Persistent mTORC1 signaling correlates with resistance to PI3K p110α inhibition in breast cancer, which can be overcome by inhibiting mTORC1. Caveat mTOR In recent years, numerous new drugs have been developed to take advantage of specific molecular changes in cancer cells. Unfortunately, tumors are often a step ahead of the scientists, becoming resistant to these targeted drugs just when they seem to be working perfectly. Now, two groups of researchers have developed rational combination treatments that block resistance to targeted cancer drugs by inhibiting mTOR. Elkabets and coauthors were working on breast cancer, where the PIK3CA gene is frequently mutated. Inhibitors of PI3K (the protein product of PIK3CA) are currently in clinical trials, but some of the cancers are resistant to these drugs. The authors have discovered that breast cancers resistant to the PI3K inhibitor BYL719 had persistently active mTOR signaling, both in cultured cell lines and in patient tumors. Adding an mTOR inhibitor to the treatment regimen could reverse the resistance and kill the tumor cells. Corcoran et al. found a similar mTOR-dependent drug resistance mechanism to be active in melanoma as well. BRAF-mutant melanomas, the most common type, are frequently treated with RAF and MEK inhibitors, but only with mixed results, because melanomas quickly develop resistance to these drugs. Now, the authors have shown that drug-resistant melanomas also have persistent activation of mTOR, and adding an mTOR inhibitor to the treatment regimen can block drug resistance and kill the cancer cells. In both studies, the activation of mTOR in drug-resistant tumors has been confirmed in human patients, but the combination treatments have only been tested in cells and in mouse models thus far. Thus, the next critical step would be to confirm that adding mTOR inhibition to treatment regimens for these cancers is effective in the clinical setting as well. Some mTOR inhibitors are already available for use in patients, so hopefully soon mTOR activation will not be something to beware of, but something to monitor and target with specific drugs. Activating mutations of the PIK3CA gene occur frequently in breast cancer, and inhibitors that are specific for phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) p110α, such as BYL719, are being investigated in clinical trials. In a search for correlates of sensitivity to p110α inhibition among PIK3CA-mutant breast cancer cell lines, we observed that sensitivity to BYL719 (as assessed by cell proliferation) was associated with full inhibition of signaling through the TORC1 pathway. Conversely, cancer cells that were resistant to BYL719 had persistently active mTORC1 signaling, although Akt phosphorylation was inhibited. Similarly, in patients, pS6 (residues 240/4) expression (a marker of mTORC1 signaling) was associated with tumor response to BYL719, and mTORC1 was found to be reactivated in tumors from patients whose disease progressed after treatment. In PIK3CA-mutant cancer cell lines with persistent mTORC1 signaling despite PI3K p110α blockade (that is, resistance), the addition of the allosteric mTORC1 inhibitor RAD001 to the cells along with BYL719 resulted in reversal of resistance in vitro and in vivo. Finally, we found that growth factors such as insulin-like growth factor 1 and neuregulin 1 can activate mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and mediate resistance to BYL719. Our findings suggest that simultaneous administration of mTORC1 inhibitors may enhance the clinical activity of p110α-targeted drugs and delay the appearance of resistance.


The question was one that would have sent many white politicians scurrying for cover. And it was clearly a question that the group of visiting state legislators from North Carolina, half of them African American, had discussed in advance. After all, they had come to Miami, thanks to Darrell Allison, president of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina, a Raleigh-based school-reform organization, for a two-day event hosted by Jeb Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd), to get advice about education reform, and they didn't want to embarrass the host. But it had to be done. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "With all due respect, Governor," the black man started, a bit hesitantly. "How do you convince African Americans that they can trust a white man? A Bush?" The former two-term governor of Florida and a 2012 presidential hopeful for many Republican Party stalwarts (Bush endorsed Mitt Romney on March 21) listened carefully, smiling at the allusion to his blue-blood family reputation--and white skin. Bush had taken his suit coat off at the beginning of the luncheon and engaged in easy banter with the visitors while noshing on a chicken-salad sandwich. "It's a common concern across the policy spectrum," he said, "and not just in education." The 58-year-old Bush, son of one president and brother of another, proceeded to tell the story of his opening the first charter school in Florida, in 1996. (He did not mention that the charter law was one he had helped push through the legislature.) "I teamed up with Willard Fair, whom I'm sure many of you know, and we started a charter school." Fair is a black activist and head of the Urban League of Greater Miami. And most everybody knew something about the Liberty City Charter School, named after one of Miami's poorest neighborhoods and scene (in 1980) of the worst race riots since the 1960s. "We worked at it," says Bush. "We had to build it first and we were sweeping floors together," he told his guests. "We had 90 kids in K through 2--little dudes. We had to get the uniforms. It was an amazing experience. And this was Friday before the Monday we were supposed to open. I was walking out, it was maybe four o'clock, and it dawned on me that we didn't have a flagpole. If we're going to be a first-class school, we've got to have a flagpole. You've got to have the Pledge of Allegiance when the school opens. So it extended my workweek. We ended up getting the flagpole, buying the flag. And at seven thirty in the morning, when school was supposed to start, we had a little 3rd grader or 2nd grader do the Pledge with all these kids in uniforms with moms and dads and teachers. It was something else. Willard and I were close--we still are. I kid him: he's my brother by another mother." The room melted. Sweeping floors? At a school for poor African Americans? Brother by another mother? This guy was the real deal. The Florida Miracle Florida students under Jeb Bush made some remarkable progress (see "Florida Defeats the Skeptics," check the facts, page 64). Florida was the first state to start grading its schools, A to F, based on student performance; it stopped social promotion in 3rd grade; it paid teachers more if their students performed better; it gave parents more choice, with vouchers and charters; and it revamped the teacher certification process to let more people into the pool. If you ask Bush the secret to his education reform success, he'll say "hard work." But one of the surprising pieces of advice Bush passes on to would-be education reformers is to "be bold." One might think, for a governor who managed to get so much education reform passed in his state, that he would have suggested a more pragmatic, at least, incremental, approach. "On the big things you've got to be impatient and you can't accept compromise," he insists. "You can accept consensus, but you can't accept compromise, particularly if compromise yields mediocre results. …


An important problem in computational social choice concerns whether it is possible to prevent manipulation of voting rules by making it computationally intractable. To answer this, a key question is how frequently voting rules are manipulable. We [Xia and Conitzer, 2008] recently defined the class of generalized scoring rules (GSRs) and characterized the frequency of manipulability for such rules. We showed, by examples, that most common rules seem to fall into this class. However, no natural axiomatic characterization of the class was given, leaving the possibility that there are natural rules to which these results do not apply. In this paper, we characterize the class of GSRs based on two natural properties: it is equal to the class of rules that are anonymous and finitely locally consistent.

Generalized scoring rules also have other uses in computational social choice. For these uses, the order of the GSR (the dimension of its score vector) is important. Our characterization result implies that the order of a GSR is related to the minimum number of locally consistent components of the rule. We proceed to bound the minimum number of locally consistent components for some common rules.


IMPORTANCE
The need to respond quickly to potential influenza pandemics is important. Immunologic priming (initial presentation of an antigen to allow antibody responses on revaccination) with vaccine directed toward an older avian influenza H5 strain might lead to secondary antibody responses to a single dose of more current H5 avian influenza vaccine.

OBJECTIVES
To assess priming with the older avian influenza A/Vietnam/1203/2004(H5N1) (Vietnam) vaccine and to conduct dose-response studies with vaccine directed against the more contemporary H5N1 avian influenza virus, influenza A/Anhui/01/2005 (Anhui).

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
Multicenter US randomized clinical trial beginning in June 2010 with follow-up continuing through October 2011 enrolling 72 healthy adults who were vaccinated 1 year previously with the Vietnam vaccine and 565 vaccine-naive adults.

INTERVENTIONS
Participants who were previously vaccinated with 90 µg of unadjuvanted Vietnam vaccine were randomly assigned to receive 3.75 µg of avian influenza Anhui vaccine with or without MF59 adjuvant, stratified by 1 vs 2 previous doses (1 dose: n = 18 with MF59 and n = 17 without; 2 doses: n = 19 with MF59 and n = 18 without). Vaccine-naive individuals were randomly assigned to receive Ahnui vaccine with or without MF59 adjuvant in 1 of 5 doses (3.75 µg [n = 55 with MF59 and n = 59 without], 7.5 µg [n = 51 with MF59 and n = 57 without], 15 µg [n = 48 with MF59 and n = 44 without], 45 µg [n = 47 with MF59 and n = 47 without], or 90 µg [n = 57 without adjuvant]) or placebo (n = 100) given at days 0 and 28.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
The primary immunogenicity outcome was hemagglutination inhibition assay (HAI) titer against each vaccine antigen 1 month (day 28) and 6 months (day 180) after last vaccination. The primary safety outcomes were local and systemic adverse events on days 0 to 7 after each vaccination and serious adverse events.

RESULTS
Previously vaccinated participants manifested secondary antibody responses after receipt of low-dose Anhui vaccine ("boosting"); by day 28, 21% to 50% developed HAI responses of 1:40 or greater. Use of adjuvant was not associated with increased HAI responses. Among vaccine-naive participants (n = 565), the optimum dose was 7.5 µg of antigen with adjuvant (geometric mean titer [GMT], 63.3; 95% CI, 43.0-93.1). The greatest response to unadjuvanted antigen was seen at the highest dose, 90 µg (GMT, 28.5; 95% CI, 19.7-41.2). Local or systemic reactions occurred, respectively, in 40 (78%) and 25 (49%) of 51 participants who received 7.5 µg plus adjuvant vs 50 (88%) and 29 (51%) of 57 who received 90 µg of unadjuvanted vaccine. In general, antibodies were short-lived, and by day 180, HAI titers had decreased to less than 1:20 in all treatment groups.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Previous receipt of a single dose of influenza A(H5N1) Vietnam vaccine was associated with sufficient immunologic priming to facilitate antibody response to a different H5N1 antigen using low-dose Anhui (booster) vaccine. In participants who had not previously received H5 vaccine, low-dose Anhui vaccine plus adjuvant was more immunogenic compared with higher doses of unadjuvanted vaccine.

TRIAL REGISTRATION
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00680069.


We report a rare case of pulmonary squamous papilloma. A 42-year-old woman was referred to our hospital complaining of dry cough. A chest computed tomography (CT) showed a mass shadow in the lower lobe of left lung. Serum concentrations of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and squamous cell carcinoma-related antigen (SCC) were elevated to 13.0 ng/ml and 11.8 ng/ml, respectively. The mass was positron emission tomography( PET)-positive, with a maximum standard uptake value( SUVmax) of 11.55, suggesting a malignant neoplasm. Under the guidance of video-assisted thoracoscopy, left basal segmentectomy was performed. Intra-operative diagnosis was a squamous papilloma and no malignancy. Her postoperative course was uneventful. She is currently alive without any sign of recurrence.


Sexual activity and alcohol use continue to have negative effects on the well-being of today's adolescents. This study used multiple regression analysis to examine relationships among personal factors, family factors, and adolescent sexual activity and alcohol use over three time points. Significant protective factors, which were inversely related to risky behavior, included general adolescent-mother communication, father and family connectedness, and disapproving parental attitudes towards sex. Permissive parenting was associated with self-efficacy for safe sex, early sexual initiation, and increased alcohol use. Health care providers should work to promote positive parent-child relationships and familial protective effects.


ABSTRACT Background Depression is a major threat to public health in China. Although many social determinants have been recognized as robust predictors of health outcomes, depression is still widely viewed and framed as a personal health issue that the affected individual is primarily responsible for when it comes to causes and solutions. Research shows that individualizing mental health responsibilities is directly related to stigma formation. While cross-cultural theory and prior research suggest the prevalence of contextual and societal attributions in China, the individualization of the Chinese culture in recent decades may alter the pattern of responsibility attributions for depression. Method How top Chinese media organizations and mental health institutions framed causal and problem-solving responsibilities for depression on Sina Weibo, a popular social networking site, were quantitatively content-analyzed by examining a total of 539 Weibo posts in terms of their featuring of personal and societal causes and solutions for depression. Results Both media organizations and mental health institutions primarily assigned depression responsibilities to the individual (vs. the society). State-controlled media organizations were more inclined to hold individuals responsible for fixing the problem than market-oriented media organizations. Compared to media organizations, mental health institutions paid less attention to depression causal responsibilities at both individual and societal levels. Conclusion Findings support a multi-vocal and balanced framing approach that integrates individual- and society-level attributions of causal and problem-solving responsibilities for depression, so as to help alleviate stigmas, identify structural remedies, and enhance efficacy in depression prevention and treatment at individual, community, and population levels.


Background: Dental deterioration is one of the most frequent chronic diseases in children in all of the world.
Objective: The aim of this study was to assess oral health status and related oral health behaviors
and demographic aspects among children in Qazvin Province.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study in 2013, 373 children, aged 5-6 and 12 years were participated by using a cluster sampling method in Qazvin Province. Data was collected with a questionnaire including demographic variables and oral health behaviors consisted of frequency of dental brushing and flossing, history of visiting dentist and using of food. Clinical oral examinations were performed by 6 trained dentists in children's home. Oral health status was assessed by the
DMFT/dmft index. Data was analyzed with SPSS 18, using t-test, one-way ANOVA and KruskalWallis (α=0.05).
Findings: The mean of DMFT/dmft index in children aged 5-6 and 12 years were 5.66±4.63 and 3.53±4.22, respectively. The percentage of fluorosis was 86.3%. 94.6% and 96.2% of children has no tooth wear and dental trauma. Tooth brushing including no dental brushing 9.7%, twice or more times per day 14.2% and using dental floss was 10.5%. There were no significant relationships
between DMFT/dmft index and gender, types of foods consumed and number of tooth brushing in each day, but there was a significant association between self-perceived oral health and DMFT index (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Children and adolescents suffer from deteriorated oral health status therefore it is
necessary to conduct oral health education in corporation with their families.
Keywords: Oral Health, DMFT Index, Self-Care, Children


Pliosaurid marine reptiles played important roles in marine food chains from the Middle Jurassic to the middle Cretaceous, frequently as apex predators. The evolution of pliosaurids during the later parts of the Early Cretaceous has recently been illuminated by discoveries from Russia (Hauterivian) and Colombia (Barremian). However, knowledge of pliosaurids representing the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition (late Tithonian – Valanginian), is still largely incomplete, especially during the earliest Cretaceous. As such, the effect on pliosaurids of hypothesized faunal turnover during the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary interval is poorly understood. We report pliosaurid teeth from the upper Volgian (Tithonian, Upper Jurassic) of the Kheta river basin (Eastern Siberia, Russia), to the Berriasian and Valanginian (Lower Cretaceous) of the Volga region (European Russia). These assemblages have yielded a series of distinct tooth morphotypes, including the first reports of conical‐toothed pliosaurids from the latest Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous. This challenges the hypothesis that only one lineage of pliosaurids crossed the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary. It appears that conical‐toothed pliosaurids co‐existed with their trihedral‐toothed relatives for at least 25 million years during the latest Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous. In fact, our quantitative analyses indicate that pliosaurids reached their maximal dental disparity during this interval, showing little evidence of turnover associated with the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition. Instead, disparity decreased later in the Early Cretaceous, with the disappearance of trihedral‐toothed forms in the Barremian.


This article researches the medialization of research policy in Germany. The concept of medialization focuses on adaptation processes by the micro (individuals), meso (organizations), and macro levels (social systems) of society to the logic of (mostly journalistic) mass media. Below, the focus lies on how decision makers in the field of research policy perceive the journalistic logic as well as adaptation processes to this logic in their fields of expertise and their organizations. The study is based on 35 semistandardized interviews with stakeholders in organizations from politics, science, and research funding.


Background In South Africa, many studies conducted on substance abuse among in-school youth focus on urban areas. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that rural areas are experiencing an increase in substance abuse, though there is dearth of studies in these areas. Methods This study used a quantitative design to collect data from 629 high school learners who were in Grades 10 and 11 in public schools in rural Free State Province, to determine the prevalence of, and factors associated with substance use. Results The sample consisted of 46% males and 54% females. Their ages ranged from 14 to 20 years, with a mean of 16.9 years. The prevalence of substance abuse was 47% (n = 295) with alcohol consumption, cigarette and dagga smoking being the most common substances used. Socio-demographically, age and gender were significantly associated with substance abuse. While behavioural variables of physical fights, serious problems with parents and friends, poor academic performance, trouble with police, having sex without condom, and having sex and regretted the next day were significantly associated with substance abuse (p = 0.05). Conclusion The prevalence of substance abuse is very high for this rural school community, which highlights the need to pay attention to rural schools regarding substance abuse challenges.


This paper investigates the critical role of culture for economic recovery after natural disasters. Using Hurricane Katrina as our laboratory, we find a significant adverse treatment effect for plant-level productivity. However, local religious adherence and larger shares of ancestors with disaster experiences mutually mitigate this detrimental effect from the disaster. Religious adherence further dampens anxiety after Hurricane Katrina, which potentially spur economic recovery. We also detect this effect on the aggregate county level. More religious counties recover faster in terms of population, new establishments, and GDP.


The controlled radical polymerization of methacrylates via Cu(0)-mediated RDRP is challenging in comparison to acrylates with most reports illustrating higher dispersities, lower monomer conversions and poorer end group fidelity relative to the acrylic analogues. Herein, we present the successful synthesis of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) in DMSO by judicious selection of optimal reaction conditions. The effect of the initiator, ligand and temperature on the rate and control of the polymerization is investigated and discussed. Under carefully optimized conditions enhanced control over the molecular weight distributions is obtained furnishing methacrylic polymers with dispersities as low as 1.10, even at very high conversions. A range of methacrylates were found to be tolerant to the optimized polymerization conditions including hydrophobic, hydrophilic and functional methacrylates including methyl and benzyl methacrylate, ethylene glycol methyl ether methacrylate and glycidyl methacrylate. The control retained during the polymerization is further highlighted by in situ chain extensions yielding well-defined block polymethacrylates.


The widespread use of mobile phones in the last decade has increased the concern about its potential effects on human body. This research aims to study the effect of electromagnetic waves emitted from mobile phones on chick embryos development. Fertile hen eggs were divided into two groups control and treated group. Both groups were incubated at 37.5 ◦C. The treated group had an active mobile device (900MHz1800MHz) during incubation. The mobile was rang 4 times daily for 15 minutes each time. Embryos were extracted on days 7, 10, and 14 of incubation. Congenital malformations were seen in treated embryos (bigger embryos, subcutaneous bleeding, and brain malformation) compared to the controls. Also increased eye growth in 7 and 10 days, significant increase in neural retina thickness in all studied ages, significant increase in retina lipid peroxidase and significant decrease in glutathione level in 10 and 14 days treated chick embryo retina compared to the controls. It was concluded that mobile phone electromagnetic waves (900MHz1800MHz) might induce embryonic eye growth till 10 days of incubation, and then it might cause brain malformation with reduced body and eye growth in chick embryo. [Fatma Al-Qudsi and Solafa Azzouz. Effect of Electromagnetic Mobile Radiation on Chick Embryo Development. Life Science Journal. 2012;9(2):983-991]. (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 145


Abstract. Toluene photooxidation is chosen as an example to examine how simulations of smog-chamber experiments can be used to unravel shortcomings in detailed mechanisms and to provide information on complex reaction systems that will be crucial for the design of future validation experiments. The mechanism used in this study is extracted from the Master Chemical Mechanism Version 3 (MCM v3) and has been updated with new modules for cresol and g-dicarbonyl chemistry. Model simulations are carried out for a toluene-NOx experiment undertaken at the European Photoreactor (EUPHORE). The comparison of the simulation with the experimental data reveals two fundamental shortcomings in the mechanism: OH production is too low by about 80%, and the ozone concentration at the end of the experiment is over-predicted by 55%. The radical budget was analysed to identify the key intermediates governing the radical transformation in the toluene system. Ring-opening products, particularly conjugated g-dicarbonyls, were identified as dominant radical sources in the early stages of the experiment. The analysis of the time evolution of radical production points to a missing OH source that peaks when the system reaches highest reactivity. First generation products are also of major importance for the ozone production in the system. The analysis of the radical budget suggests two options to explain the concurrent under-prediction of OH and over-prediction of ozone in the model: 1) missing oxidation processes that produce or regenerate OH without or with little NO to NO2 conversion or 2) NO3 chemistry that sequesters reactive nitrogen oxides into stable nitrogen compounds and at the same time produces peroxy radicals. Sensitivity analysis was employed to identify significant contributors to ozone production and it is shown how this technique, in combination with ozone isopleth plots, can be used for the design of validation experiments.


The present study aimed to explore the instructional efficacy of self-regulated learning strategies on Iranian EFL learners' autonomy. The participants in this study were 40 Iranian intermediate EFL learners, aged 18-20, attending speaking courses in four English language institutes in Shiraz, Iran. At the beginning of the study, the participants were randomly divided into two groups: the control group with 20 learners (10 males and 10 females) and the experimental group including 20 learners (10 males and 10 females). The learners in the experimental group were subjected to the self-regulated learning intervention to get to know and use self-regulated learning strategies. In contrast, the control group students were taught the course using traditional approaches to speaking English with no use of self-regulated learning strategies. The instruments used in this study were the Self-regulation Regulation Learning Questionnaire (Brown, Miller & Lawendowski, 1999) and Learner Autonomy Questionnaire (Zhang & Li, 2004) Results suggested that there was a significant difference between the mean scores of the participants in the control group and in the experimental group concerning their level of learning autonomy. However, no significant relationship was found between the participants' use of self-regulated learning strategies and their learning autonomy. It was also noted that there was no significant relationship between the participants' use of self-regulated learning strategies and learning autonomy in the control and experimental groups.


High carbohydrate as obese diet is not yet available commercially for monkeys. Therefore, this preliminary study was to carry out nutrient intake and digestibility of cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) fed with high soluble carbohydrate diet compared to monkey chow. Five adult female macaques (average body weight 2.67 kg) were made to consume freshly diet. Commercial monkey chows (contains 3500 cal/g energy and 35% starch) were fed to three adult females (average body weight 3.62 kg). Nutrient intakes and digestibility parameters were measured using modified metabolic cages. Result showed that average of protein, fat, starch, and energy intakes in treatment diet were higher than control diet (T-test). Fat intake in the treatment diet was three times higher, while starch and energy intakes were almost two times higher than monkey chow. Digestibility percentage of all nutrients were the same in both diets except for the protein. The study concludes that the freshly prepared high sugar diet was palatable and digestible for the cynomolgus monkeys. Further studies are in progress to develop obese diet high in energy content based on fat and source of starch treatments.


: Introduction: Exposure to microgravity has various effects on the human musculoskeletal system. During spaceflight many astronauts experience low back pain and the risk of spine injuries is significantly greater post-flight. Nonetheless, the increased lumbo-pelvic injury risk is not specifically addressed by current countermeasures. Considering this, a novel exercise device has been developed to specifically counteract atrophy of deep spinal and postural muscles. The aim of the present study was to test the possibility of transferring this exercise concept from earth to space using a biomechanical simulation. Methods: A biomechanical model of the exercise device was developed and validated using intramuscular electromyographic (EMG) data as previously acquired on a terrestrial prototype of the exercise device. The model was then modified to the needs of a 0-g environment, creating gravity-like conditions using shoulder straps. Results: Modelled activation patterns of the investigated muscles were in line with the experimental data, showing a constant activation during exercise. The microgravity modifications of the model lead to increased muscle activation of deep spinal muscles and to decreased activation of superficial moment creating trunk muscles. Discussion: The results of the biomechanical model suggest that the exercise concept can be transferred from 1-g to space conditions. The present study is a first step in the investigation process of a novel exercise concept and human studies should be conducted to confirm the present theoretical investigation.


The development of novel pressure sensitive adhesives, formed by the drying of a polymer latex emulsion, is hampered by a lack of understanding of the relation between microscopic details and the large-scale rheology. In a previous paper [Soft Matter, 2011, 7, 5036] we introduced a coarse-grained computer simulation model that aims to provide such a link. To reach sufficiently large time and length scales each latex particle is represented by just six degrees of freedom, and transient forces are introduced to capture the effect of slow changes in the degree of chain intermixing and in the number of sticker groups shared between pairs of latex particles. In this paper we show that this model can nearly quantitatively predict the shear and extensional nonlinear rheology by careful tuning of only a few parameters to the linear rheology. We find a complex transient viscosity with multiple inflection points and maxima under shear flow, as well as a strong strain hardening under extensional flow, all in agreement with experimental observations. We investigate the influence of each of the model's parameters on the linear and nonlinear rheology.


The amyloid beta protein is deposited in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease but its pathogenic role is unknown. In culture, the amyloid beta protein was neurotrophic to undifferentiated hippocampal neurons at low concentrations and neurotoxic to mature neurons at higher concentrations. In differentiated neurons, amyloid beta protein caused dendritic and axonal retraction followed by neuronal death. A portion of the amyloid beta protein (amino acids 25 to 35) mediated both the trophic and toxic effects and was homologous to the tachykinin neuropeptide family. The effects of the amyloid beta protein were mimicked by tachykinin antagonists and completely reversed by specific tachykinin agonists. Thus, the amyloid beta protein could function as a neurotrophic factor for differentiating neurons, but at high concentrations in mature neurons, as in Alzheimer's disease, could cause neuronal degeneration.


This paper critically presents the book Traité de droit international public (Treatise of Public International Law) which was published by Professor Auguste Mampuya in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2016. Given its important size, we have subjectively chosen to focus on developments about African regionalism in order to assess the author's contribution to the progress of Congolese doctrine in this domain. The book examines the issue under the title 'Africa and International Law'. However, the analysis is very laconic. African regionalism as such is not even defined. Instead, the author has directly searched to answer the question as to whether African international and community law do exist or not. Accordingly, details on African regionalism were not provided as one could have expected. The weakness of the doctrinal construction begins with observations on the general content of the book. But, it is more perceptible in respect of the author's two main positions on African regionalism, namely his late recognition of the existence of African international law and his unfounded denial of African community law. This critical presentation identifies the limits of these positions and explains their scope. The final goal is to shed more light on some aspects of such a controversial legal topic.


ABSTRACT This special issue on Electronic Human Resources Management (E-HRM) in an E-Business environment looks at opportunities and challenges associated with recruiting and developing a firm's workforce in a digital world characterized by endemic talent scarcity, changing values and shifting on- and offline behaviors of candidates and employees. We first draw on a Delphi study with leading HR executives from 25 internationally renowned large firms and on a quantitative survey with 144 HR managers from German top 1,000 firms to delineate the key trends and issues for modern HR executives. Demographic challenges and the war for talent are seen as the most important trends in firms of all sizes and in all industries, even ahead of, for example, social media or the global economic crisis. Resulting from these trends, our survey reveals that HR managers' most pressing challenges are staff retention and internal and external employer branding. Overall, the results emphasize the importance for an E-HRM that needs to be both effective - adequately fill vacancies - and efficient - make best use of scarce resources. The papers in the special issue address some of the open issues identified. Overall, in a peer-review process two out of nine submitted articles were selected for the special issue (22 per cent acceptance). The first paper by Stefan Strohmeier scrutinizes how e-portfolios can improve e-recruiting and talent management. The second paper by Sharna Wiblen, David Grant and Kristine Dery uses a single case study to learn how a shift from HRM to E-HRM can affect talent management and people in an organization and transform a firm's IT and HR function. Keywords: E-HRM (Electronic Human Resources Management), HRIS (Human Resources Information Systems), talent management, recruiting, e-recruiting, talent management, computer personnel research 1. From HRM to E-HRM The global demographic development, the imminent retirement of the baby boomers generation [Frank et al. 2004] and, more recently, changing values, norms and behavioral patterns of Generation Y force firms to open up to new approaches for managing their personnel. Other related drivers of a need to change the human resources management (HRM) in organizations include the economic downturn over the past three years, increasing scarcity of a variety of skill profiles on the labor market and new ways how people want to balance their work and private life [Gueutal 2009]. In fact, these trends merely aggravate the challenges in many firms that have long suffered from a scarcity of qualified employees, or 'talent'. And the unavailability of certain candidates in many skill areas has long been identified as a major obstacle to firm success and growth even in times of economic downturns [Trevor and Nyberg 2008; Laumer and Eckhardt 2010]. Talent availability has become a hot topic as globalization has increased both, supply of and demand for certain skills [Dolan 2004]. The resulting recruiting challenge for firms has been called war for talent [Chambers et al. 1998]. While almost all HR executives are boldly aware of the problems of finding talent, especially in the IT domain [Luftman and Kempaiah 2008], there is no consistent insight on how to cope with it. At the same time, advances in information and communication technology and the ubiquity of the internet can offer substantially new ways to attract and recruit talent and to organize firm's entire HR function. Hence, Electronic HRM (E-HRM) can give a firm a substantial competitive edge in a tough market for skills by establishing a better talent management capability. The four major areas of talent management are talent attraction, recruiting, development and retention. First, ('attract') talent has to be attracted and the organization has to establish itself as the employer of choice for external (job seekers) and internal talent (employees). Second ('recruit'), new employees can be selected from incoming job applications. …


The adsorption of NO molecules on Mn-doped CeO2 (111) surfaces for NO oxidation has been studied by employing the periodic density functional theory plus U (DFT+U) method. Through our calculations, it is demonstrated how Mn-doped CeO2 with superior NO oxidation activity benefits from the high mobility of the oxygen near the Mn cations. On unreduced Mn-doped CeO2 (111) surfaces, the NO molecule preferentially interacted with the first neighboring O of the Mn cation, with the N also bonding to an Mn cation (Eads = –3.30 eV) or Ce cation (Eads = –2.90 eV). When NO adsorbs on the surface of defective Mn-doped CeO2 with O2 adsorbed in advance, an ONOO* four atoms species is formed on the surface (Eads = –2.51 eV and –2.02 eV), which is an intermediate and can decompose into NO2, NO2* and O*. The adsorption structure with higher adsorption energy has a closer geometry to NO2, indicating a deeper oxidation of NO. The calculation results indicate that the presence of Mn only has a strong effect on the nearby oxygen atoms and that the Mn-doped CeO2 surface has similar properties to a noble metal in NO oxidation catalysis. In DOS plots, the spin of the electron state of the adsorption structures involving the oxidation of NO is symmetric, indicating that electron transfer occurs from the slab to NO and strong covalent bonds are formed between N and O on the slab, which can also be confirmed by the charge density difference plots.


Dyspepsia, defined as pain or discomfort centered in the upper abdomen, is a common clinical problem. A variety of underlying disease states may result in dyspepsia, but commonly, diagnostic investigation will show no identifiable pathology, and the patient is diagnosed with nonulcer dyspepsia. Numerous hypothesis have been suggested as to the cause of symptoms in patients with nonulcer dyspepsia, including perturbations of gastroduodenal motility, hypersensitivity to physiologic stimuli including acid, and the effect(s) of infection within the gastric mucosa by Helicobacter pylori. Some epidemiological studies have suggested that patients with nonulcer dyspepsia may have a slightly higher prevalence of H. pylori infection. However, association does not prove causation. Causation of nonulcer dyspepsia by H. pylori could best be documented by resolution of symptoms following eradication of the infection. Early intervention studies indicated that there was a beneficial effect on symptoms of nonulcer dyspepsia with H. pylori eradication, but most of these studies had serious methodological flaws. In the last few years there have been a number of well-designed studies investigating the effect of H. pylori eradication on symptoms in patients with nonulcer dyspepsia. The results of these studies are inconsistent, but suggest that there is little, if any benefit from treatment. This case-based article on nonulcer dyspepsia discusses these studies in detail and provides a possible explanation for the differences in outcomes.


In offline reinforcement learning (RL), one detrimental issue to policy learning is the error accumulation of deep Q function in out-of-distribution (OOD) areas. Unfortunately, existing offline RL methods are often over-conservative, inevitably hurting generalization performance outside data distribution. In our study, one interesting observation is that deep Q functions approximate well inside the convex hull of training data. Inspired by this, we propose a new method, DOGE (Distance-sensitive Offline RL with better GEneralization) . DOGE marries dataset geometry with deep function approximators in offline RL, and enables exploitation in generalizable OOD areas rather than strictly constraining policy within data distribution. Specifically, DOGE trains a state-conditioned distance function that can be readily plugged into standard actor-critic methods as a policy constraint. Simple yet elegant, our algorithm enjoys better generalization compared to state-of-the-art methods on D4RL benchmarks. Theoretical analysis demonstrates the superiority of our approach to existing methods that are solely based on data distribution or support constraints.


The Fas receptor (FasR) and the tumour necrosis factor (TNF) receptor 55/60 kDa (TNFR1) are recognized as apoptosis signalling receptors. They are known to be expressed by lymphocytes in association with immune regulation and immunological disorders. This study aimed to investigate the expression of FasR and TNFR1 by alveolar macrophages (AM) in patients with sarcoidosis. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed in 12 patients with active sarcoidosis and 11 control subjects. BAL cells were characterized by monoclonal antibodies using a peroxidase-antiperoxidase method. Both FasR and TNFR1 were expressed on a higher percentage of AM in sarcoidosis with respect to control subjects (mean +/-sem 40.8+/-3.1% versus 14.9+/-1.7%, p<0.001 and 61.9+/-3.3% versus 23.1+/-4.1%, p<0.001, respectively). There was a close relationship between the expression of FasR and TNFR1 on AM (r = 0.86, p<0.001). The percentages of FasR+ AM and TNFR1+ AM were in direct proportion to the percentage of BAL lymphocytes (r = 0.75 and 0.84), the CD4/CD8 ratio (r = 0.78 and 0.78), and the percentage of the CD14+ AM subset (r = 0.77 and 0.87), p<0.001 for all correlations. This study indicates that alveolar macrophages expressing apoptotic receptors are increased in patients with active sarcoidosis. Further studies are required to determine whether these alveolar macrophages from patients with sarcoidosis undergo apoptosis more readily than those from control subjects.


PURPOSE
The use of trastuzumab in the adjuvant setting improves outcomes but is associated with cardiotoxicity manifested as congestive heart failure (CHF). The rates and risk factors associated with trastuzumab-related CHF among older patients are unknown.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Breast cancer patients at least 66 years old with full Medicare coverage, diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer between 2005 and 2009, and treated with chemotherapy were identified in the SEER-Medicare and in the Texas Cancer Registry-Medicare databases. The rates and risk factors associated with CHF were evaluated. Chemotherapy, trastuzumab use, comorbidities, and CHF were identified using International Classification of Diseases, version 9, and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System codes. Analyses included descriptive statistics and Cox proportional hazards models.

RESULTS
In total, 9,535 patients were included, of whom 2,203 (23.1%) received trastuzumab. Median age of the entire cohort was 71 years old. Among trastuzumab users, the rate of CHF was 29.4% compared with 18.9% in nontrastuzumab users (P < .001). Trastuzumab users were more likely to develop CHF than nontrastuzumab users (hazard ratio [HR], 1.95; 95% CI, 1.75 to 2.17). Among trastuzumab-treated patients, older age (age > 80 years; HR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.16 to 2.10), coronary artery disease (HR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.34 to 2.48), hypertension (HR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.50), and weekly trastuzumab administration (HR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.68) increased the risk of CHF.

CONCLUSION
In this large cohort of older breast cancer patients, the rates of trastuzumb-related CHF are higher than those reported in clinical trials. Among patients treated with trastuzumab, those with cardiac comorbidities and older age may be at higher risk. Further studies need to confirm the role that the frequency of administration plays in the development of trastuzumab-related CHF.


Abstract Research on gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) has come a long way since the first empirical studies published in 2008. Based on a review of the findings on gelotophobia, its structure, causes and consequences, updates to the model are introduced emphasizing the context of the fear and its dynamic nature. More precisely, external and internal factors are seen to moderate the effects of initial events on gelotophobia, and a spiral nature in the development of the fear is assumed. It is highlighted that gelotophobia needs to be studied in the context of related variables (such as timidity, shame-proneness and social anxiety), and research should focus on the time span in which this fear is most prevalent. The relevance of gelotophobia for humor theory, research and practice is highlighted and new areas of research are introduced. Among the latter the role of gelotophobia at work and in relation to life trajectories is discussed.


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * WITH UNCERTAINTY ABOUT WHETHER THE ESTATE TAX will actually be repealed in 2010 and the possibility it will return in 2011, CPAs need to help their clients plan carefully to make sure they take maximum advantage of all of the estate tax changes. * THE ESTATE TAX EXEMPTION INCREASES GRADUALLY from 2002 to 2009. Married couples should make sure they arrange their estate plans to take full advantage of tax relief available in the year they die. This means a periodic review of estate documents and having enough assets titled in separate names to use the full exemption. * THE GIFT TAX REMAINS. CLIENTS SHOULD CONTINUE making gifts that fall within the $11,000 annual exclusion and consider other gifts as appropriate. Other more sophisticated techniques such as the grantor retained annuity trust and the family limited partnership could also be useful to some clients. * DESPITE THE APPARENT ESTATE TAX REPEAL, life insurance will remain a critical part of most estate plans. Coverage types however, may change for some clients. Until it's certain the estate tax is gone for good, CPAs should not recommend clients let existing life insurance coverage lapse. * AMONG THE IMPORTANT TASKS EXECUTORS WILL have is allocating the step-up in basis among beneficiaries in 2010. Executors will have to allocate the general $1.3 million step-up and the special $3 million spousal step-up. Clients should consider naming a corporate executor or trustee instead of a family member. "Kill the death tax!" Supporters used this political slogan to encourage passage of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001--signed into law on June 7, 2001. But was that really the final result? Although the legislation calls for the estate tax to decline gradually through 2009 and be repealed in 2010, the act sunsets unless Congress extends it. That means the estate tax returns in 2011. However, some clients, hearing the word "repeal," will believe there is no need for any future estate and gift planning. Nothing could be further from the truth. This situation presents some unique challenges for CPAs providing estate planning advice in the coming years. This article suggests strategies accountants should consider when helping clients understand the implications of the new law and how to minimize the transfer tax bite over the next decade (For more information on the act's estate tax provisions, see "The Uncertainty of Death and Taxes," JofA, Oct.01, page 95.) WHAT IT DOES AND DOESN'T DO To briefly summarize what the 2001 act does or does not do with regard to estate and gift taxes, consider the following provisions: * The estate tax is scheduled to be repealed for only one year, 2010, unless Congress extends the repeal or makes other changes before that time. * The exemption amount (the amount of transfers at death free of federal tax) increases gradually from the 2002 and 2003 amount of $1 million as follows: 2004 to 2005 $1.5 million 2006 to 2008 $2 million 2009 $3.5 million 2010 No tax 2011 $1 million * Even with the estate tax repeal, the tax basis of inherited assets will no longer be stepped up to fair market value on the date of death, except for a limited step-up of $1.3 million on selected assets and an additional $3 million on property passing to a surviving spouse. * The act did not repeal the gift tax but rather froze it at a $1 million lifetime exclusion. * Before repeal in 2010, the top estate tax rate on assets above the exemption amount will steadily inch down to 45% in 2009 from 55% today. Some observers have characterized the new provisions as a "strange new world." The complexity of the situation is magnified when you consider that at the time of this writing, federal budget surpluses are vanishing as the United States moves into a wartime economy, rendering the 2001 act vulnerable to the winds of political change and economic necessity. …


Aguablanca (southwest Spain) is the first economic Ni-Cu-(PGE) deposit found in southern Europe. Two features make it an unusual example of magmatic sulfide ore: it is related to the development of an Andean-type continental magmatic arc, and it is hosted by a subvertical magmatic breccia. The structural style and the geodynamic context of the deposit contrast with most plutonic Ni-Cu-PGE deposits elsewhere, which occur at specific levels of layered mafic intrusions in rift environments.

The Ni-Cu deposit is hosted by the Aguablanca intrusion, a mafic body composed of gabbronorite and minor quartz-diorite, gabbro, and norite. Sulfides are concentrated in a gabbronorite matrix along a subvertical (dip of 70°–80° N), funnel-like magmatic breccia that contains barren or slightly mineralized ultramafic-mafic cumulate fragments. Modal compositions of the fragments reflect a wide variety of rock types, including peridotite (hornblende-rich werhlite, dunite, and hornblende-rich harzburgite), pyroxenite (ortho- and clinopyroxenite), gabbro (gabbro, gabbronorite, and hornblende gabbro), and anorthosite. The primary silicate assemblage includes olivine (Fo91–Fo79), orthopyroxene (Mg no. 0.85–0.73), clinopyroxene (Mg no. 0.93–0.62), plagioclase (An99–An38), amphibole (Mg no. 0.87–0.68) and phlogopite (Mg no. 0.89–0.64). The wide range of rock types and the Fe-enrichment trends in the primary ferromagnesian silicates suggest magmatic differentiation processes from the parent melts, with the fragments representing different stages of cumulate formation.

The ore-bearing breccia contains both semimassive and disseminated sulfides in the gabbronorite matrix. Textures vary between meso- and orthocumulate, and the rock-forming magmatic silicates are orthopyroxene (Mg no. 0.83–0.74), clinopyroxene (Mg no. 0.89–0.78), plagioclase (An50-An77), and intercumulus amphibole (Mg no. 0.86–0.70), phlogopite (0.84–0.69) and minor quartz. The gabbronorite in the matrix of the breccia is petrographically and chemically very similar to that of the unmineralized parts of the main Aguablanca intrusion and exhibits a similar differentiation trend, suggesting that the matrix of the ore-bearing breccia and the unmineralized rocks belong to a same magmatic suite. The local presence of mafic-ultramafic fragments in the barren Aguablanca intrusion supports this suggestion.

The presence of highly Ni depleted olivine, whole-rock Cu/Zr ratios below 1, and the local occurrence of disseminations of magmatic sulfides in the peridotite fragments point to sulfide segregation before and/or during the formation of the peridotite cumulates. Mantle-normalized incompatible trace element patterns of the fragments along with published sulfur isotope data are consistent with crustal contamination, suggesting that addition of crustal sulfur from pyrite-bearing black slates led to sulfide saturation. These results support a model in which sulfides segregated and settled during the differentiation of an unexposed mafic-ultramafic complex, now sampled as fragments in the breccia, whereas the overlying silicate magma, most probably fed by successive fresh magma injections, underwent fractional crystallization, giving rise to this cumulate sequence. The emplacement of the ore breccia took place at temperatures above the (monosulfide solid solution (mss) solidus but below the olivine and pyroxene solidus, likely owing to the explosive injection of a new pulse of magma into the chamber, which mingled with the sulfide liquid and disrupted the overlying cumulate sequence. As a consequence, fragments reached their current position in the breccia, injected along with the sulfide and the silicate melts, which subsequently formed the sulfide-rich gabbronorite.


Optical fiber sensor networks (OFSNs) are facing the problem of a lack of systematic evaluation criteria to assess network performance. In this paper, a universal quantitative robustness evaluation model for OFSNs is proposed. The model defines robustness as the mathematical expectation of the monitoring coverage ratio, which has taken into account the performance under all possible network states and the probability of each state. This model is applied to four basic network topologies including line, ring, star and bus topologies, and their mathematical expressions of robustness are derived by analyzing all possible states in detail. Further simulation gives a quantitative comparison among these topologies, proving that the ring and star topologies are optimal for the monitoring of strip-shaped and square regions, respectively. Finally, two influencing factors, the attenuation coefficient and the threshold, are investigated for their impact on the robustness of the network.


In this work, we present a novel learning based approach to reconstruct 3D faces from a single or multiple images. Our method uses a simple yet powerful architecture based on siamese neural networks that helps to extract relevant features from each view while keeping the models small. Instead of minimizing multiple objectives, we propose to simultaneously learn the 3D shape and the individual camera poses by using a single term loss based on the reprojection error, which generalizes from one to multiple views. This allows to globally optimize the whole scene without having to tune any hyperparameters and to achieve low reprojection errors, which are important for further texture generation. Finally, we train our model on a large scale dataset with more than 6,000 facial scans. We report competitive results in 3DFAW 2019 challenge, showing the effectiveness of our method.


During the 1960s a group of young artists in Japan challenged official forms of politics and daily life through interventionist art practices. William Marotti situates this phenomenon in the historical and political contexts of Japan after the Second World War and the international activism of the 1960s. The Japanese government renewed its Cold War partnership with the United States in 1960, defeating protests against a new security treaty through parliamentary action and the use of riot police. Afterward, the government promoted a depoliticized everyday world of high growth and consumption, creating a sanitized national image to present in the Tokyo Olympics of 1964. Artists were first to challenge this new political mythology. Marotti examines their political art, and the state's aggressive response to it. He reveals the challenge mounted in projects such as Akasegawa Genpei's 1,000-yen prints, a group performance on the busy Yamanote train line, and a plan for a giant guillotine in the Imperial Plaza. Focusing on the annual Yomiuri Independant exhibition, he demonstrates how artists came together in a playful but powerful critical art, triggering judicial and police response. Money, Trains, and Guillotines expands our understanding of the role of art in the international 1960s, and of the dynamics of art and policing in Japan.


Setting: Outpatient clinics, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia; January–April 2018. Objectives: To identify barriers to full participation in tuberculosis (TB) contact investigation. Methods: Cross-sectional study of knowledge, perceptions, and behaviours among TB contacts. This study was conducted among contacts who attended an initial clinic visit to explore retention in care. During this first visit, contacts were approached for participation in a questionnaire at a follow-up visit. Contacts who consented but did not subsequently attend were interviewed at home. Associations between questionnaire findings and attendance were tested using logistic regression. Results: Of the total 1436 identified contacts, 800 (56%) attended an initial clinic visit. Of 237 consenting TB contacts, 207 (87%) attended their follow-up appointment. In univariable analyses, the odds of attendance were highest for people notified to attend the TB clinic directly by a health inspector; close relatives of TB patients; non-students; people with higher incomes and smaller households; older individuals; males; and people not perceiving TB as stigmatising. In multivariable analysis, mode of notification to attend and having a close relative with TB remained significant. Conclusions: Health inspectors provide an effective role in TB contact investigation through direct personal communication to encourage the completion of the TB screening process, but this requires further integration with clinical processes, and with workplace and school-based investigations.


China has experienced a surge in medical disputes in recent years, on the streets and in the courts. Many disputes result in violence. Quantitative and qualitative empirical evidence of medical malpractice litigation and medical disputes in China reveals a dynamic in which the formal legal system operates in the shadow of protest and violence. The threat of violence leads hospitals to settle claims for more than would be available in court and also influences how judges handle cases that do wind up in court. The detailed evidence regarding medical disputes presented in this article adds depth to existing understanding of institutional development in China, showing that increased innovation and competence are not resulting in greater authority for the courts. Despite thirty-four years of legal reforms and significant strengthening of legal institutions, the shadow of the law remains weak. Medical cases highlight largely unobserved trends in both law and governance in China, in particular state over-responsiveness to individual grievances. The findings presented here suggest limitations to contemporary understanding of both the functioning of the Chinese state and of the role of law in China, and add to existing literature on the non-convergence of the Chinese system to existing models of legal and political development.


TEMPO was selected in 2012 by NASA as the first Earth Venture Instrument, for launch circa 2018. It will measure atmospheric pollution for greater North America from space using ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy. TEMPO measures from Mexico City to the Canadian tar sands, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, hourly and at high spatial resolution (~2 km N/S×4.5 km E/W at 36.5°N, 100°W). TEMPO provides a tropospheric measurement suite that includes the key elements of tropospheric air pollution chemistry. Measurements are from geostationary (GEO) orbit, to capture the inherent high variability in the diurnal cycle of emissions and chemistry. The small product spatial footprint resolves pollution sources at sub-urban scale. Together, this temporal and spatial resolution improves emission inventories, monitors population exposure, and enables effective emission-control strategies. TEMPO takes advantage of a commercial GEO host spacecraft to provide a modest cost mission that measures the spectra required to retrieve O3, NO2, SO2, H2CO, C2H2O2, H2O, aerosols, cloud parameters, and UVB radiation. TEMPO thus measures the major elements, directly or by proxy, in the tropospheric O3 chemistry cycle. Multi-spectral observations provide sensitivity to O3 in the lowermost troposphere, substantially reducing uncertainty in air quality predictions. TEMPO quantifies and tracks the evolution of aerosol loading. It provides near-real-time air quality products that will be made widely, publicly available. TEMPO will launch at a prime time to be the North American component of the global geostationary constellation of pollution monitoring together with European Sentinel-4 and Korean GEMS.


Early Separation In photovoltaic devices, electrons excited by the absorption of light must travel across a junction, while the positively charged "holes" they leave behind effectively migrate in the opposite direction. If the electrons and holes do not separate efficiently, they can recombine and fail to produce any appreciable current. Gélinas et al. (p. 512, published online 12 December; see the Perspective by Bredas) studied this separation process by ultrafast optical absorption spectroscopy in thiophene-derived donor-fullerene acceptor systems common in organic photovoltaics and report a rate significantly faster than simple charge diffusion would suggest. The results implicate a coherent charge delocalization process, likely to involve fullerene π-electron states. Ultrafast spectroscopy shows electrons and holes separating faster than simple diffusion would imply in organic photovoltaics. [Also see Perspective by Bredas] Understanding the charge-separation mechanism in organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs) could facilitate optimization of their overall efficiency. Here we report the time dependence of the separation of photogenerated electron hole pairs across the donor-acceptor heterojunction in OPV model systems. By tracking the modulation of the optical absorption due to the electric field generated between the charges, we measure ~200 millielectron volts of electrostatic energy arising from electron-hole separation within 40 femtoseconds of excitation, corresponding to a charge separation distance of at least 4 nanometers. At this separation, the residual Coulomb attraction between charges is at or below thermal energies, so that electron and hole separate freely. This early time behavior is consistent with charge separation through access to delocalized π-electron states in ordered regions of the fullerene acceptor material.


Disease is both among the most important selection pressures in nature and among the main causes of yield loss in agriculture. In plants, resistance to disease is often conferred by Nucleotide-binding Leucine-rich Repeat (NLR) proteins. These proteins function as intracellular immune receptors that recognize pathogen proteins and their effects on the plant. Consistent with evolutionarily dynamic interactions between plants and pathogens, NLRs are known to be encoded by one of the most variable gene families in plants, but the true extent of intraspecific NLR diversity has been unclear. Here, we define the majority of the Arabidopsis thaliana species-wide "NLRome". From NLR sequence enrichment and long-read sequencing of 65 diverse A. thaliana accessions, we infer that the pan-NLRome saturates with approximately 40 accessions. Despite the high diversity of NLRs, half of the pan-NLRome is present in most accessions. We chart the architectural diversity of NLR proteins, identify novel architectures, and quantify the selective forces that act on specific NLRs, domains, and positions. Our study provides a blueprint for defining the pan-NLRome of plant species.


GROWA is a modular grid based empirical hydrological model that is being used to address practical water resources management related issues. It has been successfully applied in typical hydrological and hydrogeological setups of northern European basins ranging typically between meso-scale river basins of about 1000 km 2 to entire States or river catchments of 100,000 km 2 or more. This paper examines the applicability of this model in a typical southern European environment where the typical water resources management pattern and also the controlling hydrodynamic evolution patterns differ considerably. As such, the River Pinios basin in central Greece, which has a spatial extent of some 11.000km 2 , is studied. Model compilation was based on long-term average climatic and hydrological data for a reference period of 23 years (1980-2002) and validation performed against 12 river discharge gauging stations distributed in the study basin. Specific discrepancies that were denoted are attributed to the importance of secondary processes in the evolution of the studied system (e.g. overall water use, groundwater crossflows). It is concluded that prior to model recalibration efforts special attention should be given to the inclusion of such processes (water gains and losses) into the model runs. Total runoff and groundwater recharge should consequently be linked to the overall water use and secondary inputs before they are used for strategic water resources management. Overall, GROWA was successfully applied in this typical Mediterranean Basin, despite the totally different climatic, pedological, hydrological and hydrogeological conditions for which it was originally designed and tested.


In this Thesis we study plan synthesis for datacentric
domains, where the interest is not only upon
the actions the system performs to reach its desired
goal, but also on how the knowledge defining the
domain evolves with the aforementioned actions.
We first introduce a rich, dynamic framework
named Explicit-input Knowledge and Action Bases
(eKABs), where states are Description Logic (DL)
Knowledge Bases, whose extensional part is manipulated
by actions that possibly introduce new objects
from an infinite domain. We show that plan
existence over eKABs is undecidable even under
severe restrictions.
We then focus on state-bounded eKABs, a class
for which plan existence is decidable, and provide
sound and complete plan synthesis algorithms, which
combine techniques based on standard planning,
DL query answering, and finite-state abstraction.
All results hold for any DL with decidable query
answering.
We finally show that for lightweight DLs, plan
synthesis can be compiled into standard planning,
and we provide two translations: translation to
STRIPS for a restricted version of lightweight DL
eKABs, and translation to ADL for full lightweight
DL eKABs. For the STRIPS setting, we provide an
additional technique to optimize Knowledge Base
satisfiability check inside the translation. We also
provide a technique showing how it is possible to
transform any full lightweight DL eKAB to an equivalent
restricted lightweight DL eKAB.


Abstract. The ACASA (Advanced Canopy–Atmosphere–Soil Algorithm) model, with
a higher-order closure for tall vegetation, has already been
successfully tested and validated for homogeneous spruce
forests. The aim of this paper is to test the model using
a footprint-weighted tile approach for a clearing with
a heterogeneous structure of the underlying surface. The comparison
with flux data shows a good agreement with a footprint-aggregated
tile approach of the model. However, the results of a comparison
with a tile approach on the basis of the mean land use
classification of the clearing is not significantly different. It is
assumed that the footprint model is not accurate enough to separate
small-scale heterogeneities. All measured fluxes are corrected by
forcing the energy balance closure of the test data either by
maintaining the measured Bowen ratio or by the attribution of the
residual depending on the fractions of sensible and latent heat flux
to the buoyancy flux. The comparison with the model, in which the
energy balance is closed, shows that the buoyancy correction for
Bowen ratios >1.5 better fits the measured data. For lower Bowen
ratios, the correction probably lies between the two methods, but the
amount of available data was too small to make a conclusion. With an
assumption of similarity between water and carbon dioxide fluxes,
no correction of the net ecosystem exchange is necessary for Bowen
ratios >1.5 .


The ∼3700 Ma and 3800 Ma meta-volcanic and -sedimentary rocks in the Isua supracrustal belt (Greenland) were affected by heterogeneous ductile deformation under amphibolite facies conditions (∼500-650 °C), and variably modified by secondary silica and carbonate mineralisation deposited from diagenetic and metasomatic fluids. Rare low-deformation areas preserve original volcanic features submarine basaltic pillows and sedimentary features including bedding. These are best-preserved in two dimensions on flatto moderately-inclined outcrop surfaces, but invariably are tectonically-stretched along a steeply-plunging third dimension, through stretching in the direction of fold axes; a style of deformation found throughout Earth's history. There is a debate about whether rare relicts of ∼3700 Ma stromatolites preserved in metadolomites that formed in a shallow marine setting (Nutman et al., 2016) represent bona fide biogenic primary structures fortuitously preserved in low deformation, or whether these structures are manifestations of deformation combined with non-biogenic deposition of secondary carbonate (Allwood et al., 2018). Here, we critically test the primary nature of the sedimentary rocks hosting the proposed stromatolites and also the veracity of the proposed stromatolites, by addressing the following questions: (i) Are the rocks an in situ outcrop of known age, or displaced blocks of unknown age or origin?; (ii) How much of the carbonate is of an originally sedimentary versus a secondary (i.e., metasomatic introduced) origin?; (iii) Is the seawater-like REE + Y (rare earth element and yttrium) trace element signature carried definitely by carbonate minerals and therefore diagnostic of a cool, surficial sedimentary system?; (iv) Are the proposed stromatolites consistent with biogenicity in terms of their geometry and fine-scale layering, or could they be the product of soft sediment or structural deformation (compression in folding)? The answers to these questions, which combine diverse observations from geologic context, geochemistry and stromatolite morphology show that the weight of evidence is consistent with a biogenic origin for the stromatolites formed in a shallow water setting and are inconsistent with formation entirely through inorganic processes. Publication Details Nutman, A. P., Bennett, V. C., Friend, C. R.L., Van Kranendonk, M. J., Rothacker, L. & Chivas, A. R. (2019). Cross-examining Earth's oldest stromatolites: Seeing through the effects of heterogeneous deformation, metamorphism and metasomatism affecting Isua (Greenland) ∼3700 Ma sedimentary rocks. Precambrian Research, 331 105347-1-105347-17. Authors Allen Phillip Nutman, Vickie C. Bennett, Clark R. L Friend, Martin J. Van Kranendonk, Leo Rothacker, and Allan Chivas This journal article is available at Research Online: https://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers1/777


Background and Aims: In adults, video laryngoscopy is recommended for supraglottic airway device (SGAD) placement as it results in better device position and higher oropharyngeal leak pressures. In children, there is a paucity of studies evaluating the impact of visually guided techniques on SGAD placement. Aim of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of visual-guided techniques of SGAD placement in children. Methods: Totally, 75 children, scheduled for elective surgery, were randomly allocated into three groups, that is, standard (S), direct laryngoscopy (DL), and video laryngoscopy (VL). Ambu AuraGain was placed blindly in group S, and under visual guidance with video laryngoscopy and direct laryngoscopy in groups VL and DL, respectively. Ambu AuraGain position was determined by flexible videoendoscope. First attempt success rate, time for successful insertion, oropharyngeal leak and any complications were studied. Results: Incidence of malposition was not significantly different in group S (44%), DL (48%), and VL (64%); P = 0.32. The first attempt success rate was 100% in DL and 92% each in S and VL. Time to insert (seconds) was significantly higher in VL (37.9 ± 21.6), compared to S (18.4 ± 7.9) and DL (27.4 ± 14.5); P <0.001. Incidence of oropharyngeal leak, impact on ventilation, and complications were similar in all three groups. Conclusion: In this study, there was no advantage of visually guided techniques for Ambu AuraGain placement in children.


The Ballachulish 'Granite' is a composite Devonian intrusive complex surrounded by a distinctive thermal aureole developed in regionally deformed and metamorphosed Dalradian sediments on the W coast of Scotland. The most abundant rocks in the aureole are pelites, which show a progression of assemblages from quartz–muscovite–chlorite up to a variety of high-grade assemblages involving combinations of cordierite, corundum, spinel and, rarely, hypersthene and garnet. Metamorphic zones have been mapped around the granite, which are defined by the following reactions going upgrade: Mu + Chl + Q = Cd + Bi + V { Mu + Bi + Q = Cd + Kf + V or Mu + Cd = Q + Bi + As + V Mu + Q = As + Kf + V { Q + Bi + As = Cd + Kf + V or Mu + Cd = Bi + As + Kf + V Mu = Cor + Kf + V Bi + As = Cor + Kf + Cd + V The restricted occurrences of assemblages involving spinel, hypersthene and garnet do not allow higher grade zones to be mapped. Variations in the reaction sequence as a consequence of bulk compositional factors, in particular the development of quartz-bearing versus quartz-absent assemblages, are described. Details of the mineral assemblages from Ballachulish are combined with high-grade assemblage data from the Belhelvie, Lochnagar and Comrie aureoles to construct a comprehensive schematic petrogenetic grid. The grid involves the minerals quartz, chlorite, muscovite, biotite, cordierite, alumino-silicate, K-feldspar, corundum, spinel, hypersthene and garnet, whose assemblage relationships are modelled in the system K2O-FeO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-H2O (KFMASH).


BACKGROUND: After the excelent long term results reported with the Ross operation, its use increased worldwide. OBJECTIVE: Report our initial surgical experience with this procedure. METHODS: From may/95 trough february/96, 24 patients (mean age 28.3 years) were submitted to Ross procedure with the root replacement method. Reconstrution of the right ventricular outflow tract was achieved by 17 pulmonary and 7 aortic homografts stored in nutrient-antibiotic media. All patients were submitted to angiographic and echocardiographic Doppler flow studies at the immediate postoperative period to assess ventricular function and hemodynamic performance of the homografts. Three patients with follow-up longer than 6 months had a second ecocardiographic study. RESULTS: Hospital mortality was 4%. All hospital survivors were discharged in synus rhytm and with no diastolic murmur of aortic insufficiency. Hemodynamic performance of the autografts was excellent with low peak systolic gradients (4.0 ± 1.3 mmHg by echocardiography and 2.8 ± 1.2 mmHg by cardiac catheterism). Twenty-one patients had none or trivial autograft insufficiency and two presented with mild insufficiency. None had moderate or severe regurgitation. Peak systolic gradients in the homografts were also low (3.0 ± 0.9 mmHg by echocardiography and 4,3 ± 1,4 mmHg by catheterism) and only two had mild insufficiency. There was a significant reduction in left ventricular mass in the early postoperative period. After a mean follow-up of 5,1 months (1-9 months) all patients were in NYHA functional class I and free of events. Three patients with followup periods longerthan 6 months had asecond echocardiogram which showed normal left ventricular function and mass and adequate performance of the auto and homografts. CONCLUSION: The Ross operation can be done with low operative mortality and good short term results. We believe it will be widely employed by others in our country.


In this paper the requisite foundational numerical and experimental investigations that are carried out, to model the "uncracked and cracked" shaft and to identify its bending and torsional vibration responses, are reported. The cylindrical shaft used in this experimental study is continuous over two spans (with a cantilever span carrying a propeller) with ball-bearing supports. During modal tests the backward end of shaft (away from the propeller end and connecting it to an electric motor, required for online monitoring) is fixed to one of the test frame supports; later on this backward end will be connected to an electric motor to carry out online modal monitoring for crack identification. In the numerical study, beam elements are used for modeling the bending and torsional vibrations of the rotating shaft. The paper describes in detail the numerical "linear spring" models developed for representing the effects of "ball bearings and the (experimental test) frame supports" on the vibration frequencies. Shaft response parameters are obtained using modal analysis software, LMS Test Lab, for bending vibrations monitored using accelerometers, and three "sets" of shear strain gages fixed at three different shaft locations measure the torsional vibrations. Effects of different crack depths on bending and torsional frequencies and mode shapes are investigated experimentally and numerically, and the results interpreted to give better comprehension of its vibratory behavior.


Yale University provides access to these materials for educational and research purposes only. Copyright or other proprietary rights to content contained in this document may be held by individuals or entities other than, or in addition to, Yale University. You are solely responsible for determining the ownership of the copyright, and for obtaining permission for your intended use. Yale University makes no warranty that your distribution, reproduction, or other use of these materials will not infringe the rights of third parties.


We have measured the bar lengths and widths of 125 barred galaxies observed with CCDs. The dependence of bar strength (identified with bar axis ratio) on morphological type, nuclear activity, central and mid-bar surface brightness is investigated. The properties of the bars are best explained if the sample is divided into early- (< SBbc) and late-type galaxies, and into active (starburst, Seyfert or LINER) and normal galaxies. We find that galaxies with very long bars are mostly active and that normal late-type galaxies have a distinct behavior from the three other groups of galaxies. We confirm earlier findings that active late-type galaxies tend to have both stronger and longer bars than normal ones. An important result of this paper is that early-type galaxies do not share this behavior: they all tend to have strong bars, whether they are active or not. We also find correlations between bar strength and relative surface brightness in the middle and at the edge of the bar, which are not followed by normal late-type galaxies. These results are interpreted in the light of recent numerical simulations and paradigms about galaxy evolution. They sug- gest that normal late-type galaxies represent the first stage of galaxy evolution, and that bars in early- and late-type galaxies do not have the same properties because they have a different origin.


Abstract We consider an asymptotically flat Lorentzian manifold of dimension (1, 3). An inequality is derived which bounds the Riemannian curvature tensor in terms of the $\text{ADM}$ energy in the general case with second fundamental form. The inequality quantifies in which sense the Lorentzian manifold becomes flat in the limit when the $\text{ADM}$ energy tends to zero.


This work constitutes a study of the operations of local
authority building direct labour organisations (DLOs)
during the 1980s,
An overt aim of Part III of the 1980 Local Government,
Planning and Land Act was to improve efficiency in the
operations of local authority building direct labour
organisations (DLOs). Whilst the Act did not specify
how DLOs should be organised, the legislation on
accounting and accountability clearly had Important
organisational implications.
Even prior to 1981, some DLOs already obtained the
majority of work via competitive tender, had control
over their functions and had systems for demonstrating
their efficiency. Others were not operated in such ways
and fundamental changes were needed to successfully meet
the challenge of the new legislation.
By 1988, the Audit Commission admitted that DLO5 had
very largely been successful in meeting the competitive
requirements of the 1980 Act, but expressed concern over
the varying levels of effectiveness and efficiency of
operation that existed amongst organisations. An objective of the study is to look at the problems
associated with efficiency and productivity measurement
in the context of DLO performance. The Conservative
government of this period had a strong conniitment to the
improvement of efficiency of the public sector. In
other areas of public services, various forms of
performance Indicator were being employed to monitor
performance, but for a DLO the sole measure of
efficiency was the ability to meet the 5a target rate of
return. The concern with efficiency produced new
interest in the application of quantitative techniques
to provide methods of efficiency measurement.
This work undertakes a study of the problems associated
with efficiency and performance measurement In this
sector of the U.K. construction Industry.
The availability of appropriate data at the Individual
organisation level from 1981 onwards, enabled, for the
first time, viable lnter-DLO comparisons to be
undertaken at the micro-level and sectoral comparisons
to be made at the macro-level.
The data used In the study were obtained over a five
year period from a variety of sources of published and
unpublished sources. A unique database of expenditure
and revenue Information from over 150 DLOs has been
developed, which in many ways is even more comprehensive than the 'official' statistics collected by the
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.
Methods used for efficiency measurement
With the great emphasis placed on ensuring that the
public sector of the construction industry acts in an
efficient manner, the data are employed In various
methods for the measurement of efficiency.
1. At the sector level, total factor productivity
neasurement is used to gauge the rate of growth of the
DLO sector of the industry.
2. At the organisation level, 'Farrell' measures of
efficiency are used.
A model for measuring the efficiency of Individual
organisations is presented.
Data Envelopment Analysis I used to consider
inefficiency that raises Costs above their feasible
minimum.


Ecology has become one of the most urgent and lively fields in both the humanities and sciences. In a dramatic widening of scope beyond its original concern with the coexistence of living organisms within a natural environment, it is now recognized that there are ecologies of mind, information, sensation, perception, power, participation, media, behavior, belonging, values, the social, the political… a thousand ecologies. This proliferation is not simply a metaphorical extension of the figurative potential of natural ecology: rather, it reflects the thoroughgoing imbrication of natural and technological elements in the constitution of the contemporary environments we inhabit, the rise of a cybernetic natural state, with its corresponding mode of power. Hence this ecology of ecologies initiates and demands that we go beyond the specificity of any particular ecology: a general thinking of ecology which may also constitute an ecological transformation of thought itself is required.

In this ambitious and radical new volume of writings, some of the most exciting contemporary thinkers in the field take on the task of revealing and theorizing the extent of the ecologization of existence as the effect of our contemporary sociotechnological condition: together, they bring out the complexity and urgency of the challenge of ecological thought-one we cannot avoid if we want to ask and indeed have a chance of affecting what forms of life, agency, modes of existence, human or otherwise, will participate-and how-in this planet's future. - See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/general-ecology-9781350014695/#sthash.6WXDqoeE.dpuf


"Earlier briefs in this series make the case that there is added value for the agricultural and health sectors in working more closely together to address problems of human well-being that fall at the intersection of the two sectors. Yet the divisions between the two sectors are wide and difficult to bridge. Building the space and providing sufficient incentives and resources for collaborative activities between them will require changes in government policy—itself not a straightforward endeavor. Moreover, the sharp human and financial resource constraints in developing countries compound the challenge. This brief describes some of the important barriers to effective collaboration between the two sectors and suggests ways to overcome them. First, though, why does policy matter in this context? Policy states how government intends to prioritize the allocation of resources under its control for what is perceived to be the best interest of society. Poor health and stagnant or declining agricultural productivity are among the most fundamental challenges to improved human welfare and economic growth. Government has the responsibility for providing many of the institutions, infrastructure, and resources — key public goods — without which many farmers, in particular, will remain unhealthy, unproductive, and mired in poverty. Thus the policies and actions of government are a critical component in enabling individuals, particularly in rural areas, to live healthier and more productive lives." From text


Abstract Using borrower-level data from FINCA, one of Peru's leading microfinance institutions (MFIs), this paper evaluates the effect on borrowers' access to credit of FINCA's decision to share information on individual outstanding debt records (positive information) as well as group default records (negative information). Since all borrowers were simultaneously exposed to the same policy, the paper develops a creative identification strategy that relies on the exogenous variation of the opening and closing dates of loan cycles across lending groups. A credit expansion effect is identified for some borrowers in FINCA who looked more creditworthy after their positive records were exposed, suggesting that other lenders targeted FINCA clients with good credit records. This credit expansion effect seems to have hurt FINCA through higher default rates as its better clients were skimmed off.


The importance of carbonate precipitation by phytoplankton in fresh water lakes has not been sufficiently considered in global carbon cycles and climate change scenarios. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of the calcifying bivalved phytoflagellate Phacotus lenticularis (Ehrenberg) Deising 1866 on the total calcite precipitation in five European hard-water lakes. For this purpose, an accurate mass determination of single Phacotus lenticularis shells was required. We developed a novel methodological approach to precisely determine the volume and mass of the calcified shells. Focused ion beam (FIB) techniques were employed to investigate internal structural features. Thin layer cross-sections of the shell profiles were reproduced and perforation as well as the crystalline structure of the calcite plates were monitored. 3D-shell models were computed by 360° rotation of the shell cross-sections using a CAD 3D imaging software to calculate precise volumes and estimate realistic masses. In contrast to previous estimates, we determined a 2.8-fold higher shell mass of 0.86 ng CaCO 3 (standard deviation SD = 0.18) for the highly massive shells at a mean volume per individual of 334.1 µm³ (SD = 70). An initial shell porosity of less than 5% was derived from thin layer cross-section images, resulting in a presumed mean shell density of 0.0026 ng µm −3 . The shell diameter was significantly influenced by the lake's origin. The shells from each lake displayed substantial variations in diameter and shape. The pores in the shells showed two variations. Wider pore canals penetrated the whole shell wall, whereas small, elongated pores were located along the interspaces between calcite crystals with tabular habit. The approximate average dimensions of these calcite plates were 1.0 × 1.6 × 0.2 µm. The mean lateral wall thickness at the rim and centre of the shell were 1.98 µm (SD = 0.42) and 0.79 µm (SD = 0.17), respectively. The average carbonate precipitation by Phacotus lenticularis in relation to the total epilimnetic suspended calcite precipitation was 6.0% in the oligotrophic lake Groser Ostersee (Bavaria, Germany). During the growing season, Phacotus lenticularis contributed up to 21% of the particulate calcium carbonate in the epilimnion. These findings suggest that Phacotus lenticularis should be considered in the assessment of hard-water lake carbon cycling.


Ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) by use of state of the art broad-bandwidth femtosecond laser technology is demonstrated and applied to in vivo subcellular imaging. Imaging is performed with a Kerr-lens mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser with double-chirped mirrors that emits sub-two-cycle pulses with bandwidths of up to 350 nm, centered at 800 nm. Longitudinal resolutions of ~1mum and transverse resolution of 3mum, with a 110-dB dynamic range, are achieved in biological tissue. To overcome depth-of-field limitations we perform zone focusing and image fusion to construct a tomogram with high transverse resolution throughout the image depth. To our knowledge this is the highest longitudinal resolution demonstrated to date for in vivo OCT imaging.


Satellite (Spot, Landsat, ...) remote sensing is based on the measurement by optoelectronic sensors of the quantity of sunlight reflected by unit areas of sunlight reflected by unit areas of terrestrial or planetary surfaces, for different bands of wavelengths (visible (VIS), near infrared (NIR), thermal infrared (TIR)). These radiometric quantities are proportional to the reflectivities of the surface components, that is, for the Earth, mainly water, snow, ice, vegetation, rocks, sands and soils. Thus, remote sensing from an heliosynchronous spatial orbit is a kind of long distance (800 km) optical spectrometry, which is applied to unit sampled surfaces (ground pixels) measuring 100 to 400 m 2 (Spot) or 900 m 2 (Landsat). Where the ground pixel is composed of rocks and soils, mineralogical studies are essential to calibrate and analyse the photometric data recorded by the satellite sensor, since these data are directly correlated to the crystal-chemical composition of the outcropping rocks. The recognition, or more often the differentiation, of the lithological facies present on a satellite numerical image are enhanced due to the utilization of «spectral signatures», i.e. any parameter, or combination of parameters, extracted from optical spectra recorded on the facies, and which are characteristics of a rock, a mineral, a weathering degree or a particular chemical composition. The optical reflectivity of a mineral surface is mainly controlled by the sum of the absorption coefficients of the minerals which compose this surface, weighted by their modal concentration. In the VIS and in the NIR ranges (400-2500 nm), absorption is essentially due to electronic transitions ; i.e. intra-atomic (crystal-field transitions), inter-atomic or inter-ionic (charge transfers) or inter-band (valence to conduction) transitions. Taking into account the energies involved in these spectral ranges, absorption depends on the concentrations, oxidation states and coordination numbers of the transition metals present in the crystal structure of the rock-forming minerals. Iron, with its different valencies, represents practically 90% of all the transition metals at the Earth's surface : Fe II and Fe III are mainly responsible for the colour, and more generally for the VIS-NIR spectral signatures of the mineral world on satellite images. In the part of the IR range (0.8-14.0 μm) utilized for remote sensing purposes, absorption is due to fundamental or harmonic vibrations of molecules (H 2 O, OH, CO 3 , SiOi4, etc.) forming the mineral lattice. The number and location of the absorption bands are a function of the number and type of atoms, the geometry of their co-ordination and the inter-atomic forces in the molecules. Controlled by crystal-chemical compositions, remotely sensed optical data are also very dependent on the morphological state of the pixels' surface. A trivial example illustrates this phenomenon : the reflectivity of H 2 O surfaces. With the surface of the sea, it behaves like a mirror to which is applied Fresnel's specular reflection laws ; since the specular reflectance is proportionale to the very low absorbance of water, the surface appears very dark from space. If the land is covered with snow―which has however practically the same intrinsic optical properties as water in the VIS spectral region―it behaves likes a powder to which can be applied the Kubelka-Munk diffuse reflectance theory ; such a surface appears very bright because the diffuse reflectance varies with the inverse of the absorption. The Rayleigh rule describes the transition conditions between the two types of surfaces and the two associated phenomena. In nature, mineral surfaces are mainly subject to diffuse reflection of the sunlight. It depends on morphological parameters (roughness, insolation angle, topography of the surface) and on chemical parameters (soil moisture, degree of weathering, geochemical and atmospheric composition). The aim of mineralogical studies is to provide experts―or expert-systems―with spectral recorded on actual or simulated petrological, mineralogical or pedological scenarios, eventually under extraterrestrial conditions (pressure, temperature, atmospheric composition). The utilization in the near future of hyperspectral sensors, which can sample the spectrum over 200 or more reflective channels about 10 nm wide, increases the fundamental need for such spectral signatures concerning minerals and their mixtures (i.e. rocks and soils) under various environmental conditions


2018 marks the 70th Anniversary of the beginning of United Nations Peacekeeping. In the past seven decades, hundreds of thousands of men and women, from nearly every nation, have put themselves in harm's way in the name of peace. As conflicts continue to affect the lives of millions of people, peacekeeping has never been more important. This paper seeks to examine United Nations peacekeeping and the role of various actors in helping them to achieve the lofty goal of sustainable and stable peace. By utilizing academic literature, primary sources, and expert interviews, this paper will analyze United Nations peacekeeping and examine its history and evolution from ceasefire monitoring to capacity building. It will also explore the complex and vital role of external actors in keeping global peace, with a strong emphasis on their role within the United Nations framework. These external actors, the European Union, the African Union, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, and the Helvetic Confederation represent important actors within the international community and are powerful partners of the United Nations in peacekeeping.


This book offers an empirically informed understanding of how identity and agency become wholly embedded within practices of media-remembering. It draws upon data collected from the the British military, the BBC and Falkland Islanders during the 30th Anniversary of the Falklands war to uniquely offer multiple perspectives on a single 'remembering' phenomenon. The study offers an analysis of the convergence, interconnectedness and interdependence of media and remembering, specifically the production, interpretation and negotiation of remembering in the media ecology. In so doing it not only examines the role of media in the formation and sustaining of collective memory but also the ways those who are remembered or remember in media texts become implicated in these processes.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate horseshoe characteristics and high-speed exercise history as risk factors for catastrophic musculoskeletal injury in Thoroughbred racehorses.

ANIMALS
377 horses (37,529 race starts).

PROCEDURES
Shoe characteristics included material, toe grab height, heel traction device, pads, and rim shoes. Racing variables were obtained from a computerized database. Forty-three horses that had a musculoskeletal injury and then failed to race or train for 6 months (cases) and 334 noninjured horses from the same race in which a horse was injured (controls) were compared regarding risk factors.

RESULTS
Overall, 98% of race starts were associated with aluminum shoes, 85% with toe grabs, 32% with pads, and 12% with rims on forelimb horseshoes. Among 43 horses with musculoskeletal injury, sex (geldings), an extended interval since last race, and reduced exercise during the 30 or 60 days preceding injury were risk factors for catastrophic injury. Odds of injury in racehorses with toe grabs on front shoes were 1.5 times the odds of injury in horses without toe grabs, but this association was not significant (95% confidence interval, 0.5 to 4.1).

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Results suggest that horses that return to racing after an extended period of reduced exercise are at high risk of catastrophic musculoskeletal injury. Results regarding the use of toe grabs as a possible risk factor for catastrophic injury were inconclusive because the probability of declaring (in error) that use of toe grabs was associated with an increased risk of musculoskeletal injury (eg, odds ratio > 1.0) was 38%.