One of the key issues in manufacturing of CdTe solar cells is the formation of a stable and low-barrier ohmic contact to the CdTe layer. When typical metals are deposited onto the CdTe surface, a barrier is formed at the interface due to an unfavorable energy-band alignment. The alignment is determined by the work-function of the metal, interface states, and metal-induced gap states at the interface, which leads to pinning of the CdTe Fermi-level close to the middle of its energy gap.
The main subject of this PhD work was the fundamental investigation of the parameters involved in formation of reliable ohmic back contacts to the CdTe layer. For this purpose, a multifunction vacuum chamber, which was equipped with a plasma ion source and multiple sputtering targets and PVD sources, was integrated with the DAISY-SOL. Solar cells were prepared by sequential deposition of the CdS and CdTe layers onto TCO-coated glass substrates by close-space-sublimation (CSS). Then, the cells were completed by a CdCl2 treatment followed by deposition of the back-contact layer(s). After any layer deposition or treatment, the sample could be transferred to an Escalab spectrometer for XPS/UPS characterization without breaking the ultra-high vacuum environment.
The goals of this project were to eliminate the use of copper (due to stability concerns), and to prepare back contact without etching. In order to meet these goals, the CdCl2 activation had to be performed in a non-oxidizing atmosphere. Therefore, an in-situ CdCl2 activation reactor was developed and integrated to the system to perform the treatment in vacuum. This facility, besides its benefits in fabrication of solar cells in an all-dry process, enabled us to study effects of the CdCl2 activation on CdTe and CdS layers with photoelectron spectroscopy (PES). Moreover, since during the activation no oxide layer was formed, it was possible to study the electrical properties of the CdTe solar cells by conductive AFM (c-AFM) with nanoscale resolution. Effect of typical treatments, such as CdCl2 activation and chemical etching, which usually must be performed before the back-contact deposition, were also investigated by this technique.
The electrical properties of the completed solar cells were characterized by current-voltage, external quantum efficiency (EQE), and capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements. The surface morphology and structure of the layers were investigated by AFM, SEM and XRD. The resistivity and carrier concentration of some thin films were also investigated by the four-point probe and Hall-effect measurements, respectively.
Three different back contact approaches were investigated in this work:
The first approach was application of an intermediate layer (or a combined layer structure) between the CdTe and metallic back contact. Several interlayers based on ZnTe, Sb2Te3, Sb and Te were applied and the important formation parameters of each contact were optimized. Cell efficiencies as high as the efficiencies obtained with our standard wet process were obtained. This was achieved without any need for chemical etching or washing processes, and of course, without copper. Based on our previous investigations, nitrogen doped ZnTe (ZnTe:N) was a good candidate to be used as the back-contact interlayer; because it could be doped p-type to high levels to realize ohmic contact and a negligible valence-band offset was measured at the CdTe/ZnTe interface. However, solar cells with ZnTe:N/Au back contact had rather low efficiencies, which could be related to the degradation of the cells during deposition of the ZnTe:N layers. As an alternative, antimony was selected to be used as the p-type dopant in ZnTe. After trying several methods, a 4-step procedure was developed and highly p-type antimony doped ZnTe (ZnTe:Sb) thin films with conductivity of 31 S/cm (resistivity of 0.03 Ω.cm) were successfully deposited. Although the contact between ZnTe:Sb and the metallization layer (Mo or Au) was ohmic, the efficiency of solar cells prepared with this interlayer was also low.
Another approach was Sb-doping of the CdTe surface to form a tunneling contact. For this purpose, an efficient method was developed, which was similar to the Sb doping of ZnTe layers with some modifications. Solar cells with Sb-doped CdTe surface showed a very low series resistance (3-5 Ω/cm2) and efficiency of the cells was improved by 20%, as compared with our standard cell. With this method, solar cells with efficiency of 12.8% and fill factor as high as 69.3 % with Voc and Jsc of 770 mV and 24 mA/cm2 were produced. This was our record efficiency at the time when this project was performed.
The last approach was investigation of reduced molybdenum oxide (MoOx) as the back-contact interlayer. MoOx layers were deposited by RF reactive sputtering and PVD methods. By changing the deposition parameters followed by XPS and UPS characterization, the optimum condition for depositing conductive MoOx layers with work-function larger than 6 eV were determined.
CdTe solar cells prepared with MoOx back contact interlayer had better performance compared with the cells without this layer, but their performance was not higher than those prepared with our standard back contact (i.e. NP-etching followed by gold sputtering). Three sets of interface experiments were performed to study the contact between the CdTe surface and MoOx layers deposited by sputtering and PVD methods. The interface investigations were performed by stepwise deposition of MoOx layers onto the CdTe surface followed by XPS and UPS measurement after each step. The resulting energy band diagrams showed that the MoOx interlayers cannot provide a low resistance contact to the CdTe, despite the high work-function and good conductivity of these layers. It was also found that, the work-function difference was compensated by a large interface dipole and the Fermi-level of the CdTe was always pinned at 0.9 eV above the valence band. Therefore, in order to achieve a low resistance back contact with MoOx buffer layer, the CdTe surface must be highly doped to facilitate carriers tunneling, otherwise a large barrier height is formed at the interface.
Most of the copper-free back contacts investigated in this work did not show any degradation after at least one-year storage in the lab.


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In remote sensing images, the existence of the clouds has a great impact on the image quality and subsequent image processing, as the images covered with clouds contain little useful information. Therefore, the detection and recognition of clouds is one of the major problems in the application of remote sensing images. Present there are two categories of method to cloud detection. One is setting spectrum thresholds based on the characteristics of the clouds to distinguish them. However, the instability and uncertainty of the practical clouds makes this kind of method complexity and weak adaptability. The other method adopts the features in the images to identify the clouds. Since there will be significant overlaps in some features of the clouds and grounds, the detection result is highly dependent on the effectiveness of the features. This paper presented a cloud detection method based on feature extraction for remote sensing images. At first, find out effective features through training pattern, the features are selected from gray, frequency and texture domains. The different features in the three domains of the training samples are calculated. Through the result of statistical analysis of all the features, the useful features are picked up to form a feature set. In concrete, the set includes three feature vectors, respectively, the gray feature vector constituted of average gray, variance, first-order difference, entropy and histogram, the frequency feature vector constituted of DCT high frequency coefficient and wavelet high frequency coefficient, and the texture feature vector constituted of the hybrid entropy and difference of the gray-gradient co-occurrence matrix and the image fractal dimension. Secondly, a thumbnail will be obtained by down sampling the original image and its features of gray, frequency and texture are computed. Last but not least, the cloud region will be judged by the comparison between the actual feature values and the thresholds determined by the sample training process. Experimental results show that the clouds and ground objects can be separated efficiently, and our method can implement rapid clouds detection and cloudiness calculation.


Title of dissertation: NOVEL METHODS FOR COMPARING AND EVALUATING SINGLE AND METAGENOMIC ASSEMBLIES Christopher Michael Hill, Doctor of Philosophy, 2015 Dissertation directed by: Professor Mihai Pop Department of Computer Science The current revolution in genomics has been made possible by software tools called genome assemblers, which stitch together DNA fragments "read" by sequencing machines into complete or nearly complete genome sequences. Despite decades of research in this field and the development of dozens of genome assemblers, assessing and comparing the quality of assembled genome sequences still heavily relies on the availability of independently determined standards, such as manually curated genome sequences, or independently produced mapping data. The focus of this work is to develop reference-free computational methods to accurately compare and evaluate genome assemblies. We introduce a reference-free likelihood-based measure of assembly quality which allows for an objective comparison of multiple assemblies generated from the same set of reads. We define the quality of a sequence produced by an assembler as the conditional probability of observing the sequenced reads from the assembled sequence. A key property of our metric is that the true genome sequence maximizes the score, unlike other commonly used metrics. Despite the unresolved challenges of single genome assembly, the decreasing costs of sequencing technology has led to a sharp increase in metagenomics projects over the past decade. These projects allow us to better understand the diversity and function of microbial communities found in the environment, including the ocean, Arctic regions, other living organisms, and the human body. We extend our likelihood-based framework and show that we can accurately compare assemblies of these complex bacterial communities. After an assembly has been produced, it is not an easy task determining what parts of the underlying genome are missing, what parts are mistakes, and what parts are due to experimental artifacts from the sequencing machine. Here we introduce VALET, the first reference-free pipeline that flags regions in metagenomic assemblies that are statistically inconsistent with the data generation process. VALET detects mis-assemblies in publicly available datasets and highlights the current shortcomings in available metagenomic assemblers. By providing the computational methods for researchers to accurately evaluate their assemblies, we decrease the chance of incorrect biological conclusions and misguided future studies. NOVEL METHODS FOR COMPARING AND EVALUATING SINGLE AND METAGENOMIC ASSEMBLIES


The Explosive Ordnance Disposal Robotic Work Package (EODRWP) Program, which was completed in 1998, developed and demonstrated a number of capabilities supporting teleautonomous ordnance detection and intervention using small Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UWs) . The advanced technologies underlying these capabilities include situationally reactive intelligent mission control, parallel processing-based sonar sensor data processing which supports a dynamic classification capability, precise inertially aided subsea navigation and positioning, and vehicle closed-loop control as a compact vehicle independent subsystem. A Deep Ocean Engineering HVS4 Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) was employed as a subsea testbed platform supporting in-ocean testing prior to final demonstration and delivery. While the use of a tether facilitated the development and testing of new technologies, a number of serious technical and operational issues are attributable to the ROV when deployed in the open ocean environment or under operational conditions. Having completed a significant amount of development using the HVS4, and recognizing the shortcomings of the ROV testbed, Lockheed-Martin funded the development of Cetus, a hover-capable Autonomous Underwater Vehicle. The Cetus defines a new class of low-cost vehicle systems intended for shallow water work. The Cetus vehicle will provide a stable sensor bearing platform for the employment forward looking video cameras and lights, compact forwardlooking sonars, compact side-looking sonars, downward looking video camera and lights, magnetomkters and other sensors. This paper describes the autonomous Cetus testbed system and details the application of the EODRWP's control and sensing capabilities and mission specific Reson 6012 "SeaBat" electronically scanned SONAR search sensor in a demonstration in a search, visit, and return mission. Facilitation of semiautonomous operation of Cetus and the EODRWP using a low-rate acoustic modem for command and telemetry will be described. The paper concludes with planned new efforts in search and inspection by complimentary UUV assets.


Introduction: What Is the Arab World? Let us begin with a naive question: What is the Arab world? The most common answer is that it is a cultural rather than an ethnic reality. Indeed, the Arabs lack real ethnic unity, just as the Spanish or French, commonly called Latins, cannot be considered to be ethnic Romans. Physical types and skin colors are probably more diverse than in any other part of the world, since the Arab peoples, or their ancestors, have been mixing for thousands of years with Mediterraneans, Africans, Indians, Turks, Mongols, Persians, and Europeans. Still, if we look at the cultural elements used to define Arab identity, we are left with a very complex picture. The Arab world has a common language, but if written Arabic is the same everywhere, the spoken language differs markedly from one region to another. In addition, there are linguistic minorities - the Kurds in Iraq and the Berberophones in North Africa, not to mention the African languages spoken in the south of Mauritania and Sudan. Because of this diversity, communication can be very difficult for illiterate people who have no access to written Arabic. On the other hand, Arabic has strongly influenced a wide array of foreign languages, from Spanish in Europe to Swahili and Amharic in East Africa and Urdu in Pakistan. The Arab world has a predominant religion, Islam, but if the Shia Moslems are a minority, there are four different rites within the orthodox "Sunni" tradition, and these four rites correspond more or less to four different regions, the Maghreb, Egypt and the Sudan, the "Cham" (Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine), and the Arabian Peninsula. Moreover, there are important Christian minorities in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. Besides, Moslem Arabs are only a minority within the Moslem world. The Arab world displays common cultural features, such as respect for the elderly, a sense of hospitality, strong community and religious values, and a low degree of participation by women in social life. Still, against this common background, the Arab peoples display quite different cultures, and these cultural differences are reflected in every aspect of social life, from gastronomy, traditional dress, and aesthetic taste to attitudes toward social hierarchy and forms of political identification. Besides, many common Arab cultural elements can also be found in the "Mediterranean" culture of Spain, Italy, and Greece, in the "oriental" culture of Turkey or Iran, in the "African" culture of sub-Saharan countries, and even in Pakistan, Indonesia, and Latin America. The Arab world has a common history, which begins with the Islamic expansion in the seventh century, although its different parts were already linked during pharaonic times. It has been constituted by the Arab conquests of the Middle East and North Africa, but while its political unification has not lasted much more than one century, it has been developing as a cultural entity up to present times. Indeed, behind the adoption of Islam and the Arabic language, the different Arab peoples very soon reasserted their originality, due to historical, ecological, or geographic factors. Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco (and Andalusia), and Yemen followed quite different historical paths from the outset of the making of the Arab world. Only in the 16th century did the Arab world enter a long era of political unification, albeit under Ottoman rule. Even then, countries like Morocco or Yemen were not included. Still, within the Ottoman Empire, the Maghreb (Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya) followed quite a different route from that followed by Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, which were much closer to the imperial centers. This unique combination of cultural unity and diversity gives the Arab world a "soft" meaning, because the elements of differentiation seem to be as important as the factors of identification. On the other hand, the deep cultural interchanges between North African and Middle Eastern peoples and their neighbors make it quite difficult to rigorously draw the frontiers of the Arab world. …


Background: Stroke is a disease with a high associated disability burden. Robotic-assisted gait training offers an opportunity for the practice intensity levels associated with good functional walking outcomes in this population. Neural interfacing technology, electroencephalography (EEG), or electromyography (EMG) can offer new strategies for robotic gait re-education after a stroke by promoting more active engagement in movement intent and/or neurophysiological feedback. Objectives: This study identifies the current state-of-the-art and the limitations in direct neural interfacing with robotic gait devices in stroke rehabilitation. Methods: A pre-registered systematic review was conducted using standardized search operators that included the presence of stroke and robotic gait training and neural biosignals (EMG and/or EEG) and was not limited by study type. Results: From a total of 8,899 papers identified, 13 articles were considered for the final selection. Only five of the 13 studies received a strong or moderate quality rating as a clinical study. Three studies recorded EEG activity during robotic gait, two of which used EEG for BCI purposes. While demonstrating utility for decoding kinematic and EMG-related gait data, no EEG study has been identified to close the loop between robot and human. Twelve of the studies recorded EMG activity during or after robotic walking, primarily as an outcome measure. One study used multisource information fusion from EMG, joint angle, and force to modify robotic commands in real time, with higher error rates observed during active movement. A novel study identified used EMG data during robotic gait to derive the optimal, individualized robot-driven step trajectory. Conclusions: Wide heterogeneity in the reporting and the purpose of neurobiosignal use during robotic gait training after a stroke exists. Neural interfacing with robotic gait after a stroke demonstrates promise as a future field of study. However, as a nascent area, direct neural interfacing with robotic gait after a stroke would benefit from a more standardized protocol for biosignal collection and processing and for robotic deployment. Appropriate reporting for clinical studies of this nature is also required with respect to the study type and the participants' characteristics.


Koa (Acacia koa) forests are found across broad environmental gradients in the Hawaiian Islands. Previous studies have identified important environmental factors controlling stand structure and productivity at the plot level, but these have not been applied at the landscape level because of small-scale spatial variability. The goal of this study is to compare the differentiation of koa forest types across an elevation/temperature gradient ranging from 1200 to 2050 m asl (17–13°C mean annual temperature (MAT)) through the analysis of field measurements of forest structure and fine-resolution remotely sensed imagery. Several vegetation indices (VIs) (atmospherically resistant vegetation index (ARVI), enhanced vegetation index (EVI), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), soil-adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), modified soil-adjusted vegetation index (MSAVI), simple ratio (SR) and modified simple ratio (MSR)) are calculated from IKONOS satellite imagery of these stands and analysed using supervised classification techniques. This procedure allows a clear differentiation of koa stands from areas dominated by grasses, shrubs and bare lava. Across the elevation gradient, VIs allow differentiation of three koa forest stand classes at upper, intermediate and lower elevations. In agreement with the image classification, analysis of variance (ANOVA) of tree height and leaf phosphorus (P) suggests that there are also three significantly different groups of koa stands at those elevations. A landscape-scale map of land cover and koa stand classes demonstrates both the general trend with elevation and the small-scale heterogeneity that exists across the elevation gradient. Application of these classification techniques with fine spatial resolution imagery can improve the characterization of different koa stand types across the islands of Hawai'i, which should aid both the conservation and utilization of this ecologically important species.


Physical unclonable functions (PUFs) are increasingly used for authentication and identification applications as well as the cryptographic key generation. An important feature of a PUF is the reliance on minute random variations in the fabricated hardware to derive a trusted random key. Currently, most PUF designs focus on exploiting process variations intrinsic to the CMOS technology. In recent years, progress in emerging nanoelectronic devices has demonstrated an increase in variation as a consequence of scaling down to the nanoregion. To date, emerging PUFs with nanotechnology have not been fully established, but they are expected to emerge. Initial research in this area aims to provide security primitives for emerging integrated circuits with nanotechnology. In this paper, we review emerging nanotechnology-based PUFs.


Sudden cardiac death, one of the most common causes of death, is usually caused by tachyarrhythmias and can be effectively prevented by an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). Therefore the most accurate selection of patients who have an increased risk of sudden cardiac death is needed. The present study investigated the existence of predictors for the occurrence of appropriate and inappropriate shocks as well as death without previous appropriate therapy in 1484 ICD patients. As independent predictors of the occurrence of appropriate ICD shocks showed up a male sex, intake of Amiodarone at the time of implantation and a secondary prophylactic implantation indication. Atrial fibrillation and an implantation age below 67 years were associated with a more frequent occurrence of inappropriate shocks. The risk of dying without prior appropriate therapy of the ICD was increased in patients With advanced cardiac insufficiency, according to NYHA stage III / IV, the use of diuretics and an implantation age over 67 years. The predictive analysis is relevant for several reasons. It is necessary to identify patients with elevated risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmias to optimize therapy for these patients. Since inappropriate shocks are the most common side effect of ICD therapy, which are also associated with restrictions on quality of life and acceptance of therapy, it is important to find strategies for prevention and dealing with inappropriate shocks. Despite careful indication for ICD implantation there is a significant part of the examined patient population who has died without previous appropriate ICD therapy. Identifying patients who do not benefit from an implantation, not only helps to make the therapy cost-effective but also avoids possible complications from the start. Since this is not easy to solve, because the mentioned patients have a high risk of arrhythmic sudden cardiac death as well as a high mortality rate for competing reasons, it should once again be emphasized how important a tailored use of this life-saving therapy is.


ABSTRACT Fossil remains of Paleogene Palaeognathae are poorly documented and are exceedingly rare. One group of palaeognaths, the lithornithids, is well represented in the Paleogene of North America. Nevertheless, few specimens of the same species are known from each of those Paleogene geologic units. Here, we report five new partial skeletons of lithornithids from the Fossil Butte Member of the Green River Formation (Early Eocene) of Wyoming. One spectacularly preserved specimen is identified as the holotype of a new species, Calciavis grandei, gen. et sp. nov., and fully described. Preserved soft tissues (e.g., feathers, pes scales) surround the nearly articulated and complete skeleton. A second well-preserved but disarticulated skeleton is referred to this new taxon. We conclude that there are only two lithornithid taxa in the Green River Formation after careful comparisons with the other known taxon from the same geological unit, Pseudocrypturus cercanaxius. Morphological data generated from the new taxon and other Green River Formation lithornithid specimens were integrated into a osteology-only phylogenetic data set containing stem avians as outgroups and extinct and extant members of Palaeognathae (Tinamidae, ratites) and Neognathaes (Anseriformes, Galliformes, Neoaves), unnamed lithornithid specimens, and the following named lithornithid taxa: Lithornis plebius, Lithornis promiscuus, Lithornis celetius, Paracathartes howardae. We find a monophyletic Lithornithidae (containing Calciavis grandei, Pseudocrypturus cercanaxius, Lithornis plebius, Lithornis promiscuus, Lithornis celetius, Paracathartes howardae) as the sister taxon of Tinamidae at the base of Palaeognathae and also recover a monophyletic Ratitae in the morphology-only analysis. A Lithornithidae-Tinamidae relationship, which could imply a broad Northern Hemisphere distribution in the Paleogene for this total group retracted to the present day Neotropical distribution after the Eocene, is weakly supported in our analysis and is also supported by other lines of evidence such as eggshell morphology. Relationships among flightless palaeognaths and assessment of character homology in this group remain problematic. Indeed, when the morphological analyses were constrained to enforce topologies recovered from all recent analyses of molecular sequence data and retroelement insertions, Lithornithidae is no longer recovered with Tinamidae, which is nested within the now paraphyletic ratites, but remains at the base of Palaeognathae. Thus, regardless of the position of Tinamidae, Lithornithidae is recovered at the base of the clade. However, evidence that many, if not all, of these "ratite" lineages independently evolved similar morphologies related to large size and flight loss suggests that the proposed position of the Lithornithidae remains tentative. Significant morphological variation within Lithornithidae should be captured in inclusive future analyses through use of species terminals.


Background Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is a chronic condition characterized by reports of recurrent symptoms in response to low level exposure to various chemical substances. Recent findings suggests that dysregulation of the immune system may play a role in MCS pathophysiology. Objectives The aim of this study was to examine baseline and low dose n-butanol-induced upper airway inflammatory response profiles in MCS subjects versus healthy controls. Method Eighteen participants with MCS and 18 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Epithelial lining fluid was collected from the nasal cavity at three time points: baseline, within 15 minutes after being exposed to 3.7 ppm n-butanol in an exposure chamber and four hours after exposure termination. A total of 19 cytokines and chemokines were quantified. Furthermore, at baseline and during the exposure session, participants rated the perceived intensity, valence and levels of symptoms and autonomic recordings were obtained. Results The physiological and psychophysical measurements during the n-butanol exposure session verified a specific response in MCS individuals only. However, MCS subjects and healthy controls displayed similar upper airway inflammatory mediator profiles (P>0.05) at baseline. Likewise, direct comparison of mediator levels in the MCS group and controls after n-butanol exposure revealed no significant group differences. Conclusion We demonstrate no abnormal upper airway inflammatory mediator levels in MCS subjects before or after a symptom-eliciting exposure to low dose n-butanol, implying that upper airways of MCS subjects are functionally intact at the level of cytokine and chemokine production and secretory capacity. This suggests that previous findings of increased cytokine plasma levels in MCS are unlikely to be caused by systemic priming via excessive upper airway inflammatory processes.


Although the aim of care for consumers is to be treated within the community, some will require care in an acute inpatient facility from time to time. The emphasis of acute inpatient units has evolved to providing assessment and short intense management to consumers as a care continuum approach, especially for those who cannot receive adequate treatment in community settings. Thus, the direction of acute inpatient units is toward reduction of symptoms within a short time. Nevertheless the specific roles of mental health nurses in acute inpatient units continue to be debated.

The aim of this study was to gain a unique insight into the role of mental health nurses in acute inpatient settings and the range of models of care utilised in these units in Australia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This mixed method study used non-participant observation, interviews, focus groups, and job satisfaction surveys to describe the current role and models of care and measure nurses' level of satisfaction.

Findings indicate that mental health nurses from both countries believe that their role is focused on the recovery model and that they provide holistic nursing that involves consumers' mental, physical and psychosocial needs. However, findings also indicate that nurses tended to focus on consumers' physical and safety needs more than mental health needs.

Moreover, the medical model of care is the dominant model in both Australia and KSA. Australian nurses are more educated and have greater resources at their disposal but they do not utilise them to their advantage. Yet the findings did not reflect a significant dissatisfaction indicating that mental health nurses are satisfied with current work practice.
In conclusion, the findings show a clear disparity between nurses' perceptions and their actual practice in acute inpatient units. This leads to role ambiguity and confusion. Despite quite different health service systems and cultures, nurses in acute inpatient units in both KSA and Australia resort to 'safe' practices and this limits their scope and role.


Wolf-Rayet stars of the carbon sequence (WC stars) are an important cornerstone in the late evolution of massive stars before their core collapse. As core-helium burning, hydrogen-free objects with huge mass-loss, they are likely the last observable stage before collapse and thus promising progenitor candidates for type Ib/c supernovae. Their strong mass-loss furthermore provides challenges and constraints to the theory of radiatively driven winds. Thus, the determination of the WC star parameters is of major importance for several astrophysical fields. With Gaia DR2, for the first time parallaxes for a large sample of Galactic WC stars are available, removing major uncertainties inherent to earlier studies. In this work, we re-examine a previously studied sample of WC stars to derive key properties of the Galactic WC population. All quantities depending on the distance are updated, while the underlying spectral analyzes remain untouched. Contrasting earlier assumptions, our study yields that WC stars of the same subtype can significantly vary in absolute magnitude. With Gaia DR2, the picture of the Galactic WC population becomes more complex: We obtain luminosities ranging from log L/L = 4.9−6.0 with one outlier (WR 119) having log L/L = 4.7. This indicates that the WC stars are likely formed from a broader initial mass range than previously assumed. We obtain mass-loss rates ranging between log Ṁ = −5.1 and −4.1, with Ṁ ∝ L0.68 and a linear scaling of the modified wind momentum with luminosity. We discuss the implications for stellar evolution, including unsolved issues regarding the need of envelope inflation to address the WR radius problem, and the open questions in regard to the connection of WR stars with Gamma-ray bursts. WC and WO stars are progenitors of massive black holes, collapsing either silently or in a supernova that most-likely has to be preceded by a WO stage.


PURPOSE
To demonstrate how a small magnetic spectrometer can measure the energy spectra of seven electron beams on an Elekta Infinity tuned to match beams on a previously commissioned machine.

METHODS
Energyspectra were determined from measurements of intensity profiles on 6″-long computed radiographic (CR) strips after deflecting a narrow incident beam using a small (28 lbs.), permanent magnetic spectrometer. CR plateexposures (<1cGy) required special beam reduction techniques and bremsstrahlung shielding. Curves of CR intensity (corrected for non- linearity and background) versus position were transformed into energy spectra using the transformation from position (x) on the CR plate to energy (E) based on the Lorentz force law. The effective magnetic field and its effective edge, parameters in the transformation, were obtained by fitting a plot of most probable incident energy (determined from practical range) to the peak position.

RESULTS
The calibration curve (E vs. x) fit gave 0.423 Tesla for the effective magnetic field. Most resulting energy spectra were characterized by a single, asymmetric peak with peak position and FWHM increasing monotonically with beam energy. Only the 9-MeV spectrum was atypical, possibly indicating suboptimal beam tuning. These results compared well with energy spectra independently determined by adjusting each spectrum until the EGSnrc Monte Carlo calculated percent depth-dose curve agreed well with the corresponding measured curve.

CONCLUSIONS
Results indicate that this spectrometer and methodology could be useful for measuring energy spectra of clinical electron beams at isocenter. Future work will (1) remove the small effect of the detector response function (due to pinhole size and incident angular spread) from the energy spectra, (2) extract the energy spectra exiting the accelerator from current results, (3) use the spectrometer to compare energy spectra of matched beams among our clinical sites, and (4) modify the spectrometer to utilize radiochromic film.


Abstract Mineral phases and element localization were investigated in the vivid turquoise-coloured lichen, Lecanora polytropa, sampled from a psammite boulder in a wall supporting mine spoil at the abandoned copper mine, Riddarhyttan Kopparverke, southern Sweden. Normally pale yellowish (usnic acid), the lichen is turquoise coloured internally with bluish inclusions. X-ray mapping shows that Cu occurs on and within the lichen and does not coincide with P or S, suggesting that it is indeed associated with carbon or other elements not detected (or reported) using X-ray mapping. Scanning electron microscopy in back-scatter mode confirmed that the greatest Cu concentrations occur in the form of crystalline aggregates in coloured inclusions below the major internal turquoise layer with smaller Cu contents. X-ray diffraction with a position-sensitive detector (XRD-PSD) confirmed coloured crystalline aggregates consisted of the copper oxalate, moolooite. The study confirms the value of XRD-PSD as a non-destructive tool to characterize small (~50 μm) metal oxalate inclusions obtained from within lichen samples.


"It is not about the product. It is about the total experience." My aim with this project is to explore the interaction between technology, brand, space and the human being in designing an overall experience. We are moving towards a reality where intelligent technology is getting embedded in our homes and our lives. How can we make technology not just intelligent, but also more empathic and sensual? Can we create a relationship to a company, just as if it was a real person? Considering design as communication/conversation, I like to think of the product as a presence of a subject rather than an object, in this case as a spatial presence of a personality that we can reach through our senses. With a design method influenced by thoughts from interpersonal communication and rhetoric, I believe this experience can become more emotional and human. By thinking of products as the most important messengers of brand communication, In this case, I believe the acting and behaviour of the products become crucial in terms of authenticity and trust to the brand message. "A spatial presence of thoughtfulness" is my thesis project sponsored by Electrolux. It is about using these ideas to bring the Electrolux brand philosophy "thinking of you" into life through an emotional experience of thoughtfulness in the home atmosphere. An ambience not only created by the presence of technology, but in dialog with the participatory presence of humans and their actions.


Justiciability of Economic, Social and Cultural (esc) rights has been a long drawn contested topic in the legal discourse of Bangladesh. Though the emancipation from social and economic exploitation was one of the driving factors behind the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent nation, esc rights are not adequately protected under its Constitutional framework and have received scant judicial protection. Despite the coming into force of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (OP-icescr) in 2013 and the mounting pressure from global community, Bangladesh seems to have made an unflinching vow of continuing the legacy of denial towards judicial enforcement of esc rights. This article examines the feasibility of ratifying the OP-icescr for Bangladesh.


An increase in intracellular calcium is associated with necrotic-like cell death of neurons, but it is not clear how this signaling event ultimately kills cells. Syntichaki et al. report that calcium-regulated proteases are key to initiating the cell's demise. The study examined neuronal degeneration in touch receptor neurons of Caenorhabditis elegans expressing a hyperactive ion channel subunit of MEC-4. Such cells were previously observed to exhibit extensive intracellular degradation. Using genetic, pharmacological, and RNA interference approaches, the authors determined that both calpain and aspartyl proteases are required for this type of neurodegeneration. Deficiencies in these proteases partially protected against necrotic cell death, and overexpression caused spontaneous vacuolation of neurons. The authors propose that necrosis-like neurodegeneration involves deregulation of calcium-dependent proteolysis. P. Syntichaki, K. Xu, M. Driscoll, N. Tavernarakis, Specific aspartyl and calpain proteases are required for neurodegeneration in C. elegans. Nature 419, 939-944 (2002). [Online Journal]


From the abinitio, the position of women in religion had been historically dynamic as many had reported archeological discoveries of the effigies of great religious leaders as women and goddesses. But in-between histories, there was the rhetoric of the relegation of women to the pew as pertaining to religion. Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and African traditional religions have often been adjudged to be hostile to female folk with lots of literature analyzing the ceiling placed on women's socio-economic and political lives and its attendant implications. Contemporarily, the case is different as diverse religions the world over have relaxed most strict patriarchal practices to house women albeit empower them, but amidst this ample gain, there is the dearth of scholarly works to accommodate such phoenix rise vis-à-vis religion and women thus, the essence of this work. It underscores the contemporary global religions and their modus operandi in empowering women in juxtaposition with history. With the analysis of secondary data and context, the study submits among other things that many Pentecostal churches are currently led by women, the orthodox have more priestesses and female bishops, Islam has become more gender egalitarian, allowing women with certain degree of freedom (like women driving and voting in Saudi Arabia), Hinduism is friendlier to women and female traditional cum religious leaders keep emerging unlike before. Women feel/are more religiously empowered today than in recent histories owing to the advent of advocacy democracy. With the application of neoliberal theory, the study suggests a further deregulation of religion as a panacea for total women emancipation vis-à-vis their economic and political lives.


Copying a code fragment and reusing it by pasting with or without minor modifications is a common practice in software development for improved productivity. As a result, software systems often have similar segments of code, called software clones or code clones. Due to many reasons, unintentional clones may also appear in the source code without awareness of the developer. Studies report that significant fractions (5% to 50%) of the code in typical software systems are cloned. Although code cloning may increase initial productivity, it may cause fault propagation, inflate the code base and increase maintenance overhead. Thus, it is believed that code clones should be identified and carefully managed. This Ph.D. thesis contributes in clone management with techniques realized into tools and large-scale in-depth analyses of clones to inform clone management in devising effective techniques and strategies. To support proactive clone management, we have developed a clone detector as a plug-in to the Eclipse IDE. For clone detection, we used a hybrid approach that combines the strength of both parser-based and text-based techniques. To capture clones that are similar but not exact duplicates, we adopted a novel approach that applies a suffix-tree-based k-difference hybrid algorithm, borrowed from the area of computational biology. Instead of targeting all clones from the entire code base, our tool aids clone-aware development by allowing focused search for clones of any code fragment of the developer's interest. A good understanding on the code cloning phenomenon is a prerequisite to devise efficient clone management strategies. The second phase of the thesis includes large-scale empirical studies on the characteristics (e.g., proportion, types of similarity, change patterns) of code clones in evolving software systems. Applying statistical techniques, we also made fairly accurate forecast on the proportion of code clones in the future versions of software projects. The outcome of these studies expose useful insights into the characteristics of evolving clones and their management implications. Upon identification of the code clones, their management often necessitates careful refactoring, which is dealt with at the third phase of the thesis. Given a large number of clones, it is difficult to optimally decide what to refactor and what not, especially when there are dependencies among clones and the objective remains the minimization of refactoring efforts and risks while maximizing benefits. In this regard, we developed a novel clone refactoring scheduler that applies a constraint programming approach. We also introduced a novel effort model for the estimation of efforts needed to refactor clones in source code. We evaluated our clone detector, scheduler and effort model through comparative empirical studies and user studies. Finally, based on our experience and in-depth analysis of the present state of the art, we expose avenues for further research and development towards a versatile clone management system that we envision.


PURPOSE
The purpose of this study is to quantify the differences in detectability between full field digital mammography (FFDM), digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), and synthetic mammography (SM) for challenging, low contrast signals, in the context of both a uniform and an anthropomorphic, textured phantom.

METHODS
Images of the phantoms were acquired using a Hologic Selenia Dimensions system. Images were taken at 50%, 100%, and 200% of the dose delivered under automatic exposure control (AEC). Low-contrast disks, created using an inkjet printer with iodine-doped ink, were inserted into the phantom. The disks varied in diameter from 210 to 630 μm, and in local contrast from 1.1% to 2.8% in regular increments. Human observers located the disks in a 4 alternative forced choice experiment. Proportion correct (PC) was computed as the number of correct localizations out of the total number of tries.

RESULTS
Overall, scores from FFDM and DBT were consistently greater than scores from SM. At an exposure corresponding to the AEC setting, mean PC scores for the largest disks with the uniform phantom were 0.80 for FFDM, 0.83 for DBT, and 0.66 for SM, with the same rank ordering at other doses. Scores were similar but lower for the nonuniform background. At an exposure twice the AEC setting, however, the difference between uniform and nonuniform scores was most pronounced for DBT alone. Differences between scores for FFDM and SM were statistically significant, while those between FFDM and DBT were not. Scores were used to compute the minimum contrast level needed to reach 62.5% detection rate. The minimum contrast for SM was 36%-81% higher compared to FFDM or DBT, in either background.

CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that an anthropomorphic phantom and lesions inserts may be used to conduct a reader study. Detectability was significantly lower for synthetic mammography than for FFDM or DBT, for all conditions. Additionally, observer performance was consistently lower for the anthropomorphic phantom, indicating the greater challenge due to anatomical background. Because of this, it may be important to use realistic phantoms in observer studies in order to draw conclusions that are more clinically relevant.

publisher-specific, author manuscript: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions


K-median and k-means are the two most popular objectives for clustering algorithms. Despite intensive effort, a good understanding of the approximability of these objectives, particularly in $\ell_p$-metrics, remains a major open problem. In this paper, we significantly improve upon the hardness of approximation factors known in literature for these objectives in $\ell_p$-metrics. We introduce a new hypothesis called the Johnson Coverage Hypothesis (JCH), which roughly asserts that the well-studied max k-coverage problem on set systems is hard to approximate to a factor greater than 1-1/e, even when the membership graph of the set system is a subgraph of the Johnson graph. We then show that together with generalizations of the embedding techniques introduced by Cohen-Addad and Karthik (FOCS '19), JCH implies hardness of approximation results for k-median and k-means in $\ell_p$-metrics for factors which are close to the ones obtained for general metrics. In particular, assuming JCH we show that it is hard to approximate the k-means objective: $\bullet$ Discrete case: To a factor of 3.94 in the $\ell_1$-metric and to a factor of 1.73 in the $\ell_2$-metric; this improves upon the previous factor of 1.56 and 1.17 respectively, obtained under UGC. $\bullet$ Continuous case: To a factor of 2.10 in the $\ell_1$-metric and to a factor of 1.36 in the $\ell_2$-metric; this improves upon the previous factor of 1.07 in the $\ell_2$-metric obtained under UGC. We also obtain similar improvements under JCH for the k-median objective. Additionally, we prove a weak version of JCH using the work of Dinur et al. (SICOMP '05) on Hypergraph Vertex Cover, and recover all the results stated above of Cohen-Addad and Karthik (FOCS '19) to (nearly) the same inapproximability factors but now under the standard NP$\neq$P assumption (instead of UGC).


ABSTRACT While there has been a shared understanding that innovation policy is about rendering institutional change, there has been an emerging interest in identifying the institutional logics underlying innovation policy. To date, few studies have attempted to conceptualise these logics. This paper develops a novel conceptual framework for understanding innovation policy logics based on seminal contributions from organizational and economic theory. The framework distinguishes four logics, namely, specialized exploitation, diversified exploitation, specialized exploration, and diversified exploration. It is illustrated in the empirical analysis of innovation policies and development on both national and regional levels in Norway and Finland. The findings reveal that in both countries there is a movement towards increasingly diversified innovation strategies, despite differences in logics underpinning the policies.


Background: Four large RCTs (ASSURE, S-TARC, PROTECT, ATLAS) tested adjuvant VEGF-TKI therapy in high risk RCC. The results were variable for efficacy and there were concerns for increased toxicity and decline in quality of life (QoL). We performed an updated meta-analysis including results of ATLAS trial to asses a risk-benefit for adjuvant post-operative treatments in high risk RCC patients by assessing reported disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), and toxicity endpoints. Methods: Literature search was done using Medline, CENTRAL, and Embase. The DerSimonian and Laird random effects model was used to pool estimates for DFS, OS, and common side effects across the 4 trials. A subgroup analysis was performed for sunitinib alone because of its FDA approval. Heterogeneity was assessed with Cochrane Q statistic and was quantified with I2 test. Risk for bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's tool. Results: The 4 RCTs included 4,820 patients. Adjuvant therapy with TKIs yielded no significant improvement in DFS or OS as compared to placebo (DFS HR=0.916; 95% CI, 0.832–1.009 and OS HR=1.09; 95% CI, 0.886–1.150). Separate analysis of DFS in sunitinib vs placebo did not show any benefit (2 studies, N=1,909; HR=0.90; 95% CI, 0.67–1.19). Use of TKIs was associated with significantly increased risk of drug toxicity. Increased risk of grade 3 or 4 adverse events (RR=5.110; 95% CI, 3.765–6.935), diarrhea (RR=10.725; 95% CI, 4.672–24.622), fatigue (RR=3.310; 95% CI, 1.879–5.829), hypertension (RR=4.274; 95% CI, 3.452–5.292) and palmar/plantar dysesthesia (RR=20.53; 95% CI, 9.006–46.801) was observed. There was no statistically significant heterogeneity amongst included trials. QoL endpoints were inconsistently reported. Risk of bias was low. Conclusions: This pooled analysis provides further evidence that there is no OS or DFS benefit associated with adjuvant TKI treatment. There was a significantly increased risk of grade 3 or 4 toxicity in greater than half of the patient population leading to decline in QoL during TKI therapy. Carefully selected very high-risk patients who can tolerate these agents without dose modifications may benefit from adjuvant TKI approach.


Background and objective To demonstrate the coexistence of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) with type 2 neovascularisation (NV), we used multimodal imaging, including spectral-domain optical coherence tomography angiography (SD-OCTA), to identify both types of lesions in the same eye. Study design This retrospective case series reviewed patients with PCV diagnosed with indocyanine green angiography (ICGA), fluorescein angiography (FA), SD-OCT and SD-OCTA. Results 15 eyes of 14 patients were imaged and diagnosed with PCV by ICGA. ICGA identified polyps in all these eyes, while SD-OCTA imaging identified polypoidal lesions in only 11 (73%) of these eyes with PCV. Branching vascular networks (BVNs) were detected in 12 eyes (80%) by ICGA and SD-OCTA. Type 2 NV was detected in four eyes (27%) by FA and SD-OCTA. In these eyes, a combination of polyps, BVNs and type 2 NV were detected using FA, ICGA and SD-OCTA. Conclusion BVN and type 2 NV can coexist in the same PCV eye and communicate with each other. This suggests that polyps may represent a structural variant of neovascular tissue rather than a distinct pathogenic process in NV.


CONTEXT
A recent study reported the non-synonymous G534E (rs7080536, allele A) variant in the HABP2 gene as causal in familial non-medullary thyroid cancer (NMTC).

OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to evaluate the causality of HABP2 G534E in the TCUKIN study, a multi-center population based study of NMTC cases from the British Isles.

DESIGN AND SETTING
A case-control analysis of rs7080536 genotypes was performed using 2,105 TCUKIN cases and 5,172 UK controls.

PARTICIPANTS
Cases comprised 2,105 NMTC cases. Patients sub-groups with papillary (N=1,056), follicular (N=691) and Hurthle cell (N=86) TC cases were studied separately. Controls comprised 5,172 individuals from the 1958 Birth Cohort (58C) and the National Blood Donor Service (NBS) study. The controls had previously been genotyped using genome-wide SNP arrays by the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium study.

OUTCOME
Measures: Association between HABP2 G534E (rs7080536A) and NMTC risk was evaluated using logistic regression.

RESULTS
The frequency of HABP2 G534E was 4.2% in cases and 4.6% in controls. We did not detect an association between this variant and NMTC risk (OR=0.896, 95% CI: 0.746-1.071, P=0.233). We also failed to detect an association between HABP2 G534E and cases with papillary (1056 cases, G534E frequency= 3.5%, OR=0.74, P=0.017), follicular (691 cases, G534E frequency= 4.7%, OR=1.00, P=1.000) or Hurthle cell (86 cases, G534E frequency= 6.3%, OR=1.40, P=0.279) histology.

CONCLUSIONS
We found that HABP2 G534E is a low-to-moderate frequency variant in the British Isles and failed to detect an association with NMTC risk, independent of histological type. Hence, our study does not implicate HABP2 G534E or a correlated polymorphism in familial NMTC and additional data are required before using this variant in NMTC risk assessment.


Abstract. Sensor networks are currently being trialed by the water distribution industry for monitoring complex distribution infrastructure. The paper presents an investigation in to the architecture and performance of a sensor system deployed for monitoring such a distribution network. The study reveals lapses in systems design and management, resulting in a fifth of the data being either missing or erroneous. Findings identify the importance of undertaking in-depth consideration of all aspects of a large sensor system with access to either expertise on every detail, or to reference manuals capable of transferring the knowledge to non-specialists. First steps towards defining a set of such guidelines are presented here, with supporting evidence.


INTRODUCTION
The role of lipids in atherogenesis is now well established. However, the exact mechanisms by which different lipoproteins affect endothelial function and induce atherogenesis are still not well understood. In the present study we examined the effect of lipid profile on forearm vasodilatory response to reactive hyperemia, an index of endothelial function, in a cohort of young, low-risk adults.

METHODS
One hundred sixty seven healthy subjects were included in the study. The effect of total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), triglycerides, apolipoprotein (apo)-A1, apo-B and apo-E on endothelial function and inflammatory process was examined. Endothelial function was evaluated by determining forearm vasodilatory response to reactive hyperemia (RH%) using gauge-strain plethysmography. RH% was defined as the % change of forearm blood flow from baseline to the maximum flow during post-ischemic hyperemia. Endothelium independent dilatation in response to nitroglycerin (NTG%) was defined as the % change of forearm blood flow from baseline to the maximum flow after sublingual nitroglycerin administration.

RESULTS
RH% was correlated with HDL (r = 0.267, p = 0.001), LDL (r = 0.355, p = 0.0001), triglycerides (rho = -0.366, p = 0.0001), apo-Al (r = 0.240, p = 0.004) and apo-B (r = -0.277, p = 0.005). NTG% was not affected by serum lipid levels. In multivariate linear regression, LDL (beta = -0.217 [SE: 0.098], p = 0.028), apo-A1 (beta = 0.277 [SE: 0.124], p = 0.027) and age (beta = 0.916 [SE:0.369], p = 0.015) were independent predictors for RH% in this population (R2 for the model: 0.243, p = 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS
Elevated lipid levels decrease forearm vasodilatory response to reactive hyperemia. Apolipoproteins, and especially apo-Al, are important determinants of endothelial function in these subjects, independently of LDL, HDL and triglycerides, implying that full measurement of the lipid profile may be of great importance in risk stratification of young individuals.


This paper deals with creep and relaxation behavior of spring steel wires and helical compression springs. The mathematical description of this behavior over time regarding torsional stress is regarded closely. The derived equations based on the NORTON-BAILEY creep law are used for the evaluation of experimental data examining the relaxation as well as the creep behavior of different types of spring steel wire under torsional stress. As a part of the experimental approach, the heat treatments, which the wires were exposed to, as well as the level of relaxation stress and the surrounding temperature are varied. In this context the main influencing factors regarding creep deformations are discussed and creep specific characteristics are determined. Finally, the effect of different material, heat treatment, surrounding temperature and level of stress on the creep behavior are discussed and material constants identified.


Introduction: The benefits of regular exercise on skeletal health have been welldocumented in terms of stimulation of bone accrual and bone maintenance. Mediumimpact sports activities such as running have been demonstrated to exert site-specific enhancement of bone mass in the lower appendicular skeleton. However, elite female runners engaged in high intensity training and sports activity may also be at risk of amenorrhea and low bone mineral density (BMD) resulting from inadequate caloric intake. Purpose: To investigate the effect of intensive exercise and maintenance of adequate caloric intake on BMD in a group of elite female runners. Methods: This study represents a secondary assessment of existing data that were obtained between 1994 and 2009. Using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, a group of elite runners (n=11) in this study was screened in the Laboratory for Elite Athlete Performance at Georgia State University. This was a longitudinal study in which three sequential measurements of BMD as well as fat and lean tissue body composition of each athlete took place. The average interval between measurements was 1.1 years and 2.6 years respectively. Regional BMD measurements for head, arms, legs, trunk, ribs, pelvis, and spine were assessed, as well as the value for total body BMD. The study participants also received dietary counseling emphasizing daily caloric balance and adequate calcium intake. Results: The average age of the runners increased from 24.59 (±4.41) to 28.14 (±5.94) years over the study. This was accompanied by an increase in body mass (54.98±3.54 to 56.11±4.07 kg), while height remained constant. The average body mass index (BMI) of the subjects increased from 19.34 to 19.71 kg/m, largely due to an increase in total percent body fat (13.97±2.96% to 16.01±4.28%). Average regional and total BMD values increased over the study period and increases were between 2 and 4%. At the baseline, a majority of subjects (n=7) had a BMI>19 kg/m, while a sub-group of runners (n=4) had a BMI˂19 kg/m. Mean trunk, pelvis and spine BMD parameters for the two BMI groups were significantly different (p˂0.05), with reduced BMD values in the lower BMI sub-group. The average T-scores associated with arm BMD were considerably lower than T-scores associated with leg BMD values in the runners. The average Tscores for leg BMD values were almost two standard deviations higher than leg BMD values for a reference population at peak bone mass. Two subjects were osteopenic, resulting in an 18% prevalence rate of osteopenia in the group of runners. Conclusions: The majority of elite runners in this study exhibited a positive trend in BMD parameters. This was reflected as increased total as well as regional BMD values. Increased body mass in addition to the activity of running positively contributed to bone mass via a weight-bearing effect. Increased adipose tissue may also have been a source of endocrine hormones such as estrogen and leptin, which exert a positive effect on bone accrual.


The hMSH2 protein plays an important role in the DNA mismatch repair system. Since this system is involved in the correction of errors that occur during DNA replication, we studied the expression of hMSH2 protein in resting and DNA-replicating cells, as well as through the cell cycle in cell types with different growth characteristics. Using Western blot analysis, we showed that hMSH2 protein was detectable in resting peripheral blood lymphocytes and thymocytes. However, when these cells were induced to proliferate, the protein level increased at least 12-fold. In cell-cycle dependent expression studies we chose two DNA mismatch repair proficient cell lines (HEL and HeLa-S3), and flow cytometry was used to monitor cell-cycle progression. At every phase in the cell cycle, the steady-state level of hMSH2 was higher than in resting lymphocytes or thymocytes, and only minor variations of expression level were observed through the cell cycle. In particular, a two to fourfold decrease in hMSH2 expression occurred at G1 in HEL and at early S phase in HeLa-S3, but higher expression levels resumed during the replicative and postreplicative phases of the cell cycle. Interestingly, hMSH2 protein expression decreased fourfold when HEL cells were induced to differentiate along the megakaryocyte lineage, when continuous DNA replication occurs without mitosis. These results suggest that a basal level of hMSH2 protein expression is necessary for resting and differentiated cells, and that increased hMSH2 protein expression is required when DNA replication is activated and followed by mitosis.


BACKGROUND: Subtrochanteric femur fractures remain challenging injuries to treat. There is paucity of literature evaluating their outcomes and complications following low-velocity civilian gunshots. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the results of intramedullary nailing of subtrochanteric femur fractures secondary to low-velocity gunshots.
METHODS: A retrospective review of clinical and radiological data was performed on all patients who sustained subtrochanteric femur fractures (AO type 32C3) caused by low-velocity civilian gunshots treated at a single institution between March 2008 and December 2014. Data was analysed to determine the time to union, post-operative complication rates and patient outcomes. Radiographic evidence of healing was defined as bridging callus on three of four cortices on two orthogonal views.
RESULTS: Fifty-one patients (48 men and two women) were identified. Mean age was 28 years (range 16-50 years). The predominant method of fixation was a cephalomedullary nail in 43 patients (84%), and eight patients had locking into the lesser trochanter. Thirty patients with a mean follow-up period of 3.3 weeks (0-6 weeks) were lost to follow-up. Twenty-one patients had adequate radiographic and clinical follow-up data suitable for analysis. The mean follow-up period was 24.8 weeks (range 2-40 weeks) for this group. The average time to union was 17.2 weeks (7-40 weeks). Seven fractures (37%) had delayed union. None of the patients required additional surgery. Union was achieved in all cases and no implant failure occurred.
CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that intramedullary nail fixation of subtrochanteric femur fractures caused by low-velocity civilian gunshots is an acceptable option for the treatment of these injuries with good union rates and low complication rates.


This article examines two narratives on the subject of child undernutrition in India espoused by competing sides of the policy elite. It argues that undertaking narrative policy analysis in a structured fashion helps to elucidate a clearer sense of the underlying positions within this important area of development discourse. India's high rates of child undernutrition have become a battleground of positions on the country's growth trajectory, revealing of the wider assumptions, ideologies and manifestations of power of the various actors espousing particular positions. Recent debates have brought into focus not only the contestation of various causalities and remedies, but also the politics of measurement, data and their interpretation. The results of this analysis are relevant elsewhere in their illumination of the politically public nature of technocratic debates on nutrition and the way in which this public discourse extends beyond the immediate topic to wider ideological divisions and assumptions on growth, equity and recent history.


In an effort to measure the public's attitudes related to prostitution and the public's awareness of sex trafficking, the Attitudes toward Prostitution and Sex Trafficking Awareness Survey was developed. The Attitudes toward Prostitution and Sex Trafficking Awareness Survey was administered to a convenience sample of 185 adult respondents. The results of this study indicate that the majority of respondents were in favor of legalizing prostitution even though they are aware of the dangers and sexual exploitation associated with prostitution. The findings also indicate that respondents overwhelmingly believe that there should be severe legal consequences for individuals who are convicted of paying to have sex with children. Respondents' opinions about what legal consequences there should be for men who are convicted of paying to have sex with women were varied and tended to be less severe. The findings also revealed that nearly all of the respondents have negative attitudes about pimps and sex traffickers believing that: pimps and sex traffickers sexually exploit vulnerable women and children. In addition, the majority of respondents view the women and children used in prostitution as victims of sex trafficking. Thus, the findings indicate that policy changes need to be put in place that educate and sensitize the public about the dangers of the commercial sex industry and to address the socialized concept that commercial sex services need to exist to satisfy men's biological


Anonymity and confidentiality of participants are central to ethical research practice in social research. Where possible, researchers aim to assure participants that every effort will be made to ensure that the data they provide can not be traced back to them in reports, presentations and other forms of dissemination. The primary method researchers use to preserve anonymity and confidentiality is the use of pseudonyms for participants and also for the location of the research. In addition, other practices, such as changing the reported characteristics of participants (such as gender or occupation) are also used by some researchers to conceal identities and thereby maintain the confidentiality of the data provided by participants. There are several issues that such practices raise. One is that it is difficult for researchers to know how far to take anonymisation of individuals in order for them not to be identifiable, given that research findings may be presented to a variety of audiences, including members of participants' communities. A second issue is that research participants hold differing views about the desirability of anonymisation, presenting researchers with difficult choices between respecting the preferences of those participants who wish to be identifiable and those who prefer to remain anonymous. A third issue is that of whether or not to attempt the anonymisation of the location of the research, which may be adjudged more or less practical or impractical (depending on its distinctiveness) and more or less desirable (depending on its importance in providing the social context of the analysis that is being developed). This paper explores these issues by looking at how they have been handled by researchers in the field of community sociology (broadly defined) who have used visual data in their reports. This analysis allows the argument to be developed that although the issues themselves are not new, the ways in which they are handled by researchers are necessarily evolving in the context of technological change, the growth of research regulation, and shifts in the expectations of research that participants hold


Abstract This is the first description of rare minerals found in paralavas from a recently discovered combustion metamorphic complex in the Choir–Nyalga basin, Central Mongolia. The identified minerals contain strongly variable concentrations of Si, Ti, Mg, Fe2+ and Fe3+and most commonly have compositions intermediate in a series from kuratite Ca4Fe10 2+Ti2O4[Si8Al4O 36] and rhönite Ca4(Mg, Fe2+)8Fe2 3+Ti2O4[Si6Al6O36] to low-Ti kuratite and unnamed Ti-free Fe2+-analogue of rhönite Ca4Fe8 2+Fe4 3+O4[Si8Al4O36]. The minerals crystallized in residual Si-Al-K and Si-Al-Ca-Fe immiscible melts after spinel, anorthite–bytownite, melilite, Al-clinopyroxene ± Mg-Fe olivine, together with Fe3+-bearing hercynite, Ca-rich fayalite, kirschsteinite, pyrrhotite ± native iron, wüstite, magnetite, celsian, hyalophane, Ba-orthoclase and fresnoite, but before nepheline± kalsilite, and later sulfates, carbonates, an unidentified 'X-mineral' close to Al- and Fe-rich tobermorite and goethite. Micro-Raman spectroscopy of kuratite shows five bands near 133–155 (strong), 399–401, 545–566, 684–693 (strongest) and 828–839 cm–1. The kuratite-bearing Nyalga paralavas have bulk compositions with MgO/(MgO+FeO+Fe2O3), mol.% ∼0.5 and a CIPW normative ratio of Ne/(Ne+Lc) = 0.23–0.76. Minerals of the rhönite–kuratite series formed during paralava crystallization at ∼1100°C.The diversity of the paralava mineral assemblages might result from local composition variations of Ca-rich silica-undersaturated melts derived from Fe-bearing carbonate-silicate sediments which were affected by nearby coal combustion sources at reducing conditions (IW-WM-QFM buffers) and at a nearly atmospheric pressure.


In today's world people are creating and sharing content as panorama pictures, virtual tours of facilities, with family, friends and business partners, to provide an immersive experience to the viewer. In order to describe the objects, people in the panorama, the creator has to either explain the viewer or provide a detailed text along with the panorama. The problem becomes compounded if there are multiple panoramas and they have to be seen in a sequence. The amount of time that is spent on the post processing becomes longer and is also error prone. The ability to get useful and contextual information and interact during a virtual tour or viewing the panoramic images is a challenge. The idea is to create a solution that can make a seamless virtual reality [6] tour and can enables user to integrate all the panoramic images as a bundle to provide immersive experience, annotate various key objects, views in the panoramic image, on the go and render it on consumer grade devices. KeywordsVirtual Reality, Google Cardboard, Spherical Panorama, Real Time Annotation, Rendering


He stirred the blacks in the New World and parts of Africa to feel that in spite of the white man's vilifying of them they were human beings just the same. In other words, he gave them back self-respect and opened for them windows of hope that would never be closed. Many could have been reached by no other message but his, that is, the promise of a land where they would no longer be pushed around and abused because of a difference of color. (2) J. A. Rogers, 1947 In reality, Marcus Garvey was a promoter. That was his true genius. He was also a diplomat, a psychologist, and one who saw himself as a scientist of the science of politics. What Garvey promoted was the idea of racial pride, and along with racial pride the idea of the political redemption of Africa. He did this between 1914 and when he died in 1940. He himself said that his greatest strength was that of an organizer. But I think that what he meant by that was an outstanding organizer of various enterprises and ventures--in other words, a promoter. The main ideological thrust of his myriad schemes was his steadfast belief in "Africa for the Africans, those at home and abroad." (3) Historian, Robert A. Hill, 2000 A plethora of scholarship has been written about the life of the twentieth century black nationalist figure and icon Marcus Garvey (1887-1940). Today, we owe a great debt to Amy Jacques-Garvey, Robert A. Hill, Tony Martin, Edmund David Cronon, Rupert Lewis, Wilson Moses, Colin Grant, and a host of other scholars who have examined the importance of Garvey's life and philosophical influence in Jamaica, America, Africa, and the Western hemisphere. Conversations and writings about Garvey have provoked some of the most scholarly debates between people who are pro-Garvey, anti-Garvey, or noncommittal about what Garvey represented to black racial consciousness and humanity. It is very likely more scholarship about Garvey's life will emerge and the importance of his life will continue to be debated in subsequent years. Looking back into history of New York city, the black historian and Pittsburgh Courier journalist, Joel Augustus Rogers (1880-1966) was one the first individuals to give a written critical assessment of Garvey's life in World's Great Men of Color: 3000 B.C. to 1946 A.D. (WGMC). (4) Since no other scholars in the past have fully explored or investigated the acquaintance of Rogers and Garvey, this essay seeks to examine what were the occasional key interactions between both men that led to Rogers' critical assessment of Garvey in WGMC and his end of life admiration of Garvey in 1965. This essay seeks to reveal the tremendous respect Rogers had for Garvey just before his own death in 1966. It must be stressed at the beginning that at the current moment there appears to be no extant primary sources of how Garvey felt about Rogers throughout his lifetime. It is hoped that maybe in the future some scholar or scholars may come across or find some untouched primary sources that will give us clearer picture between the interactions of Rogers and Garvey. However, since at the present moment there is a silent voice of Garvey about Rogers this does not in any way minimize or take away what Rogers experienced through his occasional interaction with Garvey, nor his personal views about one the most remarkable black male in the twentieth century. The essay seeks to make a contribution to the historiography and literature of Garvey through the voice of Rogers which has been overlooked or not known by many scholars in the past and present. Rogers' voice is very important because it is not a secondary voice through someone else. He actually interacted with Garvey and earned the respect of Garvey's widow Amy-Jacques Garvey (1895-1973) for his historical scholarship. During his lifetime, Rogers became a prolific self-trained historian, photo-anthropologist, novelist, and journalist for the Pittsburgh Courier & the New York Amsterdam News. …


This short piece considers whether the Twenty-sixth Amendment, which bans age discrimination in voting rights, should be read back into the Fourteenth Amendment to prohibit age discrimination in civil rights. It is a response to Calabresi and Rickert's Originalism and Sex Discrimination, which similarly considers whether the Nineteenth Amendment should be read back into the Fourteenth Amendment to prohibit sex discrimination in civil rights. This piece shows, based on the enactment history of the Twenty-sixth Amendment, that it cannot be interpreted to expand the Fourteenth Amendment's prohibitions to include age discrimination. This would seem to create a problem for Calabresi and Rickert's argument that all expansions of political rights necessarily imply expansions of civil rights. However, that problem disappears if one drops their formalistic a fortiori theory, and instead views the Nineteenth Amendment as merely rebutting the factual assumptions behind the position that sex discrimination is constitutional.


As World War II raged overseas, Harlem witnessed a battle of its own. Brimming with creative and political energy, the neighborhood's diverse array of artists and activists took advantage of a brief period of progressivism during the war years to launch a bold cultural offensive aimed at winning democracy for all Americans, regardless of race or gender. Ardent believers in America's promise, these men and women helped to lay the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement before Cold War politics and anti-Communist fervor temporarily froze their dreams at the dawn of the postwar era. In Harlem Nocturne, esteemed scholar Farah Jasmine Griffin tells the stories of three black female artists whose creative and political efforts fueled this historic movement for change: choreographer and dancer Pearl Primus, composer and pianist Mary Lou Williams, and novelist Ann Petry. Like many African Americans in the city at the time, these women weren't native New Yorkers, but the metropolis and its vibrant cultural scene gave them the space to flourish and the freedom to express their political concerns. Pearl Primus performed nightly at the legendary Cafe Society, the first racially integrated club in New York, where she debuted dances of social protest that drew on long-buried African traditions and the dances of former slaves in the South. Williams, meanwhile, was a major figure in the emergence of bebop, collaborating with Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Bud Powell and premiering her groundbreaking Zodiac Suite at the legendary performance space Town Hall. And Ann Petry conveyed the struggles of working-class black women to a national audience with her acclaimed novel The Street, which sold over a million copies--a first for a female African American author. A rich biography of three artists and the city that inspired them, Harlem Nocturne captures a period of unprecedented vitality and progress for African Americans and women, revealing a cultural movement and a historical moment whose influence endures today.


Society has been viewed analogously as an organism that is seen to grow, display differentiation in structure and function as well as interdependence of parts. This is evidenced in the works of such diverse writers as Plato, Pascal, Hobbes, Hegel, Durkheim, Spencer, Comte and Parsons. The interests of early sociologists with biology encouraged many of them to make comparisons between society and the human organism. Terms such as "organs of society" and "the differentiation of its parts" were utilized extensively in their writings. Herbert Spencer in his famous work, Principles of Sociology, used findings from biology and anthropology to formulate his criteria of complexity, differentiation and integration to human society. Durkheim's links with the "organic school" resulted in the division of sociology into three classifications, a) social morphology, b) social physiology and c) general sociology (Randal, 1998). While the root metaphor of society--as organism--has had a certain purchase within sociology, historically; it does have a number of constraints that must be acknowledged. Some of these limitations are connected with the problems of inductive reasoning in general and specifically with the structure of arguments by analogy. Analogical reasoning can take many forms, but the two most common ones involve analogies, which are purely illustrative in nature and ones that involve an inference (Manicas, 1976). Inductive reasoning involves attempting to make like-comparisons between two objects, situations, events, or states-of-affair. For instance, any attempt to illustrate similarities between the workings of a computer and the brain in terms of "circuits." The latter involves the construction of an actual argument whereby one identifies two domains of interest (i.e. a human body and society) lists several similarities between the two--for instance, organs and situations in terms of "functions"--and then suggests an inductive inference, which goes beyond the initial comparison. Thus, because "homeostasis" is present in the living organism, whatever happens to one part will have an effect upon the other parts of the system. These relationships are also valid for subsystems. Parsons' classic analysis of a biological system indicates that the function of any element in a system is the role it plays in the operation of the system. Parsons' finding is relevant to systems and subsystems in the societal realm. The unique characteristic of a system is the interrelationship of parts within the system. Every system is made up of two different forces: differentiation and integration. Robbins notes, "In a system, specialized functions are differentiated, which replace diffuse global patterns. In the human body, for instance, the lungs, heart, and liver are all distinct functions. Similarly, organizations (subsystems) have divisions, departments, and like units separated out to perform specialized activities" (Robbins, 1988). Subsystems of the Cell of Society Within a socially constructed subsystem there are three systems--social, cultural, and personality--all of which are interrelated to one another and to the larger systems of society, nations, or to the global village--the world. Change in any of the three systems of a subsystem will affect the whole subsystem and ultimately every subsystem within the society. The subsystem or "cell" of society accounts for human actions, reactions, and interactions. Within the cell is socially meaningful interaction (SMI)--the "nucleus" of the cell or subsystem of society (Figures I and IB) (Fredericks, 1998). [FIGURE I OMITTED] The social system of the cell of society is the observable structuring of relationships between and among social actors or the many "personalities." Thus the socialization process plays a very important role in this system. The cultural system of the cell of society is the organization of the rules, values, and meanings that direct social relationships within the social system. …


Enrollment in the Stenting versus Aggressive Medical Therapy for Intracranial Arterial Stenosis (SAMMPRIS) trial was prematurely terminated in April 2011 when safety concerns arose regarding the periprocedural risk of endovascular therapy in trial participants. The early results, published in September 2011, cited a significant increase in the 30-day risk of stroke or death with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting (PTAS) with aggressive medical therapy compared with aggressive medical therapy alone (14.7% vs 5.8%, p=0.0002).1 The SAMMPRIS trial results demonstrate that the superiority of aggressive medical therapy alone in patients with recently symptomatic and severe intracranial atherosclerosis was driven more by an excessive periprocedural risk with intervention than the better than expected response to the risk factor management regimen.

Why was the periprocedural stroke and death rate higher than expected? It is well known that event rates are strictly defined and meticulously monitored in the setting of clinical trials and are often higher than those cited in self-reported case series and loosely monitored registries.2 Although the new American Stroke Association definition for ischemic stroke includes an event of any duration accompanied by neuroimaging evidence of infarction and captures minor clinical events with positive MRI diffusion-weighted abnormalities, the definition of ischemic stroke used in the SAMMPRIS trial was more conservative. Ischemic stroke was defined as a neurologic deficit detected by a bedside examination at least 24 h after the onset of symptoms and attributed to cerebral ischemia; hemorrhagic stroke was defined as a symptomatic intracerebral, subarachnoid or intraventricular hemorrhage.

The estimates of the periprocedural risks of PTAS using the Wingspan stent system were derived from case series and aggregate data from 387 patients entered into two phase I trials and two post-marketing registries.3–5 Compared with the phase I trial, the post-marketing registries reported acceptable periprocedural risks of 5.4–6.2% with high …


Companies are required to have a reliable system of corporate governance in place at the time of IPO in order to protect the interests of public company investors and stakeholders. Yet, relatively little is known about the process by which they implement one. This Closer Look, based on detailed data from a sample of pre-IPO companies, examines the process by which companies go from essentially having no governance in place at the time of their founding to the fully established systems of governance required of public companies by the Securities and Exchange Commission. We examine the vastly different choices that companies make in deciding when and how to implement these standards.
We ask:

• What factors do CEOs and founders take into account in determining how to implement governance systems?
• Should regulators allow companies greater flexibility to tailor their governance systems to their specific needs?
• Which elements of governance add to business performance and which are done only for regulatory purposes?
• How much value does good governance add to a company's overall valuation?
• When should small or medium sized companies that intend to remain private implement a governance system?


Both organizations and employees in recent decades have increasingly focused their attention on lifelong and continuous training. This phenomenon is strongly related to the extension of working life which leads to socio-economical effects and new challenges for employees specifically in knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSA). In order to improve employees' KSA, and to create an intellectual capital that perfectly fits the organization's culture, most organizations provide learning opportunities (training) to their employees. Although training is not the only way for employees' learning to occur, the investment made in training requires an analysis of certain evidence to determine if, indeed, training pays off in organizational effectiveness. Specifically, training alone will do little to increase employees or organizational performance unless what is learned as a result of training is transferred into on-the-job behaviour. Review of related international literatures revealed the importance of training transfer, nevertheless, there is lack of empirical evidence to support this in the Malaysian context and this study contributes a deeper understanding of some of the critical aspects of training transfer. Using a research framework constructed from an adaptation of two key training evaluation models: Training Transfer Process (Baldwin & Ford, 1998), and Kirkpatrick's Training Evaluation Model - Level 3 (1994), this study explores the argument that motivation to transfer and training transfer are influenced by training transfer determinants (individual factors, transfer climate, and training design). In particular, this study seeks to investigate the role of motivation to transfer in a relationship between training transfer determinants and training transfer. Thus, it presents and discusses empirical findings from a data collected using administered self-reported survey instrument from 286 support staff of University Teknologi MARA applying Structural Equation Modeling (AMOS Version 20) and Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS Version 20). The data was analyzed adopting two-step model-building approach of SEM - Measurement Model, and Structural Model. In checking the model fit, Chi-square (ᵪ²), Goodness-of-Fit (GFI), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI), and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) were performed. Findings of this study indicated that Performance Self-Efficacy, Opportunity to Use, and Transfer Design support the mediating role of motivation to transfer which indicates a final model with acceptable level of Goodness-of-Fit: GFI = .812, CFI = .939, TLI = .934, and RMSEA = .046. This study represents a more accurate methodological process, attempting to clearly define each of the underlying constructs. Assessments of the reliabilities and validities of each construct using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) strengthen the correspondence rules between both empirical and theoretical concepts. Results of this study signify that training practitioners must consider how to optimize trainees' interest and motivation to transfer prior to training to ensure learning effectiveness and the transfer of training in post-training stage. Hence, management should discover training strategies and instructional techniques that can be utilized to maximize the degree to which classroom learning matches and concepts practiced related to real life situations on the job. Finally, there is also a necessity for the organizations to formalize the goal-setting procedures and the follow-up programs in ensuring the transfer of training to workplace is successful.


Two hundred years have passed since the Supreme Court's decision in Marbury v. Madison, yet debate continues over the origins and legitimacy of judicial review. Although modern commentators generally accept judicial review with little or no reservation, some remain skeptical. One of the strongest and most sustained challenges comes from Larry Kramer, who has recently argued that the Founders did not authorize judicial review of the scope of federal powers under the original Constitution. At the same time, Kramer maintains that the Founders expected judicial review both to prevent states from undermining federal supremacy and to enforce individual rights. Such attempts to divide judicial review, however, are inconsistent with the constitutional text and contradict key assumptions held by the Founders. The relevant materials suggest that judicial review is a unitary doctrine under the Supremacy Clause that requires courts to treat all parts of the Constitution as "the supreme Law of the Land" and to disregard both state and federal law to the contrary. There are at least two difficulties with Professor Kramer's proposed dichotomy. First, Kramer's attempt to separate judicial review of state law from judicial review of federal statutes is inconsistent with the text of the Supremacy Clause. The Clause recognizes only three forms of federal law as "the supreme Law of the Land:" This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States." By its terms, therefore, the Clause requires courts to prefer federal statutes to contrary state law only if the federal statute is consistent with "this Constitution." In other words, courts have no warrant to enforce unconstitutional federal statutes over contrary state law. This is true whether the federal statute in question violates the Constitution's "provisions delegating powers" or its "rights-bearing provisions." Thus, in such cases, the Supremacy Clause explicitly conditions judicial review of state law on judicial review of federal statutes. Second, Professor Kramer's further attempt to distinguish judicial review under "the rights-bearing provisions" of the Constitution from judicial review under the "provisions delegating powers" contradicts widespread assumptions at the Founding about the nature and source of individual rights vis-a-vis the federal government. Federalists and Antifederalists agreed that individual rights would be secured - at least in part - by the Constitution's limited delegation of powers to the federal government. Their disagreement was whether this feature alone would suffice to protect individual liberty. The Antifederalists argued that a Bill of Rights was necessary to guarantee essential rights. The Federalists countered that a Bill of Rights was both unnecessary and dangerous. It was "unnecessary" because the federal government lacked power to interfere with the rights at issue. It was "dangerous" because it might erroneously imply that the federal government had power to invade other rights retained by the people. The Founders compromised by including the Ninth and Tenth Amendments in the Bill of Rights. As discussed below, these amendments negated any suggestion that the enumeration of rights implied the availability of federal power to invade other rights, and thus confirm that the Founders equated individual rights with the limited scope of federal powers. From this perspective, Professor Kramer's suggestion that courts enforce "the rights-bearing provisions" of the Constitution but not the "provisions delegating powers" is anachronistic because it ignores the common purpose of these provisions and would create the very danger that the Founders sought to avoid. The Founders' understanding that the Constitution secures individual rights by limiting federal power has important implications for judicial review. Courts cannot - as some commentators urge - simply enforce the Bill of Rights but decline to police the limits of federal power. Given the Founders' understanding of the source of individual rights vis-a-vis the federal government, courts should take a unitary approach to judicial review under the Supremacy Clause and enforce both the Bill of Rights and the limits of federal power. Only then could courts uphold all of the rights "retained by the people."


Abstract. Essential and non-essential metals occur in soils as a result of weathering, industrial processes, fertilization, and atmospheric deposition. Badly adapted cultivation of agricultural soils (declining pH value, application of unsuitable fertilizers) can enhance the mobility of metals and thereby increase their concentrations in agricultural products. As the enrichment of metals in soils occurs over long time periods, monitoring of the long-term impact of fertilization is necessary to assess metal accumulation in agricultural soils. The main objective of this study was to test the effects of different mineral fertilizer variations on soil properties (pH, Corg, and cation exchange capacity (CEC)) and pseudo-total and mobile metal contents of soils after 14 years of fertilizer application and to determine residual effects of the fertilization 8 years after cessation of fertilizer treatment. Soil samples were taken from a field experiment which was carried out at four different locations (210, 260, 360, and 620 m above sea level) in Hesse, Germany. During the study, a significant decrease in soil pH and an evident increase in soil carbon content and cation exchange capacity with fertilization were determined. The CEC of the soils was closely related to their organic C contents. Moreover, pseudo- and mobile metal (Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, Zn) contents in the soils increased due to application of 14 years of mineral fertilizer treatments (N, P, NP, and NPK) when compared to control plots. Eight years after termination of the fertilization in the soil samples taken from soil profiles of the fertilized plots (NPK) for monitoring the residual effects of the fertilizer application, a decrease of 82.6, 54.2, 48.5, 74.4, and 56.9% in pseudo-total Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, and Zn contents, respectively, was determined.


Background: Uterine artery embolisation for the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids is a relatively new but internationally recognised procedure. The present study seeks to report the results of the largest South African series of uterine artery embolisations for symptomatic fibroids to date. It is the fourth article to be published in South Africa on the outcomes of this procedure, and the largest South African series to date. Objective: To evaluate the long-term efficacy of uterine artery embolisation in women with symptomatic fibroids in a tertiary hospital in South Africa. Methods: Eighty-two women who presented for uterine artery embolisation at a single site in South Africa for symptomatic fibroids were retrospectively studied. Outcomes included recurrence and re-intervention rates, patient satisfaction and complication rate. Results: Two patients required repeat embolisation, and one patient experienced fibroid recurrence without further intervention. No repeat myomectomies were performed. Eighty percent of patients reported being satisfied, 12% partially satisfied and 7% not satisfied. No major complications were reported. Conclusion: Uterine artery embolisation was shown to be a good choice in the treatment of symptomatic fibroids and presents favourable long-term outcomes in the South African population.