Ukraine, on the other hand, monolingual Russian-speaking youth do not experience any difficulties in finding high-status first employment, even though the official language of the country is Ukrainian. We do not find any positive effect of bilingualism in either of these countries.


With network components increasingly reliable, routing is playing an ever greater role in determining network reliability. This has spurred much activity in improving routing stability and reaction to failures, and rekindled interest in centralized routing solutions, at least within a single routing domain. Centralizing decisions eliminates uncertainty and many inconsistencies, and offers added flexibility in computing routes that meet different criteria. However, it also introduces new challenges; especially in reacting to failures where centralization can increase latency. This paper leverages the flexibility afforded by centralized routing to address these challenges. Specifically, we explore when and how standby backup forwarding options can be activated, while waiting for an update from the centralized server after the failure of an individual component (link or node). We provide analytical insight into the feasibility of such backups as a function of network structure, and quantify their computational complexity. We also develop an efficient heuristic reconciling protectability and performance, and demonstrate its effectiveness in a broad range of scenarios. The results should facilitate deployments of centralized routing solutions.


Slender glass panels are widely used as storefronts and indoor separating walls in shopping malls and public buildings. To ensure that the design and construction is technically safe for general use and that it meets current and accepted technical standards, in-situ testing is required by the building administrator or authorities. A case study was performed of an indoor glass lantern in a public building made from slender two-side supported glass panels with a complex geometry. It provides structural assessments and results of in-situ experiments including static loading and soft body impact test. Results from numerical simulations of impact loading on the glass panels complementing the experimental results are also presented. The in-situ testing proved that the structural design meets current standards regarding the static loading. The soft body impact test proved the safety of the intact panel and the panel with one ply deliberately broken. The numerical study showed that, for a more complicated geometry, the stress distribution can dramatically change over time and that stress concentrations can develop at certain locations at a late stage in the impact history.


Abstract. Nematodes represent a species-rich and morphologically diverse group of metazoans known to inhabit both aquatic and terrestrial environments. Their role as biological indicators and as key players in nutrient cycling has been well documented. Some plant-parasitic species are also known to cause significant losses to crop production. In spite of this, there still exists a huge gap in our knowledge of their diversity due to the enormity of time and expertise often involved in characterising species using phenotypic features. Molecular methodology provides useful means of complementing the limited number of reliable diagnostic characters available for morphology-based identification. We discuss herein some of the limitations of traditional taxonomy and how molecular methodologies, especially the use of high-throughput sequencing, have assisted in carrying out large-scale nematode community studies and characterisation of phytonematodes through rapid identification of multiple taxa. We also provide brief descriptions of some the current and almost-outdated high-throughput sequencing platforms and their applications in both plant nematology and soil ecology.


Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a climate change mitigation technology which has had a rather chequered history in British policy making and in the British public sphere. This article deals with the neglected topic of representations of CCS in the British media and their possible impact on public perceptions and public policy. Public perception of CCS is shaped in part by the media which provide tools for making sense of complex technological and political issues such as CCS. This article compares articles on CCS in two UK newspapers, one national ("The Times") and one regional ("The Aberdeen Press and Journal") in 2011, a year during which some of the last battles over CCS demonstration projects were fought. It applies frame and metaphor analysis to a corpus of 150 articles. Findings reveal that during 2011 CCS coverage moved through a cycle of hype and disillusionment, with both newspapers reaching a trough of disappointment at the end of 2011. It will be difficult to reignite interest in CCS in this context, both in terms of media and public attention, and in terms of policy and investment. Regional confidence in national CCS policy in particular will be difficult to recover.


This paper presents a dynamic model of a public pension fund's choice of portfolio risk. Optimal portfolio allocations are derived when pension fund management maximize the utility of wealth of a representative taxpayer or when pension fund management maximize their own utility of compensation. The model's implications are examined using annual data on the portfolio allocations and plan characteristics of 125 state pension funds over the 2000 to 2009 period. Consistent with agency behavior by public pension fund management, we find evidence that funds chose greater overall asset - liability portfolio risk following periods of relatively poor investment performance. In addition, pension plans that select a relatively high rate with which to discount their liabilities tend to choose riskier portfolios. Moreover, consistent with a desire to gamble for higher benefits, pension plans take more risk when they have greater representation by plan participants on their Boards of Trustees.


Standardly, epistemic peers regarding a given matter are said to be people of equal competence who share all relevant evidence. Alternatively, one can define epistemic peers regarding a given matter as people who are equally likely to be right about that matter. I argue that a definition in terms of likelihood captures the essence of epistemic peerhood better than the standard definition or any variant of it. What is more, a likelihood definition implies the truth of the central thesis in the debate on peer disagreement, the so-called Equal Weight View, according to which we should give the opinions of our peers the same weight we give our own. Adopting a likelihood definition, however, does not end the debate on peer disagreement, because the alleged theoretical alternatives to the Equal Weight View, reinterpreted in the light of a likelihood definition, can in fact be shown to be compatible with this view—though the reinterpreted versions may appear less plausible than the original ones.


We examined the effects of a constructive controversy compared with individualistic learning on 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade students' (N = 56) moral development, ethical skills, academic achievement, and attitudes toward social interdependence. The results indicated that participating in constructive controversy (compared with individualistic learning) resulted in greater moral development (i.e., moral reasoning, moral motivation, moral character), greater ethical skills (i.e., perspective taking, perception of self as a moral person, rule orientation), higher academic achievement, and more positive attitudes toward competition. These results extend constructive controversy theory, as well as Piagetian and social interdependent theories. They also provide guidance as to how discussions of moral dilemmas and conflicts among students should be structured and conducted.


A growing need for scalable solutions for both machine learning and interactive analytics exists in the area of cyber-security. Machine learning aims at segmentation and classification of log events, which leads towards optimization of the threat monitoring processes. The tools for interactive analytics are required to resolve the uncertain cases, whereby machine learning algorithms are not able to provide a convincing outcome and human expertise is necessary. In this paper we focus on a case study of a security operations platform, whereby typical layers of information processing are integrated with a new database engine dedicated to approximate analytics. The engine makes it possible for the security experts to query massive log event data sets in a standard relational style. The query outputs are received orders of magnitude faster than any of the existing database solutions running with comparable resources and, in addition, they are sufficiently accurate to make the right decisions about suspicious corner cases. The engine internals are driven by the principles of information granulation and summary-based processing. They also refer to the ideas of data quantization, approximate computing, rough sets and probability propagation. In the paper we study how the engine's parameters can influence its performance within the considered environment. In addition to the results of experiments conducted on large data sets, we also discuss some of our high level design decisions including the choice of an approximate query result accuracy measure that should reflect the specifics of the considered threat monitoring operations.


The primary goal of this research was to find a renewable synthesis method for the production of propylene oxide. Significant quantities of glycerin are formed as a coproduct when soybean oil is used to produce biodiesel. This glycerin can be used to produce propylene glycol, which can undergo dehydration over basic catalysts to produce propylene oxide (PO), along with eight other products: acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, acetone, 2-propanol, 1-propanol, allyl alcohol, acetol, and dipropylene glycol. A variety of catalysts were prepared for each set of reactions, and dehydration was carried out in a plug flow reactor. For this thesis, only three main catalysts are presented, such as Na/Al2O3 (sodium acetate on alumina), Cs-ETS-10, and Na acac/MgO (sodium acetyl acetonate on nanocrystalline MgO). Dehydration reactions were performed with different masses of catalyst, reactor temperatures, and residence times to optimize the selectivity to PO. The highest selectivity to PO was obtained as 12.33% for Na acac/MgO catalyst at 400 C, 0.1g, and a N2 flow rate of 20SCCM. Even though Cs-ETS-10 catalyst was active for PO production, it also produced higher amounts of dipropylene glycol (80%). Dipropylene glycol appears to act as an active intermediate in the dehydration of propylene glycol to propylene oxide over Cs-ETS-10 catalyst, which would limit PO selectivity to 50%. The Na/Al2O3 resulted in low selectivity of 2% to PO, although it gave an appreciable selectivity of 60% to propionaldehyde. The reaction pathway to PO over these catalysts was also studied. Dehydration of propylene glycol to propylene oxide over Na/Al2O3, and Na acac/MgO catalysts appears to be a direct dehydration, rather than the involvement of a dipropylene glycol active intermediate.


Surface-relief diffractive optical elements made interferometrically typically are recorded with the off-axis technique, for which the fringe maxima lie on planes that are predominantly perpendicular to the recording surface and with an intensity variation that is sinusoidal. Such a structure can be readily replicated by mechanical means. Volume diffractive elements, on the other hand, which result from beams propagating in opposite directions, have fringe planes that are predominantly parallel to the surface and, as such, cannot be mechanically replicated. A new type of surface-relief diffractive structure called Aztec is discussed here; it combines features of both off-axis and volume recording geometries, with the result being a phase-quantized, or terraced, surface-relief pattern. The groove profile, instead of being sinusoidal, resembles a stepped pyramid. This structure has been replicated by metal mastering and molding into plastic in the same manner as conventional embossed surface-relief elements, but the diffraction characteristics are typical of volume phase reflective structures. Light of a given wavelength is resonantly diffracted from steps that are a half-wavelength apart and with a bandwidth that is inversely proportional to the number of steps. Color control has been achieved by overcoating the step structure with a clear dielectric that shifts the resonant wavelength to a new value, depending on the index of refraction of the dielectric. Information content is less for the single-layered, but stepped, Aztec structure than for the usual multilayered volume diffractive element. Deep Aztec stepped gratings have also been fabricated by optical lithography, using multiple-mask techniques.


This study is an investigation into the ability of pre-assessment measures of formal thought ability and general achievement to predict students at-risk of poor performance in college- level general chemistry. Over a three year period, data on formal thought ability (as measured by the Test of Logical Thinking, or TOLT) and/or general achievement (as measured by the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT) was collected from over 3000 students as they entered a general chemistry course. The outcome measure was an American Chemical Society general chemistry exam at the end of the course. Findings indicate that both the formal thought and the general achievement measure can successfully identify at-risk students in this setting, with neither measure being superior in doing so. The presence of distinct groups of students correctly predicted to be at-risk by only one of the measures demonstrates that formal thought ability and general achievement each represent an independent hindrance to success in chemistry. Therefore, efforts to help at-risk students should include a focus on the development of formal thought as well as a content review. [Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2007, 8 (1), 32-51]


A measurement is reported of differential top quark pair ($\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$) production cross sections, where top quarks are produced at large transverse momenta. The data collected with the CMS detector at the LHC are from pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. The measurement uses events where at least one top quark decays as t$ \to $Wb $ \to $ qq'b and is reconstructed as a large-radius jet with transverse momentum in excess of 400 GeV. The second top quark is required to decay either in a similar way, or leptonically, as inferred from a reconstructed electron or muon, a bottom quark jet, and a missing transverse momentum due to the undetected neutrino. The cross section is extracted as a function of kinematic variables of individual top quarks or of the $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$ system. The results are presented at the particle level, within a region of phase space close to that of the experimental acceptance, and at the parton level, and are compared to various theoretical models. In both decay channels the observed absolute cross sections are significantly lower than the predictions from theory, while the normalized differential measurements are well described.


Abstract We identified ikaite crystals (CaCO3 ·6H2O) and examined their shape and size distribution in first-year Arctic pack ice, overlying snow and slush layers during the spring melt onset north of Svalbard. Additional measurements of total alkalinity (TA) were made for melted snow and sea-ice samples. Ikaite crystals were mainly found in the bottom of the snowpack, in slush and the surface layers of the sea ice where the temperature was generally lower and salinity higher than in the ice below. Image analysis showed that ikaite crystals were characterized by a roughly elliptical shape and a maximum caliper diameter of 201.0±115.9 μm (n = 918). Since the ice-melting season had already started, ikaite crystals may already have begun to dissolve, which might explain the lack of a relationship between ikaite crystal size and sea-ice parameters (temperature, salinity, and thickness of snow and ice). Comparisons of salinity and TA profiles for melted ice samples suggest that the precipitation/dissolution of ikaite crystals occurred at the top of the sea ice and the bottom of the snowpack during ice formation/melting processes.


The aim of the article is to identify the nature of the influence of European law on Russian legal system, carried out in the framework of the impact on the Russian legislation, the Russian Federation's participation in the European legal processes and the traditional reception of the positive European experience in the field of law. Package and systemic approaches are used as the methodological basis of research to the analysis of the legal problems associated with the international obligations resulting from the need to implement the European legal standards into the Russian legal system. In the article the thesis is substantiated according to which the influence of European law on the legal system of Russia is the Europeanization of the Russian legal culture in general, as well as in the modernization of legislation on the basis of European standards and the Europeanisation of the Russian judicial practice.