Retailers as well as manufacturers can suffer substantial revenue losses as a result of product discontinuations. The magnitude of this sales loss is dependent on how the consumer responds, which in turn is affected by various product and consumer factors. To date empirical research on consumer responses to product unavailability has focussed on out-of-stocks and to a lesser extent permanent assortment reductions implemented by the retailer. A critical area that has not been explored to date is that of examining consumer responses to manufacturer product discontinuations and how those responses will affect product category sales.

Drawing on insights from past empirical research on product unavailability, this original research investigates the short-term impact of three different types of product discontinuation on the shoppers' switching behaviour and on sales within the product category. The research also examines whether varying purchase levels of the preferred discontinued product moderates the switching behaviour. Several propositions are developed and tested using scanner data collected from Flybuys' customers across three product categories and 48 New World stores within the Auckland region.

Results from the study indicate that although the dominant switching behaviour to a preferred-product discontinuation is to substitute within the product category, both the retailer and the manufacturer experience short-term sales losses. Findings suggest that prior purchasers of the discontinued product do not spend as much in the product category in the three month period following the discontinuation. Furthermore; shoppers are more likely to substitute with products that have similar attributes in terms of flavour, form or benefit and this switching behaviour is moderated by varying purchase levels of the discontinued product.

The findings suggest that retailers should be cautious in assuming that shoppers will continue to spend the same amount on a substitute item after the discontinuation and should ensure there are a number of acceptable alternatives available on shelf. The results further suggest that the retailer may wish to explicitly signal the products with similar attributes to heavy purchasers of the discontinued product to help mitigate sales losses. By empirically investigating consumers' responses to preferred-product discontinuations this study adds to the body of knowledge in the area of consumer responses to product unavailability. Finally, a number of limitations are discussed and suggestions made for future research.


Overall morphological similarity and intrapopulation variation of morphological features make species identification in cryptic species complexes challenging. In such cases, additional features, such as acoustic and/or genetic characters, are being used to aid species identification. The use of acoustic signals as a suite of diagnostic features can be especially rewarding in certain taxonomic groups that rely on acoustic communication. Such is the case of the Neotropical leaf litter frogs of the Leptodactylus marmoratus group (formerly Adenomera). Recent studies using different suites of features for field identification have revealed a previously undetected species richness for this group. It is in the light of acoustic signals that we identify a new species for this group, and describe it herein. We also discuss the systematics of populations associated with the Amazonian realm. We further explore the use of acoustic signals in species identification and diagnosis in anurans and other taxa that communicate acoustically (e.g. lacewings, orthopterans, and birds), and the relevance and importance of the use of species concepts in species diagnosis and descriptions. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 152, 59–77.


Introduction: Sensorineural hearing loss is linked to the impairment of the sensorineural structures of the hearing system. Sensorineural hearing loss is a topical subject hardly reported in African francophone medical literature.
Objectives: To analyze, through a literature review, the features of sensorineural hearing loss, in the context of a sub-Saharan country.
Methods: This is a retrospective study covering the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2010. We collected four hundred and twenty seven (427) cases of patients with sensorineural hearing loss. We also recorded the Epidemiological, clinical, functional exploration, morphological and therapeutic data.
Results: The average age of patients was 40. Children represented 19.20% (n = 82) of the series. The average age during diagnosis was 10 in children. The series included 231 men (54%) and 196 women (46%). The average time to consultation was 54 months. Unilateral deafness represented 10.54% of the cases. The average hearing loss predominated with a rate of 42.70%, representing 5.94% of deafness. The most common etiologies were presbycusis (29.27%), meningitis (5.15%), and malaria (4%). In 47.3% of cases the cause was unknown. Only 1.87% of our patients have received a hearing aid.
Conclusion: Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) poses etiological diagnosis problems as well as therapeutic management problems. Indeed etiological research and hearing rehabilitation are expensive. These difficulties could be overcome through the development of a program against deafness.


This note shows that the German public sector balance benefited significantly from the European/Greek debt crisis, because of lower interest payments on public sector debt. This is due to two effects: One, in crisis times investors disproportionately seek out safe investments ("flight to safety"), bidding down the returns on safe-haven assets. We show that German bunds strongly benefited from this effect during the Greek debt crisis. Second, while the European Central Bank (ECB) monetary policy stance was quite close to an "optimal" monetary policy stance for Germany from 1999 to 2007, during the crisis monetary policy was too accommodating from a German perspective, due to the emerging disparities across the Euro area. As a result of these two effects, our calculations suggest that the German sovereign saved more than 100 billion Euros in interest expenses between 2010 and mid-2015. That is, Germany benefited from the Greek crisis even in case that Greece defaults on all its debt (a total of 90 billions) owed to the German government via diverse channels (European Stability Mechanism [ESM], International Monetary Fund [IMF], or directly).


In this paper new outcrop data are provided for an under investigated area of the Maiella, located along the western limb of the thrust-related anticline. In this area, a seismic scale transect depicts a natural geological section across the northern Apulia platform margin. Stratigraphic and geometric characteristics allowed the recognition of a west-dipping segment, strictly related to the well known Maiella paleoescarpment. Features that concur to the escarpment definition are the abrupt contact between base-of-slope/basin and platform successions, the lateral shift of platform and slope time-lines across the paleoescarpment, and the presence of margin scallops and related megabreccias. This west-dipping escarpment segment coincides with a roughly north-south oriented break in the westward extension of the northern Apulia platform margin, and it indicates the presence of a basinal area developed to the west, in a north-south direction, between the Maiella and Morrone carbonate platform areas. Three different configurations of the northern Apulia platform margin are consistent with the interpretation of the outcrop data of the Maiella western flank. They can relate to a platform re-entrant of the northern Apulia margin, inherited from the Early Jurassic rifting of the continental margin, to a large-scale scallop formed during the mid-Cretaceous collapse of the platform margin, or to a tectonic backstepping of the platform margin, formed during the Late Cretaceous tectonic phase.


We present a new method to program the covalent binding of gold nanoparticles onto graphene oxide sheets. The binding selectivity is driven by the synergy of chemically modified oligonucleotides, grafted onto the surfaces of nanoparticles and graphene oxide. In the presence of a templating complementary DNA strand, nanoparticles are brought near the surface of the graphene oxide. Once in close proximity, the DNA strands are ligated to create a permanent link between the nanoparticles and graphene oxide, ensuring stability of the system even during DNA melting conditions. Due to the selectivity and specificity of DNA, a second layer of gold nanoparticles of different size can be grafted on the top of the first layer of particles. The simplicity of this new method allows for its universal applicability when the formation of highly programmable, covalently linked hybrid nanoparticle–graphene oxide structures is a necessity.


Cancer is arguably the ultimate complex biological system. Solid tumors are microstructured soft matter that evolves as a consequence of spatio‐temporal events at the intracellular (e.g., signaling pathways, macromolecular trafficking), intercellular (e.g., cell–cell adhesion/communication), and tissue (e.g., cell–extracellular matrix interactions, mechanical forces) scales. To gain insight, tumor and developmental biologists have gathered a wealth of molecular, cellular, and genetic data, including immunohistochemical measurements of cell type‐specific division and death rates, lineage tracing, and gain‐of‐function/loss‐of‐function mutational analyses. These data are empirically extrapolated to a diagnosis/prognosis of tissue‐scale behavior, e.g., for clinical decision. Integrative physical oncology (IPO) is the science that develops physically consistent mathematical approaches to address the significant challenge of bridging the nano (nm)–micro (µm) to macro (mm, cm) scales with respect to tumor development and progression. In the current literature, such approaches are referred to as multiscale modeling. In the present article, we attempt to assess recent modeling approaches on each separate scale and critically evaluate the current 'hybrid‐multiscale' models used to investigate tumor growth in the context of brain and breast cancers. Finally, we provide our perspective on the further development and the impact of IPO. WIREs Syst Biol Med 2012, 4:1–14. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.158


Social and cognitive characteristics of adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) place them at risk for inappropriate inclusion in or exclusion from research participation. As we grapple with how to include adults with ID in research in order to secure their right to contribute to scientific advancements and be positioned to derive benefit from ensuing knowledge, it is critical to consider scientific gatekeepers' perspectives on risks of and protections for including adults with ID in research. We surveyed 199 Institutional Review Board members and intellectual disability researchers in the United States to identify their perceptions of specific risks and necessary protections in (hypothetical) research studies. The research studies varied as to whether they included adults with ID in the research sample and the level of harm to which research participants were exposed. Results suggest that identification of psychological, social, and legal risks and necessary protections varied by the disability status of the sample, the level of risk, and the role of the person reviewing the study. For example, participants identified more psychological, information control, legal, and social risks in higher harm research studies. Participants reported a need for more protections in high-harm studies as well as studies that included adults with ID. In some instances the nature of identified risks and protections and respondents' characterization of these risks and necessary protections suggested concerns related specifically to adults with ID. Implications for practice, policy, and future research related to access to research participation are discussed.


The purpose of the paper is to examine the rationale of current institutional and governance structure and the roles of various public and private agencies involved in this process. The paper found that drawn by lucrative profits the industry has attracted many entrants which intensify competition among sending firms. The most obvious change brought by this development is the increase of recruitment costs. This has also affected the supply-demand imbalances which in turn has profound impacts on the distribution of values (rents) in the industry. Some of the increase in recruitment costs can also be attributed to the introduction of the law 39/2004 which formalizes the role of local recruiters (brokers) though it also provides some protection to workers. But the net benefits may not be great since sending firms can always shift the burdens to workers through salary deductions in the first few months of working contracts. The effort to create a new independent agency as mandated by the new law to provide implementing service, coordination and monitoring of international migrant workers has yet to bear fruit. A clear division of labor is needed, but due to the huge rents involved this may need political intervention from the highest level of government.


A checklist with concise synonymy and a key to the snakes of Sulawesi is presented, comprising 63 species in 38 genera; 3 subspecies and 15 species, of which one constitutes a monotypic genus, are considered endemic. There is a strong Indo-Malayan relationship. Sea-snakes and Candoia carinata excluded, no Philippine, Papuan or Australian affinities were found. Geological and ecological barriers, together with a low immigration pressure from the south and east, are considered causal factors. Although Sulawesi has been an instable island region at least since the Late Cretaceous as compared with most surrounding islands, which were parts of Sundaland or Sahulland and as such were formed relatively recently, the species richness in Wallacea is of the same order as in the neighbouring islands and more dependent of the Asian relationships of the snakes and the present day distance from landmasses.


Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) is remembered, along with Copernicus and Galileo, as one of the greatest Renaissance astronomers. A gifted analytical thinker, he made major contributions to physics, astronomy, and mathematics. Kepler was trained as a theologian, yet did not hesitate to challenge church doctrine and prevailing scientific beliefs by supporting the theory of a Sun-centered solar system. As Imperial Mathematician to the Holy Roman Emperor, he analyzed the precise observations of the heavens that his predecessor, the great astronomer Tycho Brahe, had recorded. The book follows the ingenious scientist along the difficult pathway from raw data to his monumental discovery--the three Laws of Planetary Motion. Kepler also made fundamental contributions to optical theory, including a correct description of the function of the eye and a new and improved telescope design. His unique Rudolfine Tables, universal calculations of planetary motion, were unprecedented in their accuracy. James Voelkel vividly describes these scientific achievements, providing enough background in astronomy and geometry so even beginners can follow Kepler's thinking and enjoy this book. Equally captivating is his account of Kepler's tumultuous life, plagued by misery, disease, war, and fervent religious persecution. Oxford Portraits in Science is an ongoing series of scientific biographies for young adults. Written by top scholars and writers, each biography examines the personality of its subject as well as the thought process leading to his or her discoveries. These illustrated biographies combine accessible technical information with compelling personal stories to portray the scientists whose work has shaped our understanding of the natural world.


Whether there should be a political question doctrine and, if so, how it should be implemented continue to be contentious and controversial issues, both within and outside the Court. This Article urges that the Justices should reformulate the detailed definition that they have utilized (at least formally) since 1962, and adopt four criteria to be applied in future cases. The least disputed - textual commitment - is the initial factor listed in Baker v. Carr. The other three are based on functional considerations rather than constitutional language or original understanding. The first of these - structural issues: federalism and separation of powers - has been advanced and developed at length in my earlier work. It is based on a comparative advantage of the political process over the Court in sound constitutional decisionmaking respecting the relevant issues, as well as the trustworthiness respecting fundamental values of the national legislative/executive branches in doing so. The remaining two criteria involve removing questions of individual rights from the judiciary's realm, something that would (and should) occur very infrequently. The manageable standards test recognizes that there may be constitutional provisions for which the Court lacks the capacity to develop clear and coherent principles. The generalized grievance guide is similar in many ways to structural issues in that it is also grounded in matters of comparative advantage and trustworthiness of results.


This article examines the effects of national border policy on cooperation and networking among local organizations in the US–Mexico borderlands. Structural and organizational factors are considered in order to build a conceptual model that explains the development of collaborative relations between public and nonpublic entities in a border context. The model explores three research questions. What factors define border organizations' level of engagement in collaborative networks? What determines the resilience of an organization participating in these networks? How does change in national policy toward the border affect cross-border cooperation and networking? Survey data collected from a sample of local organizations in a section of the US–Mexico border region is used to validate the model. Then, it is argue that policies enacted after 9/11 are "thickening" the border by creating new barriers to cooperation and, ultimately, diluting a form of social capital that is important for the region's long-term development. The model provides analytical avenues for future research in this area.


Once again, we have the same old story: The negotiations on a new financial framework for the European Union (EU) will also influence the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Critics of the CAP are increasingly using its development policy (side) effects in the debate: European subsidies would promote poverty and food insecurity in developing countries through cheap European exports and destroy prospects for those populations, especially for young people in rural areas. But is this accusation justified, and what implication does it have for the future CAP?


This paper presents the case for tax progressivity based on recent results in optimal tax theory. We consider the optimal progressivity of earnings taxation and whether capital income should be taxed. We critically discuss the academic research on these topics and when and how the results can be used for policy recommendations. We argue that a result from basic research is relevant for policy only if (a) it is based on economic mechanisms that are empirically relevant and first order to the problem, (b) it is reasonably robust to changes in the modeling assumptions, (c) the policy prescription is implementable (i.e., is socially acceptable and is not too complex). We obtain three policy recommendations from basic research that satisfy these criteria reasonably well. First, very high earners should be subject to high and rising marginal tax rates on earnings. Second, low income families should be encouraged to work with earnings subsidies, which should then be phased-out with high implicit marginal tax rates. Third, capital income should be taxed. We explain why the famous zero marginal tax rate result for the top earner in the Mirrlees model and the zero capital income tax rate results of Chamley-Judd and Atkinson-Stiglitz are not policy relevant in our view.


This paper presents the use of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), neural networks with the most promising supervised learning algorithms for automatic detection of cardiac arrhythmias based on analysis of the Electrocardiogram (ECG). Artificial Neural Network (ANN) has three layers with ten nodes in the input layer, five nodes in the hidden layer and five nodes in the output layer, which is trained using the PSO algorithm. The trained network was able to classify the ECG signal in normal signal, atrial flutter, ventricular tachycardia, sever conducting tissue and wandering a trial pacemaker. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) have been used to implement ANN trained by the supervised learning algorithms and PSO, because of their speed benefits, as well as the re-programmability of the FPGAs which can support the reconfiguration necessary to program a neural network. A VHDL Design of ANN platform is proposed to evolve the architecture ANN circuits using FPGA-Spartan 6 Evaluation board. The VHDL design platform creates ANN design files using WebPACKTM ISE 13.3 program. All the algorithms used to train the ANN showed high effectiveness with 100% classification.


In New Zealand, regional councils have the task of sustainably managing rivers and their flows. In trying to achieve this task they face enormous challenges including the need to allocate flows amongst often highly disparate in- (e.g., angling, kayaking, native fish and birds) and out-of-river (e.g., irrigation and hydro energy) values/needs. To aid in this task these councils need to know which rivers or parts of rivers are relatively more or less important on national, regional and local bases, for particular values. This task becomes even more challenging given limited information availability for many values, and no overarching policy or decision framework. In this paper I report on a FRST-funded (and less than 1-year long) project which has addressed these challenges. A multi-criteria and expert panel based methodology has been developed and applied to a wide range of values to produce lists of rivers by value, ranked according to their national, regional and local importance. The methodology is described and example applications given. The need to 'buy-in' multi-and, ultimately, interdisciplinary participation is emphasized as well as a range of ongoing implementation challenges and further needs.


High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) is a replacement of the existing Alternating Current (HVAC) solutions for the transport of electricity using underwater cables. An example is the connexion of off-shore wind turbines to the electrical network. The main consequence of chosing HVDC over HVAC is the need for large power electronic converters in place of standard low-frequency transformers. Here, we describe the system-level design of a 5 MW convert intended for HVDC connexion of large wind turbines. This converter is based on high voltage SiC transistors, which have a strong sensitivity to their junction temperature. Indeed, their on-state resistance is more than doubled between 25 and 125 °C. Although these devices are, in theory, capable to operate at higher junction temperature than silicon IGBTs, doing so results in a large drop in the efficiency of the converter.Here, we present the many parameters that must be taken into account for the thermal design of such a large converter: the cost and performance of the dies (including their variation of R DS on with temperature), the cost and performance of the cooling system and of the packaging (taking into consideration the high voltage isolation requirements), the mission profile of the wind turbine, the price of electricity.Our analysis demonstrates that there is a trade-off between the number of dies, the performance of the cooling system, and the price of electricity. Depending on the expected return on investment, it is therefore possible to optimize some key design parameters.


This research is concerned with the utilization of chance as a stimulus to encourage experiment and discovery in sculpture. The aims of this research project were: to examine the role of chance within the creative process and previous artists' use of chance; to develop and test a 'chance orientated device' which can introduce chance into any sculptor's creative process; to consider the results of such tests and postulate as to the efficaciousness of such a device. An initial interest in chance came about through the author's personal experience of making sculpture and the fact that the author derived greater pleasure from the end product when to some extent its final form had been determined by factors beyond the author's control. Also, such work appeared to receive more favourable peer judgement and praise than work in which chance had played no part. These events aroused a curiosity as to why chance appeared to have such a positive effect upon the author's creative process and whether or not this effect could be enhanced, and extended to other sculptors. A critical review of literature concerning the scientific study of creativity revealed that chance was recognised as a contributory and often catalytic factor in all fields of creativity, whilst a review of previous artists' use of chance identified the deliberate use of chance in a number of processes, products and philosophies of major art movements and influential artists throughout the twentieth century. It was concluded that chance was a significant yet neglected factor within the creative process, with little accreditation to be found. The methods that previous artists employed to introduce chance had been based upon idiosyncratic techniques which lacked the cohesion and objectivity which the principle of chance demanded. In order to rectify this, the author proposed the development of a 'chance-orientated interactive device' (C.O.J.D.), which possessed the ability to introduce chance into any person's creative process by exploiting the decision making process inherent within creativity. The device, known as ARP (Art as Random Process), exists in 'Hypercard', an Apple Macintosh application which allows non-linear organization of information in relational structures of either text, image, or sound, and has been designed to introduce chance into both the mental and physical processes of making sculpture. ARP exploits the principle of chance by offering the user an opportunity to receive random selections from various alternatives, all of which (both actually and theoretically), relate to the production of sculpture (for example, the user could receive a randomly selected material, a randomly selected shape, or a randomly selected place, etc). By making use of such chance processes, the user is freed from personal likes and dislikes because ARP provides chance combinations of elements that they perhaps would not have chosen themselves. By encouraging users to consider 'random selections', ARP aims to stimulate creativity by acting as a 'habit breaker' to the more experienced sculptor, and as an 'eye-opener' to the less experienced sculpture student. The development of ARP has involved several experiments (using both author and others as participating subjects), which not only tested the design of the device, but attempted to measure the difference, if any, between sculpture produced by purely 'personal decision making procedures', and sculpture produced by 'chance effected decision making procedures'. Ultimately, ARP has been tested and endorsed by a number of prominent sculptors, the majority of whom found ARP to be fascinating, relevant and stimulating. The prototype has successfully demonstrated the immense potential for the future development of ARP, not only within the sculptor's studio, but as an educational device (in any creative profession), and as a methodological 'tool' for further research.


Despite the plethora of research scrutinising the role of high performance work systems (HPWS) in enhancing organisational performance, there is little consensus about the structure of these systems and processes underlying its relationship to organisational and individual outcomes. This research therefore advances the existing literature by conducting a more in-depth study of how and why HPWS relate to organisational performance. In particular, I adopt the mixed methods approach to uncover unexplored issues regarding the efficacy of HPWS on organisational performance. The qualitative phase of research examines managers" perceptions of HPWS in Vietnamese service organisations, based on a sample of 17 semi-structured interviews as many firms. The interview protocol is deployed as a rough guide to the discussion, and the data are analysed through content analysis. The findings demonstrate that HPWS have been pursued and valued by Vietnamese organisations. The interviewees help to conceptualise the construct of HPWS in the Vietnamese context and provide evidence that the use of HPWS impacts both employee outcomes (e.g., employee attitudes, behaviours, creativity, productivity), and organisational performance (e.g., firm growth, profit growth and market performance). The evidence also establishes a linkage between HR practices and organisational innovation. Despite the small sample size, the in-depth data reveal useful insights regarding the prevalence of HPWS in the Vietnamese context and form the foundation for validating a scale for HPWS for the research context. The quantitative phase of research develops a multilevel model of how HPWS influences both individual- and firm-level performance, based on self-determination theory, AMO theory and componential theory of creativity. Using a multilevel data set of 56 service firms (109 managers, 526 employees working with 153 supervisors), the M-plus software (Version 7.3) is adopted to test the hypothesized multilevel structural equation models. The findings demonstrate that the proposed hypotheses are mostly supported at the levels of analysis. At the firm-level, (1) collective human capital, climate for initiative and climate for psychological safety partially mediate the relationship between HPWS execution and firm-level innovation; and (2) the relationship between firm-level innovation and firm market performance is moderated by environmental uncertainty. At the individual-level, (1) trust in management and trust in supervisor partially mediate the relationship between HPWS perception and employee creativity; and (2) the relationship between trust in management and trust in supervisor and employee creativity is not positively moderated by employee psychological empowerment. At the cross-level, (1) HPWS execution positively influences HPWS perception; (2) the relationship between HPWS execution and trust in management, trust in supervisor is partially mediated by HPWS perception; (3) employee creativity, in turn mediates the relationship between trusts in management and supervisor, and firm-level innovation; (4) and firm-level innovation mediates the link between employee creativity and firm market performance. The findings highlight the importance of new mechanisms including mediating and moderating components (i.e., trusts in management and supervisor, creativity and environmental uncertainty) in the HPWS – performance relationship. By analysing the mixture of qualitative and quantitative data, the current study enriches our understanding of the underlying mechanisms through which HPWS influences organisational performance outcomes.


The Barabási–Albert (BA) model is a famous complex network model that generates scale-free networks. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) had been thought to be approximately scale-free through lots of empirical research. Based on the BA model, we propose an evolution model for WSNs. According to actual influence factors such as the remainder energy of each sensor and physical link capability of each sensor, our evolution model constructs WSNs by using a preferential attachment mechanism. Through simulation and analysis, we can prove that our evolution model would make the total energy consumption of the WSNs more efficient and have a superior random node error tolerance. Keywords—Wireless sensor network; Complex networks; Evolution model; Energy-aware; Energy-balanced


In the current phase of our history, crises abound in many spheres of life - political, ecological, economic, personal, and so on. When crises manifest themselves in society we often turn to education as a panacea for addressing these societal ills as if 'education' might not be part of the problem. All education is ideological in the sense that an educational activity can not be neutral. Educational ideologies have shaped different approaches to environmental education, and have influenced its implementation in formal education. Through a critical examination of educational ideologies that underpin environmental education, I explore possibilities and constraints (poverty) of education in addressing environmental problems. I argue that in order for environmental education to avoid the status of a peripheral pedagogy, it needs to be liberated from the ideological constraints of how it is often defined. Also, I point out that a language of probability is needed for its systemic implementation. I contend that in South Africa OBE might be a vehicle for the systemic implementation of environmental education.


1,4-Diaminobenzene was studied for its electrochemical influence on the corrosion behaviour of mild steel in dilute H2SO4 and HCl acid at ambient temperature with the application of weight loss technique, open circuit potential measurement and potentiodynamic polarization test. Results show the inhibition efficiency of the organic derivative varied with concentration with maximum inhibition efficiency of 70% and 78.2% at 0.093M inhibitor concentration in H2SO4 acid and a maximum inhibition efficiency of 81.1% and 94.3% at 0.069M inhibitor concentration in HCl acid from weight loss and polarization tests proving to be more effective in HCl. Potential measurement results varied, with passivity potentials being maintained at specific concentrations. SEM observations showed a significant morphological appearance with contrasts micrographs from uninhibited samples. X-ray diffractometry confirmed the absence of reaction products and phase complexes associated with corrosion. Statistical analysis showed relevance and statistical significance of concentration and exposure time on the inhibition performance of 1, 4- diaminobenzene.


In this paper, it is shortly discussed that what are the units involved in the dairy industry, what processes are involved in it; the work done in these processes; from what processes we can obtain the wastewater and what are the sources of wastewater in these units and the effect of this wastewater on the environment. These industries discharge wastewater which is characterized by high chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand, nutrients, and organic and inorganic contents. Such wastewaters, if discharged without proper treatment, severely pollute receiving water bodies and disrupts complete ecosystem. Moreover, the Indian government has imposed very strict rules and regulations for the effluent discharge to protect the environment. Thus, appropriate treatment methods are required so as to meet the effluent discharge standards.


This article studies eight European countries, investigating how the level of antisemitism as registered in national populations relates to the perception of antisemitism by the Jewish population in the same country. Furthermore, the article empirically identifies distinct aspects of antisemitism, deconstructing the concept of antisemitism and breaking it up into three kinds of empirically differently based and composed antisemitisms (note the plural!): classic antisemitism, Israel-derived antisemitism and Enlightenment-based antisemitism. The article also elaborates on some more general implications for the understanding of the character of antisemitism in contemporary Europe, and based on that, presents some perspectives on the development of the three distinct antisemitisms in contemporary Europe.


There are several examples in natural systems that exhibit the self-organizing behavior of segregation when different types of units interact with each other. One of the best examples is a system of biological cells of heterogeneous types that has the ability to self-organize into specific formations, form different types of organs and, ultimately, develop into a living organism. Previous research in this area has indicated that such segregations in biological cells and tissues are made possible because of the differences in adhesivity between various types of cells or tissues. Inspired by this differential adhesivity model, this technical note presents a decentralized approach utilizing differential artificial potential to achieve the segregation behavior in a swarm of heterogeneous robotic agents. The method is based on the proposition that agents experience different magnitudes of potential while interacting with agents of different types. Stability analysis of the system with the proposed approach in the Lyapunov sense is carried out in this technical note. Extensive simulations and analytical investigations suggest that the proposed method would lead a population of two types of agents to a segregated configuration.


The refractive index of H2 is shown to decrease linearly as a function of Stokes power and, to a much lesser extent, pump power in a nonresonant cw Raman laser. The dominant source of the index shift is shown to be thermal and significantly larger than dispersion associated with the Raman resonance. A steady-state theoretical model based on internal heating that is due to inelastic Raman scattering events accurately describes the observed behavior. With this model, frequency pulling of the Raman cavity resonance and phase distortions of the intracavity Gaussian beam are predicted for various levels of generated Stokes power.


Introduction Private sector provision of HIV treatment is increasing in low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC). However, there is limited documentation of its outcomes. This protocol reports a proposed systematic review that will synthesise clinical outcomes of private sector HIV treatment in LMIC. Methods and analysis This review will be conducted in accordance with the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analyses protocols. Primary outcomes will include: (1) proportion of eligible patients initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART); (2) proportion of those on ART with <1000 copies/mL; (3) rate of all-cause mortality among ART recipients. Secondary outcomes will include: (1) proportion receiving Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia prophylaxis; (2) proportion with >90% ART adherence (based on any measure reported); (3) proportion screened for non-communicable diseases (specifically cervical cancer, diabetes, hypertension and mental ill health); (iv) proportion screened for tuberculosis. A search of five electronic bibliographical databases (Embase, Medline, PsychINFO, Web of Science and CINAHL) and reference lists of included articles will be conducted to identify relevant articles reporting HIV clinical outcomes. Searches will be limited to LMIC. No age, publication date, study-design or language limits will be applied. Authors of relevant studies will be contacted for clarification. Two reviewers will independently screen citations and abstracts, identify full text articles for inclusion, extract data and appraise the quality and bias of included studies. Outcome data will be pooled to generate aggregative proportions of primary and secondary outcomes. Descriptive statistics and a narrative synthesis will be presented. Heterogeneity and sensitivity assessments will be conducted to aid interpretation of results. Ethics and dissemination The results of this review will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed scientific manuscript and at international scientific conferences. Results will inform quality improvement strategies, replication of identified good practices, potential policy changes, and future research. PROSPERO registration number CRD42016040053.


Head and neck cancer encompass different malignancies that develop in and around the throat, larynx, nose, sinuses and mouth. Most head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) that arise in the flat squamous cells that makeup the thin layer of tissue on the surface of anatomical structures in the head and neck. Each year, HNSCC is diagnosed in more than 600,000 people worldwide, with about 50,000 new cases. HNSCC is considered extremely curable if detected early. But the problem remains in treatment of inoperable cases, residues or late stages. Circadian rhythm regulation has a big role in developing various carcinomas, and head and neck tumors are no exception. A number of studies have reported that alteration in clock gene expression is associated with several cancers, including HNSCC. Analyses on circadian clock genes and their association with HNSCC have shown that expression of PER1, PER2, PER3, CRY1, CRY2, CKIε, TIM, and BMAL1 are deregulated in HNSCC tissues. This review paper comprehensively presents data on deregulation of circadian genes in HNSCC and critically evaluates their potential diagnostics and prognostics role in this type of pathology.


Achieving the Istanbul Programme of Action by 2020: Tracking Progress, Accelerating Transformations is the second contribution from the LDC IV Monitor – an independent partnership set up to assess the outcome of the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (UN LDC IV) with a view to accelerating the delivery of the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA).
The volume highlights recent critical achievements and missed opportunities for the LDCs in the context of an unfavourable global economic environment and inadequate delivery of global commitments. Along with this, it focuses on four specific themes: structural transformation and export diversification in the LDCs; prospects of graduation of countries from the LDC group; implications of the 2030 Agenda in view of LDC concerns; and new challenges facing LDCs in their pursuit for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Monitor's earlier contributions included a set of two reports tracking the state of implementation of the IPoA - a volume on Analytical Perspectives and a Synthesis Report which captured the broad messages and key recommendations.
LDC4monitor.org


This thesis uses subjective well-being data to understand the impact that an individual's economic circumstances have on their well-being. Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5 look specifically at the role of income on well-being; whilst Chapters 6 and 7 focus on the effect of employment status. This thesis draws heavily on psychological concepts and ideas; highlighting that an interdisciplinary approach to subjective well-being data can have substantial benefits to the study of well-being.
Chapter 2 seeks to understand how people compare their incomes with one another. Relative judgment models from psychology are explored and the evidence suggests that individuals may be concerned with their rank position rather than their absolute position or how they compare relative to a mean level. Applying this idea to relative income studies it is shown that an individual's rank income provides a better explanation of life satisfaction than either absolute income or their income relative to the mean income of those around them.
Chapter 3 highlights that although more money may reduce psychological distress it is a relatively inefficient way to do so. This chapter provides medical evidence to suggest that psychological therapy is a more efficient way to reduce psychological distress. Income growth does not appear to increase national well-being in developed countries so this chapter suggests that increasing access to mental health care could be a better way to raise national well-being. Personality, although appropriately controlled for, is mostly ignored by economists researching subjective well-being data. Chapters 4, 5 and 6 therefore explore the use of personality measures in economic subjective well-being research. Chapter 4 proposes a new methodological technique that incorporates personality measures. Chapters 5 and 6 then show that personality interacts with important economic variables. These chapters show that personality is an important aspect to be understood by economists.
Chapter 7 demonstrates the importance of using longitudinal data to understand causal effects on well-being. Improvements to occupational status have been argued to lead directly to improvements to health. This argument has been based solely on the cross-sectional association that individuals with high occupational status tend to have better health. Chapter 7 shows that improvements to occupational status actually tend to increase mental strain.
Taken altogether these studies suggest that subjective well-being data provides a useful arena in which interdisciplinary research can be conducted.


ABSTRACT Beach litter found along the Bristol Channel and the coastline of mid-Wales, UK, together with litter obtained from Turkey, Malta, Spain, Tunisia and U.S.A. tourist beaches, and litter gathered from rural roads in Gloucestershire, England, UK, was analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA). PCA distinguished between riverine, sewage-related debris and shipping/fishing source items, but sourcing beach user litter was more problematic. This was attributed to a difference in litter transport mechanisms. PCA for the Bristol Channel distinguished between riverine and marine sources (inner vs. outer channel) and also a sewage sourced group. PCA indicated a land-based source for marine debris found on Mediterranean and USA beaches together with roadside litter from England. Three 'litter markers' introduced into the analyses, were comprised of different source groupings: 'vessels' (both fishing and other sea going vessels), 'beach users', and sewage-related debris (SRD). The former stood out from the latter two markers with beach user and SRD markers appearing to be indistinguishable. The item numbers in each group were six, five and three respectively and this could account for the findings.


In order to analyse the representativity of samplers taken on the sites of the OPUR, 2 approaches were followed: theoretical and experimental. The theoretical approach has permit to respect 7 criteria out of 9 recommended at the time of the choice and the installation of an automatic sampler. The experimental tests showed a satisfactory homogeneity of concentrations in the various sections of measurement, a good representativity of samplings when the pipes are clean a contamination of samples by clogging of samplings pipes because of erosion of biofilms, an influence of temperature and shelf life on the samples intended for the analysis of ammonium and dissolved parameters. The contamination will be eliminated by samplings wastewater then clean water before each measurement campaign and by setting out of the water of samplings pipes. All the analyses will be carried out immediately.


The current design of the ITER cask for Upper Port Plugs has been evaluated. Careful reduction of the number of mechanical degrees of freedom is an opportunity to relax the tolerances in the design, resulting in cost reduction and reliability increase. A new kinematical design for the tractor module has a higher stiffness to weight ratio, reduces actuator forces by a factor four and minimizes cross-talk between lift emote handling lug handling pper Port Plug nterfaces and rotation motion. Non-cantilevered handling is recommended to reduce wheel loads on the tractor by a factor six and to simplify guidance. At the system level the tubular guide (TG) is proposed, a semipermanent 3.5 m long tube which is an extension of the Upper Port. Cask docking is simplified and the risk of the cask tilting is prevented. Redesigning the system concept is recommended and the TG looks promising. Since a system level redesign impacts the external interfaces, overall feasibility has to be investigated.


New therapeutic options and progress of approved therapies have made Lysosomal Storage Diseases (LSDs) one of the most exciting group of diseases. This review aims to summarize current achievements in these particular disorders and to give an outlook towards possible future treatment options. Enzyme replacement therapy is the gold standard for Gaucher disease, Fabry disease, Mucopolysaccharidosis type I, II, and VI, and for Pompe disease. Besides this, substrate reduction has been approved for Gaucher disease and Niemann-Pick disease type C. However, clinical outcome in particular for neurologic affection in these disorders has been disappointing. In selected patients, bone marrow or stem cell transplantation may be beneficial. Whether or not, treatment with pharmaceutical chaperones may be able to improve in particular the neurologic outcome, remains open. Animal studies on gene therapy were promising, however, clinical application will need several years.


Nonlinear site models are an important part of ground‐motion prediction equations (GMPEs) and can be constructed in a number of ways. If numerous soil‐site strong‐motion records contain the effect of strong nonlinear soil response, the parameters for the nonlinear model can be a part of the regression parameters for GMPEs. It is also possible to derive nonlinear site models by numerical simulation. However, the number of strong‐motion records from Japan that contain the effect of strong nonlinear soil response is still too small to derive nonlinear site terms. We present a model of nonlinear site terms using site class as the site parameter in GMPEs based on a 1D equivalent linear model. The 1D model was constructed based on the shear‐wave velocity profiles from the KiK‐net strong‐motion stations with a wide range of site periods, soil depth, and impedance ratios. The rock‐site strong‐motion records were from different earthquake categories in Japan and the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center dataset. Those records had a wide range of earthquake magnitudes, source distances, and peak ground accelerations. A random effects regression model was fitted to the calculated spectral amplification ratios, accounting for the effect of site impedance ratios, earthquake magnitudes, and source distances of the rock‐site records. We also designed a method to adjust the 1D model so it can be used in a GMPE, accounting for the fact that a 1D model is an overly simplistic assumption for many real strong‐motion recording stations in many parts of the world.

Online Material: Tables of nonlinear site model parameters.


This paper presents the results of recording Bragg gratings in a birefringent optical fiber having increased photosensitivity with a single 20-ns pulse from a KrF excimer laser. A description is given of a stand for recording fiber Bragg gratings by the phase-mask method and of experimentally produced Bragg gratings in a birefringent optical fiber with elliptical stress cladding, having an efficiency greater than 2% and a reflection spectrum about 0.1 nm wide at half-height.


Tea manufacturing industries in India use natural gas, tea drying oil, wood, and coal for process heat. India is the second largest producer of tea [(1,137.07, China 1,761.00) million kilogram] in 2012. About 0.6–1.2 kg of coal is required to produce one kilogram of dried tea with average moisture of 2.5–3 percentage (w.b.). Biomass gasification is an established renewable energy technology for heat and power applications. Biomass gasifier based tea drying using five biomasses namely shisham (Delbergia sissoo), gulmohar (Delonix regia), bamboo (Banbusea Tulda), dimaru (Ficus lepidosa wall), and neem (Melia Azedarach L) were considered as feedstock for an experimental 10 kW thermal downdraft gasifier cum tea dryer. It was observed that bamboo chips producer gas gave the best calorific value (4.85 MJ Nm–3). Shisham gave average calorific value of producer gas 4.83 MJ Nm–3. Therefore, biomass gasification may be recommended for partial conventional energy substitution in tea manufacturing industries in India.


This article expands upon the idea that repeat players influence the development of law by settling cases they are likely to lose and litigating cases they are likely to win. Through empirical analysis of judicial opinions interpreting the Family and Medical Leave Act, it shows how the rule-making opportunities in the litigation process affect the development of law and the judicial determination of statutory rights. In addition, the article explains how early judicial opinions might influence later judicial interpretations of the law. Although individuals may successfully mobilize the law to gain benefits in their disputes, that success often removes their experiences from the judicial determination of rights, limiting law's capacity to produce social change. This paradox of losing by winning separates the dispute resolution function of courts from their law-making function and raises questions about the legitimacy of law.


Although much of the work in the study of negotiation of meaning subsequent to Krashen (1982, 1985) support the notion that negotiation of meaning leads to comprehensible input, which in turn results in acquisition, I question the prevailing assumption based on four reasons. Firstly, negotiation studies show a tendency to under-estimate the role of adjustment. Secondly, it is questionable whether the negotiation for comprehensible input plays a crucial role in language acquisition where the input obtained by the learner is merely simplified input, not optimal input. Thirdly, the study of negotiation of meaning focuses upon meaning in the narrow sense of the word. Limiting the study of negotiation to lexical inadequacies does not guarantee an understanding of successful acquisition. I agree with Neustupný that interactive competence is an ingredient for acquisition. This notion embraces three areas of competence: sociocultural, sociolinguistic and linguistic which are inseparable for understanding language acquisition. Lastly, the relationship between negotiation and acquisition needs to be considered in terms of language learning strategies. The above four points indicate that the framework of negotiation for language acquisition needs to be reconstructed through a focus on the adjustment of inadequacies.


Small isolated populations often show lower genetic variability. Demographic bottlenecks lead to loss of genetic variation too. Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) have been isolated since the Pleistocene on Mednyi and Bering Islands (Commander Islands). In 1970–1980, the Mednyi population passed through a severe bottleneck due to a mange outbreak. Previous studies showed lack of genetic diversity in the contemporary Mednyi population that could be due to the long history of isolation and/or the recent bottleneck. To test both factors, we analyzed the mtDNA D-loop fragment and five microsatellites in pre-bottleneck Mednyi museum samples. Also, contemporary Mednyi, Bering and mainland Alaskan Arctic foxes were analyzed. Registered genetic variability in historical Mednyi was higher than in contemporary Mednyi Arctic foxes, but lower than in contemporary the Bering population. Our data confirms that the bottleneck reduced an already depleted polymorphism in Mednyi Arctic foxes. Lack of genetic variability could be a reason why the Mednyi population did not recover following the outbreak of mange.


In this work, we demonstrate for the first time the feasibility of stand-off laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (ST-LIBS) for the analysis of distant submerged objects. The applicability of underwater stand-off LIBS is highly challenging since it involves the delivery of a focused laser pulse toward the distant target through the aqueous media and then the transmission of the light emitted by the laser-induced plasma back to the detection system. Experiments were designed to gain fundamental knowledge regarding LIBS analysis in an underwater open-path configuration. Samples were analyzed at distances up to 80 cm from the sensor at a solid–water interface. Effective plasma formation was achieved using dual pulse excitation with Nd:YAG laser pulses at 532 nm. Intense and well resolved emission signals were observed with interpulse delay times close to 500 μs, whereas the lifetime of the laser-induced plasma was only a few μs. The effect of water temperature and the influence of the underwater optical path on the LIBS signal have also been evaluated.


This paper presents a combination of active and passive filter for the elimination of harmonics produced by non-linear loads. In the proposed technique passive filter is used to eliminate lower order harmonics and active filter is used to eliminate higher order harmonics, and active filter also improves the filtering characteristics of passive filter. By the use this system lesser rating of active filter is required leading to a practical and economical system. The present paper presents a compensation method that is programmed in MATLABSIMULINK environment


ABSTRACT Chagas' disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi is endemic in Latin America. T. cruzi presents heterogeneous populations and comprises two main genetic lineages, named T. cruzi I and T. cruzi II. Diagnosis in the chronic phase is based on conventional serological tests, including indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and diagnosis in the acute phase based on parasitological methods, including hemoculture. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic procedures of Chagas' disease in adult patients in the chronic phase by using a PCR assay and conventional serological tests, including TESA-blot as the gold standard. Samples were obtained from 240 clinical chronic chagasic patients. The sensitivities, compared to that of TESA-blot, were 70% for PCR using the kinetoplast region, 75% for PCR using the nuclear repetitive region, 99% for IIF, and 95% for ELISA. According to the serological tests results, we recommend that researchers assess the reliability and sensitivity of the commercial kit Chagatest ELISA recombinant, version 3.0 (Chagatest Rec v3.0; Wiener Lab, Rosario, Argentina), due to the lack of sensitivity. Based on our analysis, we concluded that PCR cannot be validated as a conventional diagnostic technique for Chagas' disease. These data have been corroborated by low levels of concordance with serology test results. It is recommended that PCR be used only for alternative diagnostic support. Using the nuclear repetitive region of T. cruzi, PCR could also be applicable for monitoring patients receiving etiologic treatment.


Cancer and the LGBT Community: Unique Perspectives from Risk to Survivorship covers the scope of current knowledge of cancer in the LGBT community across the entire cancer continuum, from understanding risk and prevention strategies in LGBT groups, across issues of diagnosis and treatment of LGBT patients, to unique aspects of survivorship and death and dying in these communities. Each chapter includes an in depth analysis of the state of the science, discusses the many remaining challenges and unanswered questions, and makes recommendations for research, policy and programmatic strategies required to address these. Focus is also placed on the diversity of the LGBT communities. Issues that are unique to cancer in LGBT populations are addressed including the social, economic, and cultural factors that affect cancer risk behaviors, barriers to screening, utilization of health care services, and legislation that directly impacts the health care of LGBT patients, healthcare settings that are heterosexist, and unique aspects of patient-provider relationships such as disclosure of sexual orientation, and the need for inclusion of expanded definition of family to include families of choice. The implications of policy change, its impact on healthcare for LGBT patients are highlighted, as are the remaining challenges that need to be addressed. A roadmap for LGBT cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, survivorship, including treatment and end of life care is offered for future researchers, policy makers, advocates and health care providers


This document analyses the current state of IDR routing with respect to RFC1126 and other IDR requirements and design efforts. It is the companion document to "Requirements for Inter-Domain Routing" [I-D.irtf-routing-reqs], which is a discussion of requirements for the future routing architecture and future routing protocols. Publication of this document is in accordance with the consensus of the active contributors the IRTF's Routing Research Group.


This report presents the metadata information infrastructure project funded by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan. The goal of this project is to build a metadata schema registry to support sharing of metadata schemas on the Internet and promote reuse of metadata schemas and metadata interoperability. The registry is designed based on the Singapore Framework. Partners in this project include several major memory organizations, research institutions, and private sector entities in Japan. This project has collected several metadata schemas from the partners and converted them into the formal project schema based on RDF.

This report first presents the background and goal of the project, and then the requirements and design of the registry system named Meta-Bridge.


Innovation is expected to be the driving force behind economic growth and societal development during the 21st Century as the breadth and speed of technological innovation increases. Institutional innovation is essential to support the magnitude of technological change. The institutional innovation that is called for rests on four building blocks: efficiency, cooperation, flexibility and transparency. Governments, academic and educational institutions, NGO/NPOs and private enterprises all play important roles in the institutional transformation that is required. Public–private partnerships can be particularly effective in bringing about change. We suggest governments spearhead the institutional innovation effort by facilitating process reforms and adopting polices that support innovation.


Abstract. Aerosol intercomparisons are inherently complex as they convolve
instrument-dependent detection efficiencies vs. size (which often change
with pressure, temperature, or humidity) and variations in the sampled
aerosol population, in addition to differences in chemical detection
principles (e.g., inorganic-only nitrate vs. inorganic plus
organic nitrate for two instruments). The NASA Atmospheric Tomography
Mission (ATom) spanned four separate aircraft deployments which sampled the remote marine troposphere from 86∘ S to 82∘ N over
different seasons with a wide range of aerosol concentrations and
compositions. Aerosols were quantified with a set of carefully characterized and calibrated instruments, some based on particle sizing and some on composition measurements. This study aims to provide a critical evaluation of inlet transmissions impacting aerosol intercomparisons, and of aerosol quantification during ATom, with a focus on the aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS). The volume determined from physical sizing instruments (aerosol microphysical properties, AMP, 2.7 nm to 4.8 µm optical diameter) is compared in detail with that derived from the chemical measurements of the AMS and the single particle soot photometer (SP2). Special attention was paid to characterize the upper end of the AMS size-dependent transmission with in-field calibrations, which we show to be critical for accurate comparisons across instruments with inevitably different size cuts. Observed differences between campaigns emphasize the importance of characterizing AMS transmission for each instrument and field study for meaningful interpretation of instrument comparisons. Good agreement (regression slope =0.949 and 1.083 for ATom-1 and ATom-2, respectively; SD =0.003) was found between the composition-based volume (including AMS-quantified sea salt) and that derived from AMP after applying the AMS inlet transmission. The AMS captured, on average, 95±15 % of the standard PM1 volume (referred to as the URG Corp. standard cut 1 µm cyclone operated at its nominal efficiency). These results support the absence of significant unknown biases and the appropriateness of the accuracy estimates for AMS total mass and volume for the mostly aged air masses encountered in ATom. The particle size ranges (and their altitude dependence) that are sampled by the AMS and complementary composition instruments (such as soluble acidic gases and aerosol, SAGA, and particle analysis by laser mass spectrometry, PALMS) are investigated to inform their use in future studies.


This Article considers, first, available economic, social, and cultural analyses of the impact of intellectual property protection in developing countries. Economics provides a useful set of analytical tools and are directly relevant, in particular since the successfully arranged marriage of IP and trade rules after which it became inevitable that IP rules would be measured using an economic yardstick. The Paper also considers the claim that making proper intellectual property policy is impossible or inherently unreliable because theoretical models are inadequate or valid empirical data unavailable. Against this backdrop, the Article then examines the emergence of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). TRIPS added a significant level of comfort for multinational corporations deciding when and where to export to new markets or expand research and development efforts. The Article also considers the Doha Ministerial Declaration of November 2001 and follow-up work on access to medicines. In the second Part, this Article discusses recent economic analyses of the impact of IP protection on bilateral trade flows and foreign direct investment (FDI). Wherever possible, lessons about the right level of intellectual protection for developing countries are drawn. Recent efforts in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the WTO are also discussed. In a third and final part, the Article looks at the current quest for a balanced approach and suggests ways in which such a balanced IP regime could be constructed, as part of a broad, knowledge-oriented economic development strategy.


Objective: Oral cancer refers to malignant tumor that occurs in the mouth. Immunosuppression is frequently accompanied with different stages of oral cancer. Regulatory T cell immune function and cytokines secretion are of great significance to the oral cancer immunotherapy and recovery.
Patients and Methods: In this study, monoclonal antibody technique and flow cytometry were used to analyze the characteristics of T lymphocyte immunity in patients with oral cancer. The levels of T lymphocyte subsets, Interferon (IFN)-γ, Transforming Growth Factor (TGF)-β and Interleukin (IL)-10 in peripheral blood of patients with oral cancer before and after operation or chemotherapy containing paclitaxel and cisplatin were tested.
Results: The expressions of CD3, CD4, along with the ratio of CD4/CD8 in patients with oral cancer were significantly lower than that in healthy volunteers. On the contrary, the levels of CD8 and CD56 were obviously up-regulated in comparison (P<0.05). The amounts of TGF-β and IL-10 were significantly elevated in patients before surgery or chemotherapy compared with that in healthy control, whereas the treatment of surgery or chemotherapy obviously inhibited those expressions (P<0.05). However, IFN-γ level did not present a significant change before and after surgery or chemotherapy.
Conclusion: Our data demonstrated that immunosuppression were found in patients with oral cancer and the treatment of surgery or chemotherapy can effectively alleviate the immunosuppression, which provides academic basis of immunotherapy against immunosuppression during conventional treatment of surgery or chemotherapy.


Systemic effects on T-cell-mediated antitumor immunity, on expression of T-cell adhesion/homing receptors, and on the promotion of T-cell infiltration of neoplastic tissue may represent key steps for the efficacy of immunological therapies of cancer. In this study, we investigated whether these processes can be promoted by s.c. administration of low-dose (0.5 microg/kg) recombinant human interleukin-12 (rHuIL-12) to metastatic melanoma patients. A striking burst of HLA-restricted CTL precursors (CTLp) directed to autologous tumor was documented in peripheral blood by a high-efficiency limiting dilution analysis technique within a few days after rHuIL-12 injection. A similar burst in peripheral CTLp frequency was observed even when looking at response to a single tumor-derived peptide, as documented by an increase in Melan-A/Mart-1(27-35)-specific CTLp in two HLA-A*0201+ patients by limiting dilution analysis and by staining peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) with HLA-A*0201-melanoma antigen-A/melanoma antigen recognized by T cells (Melan-A/Mart)-1 tetrameric complexes. The CTLp burst was associated, in PBLs, with enhanced expression of T-cell adhesion/homing receptors CD11a/CD18, CD49d, CD44, and with increased proportion of cutaneous lymphocyte antigen (CLA)-positive T cells. This was matched by a marked increase, in serum, of soluble forms of the endothelial cell adhesion molecules E-selectin, vascular cell adhesion molecules (VCAM)-1 and intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAM)-1. Infiltration of neoplastic tissue by CDS+ T cells with a memory and cytolytic phenotype was found by immunohistochemistry in eight of eight posttreatment metastatic lesions but not in five of five pretreatment metastatic lesions from three patients. Increased tumor necrosis and/or fibrosis were also found in several posttherapy lesions of two of three patients in comparison with pretherapy metastases. These results provide the first evidence that rHuIL-12 can boost the frequency of circulating antitumor CTLp in tumor patients, enhances expression of ligand receptor pairs contributing to the lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1/ICAM-1, very late antigen-4/VCAM-1, and CLA/E-selectin adhesion pathways, and promotes infiltration of neoplastic lesions by CD8+ memory T cells in a clinical setting.


Abstract
 The microflora of hypogean environments has been studied increasingly worldwide. However, some sites have hardly been examined or not studied at all; this is the case for the Giant Cave, a Karst show cave located near Trieste, Italy. In the present study we began characterizing the Giant Cave Lampenflora by using a polyphasic approach, focusing, in particular, on three Leptolyngbya-like strains named GR2, GR4, and GR13. Light and electron microscopic observations were carried out and the water-soluble pigment composition was analysed. Phylogenetic reconstruction, based on the 16S rRNA gene and the 16S-23S ITS region, was performed to better understand the taxonomic position of these strains, complemented by 16S-23S ITS secondary structure analysis. Ecological and geographical data for the investigated strains and for the other cyanobacterial strains grouping with them in the phylogenetic reconstructions were also considered. Based on the results, strain GR2 was ascribed to the species Heteroleibleinia purpurascens (Hansgirg) Anagnostidis & Komárek; strains GR4 and GR13 were attributed to a new genus of the family Leptolyngbyaceae, Timaviella Sciuto & Moro, gen. nov., and represented two distinct species: Timaviella circinata Sciuto & Moro and Timaviella karstica Sciuto & Moro.


The distribution of incomes in South Africa in 2004, ten years after the transition to democracy, was probably more unequal than it had been under apartheid. In this book, Jeremy Seekings and Nicoli Nattrass explain why this is so, offering a detailed and comprehensive analysis of inequality in South Africa from the midtwentieth century to the early twenty-first century. They show that the basis of inequality shifted in the last decades of the twentieth century from race to class. Formal deracialization of public policy did not reduce the actual disadvantages experienced by the poor nor the advantages of the rich. The fundamental continuity in patterns of advantage and disadvantage resulted from underlying continuities in public policy, or what Seekings and Nattrass call the "distributional regime." The post-apartheid distributional regime continues to divide South Africans into insiders and outsiders. The insiders, now increasingly multiracial, enjoy good access to well-paid, skilled jobs; the outsiders lack skills and employment.


A detailed analysis of the electronic and structural properties of the filled tetrahedral semiconductors Li3AlP2 and Li3AlAs2 has been performed, using the full potential linearized augmented plane wave method within the density functional theory. Experimental results about the structural properties, involves the positions of the elements Al and P(As). Since there were not any other efforts about the positions of the Li elements in these compounds, so to our knowledge there was no theoretical study about them till now. In the first step the interactional forces between atoms were minimized. The calculated internal coordinations of atoms agree well with the experimental results. Using these positions we obtained the equilibrium lattice constants, bulk modulus and their pressure derivative. In the second step the electronic properties of Li3AlP2 and Li3AlAs2 have been studied. The study of total and partial electronic DOS indicate the main contribution of DOS consists of P(As) 3p(4p) and P(As) 3s(4s) states. Our band structure calculation verifies that Li3AlP2 is an indirect gap semiconductor with a value of about 2.36 eV between valance band maximum occuring at H point and conduction band minimum occuring at Г point; though the difference between the direct (2.38 eV) and indirect (2.36 eV) is very small. We also found that Li3AlAs2 is a direct band gap (1.49 eV) in the center of BZ.


We study the process pp -> t tbar H at sqrt(s)=14 TeV where H -> WW. We focus on final states that include three or four leptons. Signal and background samples are generated at leading order (LO) and normalized to next-to-leading order (NLO) calculations. We employ the "Snowmass" detector simulation and event reconstruction. Cuts are selected which provide a substantial signal yield while suppressing the main backgrounds. Systematic uncertainties are estimated for the overall normalization of signal and background processes. With no improvement in the current theoretical uncertainties on sigma(t tbar H), we project a precision on a top quark Yukawa coupling of approximately 16% in 300 fb^-1 and 9% in 3000 fb^-1. If the theoretical uncertainties are halved, these improve to 14% and 6%, respectively.


Glycation, a non-enzymatic glycosylation of proteins, induces tissue damage in association with various diseases and aging phenomena. Pentosidine, an advanced glycation end product, is involved in aging phenomena such as tissue stiffness. In this study, we aimed to find a potent anti-glycation food material and to verify its health benefits by clinical trial. From among 681 hot water plant extracts, lemon balm (Melissa officinalis; LB) leaf extract was selected and revealed to have more potent inhibitory activity for pentosidine formation than a representative anti-glycation agent, aminoguanidine. Rosmarinic acid (RA), a typical polyphenol in Lamiaceae plants, was identified as a major active component in LB extract (LBE). Furthermore, LBE or RA dose-dependently suppressed glycation-associated reactions such as increased fluorescence, yellowing of collagen fiber sheets, and degeneration of the fibrous structure of elastin fiber sheets. An open-label, parallel-group comparative trial was conducted in 28 healthy Japanese subjects aged 31-65 y who consumed LB tea (LB group) or barley tea (Control group) for 6 wk. The LB group showed significant reductions in brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, reflecting arterial stiffness, and b* (yellow) color values in forearm skin compared with the Control group. A gender-stratified analysis revealed that cheek skin elasticity was significantly improved in the LB group compared with the Control group only in female subjects. It is concluded that the hot water extract of LB leaf has the potential to provide health benefits with regard to glycation-associated tissue damage in blood vessels and skin of healthy adults.


"Cruel, merciful; peace-loving, a fighter; despising Negroes and letting them fight and vote; protecting slavery and freeing slaves." Abraham Lincoln was, W. E. B. Du Bois declared, "big enough to be inconsistent." Big enough, indeed, for every generation to have its own Lincoln - unifier or emancipator, egalitarian or racist. In an effort to reconcile these views, and to offer a more complex and nuanced account of a figure so central to American history, this book focuses on the most controversial aspect of Lincoln's thought and politics - his attitudes and actions regarding slavery and race. Drawing attention to the limitations of Lincoln's judgment and policies without denying his magnitude, the book provides the most comprehensive and even-handed account available of Lincoln's contradictory treatment of black Americans in matters of slavery in the South and basic civil rights in the North.George Fredrickson shows how Lincoln's antislavery convictions, however genuine and strong, were held in check by an equally strong commitment to the rights of the states and the limitations of federal power. He explores how Lincoln's beliefs about racial equality in civil rights, stirred and strengthened by the African American contribution to the northern war effort, were countered by his conservative constitutional philosophy, which left this matter to the states. The Lincoln who emerges from these pages is far more comprehensible and credible in his inconsistencies, and in the abiding beliefs and evolving principles from which they arose. Deeply principled but nonetheless flawed, all-too-human yet undeniably heroic, he is a Lincoln for all generations.


Links to databases and library resources in Homeland Security. Also helpful for terrorism, counterterrorism, emergency preparedness, first response, and related topics.


The application of chemical oxidants may alter the sorption properties of dissolved organic matter (DOM), such as humic and fulvic acids, proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids, affecting their fate in water treatment processes, including attachment to other organic components, activated carbon, and membranes (e.g., organic fouling). Similar reactions with chlorine (HOCl) and bromine (HOBr) produced at inflammatory sites in vivo affect the fate of biomolecules (e.g., protein aggregation). In this study, quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) was used to evaluate changes in the noncovalent interactions of proteins, polysaccharides, fatty acids, and humic and fulvic acids with a model hydrophobic surface as a function of increasing doses of HOCl, HOBr, and ozone (O3). All three oxidants enhanced the sorption tendency of proteins to the hydrophobic surface at low doses but reduced their sorption tendency at high doses. All three oxidants reduced the sorption tendency of polysaccharides and fatty acids to the hydrophobic surface. HOCl and HOBr increased the sorption tendency of humic and fulvic acids to the hydrophobic surface with maxima at moderate doses, while O3 decreased their sorption tendency. The behavior observed with two water samples was similar to that observed with humic and fulvic acids, pointing to the importance of these constituents. For chlorination, the highest sorption tendency to the hydrophobic surface was observed within the range of doses typically applied during water treatment. These results suggest that ozone pretreatment would minimize membrane fouling by DOM, while chlorine pretreatment would promote DOM removal by activated carbon.


A standard problem in social science attempts to better understand the large wage disparities between black and white workers in U. S. labor markets. Social scientists have conducted hundreds of studies of observed racial wage gaps, seeking to understand the extent to which they are driven by differences in human capital or disparate treatment by employers. In order to get an unbiased estimate of such effects, it is necessary to include in the regression equations measures of human capital. While years of schooling has traditionally been used as a measure of human capital, social scientists are increasingly turning to cognitive test scores, as a more direct measure. Most social science research that uses cognitive test scores as an independent variable models the test score as fixed and without error. However, since test scores have measurement error, modeling the test score in this way can produce biased results which can result in incorrect policy conclusions. Current methods for modeling the test score with error are limited to single point in time analysis with a fixed cognitive assessment administered to all subjects, and situations in which the measurement error is homogeneous across all subjects. In response to these drawbacks, a new model called the Mixed Effects Structural Equations (MESE) model is developed. The MESE model is demonstrated using data from the National Adult Literacy Survey by analyzing black-white wage gaps in married men, single men, and single women. Three important findings are of note. First, much of the black-white wage gap can be attributed to a black-white disparity in skills suggesting that more attention ought to be focused on the development of skills. Second, comparisons of the the MESE model to a model with no measurement error demonstrate the importance of modeling the measurement error. Third, comparisons of the MESE model to a model using current methodology suggest the MESE model may solve some of the drawbacks noted in the other current methods.


Abstract. Each year landscape fires across the globe emit black and organic carbon smoke particles that can last in the atmosphere for days to weeks. We characterized the climate response to these aerosols using an Earth system model. We used remote sensing observations of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and simulations from the Community Atmosphere Model, version 5 (CAM5) to optimize satellite-derived smoke emissions for high biomass burning regions. Subsequent global simulations using the adjusted fire emissions produced AODs that were in closer agreement with surface and space-based measurements. We then used CAM5, which included radiative aerosol effects, to evaluate the climate response to the fire-aerosol forcing. We conducted two 52 yr simulations, one with four sets of monthly cycling 1997–2009 fire emissions and one without. Fire emissions increased global mean annual AOD by 10% (+0.02) and decreased net all-sky surface radiation by 1% (1.3 W m−2). Elevated AODs reduced global surface temperatures by 0.13 p 0.01 °C. Though global precipitation declined only slightly, patterns of precipitation changed, with large reductions near the Equator offset by smaller increases north and south of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). A combination of increased tropospheric heating and reduced surface temperatures increased equatorial subsidence and weakened the Hadley circulation. As a consequence, precipitation decreased over tropical forests in South America, Africa and equatorial Asia. These results are consistent with the observed correlation between global temperatures and the strength of the Hadley circulation and studies linking tropospheric heating from black carbon aerosols with tropical expansion.


In this paper an outline is given of an investigation of language attitudes. In a matched guise experiment rural (Westfrisian) and urban (Amsterdam) subjects were confronted with rural and urban accented speech and had to give judgments on the factors 'competence/ambitiousness', 'personal integrity', 'social attractiveness' and 'toughness'. The purpose of the study was 1. to collect data comparable with similar research in other countries; 2. to explore the feasibility of a unifying approach to the two types of language differentiation: regional and social. In the tentative conclusions below, reference is made to the following treatments:(i) rural subjects give judgments of urban speakers; (ii) urban subjects give judgments of rural speakers; (iii) urban subjects give judgments of urban speakers; (iv) rural subjects give judgments of rural speakers.It appears that accented speakers are always stigmatized as less competent, but urban speakers more so than rural ones. For urban judges, personal integrity is associated with standard speech. For rural judges, this is not the case. Social attractiveness is associated with accented speech, but this effect is mitigated under treatment (iv) - in this case the origin of the speaker is more important than his speech variety. Toughness is associated with accented speech, but under treatment (ii) the effect is not great: rural speakers are considered less tough by urban judges, even when they use substandard language. Note that rural people do not consider themselves to be less tough (treatment iv).Language is an important means whereby groups of people differentiate themselves from other groups. The importance of this instrument will increase when other differentiators are not readily available, due, i.a., to the complexity and diffuseness of the social environment. The opposition between regional and social language differentiation is not a useful one. Both urban and regional dialects are social dialects. Both kinds of varieties carry the same value for their speakers: 'I belong to this group'. Both are determined by the same factors; the difference lies in the different weights of each factor: the ways in which the groups are formed.


The present study examined the dose-dependent effect of vitamin E in reversing bone loss in ovariectomized (Ovx) rats. Sprague-Dawley rats were either Sham-operated (Sham) or Ovx and fed control diet for 120 days to lose bone. Subsequently, rats were divided into 5 groups (n = 12/group): Sham, Ovx-control, low dose (Ovx + 300 mg/kg diet; LD), medium dose (Ovx + 525 mg/kg diet; MD), and high dose (Ovx + 750 mg/kg diet; HD) of vitamin E and sacrificed after 100 days. Animals receiving MD and HD of vitamin E had increased serum alkaline phosphatase compared to the Ovx-control group. Bone histomorphometry analysis indicated a decrease in bone resorption as well as increased bone formation and mineralization in the Ovx groups supplemented with MD and HD of vitamin E. Microcomputed tomography findings indicated no effects of vitamin E on trabecular bone of fifth lumbar vertebrae. Animals receiving HD of vitamin E had enhanced fourth lumbar vertebra quality as evidenced by improved ultimate and yield load and stress when compared to Ovx-control group. These findings demonstrate that vitamin E improves bone quality, attenuates bone resorption, and enhances the rate of bone formation while being unable to restore bone density and trabecular bone structure.


Despite extensive changes in early childhood inclusive education policy and practice, various barriers continue to inhibit access and participation of children with special needs in inclusive schools. Often mentioned barriers include negative beliefs, lack of understanding of inclusive pedagogy and the effectiveness of professional development to improve teacher knowledge to reduce these barriers. This study reports on a Thai Bureau of Special Education professional development partnership program with an Australian inclusive school in which 16 early childhood teachers from Thailand participated. This community of practice inquiry project generated qualitative data from pre- and post-professional workshops semi-structured interviews and analysis of teachers' professional learning journals during the inquiry phases of the project. Thematic analysis of the data showed that the international professional learning immersion program exerted an influential impact on the teachers who participated suggesting; teachers developed better understandings of children with special education needs by creating a mindset for change.


In this paper, new k factor decision method and highlight compression operator are proposed to enhance the appearance and naturalness of rendered High Dynamic Range (HDR) images. The retinex algorithm is one of the outstanding local operators, which well preserves local contrast in highlights. However, the retinex algorithm gives a worse overall appearance and undistinguishable dark area contrast than global operators or other local operators in some cases. The most prominent improvement of the proposed method is that the decision method of the k factor, which is one of the parameters in retinex algorithm, is proposed by using the dynamic range in images. The proposed parameter decision method enhances the overall quality and preference of the image and solves any parameter setting problems. Also, dark area details become more distinguishable by the highlight compression operator. According to the results of many HDR image experiments, the proposed method shows better rendering in terms of naturalness and dark area details than the previous tone-mapping algorithm.1.


Phenoxy and related herbicides used in turfgrass have the potential for volatilization and movement from treated areas. Three studies assessed potential injury to subtropical landscape plants caused by volatile turf herbicides in polyethylene enclosures. Phenoxy herbicide mixtures were emphasized. There were signifi cant differences among the seven landscape species tested. The most sensitive species were african marigold (Tagetes erecta), joseph's coat (Alternanthera ficoidea), and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum). Severe injury was caused by exposure to herbicides containing 2,4-D isooctyl ester and MCPA isooctyl ester. Exposure to individual active ingredients 2,4-D dimethylamine, dicamba acid, atrazine, and metsulfuron resulted in no injury to the species tested.


If language has the power to make visible, to disclose all, as Klemperer once wrote, what does the weaponization of speech and language mean for today's culture? Populist imperatives circulate as tweets, far-right threats are captured in memes, and racist comments invade users' profiles: networks of hate are empowered by the virality of verbal and visual communication. The instrumentalization of words and phrases is enhanced by the ways networks automatically operate and process information; it reveals the darkest side of the attention economy and performative network culture. How can this weaponization of language be addressed, and which forms of counter-speech can still be developed? Looking into vocabularies of violence, forms of hate speech, and the role of mediated communication, the speakers of this panel will discuss the function of language in a period of resentment and distrust.


Control of the source-drain contact properties in amorphous InGaZnO semiconductor active layer is relevant since a high series resistance in the source-drain contacts causes degradation of electrical performance, particularly affecting short channel devices. We developed a method to extract the current-voltage characteristics of the injection contact, assuming that contact effects are negligible in long channel devices and by introducing a modified gradual channel approximation (quasi-two-dimensional model), to take into account for short channel effects. The present method allows to extract the parasitic resistance by using devices with only two different channel lengths. Assuming a transmission line scheme for the contact resistance and SCLC transport for the current density flowing along the vertical direction though the IGZO bulk, we have been able to evaluate the variation with Vds of contact resistance at source and drain electrodes.


Abstract Published in the September 1974 issue of Artforum, my article "The Provincialism Problem" argued that a world art system, centered on the New York artworld, condemned artists elsewhere to misleadingly perceive their situation as necessarily subservient, and their art as lesser, secondary, and dependent. In fact, this system condemned all involved, including New York based artists, to a vicious cycle of mutual inequity. The article called for artists, critics, and curators to radically reimagine these relationships. Often cited in the decades since then, in recent years it is frequently used as a foil to demonstrate how, within the international artworld, the situation has improved significantly. In this essay, I review the acute awareness of these issues in the Australian artworld during the 1960s and 1970s, and the situation in New York in the early and mid-1970s that lead me to write the article in concert with other members of the Art & Language group. I note some of the critical responses to the article since its publication, explore key aspects of center-periphery theory, and conclude by arguing that the provincialism problem has not been solved—it has, rather, been globalized then neoliberalized, and thus remains problematic.


Dynamic Web content provides us with time-sensitive and continuously changing data. To glean up-to-date information, users need to regularly browse, collect and analyze this Web content. Without proper tool support this information management task is tedious, timeconsuming and error prone, especially when the quantity of the dynamic Web content is large, when many information management services are needed to analyze it, and when underlying services/network are not completely reliable. Electronic Warehouse Receipt is not a new concept. Electronic data has given the prospect of eliminating paper documents, reducing costs and improving efficiency by exchanging business information in electronic form. The objective of this paper is developing an Integrate Electronic Warehouse Receipt Management System for Indian agriculture market which supports services like trading, latest price information, electronic warehouse receipt and making all these services available on internet as well as IVR (Interactive Voice response) and Simple Messages Services. Although many agriculture e-business platforms exist in the market but they don't ensure that the commodity is actually held by the seller and the quantity and quality are as mentioned. To solve this problem we have come with the concept of Electronic Warehouse Receipt (EWR) which is the same as the concept of 'dematerialization of shares' or 'demat' in short.


The papers in this special issue of Language and Cognitive Processing on the neural bases of language production illustrate two general approaches in current cognitive neuroscience. One approach focuses on investigating cognitive issues, making use of the logic of associations/dissociations or the logic of neural markers as key investigative tools. The other approach has as its primary goal identifying the cognitive and computational functions performed by specific brain areas and understanding the underlying neurobiological mechanisms. The research described in the papers of this special issue applies these approaches to the study of fundamental questions concerning sign language, multilingualism, speech motor control and the interaction between speech production, and comprehension. We discuss how, in doing so, this research sheds light on the cognitive and brain mechanisms of language production.


This study deals with one particular instance of foreign policy change in Sweden; The political take-off for enhanced Nordic Defence and Security Cooperation in the beginning of the 21st century which led to an agreement on a Nordic declaration on slolidarity. The aim of this study is to explain why the political development has undergone a rapid upturn and when such a policy change occur. Its purpose is to explain what factors and conditions that influenced the policy change. It also explores the meaning of the Nordic Declaration of Solidarity. The theoretical point of departure is Foreign Policy Analysis combined with John Kingdons policy-window theory. The research methods used are process- tracing and elite- interviews. Findings conclude that a number of factors came together at a critical time opening up for a policy window. Strategic leadership seized the opportunity and advocated their proposal which led to a foreign policy change. The study contributes to a more complete understanding of the pre-decision policy process leading up to the agreement on the Nordic declaration of solidarity.


Purpose: To observe and evaluate technical acquisition and operating procedures used for lumbar spine injection procedures under fluoroscopy guidance performed by multiple neuroradiologists for potential patient dose reduction opportunities. Methods: Baseline skin dose measurements were acquired on patients undergoing lumbar spine injection procedures on a biplane fluoroscopy unit. Optically stimulated luminescent dosimeters were placed on the patient's abdomen corresponding to the anterior‐posterior plane beam entrance location and on the patient's right side corresponding to the lateral plane beam entrance location. Technical acquisition factors, treated levels, and patient demographics were recorded. In addition, observations were made of operating procedures such as the use of collimation and magnification, patient and equipment positioning, beam angulations, and exposure techniques used by individual neuroradiologists. Results: Baseline data and observations were reviewed with neuroradiologists. Opportunities to reduce dose were discussed and a series of acquisition and practice changes accepted. Changes were implemented and skin dose measurements repeated. Results showed a reduction in skin dose of 64% and 79% respectively for anterior‐posterior and lateral planes from baseline data. No adverse outcomes to procedure time, fluoroscopy time, or image quality were observed. Conclusions: Practices among physicians can vary substantially. Collaboration and standardization of acquisition and operating procedures can Result in substantial dose reduction for patients without compromising image quality or clinical productivity.