Although Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae express very similar systems of iron uptake, these species differ in their capacity to use heme as a nutritional iron source. Whereas C. albicans efficiently takes up heme, S. cerevisiae grows poorly on media containing heme as the sole source of iron. We identified a gene from C. albicans that would enhance heme uptake when expressed in S. cerevisiae. Overexpression of CaFLC1 (for flavin carrier 1) stimulated the growth of S. cerevisiae on media containing heme iron. In C. albicans, deletion of both alleles of CaFLC1 resulted in a decrease in heme uptake activity, whereas overexpression of CaFLC1 resulted in an increase in heme uptake. The S. cerevisiae genome contains three genes with homology to CaFLC1, and two of these, termed FLC1 and FLC2, also stimulated growth on heme when overexpressed in S. cerevisiae. The S. cerevisiae Flc proteins were detected in the endoplasmic reticulum and the FLC genes encoded an essential function, as strains deleted for either FLC1 or FLC2 were viable, but deletion of both FLC1 and FLC2 was synthetically lethal. FLC gene deletion resulted in pleiotropic phenotypes related to defects in cell wall integrity. High copy suppressors of this synthetic lethality included three mannosyltransferases, VAN1, KTR4, and HOC1. FLC deletion strains exhibited loss of cell wall mannose phosphates, defects in cell wall assembly, and delayed maturation of carboxypeptidase Y. Permeabilized cells lacking FLC proteins exhibited dramatic loss of FAD import activity. We propose that the FLC genes are required for import of FAD into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum, where it is required for disulfide bond formation.


The increasing dependence on information networks for business operations has focused managerial attention on managing risks posed by failure of these networks. In this paper, we develop models to assess the risk of failure on the availability of an information network due to attacks that exploit software vulnerabilities. Software vulnerabilities arise from software installed on the nodes of the network. When the same software stack is installed on multiple nodes on the network, software vulnerabilities are shared among them. These shared vulnerabilities can result in correlated failure of multiple nodes resulting in longer repair times and greater loss of availability of the network. Considering positive network effects (e.g., compatibility) alone without taking the risks of correlated failure and the resulting downtime into account would lead to overinvestment in homogeneous software deployment. Exploiting characteristics unique to information networks, we present a queuing model that allows us to quantify downtime loss faced by a rm as a function of (1) investment in security technologies to avert attacks, (2) software diversification to limit the risk of correlated failure under attacks, and (3) investment in IT resources to repair failures due to attacks. The novelty of this method is that we endogenize the failure distribution and the node correlation distribution, and show how the diversification strategy and other security measures/investments may impact these two distributions, which in turn determine the security loss faced by the firm. We analyze and discuss the effectiveness of diversification strategy under different operating conditions and in the presence of changing vulnerabilities. We also take into account the benefits and costs of a diversification strategy. Our analysis provides conditions under which diversification strategy is advantageous.


Patients with hematologic malignancies undergoing chemotherapy and requiring blood transfusion usually have an elevated serum ferritin. These findings have led to the suggestion that iron overload is common and may have deleterious effects in these patients. However, the relationship between serum ferritin and parenchymal iron overload in such patients is unknown. Therefore, we measured the liver iron content (LIC) by the FerriScan® method and investigated the liver function and some endocrine tests in 27 patients with acute leukemia (AL) or myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Using FerriScan® method, the normal mean LIC levels are: 4.3±2.9 mg Fe/g dry weight (d.w.). In our patients, the mean serum ferritin level was 1965±2428 ng/mL. In our patients, the mean total iron in the blood received by them was 7177±5009 mg. In 6 out of 27 patients LIC was >7 mg Fe/g d.w. and in 11/27 serum ferritin was >1000 ng/ml. Measuring fasting blood glucose revealed 3/27 with diabetes mellitus and 4/27 with impaired fasting glucose (IFG). All patients had normal serum concentrations of calcium, parathormone (PTH), free thyroxine (FT4) and thyrotropin (TSH). Four patients had elevated serum alanine transferase (ALT). LIC was correlated significantly with ferritin level (r=0.5666; P<0.001) and the cumulative amount of iron in the transfused blood (r=0.523; P<0.001). LIC was correlated significantly with ALT (r=0.277; P = 0.04) and fasting blood glucose (FBG) was correlated significantly with the amount of iron transfused (r=0.52, p<0.01) and ALT level (r=0.44; P<0.01). The age of patients did not correlate with LIC, FBG or ALT. In conclusions, these results contribute to our understanding of the prevalence of dysglycemia and hepatic dysfunction in relation to parenchymal iron overload in patients with hematologic malignancies undergoing chemotherapy and requiring blood transfusions. (www.actabiomedica.it)


Background: Endoscopy is a common surgical procedure in the exploration and treatment of ENT pathology. Our purpose is to study rigid endoscopy contribution in paediatric patients in ENT. Methodology: We therefore conducted a retrospective study of 10 years from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2013 in ENT unit at Yalgado Ouedraogo teaching hospital in Ouagadougou. Results: A total of 629 children who received rigid endoscopy was collected, representing 35.5% of the surgical procedures performed in children. The average age of the patients was 4.5 years. 0 to 5 years old age group was the most represented with a male. The esophagoscopy has been performed with 63.1% of the cases. Foreign bodies were the most frequent findings with 74.7% of the cases. We noted 2.9% of complications including 1.3% of reversible cardiorespiratory arrest and 1.3% of deaths. Conclusion: Endoscopy is an important surgical procedure that should not be trivialized.


Among the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) 2015-2020 innovations, a mandatory 'greening' component of direct payment has been included to improve sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices in arable lands. Permanent crops1 are considered as 'greening' by definition and therefore exempted from additional agronomic duties. So far, however, an adequate knowledge of the real biological value of permanent crops is still lacking. In the present work, realized in the context of the MO.NA.CO. project, we monitored animal diversity in olive-groves characterized by three different managements (from low to medium intensity). Monitoring was carried out in Sardinia (Italy), using different animal groups as bio-indicators: Arthropods, Reptiles and Birds. Considering Arthropod orders and Coleopteran families we did not found significant differences in the overall abundance and in the biodiversity indexes. However, faunal composition clearly varied among managements: moreover, the higher or lesser presence of certain taxa highlighted the existence of microenvironmental variables that may be related, for instance, to the level of soil vegetation cover or to the degree of naturalness of the agroecosystem. Limitedly to the Arthropod diversity, the comparison with other land uses (including data gathered in previous projects) showed a good potentiality of olive groves as 'ecological focus areas', at least considering the managements here examined. The monitoring of Reptiles and Birds showed the peculiarity of the olive groves located in a hilly area characterized by non-intensive management, which hosted a rich herpetofauna and a bird community typical of habitats characterized by a high degree of naturalness. The present monitoring provides data for the assessment of the biological value of olive groves and of the potential impact of different managements on faunistic diversity. Future monitoring is needed to improve the knowledge on olive tree plantations characterized by high intensive management.


ABSTRACTA study was conducted on atmospheric carbonyl compounds for the first time over a Himalayan atmosphere in India. Samples were collected from a high altitude hill station, Darjeeling (27.01°N, 88.15°E, 2200 masl) during June 2012 to May 2013. Temporal variation, meteorological influence, source apportionment and ozone formation potential etc were studied for acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, acetone, butanaldehyde, propanaldehyde, benzaldehyde, crotonaldehyde, valeraldehyde, isovaleraldehyde, hexanaldehyde, p-tolualdehyde and o-tolualdehyde. High concentration of Acetone (81.6 ± 63.5 µg m–3) was observed which could be due to the higher photochemical production from its precursor volatile organic compounds emitted from tea plants and tea processing units. The concentration of acetaldehyde (20.7 ± 47.6 µg m–3) and formaldehyde (11.6 ± 16.3 µg m–3) were found to be comparable with metro cities of India and world. The average annual concentration of total carbonyl compounds was 174.2 ± 184.6 µg m–3 with maximum during postmonsoon (456.9 ± 199.5 µg m–3) and minimum during winter season (72.2 ± 42.9 µg m–3). Meteorological parameters like temperature and surface reaching solar radiative flux played the major roles for the seasonal variation of the carbonyl concentration over the hill station. The average ratio of formaldehyde to acetaldehyde over Darjeeling was found to be 1.64 ± 1.43 well representing a typical urban atmosphere at this part of Himalaya. Positive matrix factorization model showed that the biogenic emissions from tea plants and vehicular emissions were the major sources of carbonyl compounds over the hill station.


Using the medium of a scoping review, the author provides an analysis of the Canadian policing research literature published over the past ten years (2006-2015). What this analysis reveals is both expected and unexpected. In line with public views expressed by a number of sources (academics, policy-makers and police), the overall volume of literature produced during this period was low (some 188 (n=188) papers were identified). However, in contrast to the belief expressed by some that the Canadian policing literature is overly theoretical and largely qualitative, the bulk of studies examined (n=123) were quantitative, and eighteen (n=18) were experimental or quasiexperimental in design. Of more critical import, however, is the issue of overall production and lack of coverage of key policing topics. Gaps in topic coverage are explored here, with some key recommendations offered for improving Canadian output.


Abstract Iran has pursued a highly contradictory policy towards Afghanistan. On the one hand, it became a significant beneficiary of the overthrow of the Taliban regime by the US-led military intervention in 2001 in Afghanistan. The new Afghan government established cordial ties with Iran, allowing it to expand its political, economic and cultural influence in the country. Yet Iran has also provided significant support to the Taliban in its campaign to violently upend the political, social and economic processes in the country. This article examines the underlying domestic and regional security dynamics that contribute to this contradictory behaviour. It offers an assessment of how tensions between the United States and the Islamic Republic, as well as Tehran's growing threat perception following the rise of the Islamic State – Khorasan in 2014, impact on Iran's policy towards the Taliban. The paper argues that Tehran views the Taliban as an instrument to disrupt the influence of other actors in Afghanistan. The instrumentalisation of the Taliban, however, is likely to be counterproductive for Iranian security in the long run as it contributes to Afghanistan's instability and insecurity and undermines Iran's own long-term interests.


An application of a robotic system integrated with a vision system is presented. The robot is a 3-axis revolute prototype, while the vision system essentially consists in a laser scanner made up of a camera and a linear laser projector. Both the robotic and the video system were designed and built at DIME (Department of Mechanical Engineering for Energetics), University of Naples Federico II. The presented application essentially consists of a laser scanner that is installed on the robot arm; the scanner scans a 3D surface, and the data are converted in a cloud of points in the robot's workspace. Then, starting from those points, the end-effector trajectories adopted to replicate the scanned surface are calculated; so, the same robot, by using a tool, can reproduce the scanned object. The software was developed also at the DIME. The adopted tool was a high-speed drill, installed on the last link of the robot arm, with a spherical milling cutter in order to obtain enough accurate surfaces by the data represented by the cloud of points. An algorithm to interpolate the paths and to plan the trajectories was also developed and successfully tested.


Fronto-parietal regions and the functional communications between them are critical in supporting working memory and other executive functions. The functional connectivity between fronto-parietal regions are modulated by working memory loads, and are also shown to be modulated by a third region in brain in resting-state. However, it is largely unknown that whether the third-region modulations remain the same during working memory tasks or were largely modulated by task demands. In the current study, we collected functional MRI (fMRI) data when the subjects were performing n-back tasks and in resting-state. We first used a block-designed localizer to define fronto-parietal regions that showed higher activations in the 2-back than the 1-back condition. Next, we performed physiophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis using left or right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and superior parietal lobule (SPL) regions, respectively, in three continuous-designed runs of resting-state, 1-back, and 2-back conditions. No regions showed consistent modulatory interactions with the seed pairs in the three conditions. Instead, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) showed different modulatory interactions with the right MFG and SPL among the three conditions. While increased activity of the ACC was associated with decreased functional coupling between the right MFG and SPL in resting-state, it was associated with increased functional coupling between them in the 2-back condition. The observed task modulations support the functional significance of the modulations of the ACC on fronto-parietal connectivity.


Jerusalem is more than a holy city built of stone. Domain of Muslims, Jews, and Christians, Jerusalem is a perpetual contest, and its shrines, housing projects, and bulldozers compete in a scramble for possession. Now one of Jerusalem's most respected authorities presents a history of the city that does not fall prey to any one version of its past. Meron Benvenisti begins with a reflection on the 1996 celebration of Jerusalem's 3000-year anniversary as the capital of the Kingdom of Israel. He then juxtaposes eras, dynasties, and rulers in ways that provide grand comparative insights. But unlike recent politically motivated histories written to justify the claims of Jews and Arabs now living in Jerusalem, Benvenisti has no such agenda. His history is a polyphonic story that lacks victors as well as vanquished. He describes the triumphs and defeats of all the city's residents, from those who walk its streets today to the meddlesome ghosts who linger in its shadows. Benvenisti focuses primarily on the twentieth century, but ancient hatreds are constantly discovered just below the surface. These hostilities have created intense social, cultural, and political interactions that Benvenisti weaves into a compelling human story. For him, any claim to the city means recognizing its historical diversity and multiple populations. A native son of Jerusalem, Benvenisti knows the city well, and his integrated history makes clear that all of Jerusalem's citizens have enriched the Holy City in the past. It is his belief that they can also do so in the future.


By the Hollywood correspondent for "The New York Times", "Rebels On The Backlot" is a revealing and page-turning account of the new generation of film directors who are changing the face of today's Hollywood. Very much as the 1970s gave rise to a defining group of filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, the 1990s witnessed a new generation who captured the imaginations of audiences, and opened the pursestrings of the Hollywood film machine. "Rebels On The Backlot" follows six top-level film directors, from the origins of their careers through the making and release of their signature films. They are: Quenton Tarantino ("Pulp Fiction"), Paul Thomas Anderson ("Boogie Nights"), David Fincher ("Fight Club"), Steven Soderbergh ("Traffic"), Spike Jonze ("Being John Malkovich"), and David O. Russell ("Three Kings"). The book uses the development, writing, shooting, editing, and release of each director's major film to explore the lives and struggles each of them faced. It will dip in and out of each filming experience, drawing in the stories of other figures along the way, creating a chronological portrait of contemporary Hollywood, and the rebel generation of the 1990s. This is also a story of an emerging community of talented artists - directors, writers, actors of young Hollywood - who supported each other, burn with envy at one another's success, swap girlfriends and boyfriends, and ultimately spur each other to greater accomplishments.


In order for companies to remain competitive they must be able to utilise their knowledge of customers, products, services and resources. This can be instilled in the culture of the organisation, and this becomes paramount when the organisation deals in international markets. This research paper focuses on five main attributes, most pertinent to this study, of culture (identified by Terpstra and Sarathy, and by Gesteland). These attributes are technology and material culture, religion, language, education, and business ethics. The primary data comprised of interviews from six different e-Businesses.


This
project examines the events from 1866 to 1871 in Korea between the United
States and Joseon, with a specific focus on the 1866 General Sherman
Incident and the United States Expedition to Korea in 1871. The project also
examines the present memory of those events in the United States and North and
South Korea. This project shows that
contemporary American reactions to the events in Korea from 1866 to 1871 were
numerous and ambivalent in what the American role should be in Korea. In the present, American memory of 1866 to
1871 has largely been monopolized by the American military, with the greater
American collective memory largely forgetting this period.

In
the Koreas, collective memory of the five-year crisis (1866 to 1871) is divided
along ideological lines. In North Korea, the victories that Korea achieved
against the United States are used as stories to reinforce the North Korean
line on the United States, as well as reinforcing the legitimacy of the Kim
family. In South Korea, the narrative
focuses on the corruption of Joseon and the Daewongun and the triumph of a
"modernizing" Korean state against anti-western hardliners, and is more diverse
in how the narrative is told, ranging from newspapers to K-Dramas, leading to a
more complicated collective memory in the South.

This
Thesis shows that understanding the impact that the first state-to-state
encounters had on the American-Korean relationship not only at the time but
also in the present, is key to analyzing the complicated history of the
Korean-American relationship writ large.


Our current speculative discourse on the colonisation of other planets tends to consider future buildings through the lens of hitech architecture. However, we suggest that developments in biotechnology will enable types of construction which are beyond even our current science fictions. The paper presents an argument for bioengineered building materials framed by the notion of constructing buildings on Mars. It introduces the concept of biomineralisation and its processes and applications, and focuses on the creation of calcium carbonate by certain strains of bacteria. We will suggest that by utilising this process in conjunction with synthetic biology (where bacteria are engineered to survive and respond to the environment on other planets) a building process emerges where the materials are adaptive and, to some extent, self-constructed in relation to their environments. The paper concludes by speculating about a building process involving the use of bioengineered bacteria to consolidate materials, found on the surface of Mars, to create materials and structures which are functionally graded.


Researchers, educators, and practitioners utilize a range of tools and techniques to obtain data, input, feedback, and information from research participants, program learners, and stakeholders. Ketso is both an array of information gathering techniques and a toolkit (see www.ketso.com). It "can be used in any situation when people come together to share information, learn from each other, make decisions and plan actions" (Tippett & How, 2011, p. 4). The word ketso means "action" in the Sesotho language, spoken in the African nation of Lesotho where the concept for this instrument was conceived. Ketso techniques fall into the participatory action research family of social science research methods (Tippett, Handley, & Ravetz, 2007). Ohio State University Extension professionals have used the Ketso toolkit and its techniques in numerous settings, including for professional development, conducting community needs/interests assessments, brainstorming, and data collection. As a toolkit, Ketso uses tactile and colorful leaves, branches, and icons to organize and display participants' contributions on felt mats. As an array of techniques, Ketso is effective in engaging audiences because it is inclusive and provides each participant a platform for their perspective to be shared.


There has been much discussion in anthropology of the problem of belief and of the difficulties inherent in understanding and interpreting alternative life-worlds. One consequence of anthropological understanding and interpretation being intimately tied to the epistemo logical and ethical project of contextualization is that other people's knowledge is often rendered as parochial, defined by its local contexts and scope. This article discusses the recent conversion to radical Protestant beliefs in a community in northern Kenya that has resulted in new forms of knowledge and agency. The moral continuities and discontinuities between researcher and researched cannot in this situation be glossed by making the informants rational in context or by asserting the existence of culturally distinct worldviews. The article explores how this sets up a series of epistemological and ethical dilemmas that shape both the research project and the research process. © Berghahn Journals.


Impaired tolerance to innocuous particles during allergic asthma has been linked to increased plasticity of FoxP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) reprogramming into pathogenic effector cells, thus exacerbating airway disease. However, failure of tolerance mechanisms is driven by Th2 inflammatory signals. Therefore, the in vivo role of canonical IL-4 receptor α (IL-4Rα) signaling, an essential driver of Th2-type airway responses to allergens, on the regulatory function of FoxP3+ Tregs in allergic asthma was explored. Here, we used transgenic Foxp3cre IL-4Rα–/lox and littermate control mice to investigate the role of IL-4 and IL-13 signaling via Tregs in house dust mite–induced (HDM-induced) allergic airway disease. We sensitized mice intratracheally on day 0, challenged them on days 6–10, and analyzed airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), airway inflammation, mucus production, and cellular profile on day 14. In the absence of IL-4Rα responsiveness on FoxP3+ Tregs, exacerbated AHR and airway inflammation were shown in HDM-sensitized mice. Interestingly, reduced induction of FoxP3+ Tregs accompanied increased IL-33 alarmin production and type 2 innate lymphoid cell activation in the lung, exacerbating airway hyperreactivity and lung eosinophilia. Taken together, our findings indicate that IL-4Rα–unresponsive FoxP3+ Tregs result in exaggerated innate Th2-type, IL-33–dependent airway inflammation and a break in tolerance during allergic asthma.


Abstract. This study presents a numerical first-order spectral model to quantify transient flow and remediation zone uncertainties for partially opened wells in heterogeneous aquifers. Taking advantages of spectral theories in solving unmodeled small-scale variability in hydraulic conductivity (K), the presented nonstationary spectral method (NSM) can efficiently estimate flow uncertainties, including hydraulic heads and Darcy velocities in r- and z-directions in a cylindrical coordinate system. The velocity uncertainties associated with the particle backward tracking algorithm are then used to estimate stochastic remediation zones for scenarios with partially opened well screens. In this study the flow and remediation zone uncertainties obtained by NSM were first compared with those obtained by Monte Carlo simulations (MCS). A layered aquifer with different geometric mean of K and screen locations was then illustrated with the developed NSM. To compare NSM flow and remediation zone uncertainties with those of MCS, three different small-scale K variances and correlation lengths were considered for illustration purpose. The MCS remediation zones for different degrees of heterogeneity were presented with the uncertainty clouds obtained by 200 equally likely MCS realizations. Results of simulations reveal that the first-order NSM solutions agree well with those of MCS for partially opened wells. The flow uncertainties obtained by using NSM and MCS show identically for aquifers with small ln K variances and correlation lengths. Based on the test examples, the remediation zone uncertainties (bandwidths) are not sensitive to the changes of small-scale ln K correlation lengths. However, the increases of remediation zone uncertainties (i.e. the uncertainty bandwidths) are significant with the increases of small-scale ln K variances. The largest displacement uncertainties may have several meters of differences when the ln K variances increase from 0.1 to 1.0. Such conclusions are also valid for the estimations of remediation zones in layered aquifers.


Writing the conclusion section of radiology reports is essential for communicating the radiology findings and its assessment to physician in a condensed form. In this work, we employ a transformer-based Seq2Seq model for generating the conclusion section of German radiology reports. The model is initialized with the pretrained parameters of a German BERT model and fine-tuned in our downstream task on our domain data. We proposed two strategies to improve the factual correctness of the model. In the first method, next to the abstractive learning objective, we introduce an extraction learning objective to train the decoder in the model to both generate one summary sequence and extract the key findings from the source input. The second approach is to integrate the pointer mechanism into the transformer-based Seq2Seq model. The pointer network helps the Seq2Seq model to choose between generating tokens from the vocabulary or copying parts from the source input during generation. The results of the automatic and human evaluations show that the enhanced Seq2Seq model is capable of generating human-like radiology conclusions and that the improved models effectively reduce the factual errors in the generations despite the small amount of training data.


Finite difference modelling of elastic wavefields is now practical for elucidating features of records obtained for exploration seismic purposes. This has become possible because of the major increase in computing power available at reasonable cost. To take advantage of this power a 2D finite difference modelling program for elastic displacements has been written in Matlab. The program has then been used to investigate the propagation of surface waves through shallow layers with lateral and vertical changes. Some distinctive effects have been seen under ideal conditions, and it is hoped that these will also appear in realistic cases and provide practical interpretation methods.


This paper introduces a novel Fuzzy Numeric Inference Strategy (FNIS) which induces fuzzy trees that can be applied to data domains where the outcome can be either numeric or discrete. The methodology applies the principles of fuzzy theory to pre-generated crisp decision trees in order to soften the sharp decision boundaries that are inherent in such induction techniques. Introducing fuzziness around a tree node allows classification knowledge to be represented more naturally and in-line with human thinking thus creating more robust trees when handling imprecise or conflicting information.

The FNIS methodology first extrapolates rules from crisp decision trees. Each attribute is then fuzzified using a Genetic Algorithm (GA) to determine the size of the fuzzy partitions around each tree node automatically. A fuzzy decision tree is then created using a one-to-one mapping and a genetically optimised pre-selected fuzzy inference technique is used to combine all information throughout the tree. FNIS uses two strategies for defuzzification, depending on the type of the outcome variable. For discrete values the traditional centre of gravity approach is adopted, whilst for predicting numeric outcomes a novel method of defuzzification is proposed. CHAID is a successfully proven algorithm for inducing decision trees which can solve both classification and regression problems. It is used to illustrate the creation of fuzzy trees through the proposed strategy. A series of experiments is carried out to compare the performance of crisp trees with FNIS induced fuzzy trees, using real world datasets. The results are shown to compare favourably with other fuzzy and crisp decision tree algorithms. The fuzzy trees are also shown to be more robust leading to improved classification/prediction over crisp trees.


This article assesses the role of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) in the European asylum policy and the shifts that are taking place in the policy's administration modes. EASO is tasked with coordinating practical cooperation efforts so as to achieve harmonisation "bottom-up", namely through the harmonisation of practices. Tasked with supporting Member States "subject to particular pressure", the agency has been called to play a key operational role in the running of the "hotspots". I focus in particular on the agency's operational activities, commenting on the agency's level of interaction with national administrations. I evaluate the extent which the agency's working unsettles pre-existing assumptions about the balance of powers between the EU institutions and the Member States regarding the implementation of the asylum policy. In light of the Commission proposal on reform of this agency, I comment on initiatives that could be envisaged in the future under the agency's mandate and what these would mean for the administrative governance of the EU asylum policy.


This study is a survey conducted in questionnaire format on the usage time and the quantity of consumer durables that consume energy, relevant to households in Kobe, Japan. Based on the data containing quantity and daily usage days of consumer durables obtained from the questionnaire survey, the rate of energy consumption for each household type was calculated. By using results, energy consumption of household sector in Kobe in 2010 was estimated at approximately 25,559 TJ. Taking future changes in the number of households in Kobe into consideration, the future energy consumption in 2035 would decline by approximately 6.0% from 2010. We also revealed that full electrification of residential houses would change energy consumption structures rather than overall the energy consumption.


Introduction From its onset, Hip Hop has been inextricably linked to critical thought. With its roots in West African culture and the identity of the griot (1)/bard (Keyes, 2002), spreading through the Caribbean (George, 1998; Rose, 1994; Kitwana, 2002), and re-membered (2) in the mid 1970s in the streets of New York, early Hip Hop pioneers gazed upon their experience of living in poor conditions and began a running dialogue with each other that took many forms. Black and Brown urban communities were plagued by "shrinking federal funds, affordable housing, [and] shifts in the occupational structure from blue collar manufacturing toward corporate and informational services" (Rose, 1994, p. 31). Through dance, art, poetry, and music, a critique of systems of oppression began in a language that those connected to the oppression could understand. And understand they did. Today Hip Hop music exists as a main feature of the soundtrack to a new globalization and corporate culture, but embedded within Hip Hop culture is the critical discourse upon which it was founded. This discourse is buried beneath corporate control and unconscious/uncritical thought, but it is still there buried within the subconscious minds of everyone connected to Hip Hop whether they know it or not. As Hip-Hop was being born, the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire (1970) was tapping into pathologies that were also found in the streets of New York. Freire investigated his Brazilian home and focused on the field of education. In particular, he identified a problem in which students were systematically relegated into the conceptual role of an object rather than the more empowered position of a subject. In other words, students were often disempowered by schools and were, as a result, not afforded the chance to actively construct their own realities. The lack of critical consciousness in the United States has allowed a pattern of systematic control and oppression in schools to rob many students of their right to be viewed as subjects. Hip Hop culture has been a space where the youth of today have come to see themselves as subjects, found their identity and humanity, and created a place to develop their critical consciousness through the engagement of humanizing discourses (e.g., art, music, dance). As educators link the power and potential of Hip Hop as a pedagogical tool, Hip Hop culture has begun to creep into the classrooms (as well as informal sites of education) in three distinct ways: (a) Hip Hop has found its ways into after-school programs where teachers are taking an entrepreneurial approach with the students as they are constructing their own music and expressions (Anderson, 2004), (b) Hip Hop has been used inside formalized classrooms to scaffold subject matter at both the elementary and secondary levels (Morrell & Duncan-Andrade, 2002; Sitomer, 2004), and (c) Hip Hop is used in classrooms to introduce a critical analysis of systemic forms of oppression that pervert our society (Williams, 2004). In this essay, I investigate the links between Paulo Freire's philosophy and Hip Hop culture, looking to draw out the links that allow educators to ground pedagogical philosophy within the lived experience of students. I will specifically explore (a) the birth of Hip Hop culture as culturally dominant discourse, (b) the theoretical framework of Critical Social Theory and its relation to Hip Hop Culture, and (c) the development of Hip Hop's voice as Hip Hop's version of consientizacao. An Introduction to Hip Hop: The Birth of a Culture But like I told those in the ghettoes Here's the facts! True hip-hop is so much more than that Some much more than rap, so much more than beats Hip-hop is all about victory over the streets --KRS-One: 9 elements (2003) The question is often posed, "What is Hip Hop?" Mainstream America is stuck using commercial rap music, often heard on the radios and on the music television channels, as a complete representation of Hip Hop culture. …


Amid calls from the accounting profession and accounting educators for a syllabus that would develop generic skills as well as technical competence, the course supervisor of a final year management accounting course made changes to the tutorials. It was hoped that weekly one-page assignments, presentations and discussions of assigned cases would develop communication, team work, problem solving, critical thinking, conceptual thinking, time management and research skills. This research comprised a survey of current and past students' perceptions of their learning of generic skills in the tutorials, as well as the views of the current tutors. Both students and tutors felt that the format of the tutorials and assessment enabled the development primarily of problem solving and critical thinking, but also to a high degree of team work, time management, communication and conceptual thinking. Research skills were the least developed. The same skills were perceived to be useful in an accounting career.


Parenting is a difficult challenge for anyone. Immigrant parents find their roles and relationships with their children change, and these children are vulnerable to a number of risk factors especially during adolescence that diminish the influence of the parents in the acculturation process. The risk factors include: Language issues including a linguistic separation between parents and children which becomes symbolic of a profound emotional separation; economic stressors in which the main reason for which many families emigrate, i.e., economic betterment, becomes the source of greatest stress; differing parenting practices including the challenge of raising their children in a new seemingly unsupportive and permissive culture; and identity development where the adolescent identity process can be stressed by the difficulties inherent in negotiating two cultures and the perception of not fitting well into the new mainstream culture. A number of suggestions for culturally-sensitive assessment and intervention are provided as well as suggestions for becoming a culturally-sensitive person and therapist.


Pronominal affixes in polysynthetic languages have an ambiguous status in the sense that they have characteristics normally associated with free pronouns as well as characteristics associated with agreement markers. This situation arises because pronominal affixes represent intermediate stages in a diachronic development from independent pronouns to agreement markers. Because this diachronic change is not abrupt, pronominal affixes can show different characteristics from language to language. By presenting an in-depth discussion of the pronominal affixes of Yurakare, an unclassified language from Bolivia, I argue that these so-called intermediate stages as typically attested in polysynthetic languages actually represent economical systems that combine advantages of agreement markers and of free pronouns. In terms of diachronic development, such 'intermediate' systems, being functionally well-adapted, appear to be rather stable, and it can even be reinforced by subsequent diachronic developments.


'HoCP 00-950' (Reg. No. CV-135, PI 654823) sugarcane (a complex hybrid of Saccharum officinarum L., S. spontaneum L., S. barberi Jeswiet, and S. sinense Roxb. amend. Jeswiet) was selected and evaluated by the USDA-ARS, working cooperatively with the Louisiana State University AgCenter, and the American Sugar Cane League, Inc. It was released to growers in Louisiana in April 2007. In 67 machine-harvested trials on light- and heavy-textured soils from 2004 to 2007 (plant-cane through third-ratoon crop) averaged over nine southern Louisiana locations, HoCP 00-950 produced 5% more sugar and had 6% higher sugar content than the industry standard, 'HoCP 96-540'. In plant-cane and ratoon-crop maturity tests harvested in 2007, HoCP 00-950 had significantly higher sugar content than HoCP 96-540 across all harvest dates, with 35% higher sugar content at the outset of the harvest season (late September). HoCP 00-950 is resistant to brown rust (Puccinia melanocephala), smut (Ustilago scitaminea), leaf scald (Xanthomonas albilineans), and mosaic diseases. It is susceptible to the sugarcane borer (Diatraea saccharalis) and should not be planted in areas where pesticide use is restricted. The early maturity characteristic of HoCP 00-950 provides growers with a variety that can produce profitable sugar yields early in the milling season without the need to apply a chemical ripener.


Although king of the Arthurian universe, the figure of Arthur in much of medieval literature is a remarkably simple one. Depicted first as a powerful warlord in the Welsh and Latin traditions, he becomes a passive and often weak character in Chretien's romances, abandoning the thrill of the battlefield in favor of his throne. (1) Indeed, in many early texts, he is consistently portrayed as a one-dimensional figure with little or no emotional depth. The thirteenth-century Lancelot-Graal cycle, however, presents us with a different Arthur, subtly and progressively revealing the man beneath the crown. (2) From the Merlin to the Mort Artu, his emotions are explored and, at times, integrated into the plot to reveal the consequences for his reactions on other characters and for the Arthurian world itself. Curiously, though, the Lancelot-Graal authors are selective in their presentation of Arthur's inner life, more so than with that of any other character. Throughout the cycle, there is a constant dichotomy between the king and the man, and Arthur is often in conflict with himself; that is, with both his public and private personas. Nonetheless, his character progresses over the course of these narratives, when he evolves from a newly crowned king to a seasoned monarch who watches his world crumble around him and who eventually falls, along with his kingdom. That evolution is accompanied by numerous psychological complexities that themselves become more labyrinthine as we follow the legend from beginning to end. (3) More specifically, Arthur's emotional trials and tribulations, first made apparent in the Prose Merlin, increasingly reflect the duality of his being in the Lancelot Proper, and his dual nature is underscored even further in the Mort Artu. (4) Tracing the emergence of that duality is the function of this article. It is only in the Merlin that the dichotomy of Arthur's character is not explicitly explored, (5) since he is on many counts an inexperienced young man slowly coming into his own. At this point in the cycle, the Arthurian universe is still in the beginning stages of its creation, allowing the soon-to-be-lost innocence of its namesake to shine through, for the first and perhaps only time. Yet, even here his private life is tied intricately to his public one. The initial display of his emotions is a purely personal one, as of course it must be, since his public persona does not yet exist. This reaction stems from Antor's revelation that, even though he raised Arthur, he is not his father by blood (Merlin, Micha 86. 33-34). The young Arthur is grief-stricken by the news and begs the only father he has ever known not to disown him. His private love for and devotion to Antor leads to Kay's prominent, public place in the king's court, since, to please his father, Arthur agrees to make Kay his seneschal. The reader witnesses two additional personal reactions from Arthur in this romance, first when he meets and falls in love with Guenevere. Portrayed in this instance as a man with sexual desires, he overtly displays lust by his eagerness to gaze at her breasts that were "dures & roides comme poumetes," (Sommer 2:158) (6) [firm and hard like little apples] (7), and her skin that was "plus blance que noif negie" (Sommer II, 158) [whiter than new-fallen snow]. The narrator then explains that Arthur yearned for her so much that he "en fu tous pensis & en laissa son mangier" (Sommer 2:158) [lost himself in thought and stopped eating]. It is worth noting, however, that the lust described here dissipates after the marriage vows are exchanged, suggesting that once his private passion is made public, it ceases to exist. In a larger sense, the dissolution of his desire represents one of the first signs that these two facets of his being--the public and private--cannot coexist. At the same time, it hints at the emerging dichotomy of his character. …


We structurally estimate a two-sector Schumpeterian growth model with endogenous population and finite land reserves to study the long-run evolution of global population, technological progress and the demand for food. The estimated model closely replicates trajectories for world population, GDP, sectoral productivity growth and crop land area from 1960 to 2010. Projections from 2010 onwards show a slowdown of technological progress, and, because it is a key determinant of fertility costs, significant population growth. By 2100 global population reaches 12.4 billion and agricultural production doubles, but the land constraint does not bind because of capital investment and technological progress.


ABSTRACT Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) kill 40 million people each year and are the cause of 70% of global deaths annually. Proximal risk factors include tobacco use, physical inactivity, the harmful use of alcohol and consumption of unhealthy food, which are shaped by the social and economic conditions of daily life, known as the social and commercial determinants of health. It is well recognised within the global health community that policy coherence across all levels of government at the national and international level is required to address NCDs. To date, however, there has been little coherence between health and trade policy, which directly affects access to unhealthy or healthy commodities. This paper explores policy actors' views of the challenges in achieving coordinated and coherent NCD policy across health and trade sectors. Drawing on interviews (n = 18) with key policy actors and using a policy framework that focuses on ideas, power and the 'deep core' of neoliberalism, we identify the role of competing frames, power asymmetries and interests in constraining policy coherence. We also find differences between NCD risk factor domains. Tobacco control was highlighted as one area of generally successful coherence internationally. In contrast, alcohol and nutrition were identified as areas with little coherence. Industry power, the role of evidence, presence of absence of a treaty, the extent of coordinated advocacy and leadership by intergovernmental organisations were key factors influencing coherence. In light of these constraints, the role of advocacy by non-governmental organisations was highlighted as the key for much-needed policy change.


Many large-scale parallel scientific and engineering applications, especially climate modeling, often run for lengthy periods and require data checkpointing periodically to save the state of the computation for a program restart. In addition, such applications need to write data to disks for post-processing, e.g., visualization. Both these scenarios involve a write-only pattern using Hierarchal Data Format (HDF) files. In this paper, we study the scalability of CXFS by HDF based Structured Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) appli- cation for three different block sizes. The code used is a block-structured AMR hydrodynamics code that solves compressible, reactive hydrodynamic equations and characterizes physics and mathematical algorithms used in studying nuclear flashes on neutron stars and white dwarfs. The computational domain is divided into blocks distributed across the processors. Typically, a block contains 8 zones in each coordinate direction (x, y, and z) and a perimeter of guard cells (in this case, 4 zones deep) to hold information from the neighbors. We used three different block sizes of 8 × 8 × 8, 16 × 16 × 16, and 32 × 32 × 32. Results of parallel I/O bandwidths (checkpoint file and two plot files) are presented for all three-block sizes on a wide range of processor counts, ranging from 1 to 508 processors of the Co- lumbia system.


A high-birefringence linearly chirped fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is written into a polarization-maintaining photosensitive fiber by ultraviolet (UV) beam through a linearly chirped phase mask. Its performance as group velocity dispersion (GVD) and polarization mode dispersion (PMD) compensator is demonstrated in short pulse fiber optical transmission systems.


Ever since the boom in global e-business, and the resulting intensification of competition, cross-cultural e-negotiation has increased in popularity. Understanding how national cultures affect negotiation behaviour is becoming more and more critical for businesses. This research will explore how a negotiator's cultural background impacts its behaviour. There are four major findings: firstly, that Eastern and Western businesses have unique negotiation behaviours; secondly, that the negotiation behaviours of both Eastern and Western negotiators are impacted by their counterparts' cultural background; thirdly, that when Easterners negotiate with Westerners, there were more instances of task behaviour and persuasive behaviour, but fewer instances of procedural behaviour and private communication; and finally, that when Westerner negotiates with Easterner, there are more instances of task behaviour but fewer of private communication. In spite of the similarities, however, Western negotiators have more consistent negotiation behaviour than do their Eastern equivalents, regardless of cultural differences between the dyadic negotiators. The following research uses the content analysis method, which is more thorough than the questionnaire in terms of qualitative criteria. The total set of thought units can be analyzed from further viewpoints in the future.


The oxidation of methyl red (MR) and methyl orange (MO) by Vanadium (V) in aqueous sulphuric acid media in the presence of anionic surfactants at different temperatures has been investigated. The reaction studied spectrophotometrically in aqueous sulphuric acid medium is first order in vanadium (V) methyl red (MR) and methyl orange (MO). Plots of kobs versus [H ] are linear with positive intercepts on kobs axes, suggesting the formation of a complex between vanadium (V) and dye. The activation and thermodynamic parameters have been calculated. The kinetic model use in this study to describe the dependence of rate constant on the reaction mechanism proposed.


Indium-containing visible-light-driven (VLD) photocatalysts including indium-containing oxides, indium-containing sulfides, indium-containing hydroxides, and other categories have attracted more attention due to their high catalytic activities for oxidation and reduction ability under visible light irradiation. This chapter will therefore concentrate on indium-containing nano-structured materials that demon‐ strate useful activity under solar excitation in fields concerned with the elimination of pollutants, partial oxidation and the vaporization of chemical compounds, water splitting, and CO 2 reduction processes. The indium-containing photocatalysts can extend the light absorption range and improve the photocatalytic activity by doping, heterogeneous structures, load promoter, and morphology regulation. A number of synthetic and modification techniques for adjusting the band structure to harvest visible light and improve the charge separation in photocatalysis are discussed. In this chapter, preparation, properties, and potential applications of indium-contain‐ ing nano-structured materials used as photocatalysis will be systematically summar‐ ized, which is beneficial for understanding the mechanism and developing the potential applications.


Robert Venter, second-generation Chief Executive (CE) of family-owned Allied Electronics Corporation Ltd (Altron), considered the pros and cons of more clearly linking the firm's compensation system to sustainability performance. In June 2011, Altron, a conglomerate headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, controlled more than 200 companies in Africa, Europe, the US, the UK, Australia, and the Far East. More than 14,000 employees designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed a range of telecommunications, electronics, power electronics, and information technology systems and products. Having made a clear commitment to sustainable development, Venter was confident that the commitment was shared across the senior management team. However, there appeared to be more acceptance in the operating units for meeting financial targets than for meeting sustainability targets. Did the existing incentive structure send the correct message about the sustainability-oriented corporate strategy? Looking at the reshaped strategic themes, Venter considered the pros and cons of more clearly linking the firm's compensation system to sustainability performance.Learning Objective: The purpose of this case is to discuss the rate of compensation in implementing a sustainable strategy.


Objective: The goal of the work was to study the socio-demographic and clinical profile of the patients with TB/ HIV co-infection, as well as the treatment effectiveness to understand what shortcomings in the work of TB and HIV services are needed to be corrected.

Materials and methods: A retrospective study was performed among 377 patients with dual co-infection TB/HIV between January 2015 and December 2016. TB diagnoses were based on clinical symptoms, sputum microscopy, and radiological analyses. The patients were diagnosed as HIV seropositive by ELISA and by Western blot.

Results: Out of 377 individuals with co-infection HIV/TB there were 56.8% of patients with newly diagnosed TB. About 30.8% of individuals with newly diagnosed TB did not know they were HIV-positive and attended the hospital for TB treatment. It was revealed that the most predominant TB-form was disseminated pulmonary tuberculosis in the phase of infiltration/decay both among newly diagnosed HIV positive patients and the HIV/ TB patients registered in specialized care centers-50.5% and 49.7%, respectively. The active TB-form (MbT+) accounted for 40.3%. Cavities in the lungs were revealed in 19.9% of patients. The treatment effectiveness cessation of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis allocation was 75.2% in newly diagnosed TB patients and 55.3% in registered patients. Cavity closure had occurred in 54.1% in patients with newly diagnosed TB and 34.2% in registered patients. Only half of the patients (51.1%) constantly took prescribed medications.

Conclusion: The high rate of HIV-infected patients with newly diagnosed TB (56.8%) indicates insufficient effectiveness of programmes for early TB testing. Also, the fact that about 30.8% of individuals with newly diagnosed TB were not aware of their HIV positive status indicates the urgent necessity for optimizing the interaction between TB and HIV services. One should also pay attention to the low patients' adherence to the treatment as only 47.5% of patients did undergo treatment.


This article examines two Dutch diplomatic missions, in 1627–28 and 1635, by which the United Provinces intervened in a Polish-Swedish armed conflict in Prussia. The focus is on 'diplomatic poetics': the ways in which literature functioned within diplomatic practice, and how that practice (or the 'diplomatic moment') was in turn envisioned in literature. The Polish-Swedish conflict was of great interest to the United Provinces, and was elaborately discussed in various Dutch media, as well as in the correspondences of merchants and politicians. The Dutch embassies to Polish territories themselves, meanwhile, inspired a number of literary works, published mostly in the Republic, but also in for example Danzig and Konigsberg. These sources demonstrate how early modern literary and diplomatic practices in Europe overlapped and influenced each other. Firstly, German, French and Dutch poems by Johannes Plavius, Simon van Beaumont and Joost van den Vondel illustrate the blurring of the lines between the realms of diplomacy and literature. Poems could function as diplomatic gifts, enabling both personal, intellectual communication and the widespread transmission of political messages. Moreover, Latin and German plays by Johannes Narssius and Simon Dach, and more importantly Latin poems by Simon van Beaumont and Caspar Barlaeus, as well as an illustrated Dutch account of the first mission by Abraham Booth, reveal that the Dutch envoys featured in literary narratives as both wise peace bringers and travelling poets, and their missions to Poland as both arduous ordeals and epic adventures. Much like poetic gifts, these literary reflections on 'the diplomatic moment' had public diplomatic agency, simultaneously voicing political opinions and crafting artistic images of the diplomats themselves.


Objectives Limited evidence suggests adverse effects of traffic noise exposure on the metabolic system. This study investigates the association between road traffic noise and obesity markers as well as the role of combined exposure to multiple sources of traffic noise. Methods In a cross-sectional study performed in 2002–2006, we assessed exposure to noise from road traffic, railways and aircraft at the residences of 5075 Swedish men and women, primarily from suburban and semirural areas of Stockholm County. A detailed questionnaire and medical examination provided information on markers of obesity and potential confounders. Multiple linear and logistic regression models were used to assess associations between traffic noise and body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and waist–hip ratio using WHO definitions of obesity. Results Road traffic noise was significantly related to waist circumference with a 0.21 cm (95% CI 0.01 to 0.41) increase per 5 dB(A) rise in Lden. The OR for central obesity among those exposed to road traffic noise ≥45 dB(A) was 1.18 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.34) in comparison to those exposed below this level. Similar results were seen for waist–hip ratio (OR 1.29; 95% CI 1.14 to 1.45) but not for BMI (OR 0.89; 95% CI 0.76 to 1.04). Central obesity was also associated with exposure to railway and aircraft noise, and a particularly high risk was seen for combined exposure to all three sources of traffic noise (OR 1.95; 95% CI 1.24 to 3.05). Conclusions Our results suggest that traffic noise exposure can increase the risk of central obesity. Combined exposure to different sources of traffic noise may convey a particularly high risk.


So far, named entity recognition (NER) has been involved with three major types, including flat, overlapped (aka. nested), and discontinuous NER, which have mostly been studied individually. Recently, a growing interest has been built for unified NER, tackling the above three jobs concurrently with one single model. Current best-performing methods mainly include span-based and sequence-to-sequence models, where unfortunately the former merely focus on boundary identification and the latter may suffer from exposure bias. In this work, we present a novel alternative by modeling the unified NER as word-word relation classification, namely W^2NER. The architecture resolves the kernel bottleneck of unified NER by effectively modeling the neighboring relations between entity words with Next-Neighboring-Word (NNW) and Tail-Head-Word-* (THW-*) relations. Based on the W^2NER scheme we develop a neural framework, in which the unified NER is modeled as a 2D grid of word pairs. We then propose multi-granularity 2D convolutions for better refining the grid representations. Finally, a co-predictor is used to sufficiently reason the word-word relations. We perform extensive experiments on 14 widely-used benchmark datasets for flat, overlapped, and discontinuous NER (8 English and 6 Chinese datasets), where our model beats all the current top-performing baselines, pushing the state-of-the-art performances of unified NER.


Encrusting and excavating Caribbean sponges Cliona aprica, C. caribbaea and C. tenuis (Hadromerida: Clionaidae) aggressively undermine and displace live coral tissue. To estab- lish modes and rates of lateral advance into neighboring organisms, 171 sponge individuals were studied for 13 mo. Sponge advancement into live coral, via excavation underneath boundary polyps, occurred only when the 2 confronted at an angle of ≥180°. Sponges stopped or retreated when coral upward and inward growth at the boundary closed the angle between the coral and sponge, placing polyps out of reach of excavating tissue. At a straight angle of confrontation, C. tenuis advanced into coral at higher rates than the other 2 sponge species. Its advance was more pronounced into Diploria strigosa than into Siderastrea siderea. Sponge undermining continuously opened space for transient settlement of turf algae and for accumulation of sediments. Corallivory at the sponge-coral boundary did not imply greater rates of sponge advance, but probably did contribute to coral bioerosion. Mas- sive corals escaped sponge undermining by upward growth, their ability to do so depended partly on defensive mechanisms. Foliose and platy corals escaped by overtopping. Rates of sponge advance into substrata incrusted and overgrown by algae were in general lower than into live coral, while sponges lost space to some encrusting invertebrates.


The study presents the simulation results of the viscid gas flow in low flow coefficient centrifugal compressor stages. The problem is solved in a stationary formulation using the Ansys CFX software package. The numerical simulation is carried out on three ultrahigh-pressure model stages; two stages have blades of the classical type impeller and one stage is of the bodily type. The value of the conditional flow coefficient is 0.0063 to 0.015. As part of the study, block-structured design meshes are used for all gas channel elements, with their total number being equaled as 13–15 million. During the calculations a numerical characteristic was validated with the results of tests carried out at the Department of Compressor, Vacuum and Refrigeration Engineering of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. With an increase of inlet pressure as a result of a numerical study, it was found that for a given mathematical model the disk friction and leakage coefficient (1 + βfr + βlk) is overestimated. The analysis of flow in labyrinth seals has shown an increase of total temperature near the discs by 30–50 °С, nevertheless this fact did not influence gas parameters in the behind-the-rotor section. The calculation data obtained with finer design mesh (the first near-wall cell was 0.001 mm) is identical to those obtained with the first near-wall cell 0.01 mm mesh.


In this paper we present a dynamic model of subsidized credit provision to examine how asymmetric information exacerbates ineciency caused by corruption. Though designed to empower the underprivileged, the fate of such credit programs largely depends on the eciency of the credit delivery system. Corruption often erodes this eciency. Nevertheless, when a corrupt loan ocial and a borrower interact with symmetric information, credit terms can be so designed that corruption will aect only the size of the surplus, but not repayment. With private information on the borrower's productivity this result changes. The corrupt loan ocial may induce the low productivity borrower to default, mainly because of high revelation costs. The government can improve the repayment rate, but will have to under-provide the rst period loan. On the other hand it can permit default by the low productivity borrower, and maintain a higher credit level. The second option may sometimes be preferred. This inecient outcome is caused by two factors - informational ratchet eects and countervailing incentives, which are commonly present in many agency relationships.


Since the founding of professional baseball, few teams have risen above years of mediocrity only to see their fortunes interrupted by war and tragedy. In the early twentieth century, one team rallied to claim first place and then won a world's championship in a most spectacular style that has yet to be replicated. Who were these men who managed to bring home the first world championship to a city of passionate baseball fans? The Best They Could Be recaps the compelling story of the ballplayers and the team owner who resurrected a proud but struggling franchise. Although the Cleveland ball club was an active member of professional baseball from the late 1860s and a charter member of the American League, by 1915 the team was on the brink of collapse. Into this dejected atmosphere came new owner James C. Dunn, who, without previous baseball experience, had the business savvy to bring his club to the forefront, acquiring superstar center fielder Tris Speaker and great pitchers. But during the rise of the franchise, the outbreak of World War I interrupted baseball. Then, in 1920, as the Indians were front and center in the pennant race, shortstop Ray Chapman died after a pitch struck him on the right temple and fractured his skull. The outpouring of sorrow from teammates and fans alike made the Indians more determined than ever to fight their way to the top. Scott Longert's entertaining and poignant narrative traces the rise, fall, and rebirth of one of America's most beloved baseball teams.


Facial rhytidectomy is a complex and multi-faceted operation performed by different methodologies between practitioners. This study elucidates current international trends in facelift surgery, including patient selection, operative technique, and postoperative care. A 43-item questionnaire was sent electronically to 7247 members of the following societies: ASPS, ISAPS, CSPS, IFFPS, and the AAFPRS. The survey focused on 3 main areas: (a) background information, (b) intraoperative technique, and (c) postoperative care. The response rate was 11.4%. The majority of our population was from the United States (US) (73%). Most (85%) of the respondents have practices where over 50% of their procedures are considered aesthetic surgery. Statistical differences between the uses of minimally invasive adjuvant treatments (thread lifts, endotine mid-face devices, superficial and deep skin resurfacing procedures) were found between plastic surgeons (PS) and facial plastic surgeons (FPS), as well as between US, Canadian, and international surgeons. Suture imbrication (42%) was the most common way of handling the submuscular aponeurotic system. International surgeons were more likely (49.6% vs. 37.7%, P < 0.05) to use this technique than US or Canadian surgeons. Difference in handling patients who smoke and postoperative management differences were also found between the groups queried. No differences were found between FPS and PS in the handling of the submuscular aponeurotic system, treatment of platysmal bands, treatment of ptotic submandibular glands, or treatment of submental fat deposits (P > 0.05). Differences exist between FPS and PS, and between US, Canadian, and international surgeons with regard to facelift techniques and perioperative management. These differences need to be addressed in order to measure outcomes across specialties and between techniques. This data will additionally be helpful for less experienced and younger surgeons who wish to define best practice patterns.


Previous investigations of nitrite and nitric oxide reduction by myoglobin in surfactant film modified electrodes characterized several distinct steps in the denitrification pathway, including isolation of a nitroxyl adduct similar to that proposed in the P450nor catalytic cycle. To investigate the effect of the axial ligand on these biomimetic reductions, we report here a comparison of the electrocatalytic activity of myoglobin (Mb) with a thermophilic cytochrome P450 CYP119. Electrocatalytic nitrite reduction by CYP119 is very similar to that by Mb: two catalytic waves at analogous potentials are observed, the first corresponding to the reduction of nitric oxide, the second to the production of ammonia. CYP119 is a much more selective catalyst, giving almost exclusively ammonia during the initial half-hour of reductive electrolysis of nitrite. More careful investigations of specific steps in the catalytic cycle show comparable rates of nitrite dehydration and almost identical potentials and lifetimes for ferrous nitroxyl intermediate (Fe(II)-NO(-)) in CYP119 and Mb. The catalytic efficiency of nitric oxide reduction is reduced for CYP119 as compared to Mb, attributable to both a lower affinity of the protein for NO and a decreased rate of N-N coupling. Isotopic labeling studies show ammonia incorporation into nitrous oxide produced during nitrite reduction, as has been termed co-denitrification for certain bacterial and fungal nitrite reductases. Mb has a much higher co-denitrification activity than CYP119. Conversely, CYP119 is shown to be slightly more efficient at the two-electron reduction of N(2)O to N(2). These results suggest that thiolate ligation does not significantly alter the catalytic reactivity, but the dramatic difference in product distribution may suggest an important role for protein stability in the selectivity of biocatalysts.


This paper is a qualitative case study of the role of culture in the information-seeking process. This study revealed that culture does affect how we locate, evaluate and value information and thus specific kinds of knowledge. Librarians and educators must engage in discussions on "Critical Information Literacy" where information is tied to knowledge creation that does not limit learners to a specific cultural worldview. Information and information-seeking processes cannot be separated from knowledge production.


Background and Purpose: Birth outcomes and fertility measures are commonly evaluated in Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP) in the field of public health. Given the key role of time- trend study in the projection of current data to the future, this population-based study aimed to describe the significant changes of birth outcomes and fertility measures in the rural population of East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Methods: In this time-trend analysis, primary data of several birth outcomes and fertility measures were collected from the vital statistics of rural populations in the East Azerbaijan, recorded during 2001 - 2013. Data analysis was performed using simple linear regression to examine linear trends in these indicators. Results: In this study, upward linear trends were observed in crude birth rate (R 2 = 0.92, P≤0.001), fertility rate of women aging> 35 years (R 2 = 0.74, P≤0.001), and low birth weight (R 2 = 0.67, P≤0.001). In addition, a downward linear trend was documented for neonatal mortality rate (R 2 = 0.92, P≤0.001).For other indicators such as stillbirth rate and adolescent fertility rate, non-linear trends were recorded. Conclusion: Despite the noticeable reduction in the rates of neonatal mortality and stillbirth, maternal and child health is still at risk in the rural population of East Azerbaijan due to the pregnancies outside the typical childbearing age and increased rate of LBW.


The launch of the Advanced Scatterometer ASCAT on MetOp-A is planned on 17 July 2006. In Europe, scatterometer product development is organised through the EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facilities. Product developments are focussed on using the data for Numerical Weather Prediction and short-range weather forecasting. The former is well suited by the SeaWinds products as currently produced at KNMI at 100km resolution (see http://www.knmi.nl/scatterometer ) in preparation of the operational ASCAT production suite. For short-range forecasting or in semi-enclosed sea areas such as the Mediteranean, however, higher resolution is desirable, and both an experimental 25-km SeaWinds product is available and the Early Advanced Retransmission Service, EARS, ERS-2 product. The European Space Agency ERS-2 scatterometer KNMI product provides quasi real-time winds in the North Atlantic and European seas. It is currently provided in the ASCAT BUFR format to facilitate the development of ASCAT user interfaces. KNMI attempts to improve the spatial filtering properties of the wind retrieval by using prior information on the expected meteorological balance, e.g., favouring rotational structures in high-latitude regions. Moreover, we use solutions in all wind directions, but weighted by their inherent probability. The 2D-VAR method has the advanced filtering properties for maintaining small-scale meteorological information in SeaWinds, while reducing noise. This is tested by comparing the spatial covariance structures of the KNMI products, with those of the NOAA SeaWinds product, and, for reference, those of the NCEP model. The methodology leads towards a high-resolution scatterometer wind product. Based on these principles KNMI plans in the next phase of the SAFs to develop a 12.5-km ASCAT scatterometer wind product in the coastal zone.


In this paper, I work within Ruth Marcus's account of the source of moral dilemmas and articulate the implications of her theory for collective responsibility. As an extension to Marcus's work, I explore what her account means for the moral emotions and responsibilities of those complicit in perpetuating unjust systems of a non-ideal world from which moral dilemmas arise. This move necessitates shifting away from the primacy of control. That one is born into unjust systems one had no hand in establishing does not excuse one from responsibility to mend them. Similarly, even if one's personal contribution in the perpetuation of unjust systems is negligible – the injustices would continue whether one participated or not, and one's resistance would do little-to-nothing – one nevertheless retains responsibility. This expanded sense of responsibility necessitates a specialized sort of moral emotion – one that, like agent-regret or tragic-remorse, transcends the criterion of agentic control, but nevertheless can be classified neither as agent-regret nor tragic-remorse. _____________________


This dissertation looks at the urban volume, in its natural and artificial materiality, as a source of potential for future urbanization. Underground resources—for buildable space, geomaterials, groundwater and geothermal energy—tend to be addressed only as needs arise. This has historically led to conflicts between uses: basements and tunnels flooded by rising aquifers; drinking water sources endangered by infrastructures that carry pollutants into groundwater systems. The work was carried out as part of the Deep City Project, which argues for a paradigm shift of 'resources to needs' in which the potential of underground resources is addressed prior to any urban project or plan. The work presented here further develops a methodology to map the combined potentials of resources and includes an original investigation of the spatial relationships between underground and surface urban commercial spaces. The prologue introduces the overarching problematic and concepts using a dramatization of an incident that occurred during the construction of the M2 metro line in Lausanne in 2005. This concrete example sets the stage for the first chapter, where the theoretical framework of the dissertation is laid out in detail. The resources to needs paradigm is elaborated by looking at the underground as it has been addressed in normative city models, arguing that the dominant ecological and mechanical models do not provide the adequate framework for thinking resources prior to needs. This reflection draws on concepts from information and urban theory as well as philosophy, arguing for an approach to the mass of the urban volume as an economy of communication—of encounter and avoidance. The second chapter specifically addresses underground space through a spatial configurational analysis of the Montreal downtown, where a network of indoor and outdoor commercial spaces comprises a unique spatial volume. Relationships between the spaces are calculated using multiple accessibility metrics on a 3D spatial network model built in GIS. Common configurational characteristics are extracted using principal component analysis and placed in a spatial econometric model, which looks at the influence of spatial configuration on rental value per square meter of food and retail spaces. The results suggest that certain accessibility metrics contribute more than others to this value, but a subsequent geographically weighted regression reveals that this impact is varied in space and does not establish a clear separation between indoor and outdoor spaces. The third chapter presents the application of the Deep City mapping method to three case study cities—San Antonio, Texas, Hong Kong, China, and Dakar, Senegal—which have relatively diverse and complex relationships to their geology and surface urbanization. In each case, adjustments are made to the methodology, particularly in how the potential of the surface urban form contributes to the underground potential of the city. The results of the maps, which provide a city-wide overview of underground potential, are discussed by returning to some of the projects and problematics currently addressed by each city's urban planning departments or master plans. The conclusion summarizes the research as a whole and revisits the theoretical framework in discussing future avenues for research and practical application.


Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) is defined as the intentional, direct injury to body tissue, undertaken without suicidal intent, and for a purpose that is not socially or culturally sanctioned (International Society for the Study of Self-Injury, 2007; Klonsky & Muehlenkamp, 2007; Muehlenkamp, 2014). NSSI is prevalent in adolescent samples worldwide (Muehlenkamp, Claes, Havertape, & Plener, 2012; Swannell, Martin, Page, Hasking, & St John, 2014) and is typically considered a marker of wider distress. NSSI in adolescents has been associated with numerous poor mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, eating disorders, and attempted and completed suicide (Asarnow et al., 2011; Brunner et al., 2014; Claes, Soenens, Vansteenkiste, & Vandereycken, 2012; Fox et al., 2015; Glenn & Klonsky, 2011; Jacobson & Gould, 2007).  In addition, research has demonstrated that perfectionism, defined as the setting of excessively high standards of performance (Frost, Marten, Lahart, & Rosenblate, 1990), is also commonly associated with substantial distress. Unfortunately, perfectionism in adolescents is thought to be on the rise (see Flett & Hewitt, 2014; Portesova & Urbanek, 2013) with many adolescents reporting multi-sourced and relentless pressure to perform highly and adhere to societal ideals. As such, individuals are setting excessively high goals for themselves, and increasingly worrying about the consequences of less than perfect performance. Similar to the research pertaining to NSSI, perfectionism has been shown to also be associated with a raft of poor outcomes including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and general psychological distress (e.g., Boone, Braet, Vandereycken, & Claes, 2013; Claes et al., 2012; DiBartolo et al., 2007; Lombardo, Mallia, Battagliese, Grano, & Violani, 2013; Vartanian & Grisham, 2011).  Research has shown an association between NSSI and perfectionism (e.g., Hoff & Muehlenkamp, 2009; O'Connor, Rasmussen, & Hawton, 2010). However, this literature is currently very limited and the relationship between NSSI and perfectionism is not well understood. In light of this, I set out to thoroughly explore if, and how, NSSI and perfectionism are related in New Zealand adolescents. Moreover, I aimed to gain insight into the mechanisms that could underpin such relationships.  Of the four studies conducted, the first and second studies established a foundation for my research. Specifically, Study 1 meta-analyses synthesised data from 118 studies investigating the relationship between perfectionism and adaptive and maladaptive outcomes. These analyses demonstrated a robust relationship between negative perfectionism and maladaptive outcomes. More specifically, they revealed a significant, positive summary correlation for the relationship between negative perfectionism and self-injurious thoughts and behaviours.  Study 2 aimed to define the most appropriate conceptualisation of perfectionism for research with New Zealand adolescents. This involved investigating the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Frost et al., 1990) in 930 adolescents with a mean age of 14 years old. A hierarchical structure with two overarching components (positive perfectionism, negative perfectionism), comprised of four second-level components (concerns and doubts, parental pressure, personal standards, and organisation) was identified and adopted for all following research.  Studies 3 and 4 investigated the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between NSSI and perfectionism. Study 3a specifically aimed to ascertain whether negative and positive perfectionism are associated with NSSI in New Zealand adolescents, based on survey data from 930 adolescents in their second year of high school. As expected, negative perfectionism was significantly associated with NSSI in females, however this relationship did not hold for males. On the other hand, positive perfectionism was associated with less engagement in NSSI in both males and females. This suggested that negative perfectionism may represent a risk factor for NSSI, while positive perfectionism may buffer against risk of NSSI. In addition, Study 3b investigated the relationships between perfectionism and the functions of NSSI, indicating that self-punishment functions are particularly relevant for perfectionistic adolescents. As the final component of the cross-sectional analyses, Study 3c illustrated that the association between perfectionism and NSSI is more accurately captured when the interaction between positive and negative perfectionism is also considered.  Study 4 involved the examination of this relationship over time. To do so, another wave of data was collected, resulting in data matched across two times points for 608 adolescents. Longitudinal analyses demonstrated that negative perfectionism prospectively predicted NSSI one year later in females only. Moreover, again for only females, positive perfectionism predicted an increase in negative perfectionism over time. No significant longitudinal relationships were demonstrated for male adolescents.  The ultimate aim of this research was to provide clinicians, school staff and parents with the information required to effectively identify at-risk adolescents, and thereby prevent the onset of NSSI and its vast associated negative outcomes. This research suggests that perfectionism is one such risk factor to be aware of. As such, it is argued that targeted prevention and intervention strategies for perfectionism will help prevent the onset and maintenance of NSSI in females, and are also likely to be of benefit to the wider mental wellbeing of New Zealand adolescents.


We propose a new method for the automatic printing of holographic three-dimensional (3-D) animation viewed under white-light illumination. One can display the animated 3-D image near the hologram plane by vertically scrolling the hologram. Since the hologram consists of small elemental holograms that are individually recorded at multiple exposures, the image size and the playback length are not restricted by the size of the recording optical system. A 3-D animation of 25 frames is experimentally recorded. Clear 3-D images can be observed by pulsed-light illumination.


As already aware of the concepts of compatible mappings, compatible mappings of type α, compatible mappings of type β and weakly compatible, we are proving a common fixed point theorem in L-fuzzy metric space on four self-mappings using the concept of Biased Mappings of Type and the property C with a known fact that if a pair of maps is compatible or compatible of type α or compatible of type β then it is biased mapping of both type. This result could be further used to prove result on three self-mappings.


Objective: To compare the VO2 max and physiological responses between 12-minute and 3200-meter run fitness tests. Methods: The subjects were 40 soldiers aged 18–21 years old of the Infantry Battalion 303/SSM of Cikajang, Garut, West Java, Indonesia. The 12-minute and 3200-meter run fitness tests were conducted with one week resting period. The measurement of the VO2 max prediction was based on each of the formulations and the measurement of physiological response included blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, Borg scale and oxygen saturation before and after the tests. This study used a cross-sectional method while the data were analyzed statistically using t-test (p=0.05). Results: The results showed that the VO2 max prediction in 12-minute run fitness test was 52.046±2.980 mL/KgBB/min and the 3200-meter run test was 55.323±3.238 mL/KgBB/min. The value was statistically significant (p=0.008). There was no significant difference in the physiological response in both tests, except the SpO2 parameter after the tests (p=0.021). Conclusions: There is a significant difference in VO2 max prediction between 12 minutes and 3200 meter run test. No significant difference was found in the physiological response in both tests, except the SpO2 parameter. Keywords: 12-minute run fitness test, 3200-meter run fitness test, physiological response, soldiers, VO2 max DOI: 10.15850/ijihs.v4n2.836


For GKI Salatiga congregation, life without the hope of being resurrected is a life that has no meaning. The resurrection of Christ is not just a myth that is believed to serve as insurance for the resurrection of believers after death. The resurrection of Christ is believed to be the beginning of various revivals that will follow. This belief is further strengthened by the acknowledgement of the role of the risen Christ as the Head of the Church and by the affirmation that the church as Jesus' body will be resurrected. There are at least three implications of such a belief. First, believers are not afraid to face death because human existence will continue even after death. Second, the hope of being resurrected provides an opportunity for the believers to live their lives in accordance to God's will. Third, the hope of being resurrected influence the way the believers see and resolve problems that they encounter in their every day life. Keywords: resurrection, Apostles' Creed, GKI salatiga


Leaving to work abroad has been, for years, a quotidian reality. Each of us has, for sure relatives, friends, acquaintances that work abroad, each of us heard the success stories. We are all more or less aware of the risks and advantages incurred by leaving to go there. But are we just as aware of all these when referring to those we leave here? One thing is certain. Romania has made great steps towards the achievement of a legal framework for the protection of children. The times when every mishap could have been quickly blamed on the lack of standards or legislation are quickly fading away. It is now only up to us to move the general public from the inertia of it s not my business towards it s wrong, so it is my business. It is our duty to protect our children and it is our duty to let the parents know that their effort to improve the life of their children may have negative consequences unless measures are taken, in accordance with the Romanian Law.


ABSTRACT Institutions of police—community dialogue in New York City assume that communities possess an intuitive and legally sound sense of order and disorder, on which the police can rely for information and support. However, staged dialogues between police and community groups can produce complicated situations of conflict and tension. While the police work to interpellate a friendly, coherent, and controlled community subject, city residents use the police's ideological language of order to offer a critique of the police themselves and of the sweeping neoliberal economic restructuring of the city around them.


The article is devoted to the exploration of social reflection in the media space. The question about borders of socially meaningful discourse, which produces publicly essential conditions for social reflections is raised. Basic dichotomy of private and public in the frame of new media-format and the status of public talk in modern forms of mass communication is analyzed. The article describes both classic philosophical conceptions of private and public (H. Arendt), of public sphere (J. Habermas), of individual and public (Z. Baumann), of the phenomenon of talk (M. Heidegger) and contemporary studies of communication in media space (N. Luhmann, M. Castells, N. Bolz, R. Sennett, etc.). The purpose of the article is to argue that classic models of publicity do not make sense in contemporary forms of social reflection. However, more importantly is that the new forms of social reflections can be represented only in a random discussion without connotation. Consumer continues to be the subject of media space, but not the creator of socially important ideas.


The availability of longitudinal data collected prospectively from 1998 to 2011 at federally funded US hemophilia treatment centers provided an opportunity to construct a descriptive analysis of how outcomes of men with severe hemophilia have been altered by the incremental advances and setbacks in hemophilia care in the last 50 years in the United States. This surveillance collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention assembled the largest uniformly examined population with severe hemophilia (n = 4899 men with severe factor VIII and IX deficiency). To address the heterogeneity of this population, 4 successive birth cohorts, differentially affected by eras of hemophilia care, were examined separately in regard to demographics, complications of hemophilia and its treatment, and mortality. Severely affected men in each birth cohort were compared also with the corresponding mild hemophilia birth cohorts (n = 2587 men total) to control for outcomes that might be attributable to aging and environment independent of severely defective hemostasis. The analysis demonstrates improving access to standard of care therapy, correlating the proportion of men on prophylactic factor replacement and reduced bleeding frequency for the youngest men. Frequent bleeding persisted in one third to one half of men across all ages, however, and the disability gap between severe and mild hemophilia did not narrow. The greatest cause of death was liver failure, but attempted anti-hepatitis C virus therapy and cure were low. The study suggests a continued need for national surveillance to monitor and inform hemophilia interventions and outcomes.


Globalization is knitting separate national economies into a single world economy. That is occurring as a result of rising trade and investment flows, greater labor mobility, and rapid transfers of technology.As economic integration increases, individuals and businesses gain greater freedom to take advantage of foreign economic opportunities. That, in turn, increases the sensitivity of investment and location decisions to taxation. Countries feel pressure to reduce tax rates to avoid driving away their tax bases. International "tax competition" is increasing as capital and labor mobility rises.Most industrial countries have pursued tax reforms to ensure that their economies remain attractive for investment. The average top personal income tax rate in the major industrial countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has fallen 20 percentage points since 1980. The average top corporate income tax rate has fallen 6 percentage points in just the past six years.Rising tax competition has caused governments to also adopt defensive rules to prevent residents and businesses from enjoying lower tax rates abroad. In the United States, such tax rules are hugely complex and affect the ability of U.S. companies to compete in world markets. Other defensive responses to tax competition include proposals to harmonize taxes across countries and to restrict countries from offering tax climates that are too hospitable to foreign investment inflows.Those defensive responses to tax competition are a dead end. They do nothing to promote economic growth or reform inefficient tax systems. A more constructive response to tax competition would be to learn from foreign reforms and adopt pro-growth tax policies at home. The United States should be a leader but has fallen behind on tax reform. For example, the United States now has one of the highest corporate tax rates among major nations. The chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, Glenn Hubbard, believes that "from an income tax perspective, the United States has become one of the least attractive industrial countries in which to locate the headquarters of a multinational corporation."As international capital and labor mobility rises, the risks associated with not having an efficient federal tax structure increase. This country should respond to rising tax competition by moving toward a low-rate consumption-based system.


Digital Design and Computer Architecture takes a unique and modern approach to digital design. Beginning with digital logic gates and progressing to the design of combinational and sequential circuits, Harris and Harris use these fundamental building blocks as the basis for what follows: the design of an actual MIPS processor. SystemVerilog and VHDL are integrated throughout the text in examples illustrating the methods and techniques for CAD-based circuit design. By the end of this book, readers will be able to build their own microprocessor and will have a top-to-bottom understanding of how it works. Harris and Harris have combined an engaging and humorous writing style with an updated and hands-on approach to digital design. This second edition has been updated with new content on I/O systems in the context of general purpose processors found in a PC as well as microcontrollers found almost everywhere. The new edition provides practical examples of how to interface with peripherals using RS232, SPI, motor control, interrupts, wireless, and analog-to-digital conversion. High-level descriptions of I/O interfaces found in PCs include USB, SDRAM, WiFi, PCI Express, and others. In addition to expanded and updated material throughout, SystemVerilog is now featured in the programming and code examples (replacing Verilog), alongside VHDL. This new edition also provides additional exercises and a new appendix on C programming to strengthen the connection between programming and processor architecture. SECOND Edition Features Covers the fundamentals of digital logic design and reinforces logic concepts through the design of a MIPS microprocessor.Features side-by-side examples of the two most prominent Hardware Description Languages (HDLs)-SystemVerilog and VHDL-which illustrate and compare the ways each can be used in the design of digital systems.Includes examples throughout the text that enhance the reader's understanding and retention of key concepts and techniques.Companion Web site includes links to CAD tools for FPGA design from Altera and Mentor Graphics, lecture slides, laboratory projects, and solutions to exercises.Updated based on instructor feedback with more exercises and new examples of parallel and advanced architectures, practical I/O applications, embedded systems, and heterogeneous computing Presents digital system design examples in both VHDL and SystemVerilog (updated for the second edition from Verilog), shown side-by-side to compare and contrast their strengthsIncludes a new chapter on C programming to provide necessary prerequisites and strengthen the connection between programming and processor architectureCompanion Web site includes links to Xilinx CAD tools for FPGA design, lecture slides, laboratory projects, and solutions to exercises. Instructors can also register at textbooks.elsevier.com for access to: Solutions to all exercises (PDF)Lab materials with solutionsHDL for textbook examples and exercise solutions Lecture slides (PPT)Sample exams\Sample course syllabusFigures from the text (JPG, PPT)


The Indian wild caught bat, Taphozous kachhensis at Ambai Nimbai (Maharashtra) shows continuous asynchronous breeding, exhibiting a seasonal polyoestry. The adrenal gland of T. kachhensis is made up of adrenocortical and chromaffin tissues. The adrenocortical tissue is comprised of two main types of cells, the steroid cells with abundance of lipid inclusions and eosinophilic cells with eosinophilic granular cytoplasm. The chromaffin tissue is intermingled with adrenocortical tissue. They are formed of adrenaline and noradrenaline secreting cells with different electron density and variable sizes. The zona glomerulosa during estrus shows spherical nuclei with prominent nucleoli. Adrenal gland of pregnant female shows striking differences in ultrastructural features than those observed in the adrenal gland of non-pregnant female. During pregnancy, the cells of zona glomerulosa are hypertrophied and synthetically very active. The lysosomes and few lipid droplets are seen in cytoplasm of cell. The cells of zona fasciculata are large, vacuolated and arranged in cords of polygonal cells having mitochondria with tubular and lamellar cristae. The lipid droplets are observed in close association with smooth endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria suggesting the role of these organelles in steroidogenesis. The cells of zona reticularis are loaded with lipid droplets. The mitochondria are spherical in shape with collapsed cristae. The cells of zona reticularis are in close association with blood vessels. Few lysosomal bodies are seen in the cytoplasm. Adrenal medulla consists of two types of cells depending on the presence of secretory granules. Nor-epinephrine cells are predominant in the medulla of pregnant bat while epinephrine cells are predominant in the medulla of estrus bat.

 Key words: Bat, adrenal gland, medulla, ultrastructure, reproductive cycle.