Background Analyzing the Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a standard approach for detecting newborn seizure. The manual detection of newborn seizure by visual scanning of EEG recordings is time consuming especially with long recordings. It also requires skilled interpreters, i.e. a neurophysiologist, resulting in possible subjective judgment and error. Hence, the EEG signal parameters extracted and analyzed using computer based digital signal processing techniques are highly useful in diagnostics and more suitable for detecting newborn EEG seizures and other abnormalities. Objective This work aims to select the maximum relevant translated EEG time-frequency features with a minimum redundancy to improve the classification accuracy performance of newborn seizure detection and classification systems. Method The automatic newborn EEG seizure detection and classification system includes pre-processing of EEG signals, finding their optimal time-frequency distributions (TFDs), extracting features from the TFDs, and finally allocating the T-F features to the relevant class. Based on this classification system, a new approach is proposed to improve their performance, and includes the following stages: Defining T-F features by translating some relevant time features and/or frequency features in the T-F domain; selecting the maximum relevant translated T-F features with a minimum redundancy using the mutual information measure and using the selected relevant features to characterize and classify different newborn EEG seizures. Results The experimental results show that the selection of a minimum set of relevant translated EEG T-F features according to a combined minimal-redundancy and maximal-relevance criterion significantly improve the performance of the newborn seizure classification system based on the use of T-F features extracted using both signal and image processing techniques, by up to 4% for 100 real newborn EEG segments. The better results are obtained using the modified-B distribution and the spectrogram distribution with the multi-class SVM classifier. Also, the use of the selected features reduces the computation cost of the classification system. Conclusion The improvement obtained is dependent on the choice of relevant translated EEG T-F features. The latter can also be extended and applied to detect other newborn EEG abnormalities.


The author discusses Galloway v. Town of Greece, a case which challenges official prayers at town council meetings. To provide the necessary background information for understanding the issues in Galloway, the author begins with a brief discussion of two other cases, Lemon v. Kurtzman and Marsh v. Chambers. The author then examines the district and circuit court decisions in Galloway and the Establishment Clause issues posed by the case. Next, the author notes issues raised by other lower court decisions involving legislative prayer after Marsh. Towards the end of the article, to clarify and decide the constitutional issues, the author recommends that the Court not only affirm the Second Circuit's decision in Galloway but also either overturn or sharply limit the Marsh precedent. He concludes with a plea that the Court will decide Galloway in a way that provides lower courts with greater guidance when addressing the wide variety of fact patterns and legal issues raised by municipal prayer cases after Marsh.


The amphibian decline crisis has been challenging to address because of the complexity of factors—and their multitude of interactive effects—that drive this global issue. Dissecting such complexity could benefit from strategies that integrate multiple disciplines and address the mechanistic underpinnings of population declines and extirpations. We examine how the disciplines of behavior and physiology could be used to develop conservation strategies for amphibians and identify eight research gaps that provide future directions for the emerging fields of conservation behavior and conservation physiology. We present two case studies on imperiled salamanders that show how studies of behavior and physiology may support amphibian conservation efforts. We found several applications of stress physiology to amphibian conservation, but long-term studies are needed to understand how stress ultimately affects individual fitness and population resilience. Additionally, multiple measures of physiological health are needed to provide a more holistic assessment of an individual's overall condition. Previous behavioral and physiological studies have been instrumental for understanding how amphibians respond to habitat modification, pathogens and parasites, contaminants, and invasive species. Some behavior-based approaches to mitigating invasive species issues have been successful in short-term studies with individual species. However, widespread application of these tactics has not yet been integrated into conservation and management strategies for ecologically-similar species. A diversity of modeling approaches has enhanced understanding of how climate change may impact amphibian populations, but model predictions need empirical tests to provide conservation managers with workable approaches to multiple perturbations associated with global environmental change. We illustrate that behavior and physiology can have broad utility for amphibian conservation, but evidence is scant that such studies have actually been used to inform strategies for amphibian conservation and management.


The California State Lands Commission (SLC) requested US Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station (WES), Coastal Engineering Research Center (CERC), to conduct engineering studies for technical and environmental assessment of two proposals to enhance wetlands at the Bolsa Chica estuary. Purposes of tidal circulation simulations were to ascertain hydrodynamic effects of proposed developments on Huntington Harbour and existing muted and non-muted wetlands, and determine hydrodynamic features of proposed wetland enhancement regions. Purposes of transport simulations and water quality assessment included evaluations of present water supply under existing conditions, and quality of water to be provided with proposed entrance channel concepts and wetland enhancements, in terms of water quality parameters and water parcel residence times.


The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived effects of cross-cultural training of project personnel, involved with the construction of international projects by US contractors, on their productivity. It is indicated by a number of studies that cross-cultural training of the project personnel is an important factor for successful implementation of construction projects away from home. Some other studies, particularly related to international business, suggest that important issues for a meaningful cross-cultural training include an exposure to the prevailing environmental, economic, political, linguistic, political, and technological factors of the host country. The study investigated whether these factors are relevant for international construction with reference to the project personnel employed by the US contractors operating in an international environment.
 The study population consisted of US contractors who operate globally. Relevant data was collected by mail using a survey instrument. Sample size of the study was 35 contractors. The data was analyzed using multiple regression technique. The findings generated from the analysis of the data indicated that the effects of the knowledge of environmental, technological, economic, linguistic, labor, and social issues related to the host country were statistically significant on the productivity of the project personnel employed by the contractors for implementation of international construction projects.


We describe a method for human pose estimation in static images based on a novel representation of part models. Notably, we do not use articulated limb parts, but rather capture orientation with a mixture of templates for each part. We describe a general, flexible mixture model for capturing contextual co-occurrence relations between parts, augmenting standard spring models that encode spatial relations. We show that such relations can capture notions of local rigidity. When co-occurrence and spatial relations are tree-structured, our model can be efficiently optimized with dynamic programming. We present experimental results on standard benchmarks for pose estimation that indicate our approach is the state-of-the-art system for pose estimation, outperforming past work by 50% while being orders of magnitude faster.


Radiation stress principles are shown to control both longshore and cross-shore wave induced stresses which in turn determine the major processes controlling sediment transport. Recent cross-shore theoretical relationships are presented which define equilibrium beach slope as a function of wave height sediment characteristics and beach permeability and it is argued that similar principles will also govern the longshore sediment transport. A series of experiments are described in which the experimental design carefully preserves the same wave attack, but permits beach slope to be varied and longshore sediment transport to be measured. For a range of beach slopes and sediment sizes, the experiments show that total longshore transport increases with beach slope but only slightly with sediment size. The maximum local rate of longshore sediment flow increases both with beach slope and with sediment size. Simple theoretical relationships based on wave power principles are shown to be consistent with these measured sediment transport rates. The cross-shore transport and slope are therefore seen to play a major role in determining the longshore stress levels, the longshore velocity and the resulting intensity of longshore transport.


Purpose: To investigate the possible vascular endothelial growth factor inhibition effects of edaravone and to compare bevacizumab on diabetic retinopathy in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six adult male Sprague Dawley rats were used in the study. Diabetes was induced with streptozotocin (60 mg/kg). After 4 weeks of treatment, the rats were euthanized and blood samples were collected for vascular endothelial growth factor assay. Additionally, enucleation was performed for vascular endothelial growth factor immunohistochemistry and outer nuclear layer measurements. Results: Treatments with both bevacizumab and edaravone significantly decreased outer nuclear layer thickness and retinal vascular endothelial growth factor expression compared to serum physiologic groups. In addition, plasma vascular endothelial growth factor levels were significantly reduced in both bevacizumab and edaravone treated groups compared to the serum physiologic group. Conclusions: Intraperitoneal and intravitreal bevacizumab and intraperitoneal ederavone could diminish the progression of diabetic retinopathy. These findings suggest that edaravone may become one of the therapeutic candidates of diabetic retinopathy in the future.


The concept of using the atmospheric backscatter from a pulsed laser as an artificial guide star (AGS) for an adaptive-optics system in an astronomical telescope is analyzed. The extent to which such an AGS can be used to provide the information that is needed for adaptive-optics-system compensation of a wave front that is distorted by propagation through the atmosphere is studied. Attention is directed to the effect of focus anisoplanatism, the measurement error that is introduced when the probe light from the AGS at a finite range travels a different path than does the light from an astronomical object at a larger (infinite) range. Because of focus anisoplanatism there is a residual wave-front error that the wave-front-distortion sensor, relying on the AGS, is unable to sense and for which the adaptive-optics system is therefore unable to compensate. This residual wave-front error has a mean-square value that takes the form σφFA2 = (D/d0)5/3, where d0 is an aperture-diameter-sized quantity that measures the magnitude of the effect of focus anisoplanatism. The value of d0 depends on the vertical distribution of the optical strength of turbulence, the optical wavelength of the imaging system, the zenith angle, and the backscatter altitude. An expression is given for d0, and sample results for d0 are presented. Analytic results are also developed for the effect of focus anisoplanatism on the Strehl definition (or normalized antenna gain) of the imaging system. Numerical results are presented for the normalized antenna gain for a wide variety of backscatter altitudes and for several vertical distributions of the optical strength of turbulence. These results indicate that the diameter dependence of the normalized antenna gain is fully expressed as a function of D/d0. The peak achievable antenna gain is approximately equal to 40% of that of a diffraction-limited system with an aperture diameter that is equal to d0, and the peak is achieved with an actual aperture diameter in the range of (7/6)d0 to (9/6)d0.


Need to learn HTML fast? This best-selling reference's visual format and step-by-step, task-based instructions will have you up and running with HTML in no time. In this completely updated edition of our best-selling guide to HTML, Web expert and best-selling author Elizabeth Castro uses crystal-clear instructions and friendly prose to introduce you to all of today's HTML and XHTML essentials. You'll learn how to design, structure, and format your Web site. You'll create and use images, links, styles, lists, tables, frames, and forms, and you'll add sound and movies to your site. Finally, you will test and debug your site, and publish it to the Web. Along the way, you'll find extensive coverage of CSS techniques, current browsers (Opera, Safari, Firefox), creating pages for the mobile Web, and more. Visual QuickStart Guide--the quick and easy way to learn! * Easy visual approach uses pictures to guide you through HTML and show you what to do. * Concise steps and explanations get you up and running in no time. * Page for page, the best content and value around. * Companion Web site at www.cookwood.com/html offers examples, a lively question-and-answer area, updates, and more.


A fossil hagfish (Myxinoidea), a new genus from the Pennsylvanian, shows tentacles, structures of the head skeleton and internal organs. No other fossils of this group have been reported. Although this new hagfish differs from living forms in position of the gills, feeding apparatus, and relatively well developed eyes, it is quite similar to its recent relatives. Thus, hagfishes have a long, conservative geological history. Cladograms showing myxinoids as a sister group to the vertebrates are supported.


While education researchers have drawn on the work of a wide diversity of theorists over the years, much contemporary theory building in these areas has revolved around the work of Pierre Bourdieu. Theory as Method in Research develops the capacity of students, researchers and teachers to successfully put Bourdieu's ideas to work in their own research and prepare them effectively for conducting Masters and Doctoral scholarships.

Structured around four core themes, this book provides a range of research case studies exploring educational identities, educational inequalities, school leadership and management, and research in teacher education. Issues as diverse as Chinese language learning and identity, school leadership in Australia and the school experience of Afro-Trinidadian boys, are covered, intertwined with a set of innovative approaches to theory application in education research.

This collection brings together, in one comprehensive volume, a set of education researchers who place Pierre Bourdieu's key concepts such as habitus, capital and field at the centre of their research methodologies. Full of insight and innovation, the book is an essential read for practitioners, student teachers, researchers and academics who want to harness the potential of Bourdieu's core concepts in their own work, thereby helping to bridge the gap between theory and method in education research.


The dynamics of leafmines developed by Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess) larvae in greenhouse tomatoes were studied in Korea during 2003–2004 in order to construct and validate binomial sampling plans. An empirical PT–m model, expressed as: ln(m) a b ln[ ln(1 PT)], was used to relate between the proportion of infested leaves (PT) and mean densities (m) at tally thresholds (T, the minimum number of leafmines present before a leaf is considered infested) of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 mines per leaf. To ensure the consistent selection of sample units, a sequence of reference pictures, with various levels of leafmine formation, was measured in advance by image analysis. The mines 0.4 cm in area were excluded from counting in the greenhouses. There were no significant relationships between the total numbers of leafmines and individual mine areas. The binomial sampling plans were validated using resampling simulations with seven independent data sets. In an estimation of the density, the sampling precision (SE/mean) was found to increase with higher Ts; however, there were negligible improvements in the precision with T 3 mines per leaf. Using T 3, over a wide range of mine densities, as few as 30 samples were necessary to achieve a precision of 0.30. In comparing binomial models with T 3 and 5, using seven independent data, the model with T 3 was a robust and relatively unbiased predictor of the mean density, whereas the T 5 model was generally biased towards over-prediction of the mean density. The binomial sampling plans presented here should permit rapid estimation of the mine density and enhance development for a damage assessment program in greenhouse tomatoes.


Emerging technologies such as real-time travel information
systems and automated vehicles (AVs) have profound impacts on driver decision-making
behavior. While they generally have positive impacts by enabling drivers to
make more informed decisions or by reducing their driving effort, there are
several concerns related to inadequate consideration of cognitive and
psychological aspects in their design. In this context, this dissertation
analyzes different aspects of driver cognition and psychology that arise from
drivers' interactions with these technologies using physiological data
collected in two sets of driving simulator experiments.

This research analyzes the latent cognitive and psychological
effects of real-time travel information using electroencephalogram (EEG) data
measured in the first set of driving simulator experiments. Using insights from
the previous analysis, a hybrid route choice modeling framework is proposed
that incorporates the impacts of the latent information-induced cognitive and
psychological effects along with other explanatory variables that can be
measured directly (i.e., route characteristics, information characteristics,
driver attributes, and situational factors) on drivers' route choice decisions.
EEG data is analyzed to extract two latent cognitive variables that capture the
driver's cognitive effort during and immediately after the information provision,
and cognitive inattention before implementing the route choice decision.

Several safety concerns emerge for the transition of control
from the automated driving system to a human driver after the vehicle issues a
takeover warning under conditional vehicle automation (SAE Level 3). In this
context, this study investigates the impacts of driver's pre-warning cognitive
state on takeover performance (i.e., driving performance while resuming manual
control) using EEG data measured in the second set of driving simulator
experiments. However, there is no comprehensive metric available in the
literature that could be used to benchmark the role of driver's pre-warning
cognitive state on takeover performance, as most existing studies ignore the
interdependencies between the associated driving performance indicators by
analyzing them independently. This study proposes a novel comprehensive
takeover performance metric, Takeover Performance Index (TOPI), that combines
multiple driving performance indicators representing different aspects of
takeover performance.

Acknowledging the practical limitations of EEG data to have
real-world applications, this dissertation evaluates the driver's situational
awareness (SA) and mental stress using eye-tracking and heart rate measures,
respectively, that can be obtained from in-vehicle driver monitoring systems in
real-time. The differences in SA and mental stress over time, their
correlations, and their impacts on the TOPI are analyzed to evaluate the
efficacy of using eye-tracking and heart rate measures for estimating the overall
takeover performance in conditionally AVs.

The study findings can assist information service providers and auto
manufacturers to incorporate driver cognition and psychology in designing safer
real-time information and their delivery systems. They can also aid traffic
operators to incorporate cognitive aspects while devising strategies for
designing and disseminating real-time travel information to influence drivers'
route choices. Further, the study findings provide valuable insights to design
operating and licensing strategies, and regulations for conditionally automated
vehicles. They can also assist auto manufacturers in designing integrated
in-vehicle driver monitoring and warning systems that enhance road safety and
user experience.


We start by studying light propagation through a Lau-like arrangement—two Ronchi grids out of phase by half a period—within a turbulent medium. We show that degradation produced by the turbulence can be estimated in terms of the spacing between grids, the number of lines per millimeter, and C∊2, the structure constant of the medium. We also propose a way to evaluate the structure constant in an experimental arrangement in the laboratory.


A comprehensive review and state of the art in the field of surface, interface, and thin-film magnetism is presented. New growth techniques which produce atomically engineered novel materials, special characterization techniques to measure magnetic properties of low-dimensional systems, and computational advances which allow large complex calculations have together stimulated the current activity in this field and opened new opportunities for research. The current status and issues in the area of material growth techniques and physical properties, characterization methods, and theoretical methods and ideas are reviewed. A fundamental understanding of surface, interface, and thin-film magnetism is of importance to many applications in magnetics technology, which is also surveyed. Questions of fundamental and technological interest that offer opportunities for exciting future research are identified.


Control and prevention of parasitic disease depends on an adequate knowledge of interactions among factors such as human behavior, the environment, and the life cycles of parasites. Sociocultural factors in large part determine transmission and persistence of parasites. The main determinants are poverty, low educational level, deficiencies in home technologies, high demographic density, and ruralism. Selected interventions designed to improve any of these situations may fail if they are applied in an isolated manner. The holistic implementation of interventions has proved successful in the control and prevention of parasitic infections in several parts of the world. The implementation of several kinds of interventions simultaneously, that is, a holistic approach, combined with an awareness of a society's infrastructure, can produce favorable results. For such an awareness—when it provokes action—can improve the overall quality of life.


The main objective of "Elsevier's Dictionary of Environment" is to assist those involved in environmental activities in their attempt to make the world cleaner and to sustain its natural resources for future generations. It will help with the production of documentation for meetings and conferences as well as for drafting papers for training, information and communication purposes. Environmental concerns are important items on the political and economic agendas of most countries, whether developed or developing. In a world conscious of its environmental problems, studies in this domain have become an established discipline. Every new branch of science needs to define relevant terms to be used through the medium of language. The subject of environment is global because it touches everyone. Individuals, specialists or institutions concerned with the health of our planet need to mean the same thing when communicating with each other, notwithstanding language differences. The compilation of a multilingual dictionary on environment is not easy. The inclusion or omission of certain terms is an important question. However, the choice of terms, in this text, is based on two assumptions: the most commonly used terms, and their translatability into other languages without losing their intended meaning. Consideration of regional differences of the same languages has been taken into account. This dictionary contains terms covering the following fields and subfields: air pollution, biological diversity, biomass energy, biosafety, biotechnology, climate change, coastal environment, deforestation, desertification, endangered species, energy conservation, environmental economics, environmental impact assessment, forest conservation, freshwater pollution, global warming, greenhouse gases, human settlements, living marine resources, marine environment, mountain ecosystems, ozone layer, resources management, soil degradation, sustainable development, tropical ecosystem, wetland ecosystem. The layout of this dictionary is such that each language included may be used as a target as well as a source language.


As specified in Congressional bill H.R. 25/S. 25, the FairTax is a proposal to replace the federal personal income tax, corporate income tax, payroll (FICA) tax, capital gains, alternative minimum, self-employment, and estate and gifts taxes with a single-rate federal retail sales tax. The FairTax also provides a prebate to each household based on its demographic composition. The prebate is set to ensure that households pay no taxes net on spending up to the poverty level. Bill Gale (2005) and the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform (2005) suggest that the effective (tax inclusive) tax rate needed to implement H.R. 25 is far higher than the proposed 23% rate. This study, which builds on Gale's (2005) analysis, shows that a 23% rate is eminently feasible and suggests why Gale and the Tax Panel reached the opposite conclusion. This paper begins by projecting the FairTax's 2007 tax base net of its rebate. Next it calculates the tax rate needed to maintain the real levels of federal and state spending under the FairTax. It then determines if an effective rate of 23% would be sufficient to fund 2007 estimated spending or if not, the amount by which non-Social Security federal expenditures would need to be reduced. Finally, it shows that the FairTax imposes no additional real fiscal burdens on state and local government, notwithstanding the requirement that such governments pay the FairTax when they purchase goods and services. Implementing the FairTax rate of 23% would produce $2,586 billion in federal tax revenues which is $358 billion more than the $2,228 billion in tax revenues generated by the taxes it repeals. Adjusting the base for the prebate and the administrative credit paid to businesses and states for collecting the tax results in a net tax base of $9,355 billion. In 2007, spending at current levels is projected to be $3,285 billion. Revenues from the FairTax at a 23% tax rate, plus other federal revenues, are estimated to yield $3,209 billion which is $76 billion less than current CBO spending projections for 2007. The $76 billion amounts to only 2.73% of non-Social Security spending ($2,177 -- $2,101). This is a remarkably small adjustment when set against the more than 30% rise in the real value of these expenditures since 2000. Ensuring real revenue neutrality at the federal level, given the net base of $9,355 billion, implies a rate of 23.82% on a tax-inclusive basis and 31.27% on a tax-exclusive basis. These and other calculations presented here ignore a) general equilibrium feedback (supply-side and demand-side) effects that could significantly raise the FairTax base (see, for example, Kotlikoff and Jokisch, 2005), b) the possibility that tax evasion would exceed the considerable amount automatically incorporated here via the use of NIPA data, which undercount consumption expenditures due to evasion under the current tax system, and c) the roughly $1 trillion real capital gain the federal government would secure on its outstanding nominal debt, were consumer prices to rise by the full amount of the FairTax. The FairTax redistributes real purchasing power from state and local governments to their state and local income-tax taxpayers. It does so by reducing factor prices relative to consumer prices and, thereby, reducing the real value (measured at consumer prices) of state and local income tax payments, which are assessed on factor incomes (namely, factor supplies times factor prices). Gale (2005) and the Tax Panel (2005) recognized this loss in real state and local government revenues in claiming that these governments need to be compensated for having to pay the FairTax. But what they apparently missed is that this loss to these governments is exactly offset by a gain to their taxpayers. Were state and local governments to maintain their real income tax collections -- the assumption made here -- by increasing their tax rates appropriately, their taxpayers' real tax burdens would remain unchanged and there would be no need for the federal government to compensate state and local governments for having to pay the FairTax on their purchases. The second is that H.R. 25 does not preclude state and local governments from levying their sales taxes on the FairTax-inclusive price of consumer goods and services. This produces significantly more revenue compared to levying their sales taxes on producer prices. Moreover, Gale (2005) and the Tax Panel (2005) arrived at a higher tax rate because they did not estimate the Fairtax rate, but instead estimated a sales tax of their own design which had a substantially narrower base.


Introduction The majority of care for the 22.9 million people with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa is provided by HIV outpatient services. While the palliative care needs of HIV patients are well documented, it is not known how well HIV outpatient services meet these needs and evidence to improve service provision is lacking. Aims and Methods To explore the care provided by outpatient HIV services in Uganda and Kenya and identify ways of improving care to meet patient and family needs. Qualitative interviews were conducted with patients, carers and staff at 12 HIV outpatient facilities (six in Kenya, six in Uganda), translated into English and analysed thematically. Results 189 people were interviewed (83 patients, 47 caregivers, 59 staff). Positive aspects of care related to staff attributes and teamwork, holistic care, medication provision and patient education. Gaps/challenges in care related to service efficiency, paediatric services, reaching rural areas, poverty and sustaining services financially. Services struggled to meet patient demand through lack of staff, resources and space. Drug availability was variable, but when good was highly valued by service users. Recommendations included improving existing services (organisation, medication provision and staff training) and providing additional services and outreach (transport, public health initiatives, nutritional programmes, financial support and care for extended family). Conclusions Outpatient services struggled to meet the multidimensional needs of people living with HIV in the face of significant resource challenges. Findings can be used to improve outpatient care and direct financial resources. Collaboration with palliative care services may help to improve HIV outpatient care.


Leaf area index (LAI) is an important variable in models that attempt to simulate carbon, nutrient, water and energy fluxes for forest ecosystems. LAI can be measured either directly (destructive sampling) or by using indirect techniques that involve estimation of LAI from light penetration through canopies. Destructive sampling techniques are laborious, expensive and can only be carried out for small plots. Although indirect techniques are non-destructive and less time consuming, they assume a random foliage distribution that rarely occurs in nature. Thus a technique is required that would allow for rapid estimation of LAI at the stand level. A means of getting this information is via remotely sensed measurements of reflected energy with an airborne or satellite-based sensor. Such information on an important plant species such as Acacia mearnsii (Black Wattle) is vital as it provides an insight into its water use. Landsat ETM+ images covering four study sites In KwaZulu-Natal midlands encompassing pure stands of Acacia mearnsii were processed to obtain four types of vegetation indices (VIs). The indices included: normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), ratio vegetation index (RVI), transformed vegetation index (TVI) and vegetation index 3 (VB). Ground based measurements of LAI were made using destructive sampling (actual LAI) and LAI-2000 optical instrument, (plant area index, PAl). Specific leafarea (SLA) and leaf area (LA) were measured in the field for the entire sample stands to estimate their LAI values. The relationships between the various VIs and SLA, actual LAI and PAl values measured by LAI-2000 were evaluated using correlation and regression statistical analyses. Results showed that the overall mean SLA value of Acacia mearnsii was 8.28 mkg-. SLA showed strong correlations with NDVI (r=0.71, p<O.Ol) and RVI (r=0.76, p<O.Ol) and a moderate correlation with TVI (r=0.66, p<0.05). Regression analysis revealed that SLA had significant relationship with RVI (R=0.59) and NDVI (R=0.51). Actual LAI values showed strong correlation with PAl values (r=0.86) and the analysis revealed that 74 % of the variation in the relationship between actual LAI and PAl values could be explained by regression. PAl values were strongly correlated with NDVI (r=0.75,


Nanosecond vortex pulses were generated using a stressed, large-mode-area, Yb-doped, fiber amplifier with an off-axis coupling technique for the first time. A pulse energy of 0.83 mJ (corresponding to a peak power of 59 kW) was achieved at a pump power of 25.7 W. The optical-optical efficiency was measured to be 31%. The millijoule nanosecond vortex pulses will be potentially applied to novel material processing, such as metal microneedle fabrication.


The paper analyzes the contemporary organizational restructuring of production and work within firms. We emphasize the shift from a "Tayloristic" organization of work (characterized by significant specialization by tasks) to a "holistic" organization (featuring job rotation, integration of tasks and learning across tasks). We examine four driving forces behind this restructuring process: advances in production technologies promoting technological task complementarities, advances in information technologies promoting informational task complementarities, changes in worker preferences in favor of versatile work, and advances in human capital that make workers more versatile. Our analysis can also help explain the recent widening of wage differentials and disparities in job opportunities, not only between groups with similar characteristics, but also within these groups.


The vast variety of contrasting regulatory approaches towards gambling across different jurisdictions has one common element – the need to protect minors from gambling related harm. Most jurisdictions, including UK attempt to achieve that by making minors' gambling illegal and by imposing criminal sanctions on commercial providers who permit or invite adolescents to play. Despite those legislations, prevalence rates indicate that large number of minors does in fact participate in gambling activities including those that are unlawful for their age.

The paper demonstrates that the relative ineffectiveness of the prohibitions of gambling by minors in England and Wales results from the lack of cohesion within the applicable legal regime. It is notoriously difficult, but not impossible; to change social norms by legal means. This can only be achieved by targeted and coordinated approach toward an identified problem but no such consistent message can be found within UK gambling legislation. The paper challenges the effectiveness of criminal sanctions for regulatory gambling offences due to its inherent nature and the existence of easy to satisfy defences. Secondly, the paper argues that regulating gambling "stricto-sensu" only while leaving unregulated activities that may constitute entry points towards gambling and otherwise stimulating demand cannot be truly effective in protecting minors from gambling related harms.


In this study, chromium electroplating process, corresponding hydrogen embrittlement, and the effects of baking on hydrogen diffusion are investigated. Three types of materials in the form of Raw 4340 steel, Chromium electroplated 4340 steel, and Chromium electroplated and baked 4340 steel are used in order to shed light on the aforementioned processes. Mechanical and microstructural analyses are carried out to observe the effects of hydrogen diffusion. Mechanical analyses show that the tensile strength and hardness of the specimens deteriorate after the chrome-electroplating process due to the presence of atomic hydrogen. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses are carried out for material characterization. Microstructural analyses reveal that hydrogen enters into the material with chromium electroplating process, and baking after chromium electroplating process is an effective way to prevent hydrogen embrittlement. Additionally, the effects of hydrogen on the tensile response of α-Fe-based microstructure with a similar chemical composition of alloying elements are simulated through molecular dynamics (MD) method.


This essay takes a brief and preliminary look at the remedies available to the Wisconsin Senate to enact its 2011 proposed budget legislation without Democratic senators who fled the state in February 2011. Article VIII, §8 of the Wisconsin Constitution requires a three-fifths quorum only for statutes that are fiscal, that is, statutes that actually appropriate money, impose taxes, create a debt, or release a claim owed to the state. Even then, these categories have consistently been interpreted in the most limited form conceivable. For example, in State v. Stitt (1983), the Wisconsin Supreme Court determined that the issuance of short-term debt was not debt under Article VIII of the constitution and thus was not "fiscal" so as to trigger the three-fifths quorum and roll call requirements. The Wisconsin attorney general in 1971 gave a formal opinion to the legislature that a bill that changed collective bargaining rights substantially was not fiscal in nature and was not subject to the three-fifths super quorum provision. Because collective bargaining rights and that very statutory chapter (ch. 111) are at the heart of the proposed Senate Bill 11, the most controversial portions of the bill could be passed constitutionally with just a simple majority of elected members present, without a three-fifths quorum. Though some provisions in Senate Bill 11 are clearly fiscal - e.g., increasing appropriations for needy families, health care, and corrections - much of the bill is not fiscal. Even provisions that observers might reasonably assume to be fiscal are probably not fiscal under Wisconsin law, such as the rule that in the future employers can agree to pay no more than 88% of health care costs. Because much of Senate Bill 11 is not subject to the three-fifths quorum, these portions could be separated from the rest of the bill and passed by majority vote in the presence of a simple majority of the elected Senators. With Republicans holding 19 of the Wisconsin Senate's 33 seats, Republicans thus constitute a quorum to pass much of Senate Bill 11 without any Democratic Senators present or voting. The rest of the bill would have to await the return of the wandering Senators and the return of a three-fifths quorum.


The Ankylosis of the Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a disorder of craniofacial complex that results in the merger between the condyle and the mandibular fossa, causing partial or complete immobilization of the mandible. The etiological factors are local and systemic inflammation, infection in the area of TMJ, rheumatic diseases and neoplasms, having the trauma as the main etiologic factor. The traumas are responsible for 31% to 98% of cases of ankylosis. The diagnosis is made from the anamnesis and imaging scans (computed tomography) pointing to the union of joint components. The treatment of ankylosis is a big challenge due the high rate of recurrence that can be affected by factors such as type of ankylosis, surgical technique, age of the patient, post-operative physiotherapy and systematic follow-up of the patient. The various forms of treatment require careful analysis of type of ankylosis if it is intra or extra-articular, unilateral or bilateral and if it is bony or fibrous, There is no consensus in current literature regarding the best treatment. The aim of this work is to present through the report of a clinical case, a surgical treatment of Unilateral Temporomandibular joint Ankylosis, due to sequel of condylar fracture with re-establishment of the stomatognathic functions in postoperative follow-up.


This paper takes questions regarding gradience and gradualness to be questions concerning the nature of grammatical categories. A notion of grammatical category is pursued which is not gradient, but rather more "traditional" in the sense that category membership is an instance of standard set membership. In order to deal with some of the empirical difficulties, both synchronic and diachronic, in consistently assigning category membership across all lexical formatives, a fine-grained and elaborate system of categories, following on from Cinque's (1999) influential work on the clausal hierarchy, is adopted. In the context of this approach, Roberts a Roussou's (2003) formal approach to grammaticalization, which relies on the central idea that grammaticalization is always upward and leftward in the syntactic structure, is shown to makes some interesting and seemingly correct predictions.


Long-term fluoroquinolone-associated disability (FQAD) after fluoroquinolone (FQ) antibiotic therapy appears in recent years as a significant medical and social problem, because patients suffer for many years after prescribed antimicrobial FQ treatment from tiredness, concentration problems, neuropathies, tendinopathies, and other symptoms. The knowledge about the molecular activity of FQs in the cells remains unclear in many details. The effective treatment of this chronic state remains difficult and not effective. The current paper reviews the pathobiochemical properties of FQs, hints the directions for further research, and reviews the research concerning the proposed treatment of patients. Based on the analysis of literature, the main directions of possible effective treatment of FQAD are proposed: (a) reduction of the oxidative stress, (b) restoring reduced mitochondrion potential ΔΨm, (c) supplementation of uni- and bivalent cations that are chelated by FQs and probably ineffectively transported to the cell (caution must be paid to Fe and Cu because they may generate Fenton reaction), (d) stimulating the mitochondrial proliferation, (e) removing FQs permanently accumulated in the cells (if this phenomenon takes place), and (f) regulating the disturbed gene expression and enzyme activity.


OBJECTIVE Observations of a metabolically unhealthy normal weight phenotype suggest that a lack of favorable adiposity contributes to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. We aimed to identify causal blood biomarkers linking favorable adiposity with type 2 diabetes risk for use in cardiometabolic risk assessments. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A weighted polygenic risk score (PRS) underpinning metabolically favorable adiposity was validated in the UK Biobank (n = 341,872) and the Outcome Reduction With Initial Glargine Intervention (ORIGIN Trial) (n = 8,197) and tested for association with 238 blood biomarkers. Associated biomarkers were investigated for causation with type 2 diabetes risk using Mendelian randomization and for its performance in predictive models for incident major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). RESULTS Of the 238 biomarkers tested, only insulin-like growth factor–binding protein (IGFBP)-3 concentration was associated with the PRS, where a 1 unit increase in PRS predicted a 0.28-SD decrease in IGFBP-3 blood levels (P < 0.05/238). Higher IGFBP-3 levels causally increased type 2 diabetes risk (odds ratio 1.26 per 1 SD genetically determined IGFBP-3 level [95% CI 1.11–1.43]) and predicted a higher incidence of MACE (hazard ratio 1.13 per 1 SD IGFBP-3 concentration [95% CI 1.07–1.20]). Adding IGFBP-3 concentrations to the standard clinical assessment of metabolic health enhanced the prediction of incident MACE, with a net reclassification improvement of 11.5% in normal weight individuals (P = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS We identified IGFBP-3 as a novel biomarker linking a lack of favorable adiposity with type 2 diabetes risk and a predictive marker for incident cardiovascular events. Using IGFBP-3 blood concentrations may improve the risk assessment of cardiometabolic diseases.


BACKGROUND
Abdominal wall defect presents a great challenge when it is large, ruptured, or associated with other anomalies.

OBJECTIVE
To review the challenges and outcome of management of anterior abdominal wall defects (AAWD).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A retrospective review of omphalocele and gastroschisis managed over 8 years at our institution.

RESULTS
Omphalocele (n=49) and gastroschisis (n=7) constituted 2.4% of total admission. The median age was 23.5 hours, with male-female ratio of 1:1.1. Term infants were 91.7% and more than 75% weighed above 2.5 kg. The mean maternal age was 28.5±5.87 years and mean parity was 3.1±2.0, with P values of 0.318 and 0.768, respectively. More than 92.9% of infants were out-born, 46 pregnancies (82.1%) were booked, and 51 (91.1%) had at least one ultrasound scan, but only 1 (1.8%) was diagnosed with gastroschisis. Ruptured omphalocele were 11 (6 major, 5 minor) in number, 3 of which presented with enterocutaneous fistula, and 3 (6.1%) were syndromic omphalocele. Positive blood culture confirmed septicaemia in 21 cases (37.5%). Surgical repair was done in 35 cases (62.5%), 44.6% as emergency, and 17.9% as elective. Non-operative management was done in 21 patients (37.5%) and 5 (8.9%) were discharged against medical advice. Median length of hospital stay was 10 days (mean, 15.98±14.38). Postoperative complication rate was 32.1% and overall mortality was 30.4%, with the highest case fatality among gastroschisis (57.1%) and omphalocele major (32.1%).

CONCLUSIONS
There were large numbers of out-born infants due to poor prenatal diagnosis in spite of high instances of antenatal ultrasound scan. Many patients presented with complications that resulted in poor outcome.


Reciprocal signals promote axon regeneration in young worms and repress axon regeneration in older worms. Our neurons regenerate better when we are young than when we are more mature. Studying the mechanosensory anterior ventral microtubule (AVM) neuron of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, Zou et al. (see the Perspective by Nix and Bastiani) found that worms lacking microRNA machinery had unusually robust axon regeneration and youthful-looking growth cones. Under- and overexpression of let-7 microRNA confirmed its involvement in depressing axon regeneration. Y. Zou, H. Chiu, A. Zinovyeva, V. Ambros, C.-F. Chuang, C. Chang, Developmental decline in neuronal regeneration by the progressive change of two intrinsic timers. Science 340, 372–376 (2013). [Abstract] [Full Text] P. Nix, M. Bastiani, Heterochronic genes turn back the clock in old neurons. Science 340, 282–283 (2013). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Background: It is not clear how protein degradation systems are involved in ALS pathogenesis. Results: Transgenic mice with motor neuron-specific knock-out of proteasomes, but not of autophagy showed ALS phonotypes. Conclusion: Dysfunction of proteasome may primarily contribute to the pathogenesis of ALS than that of autophagy. Significance: Modulation of proteasome function is a promising approach toward treatment of ALS. Evidence suggests that protein misfolding is crucially involved in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, controversy still exists regarding the involvement of proteasomes or autophagy in ALS due to previous conflicting results. Here, we show that impairment of the ubiquitin-proteasome system, but not the autophagy-lysosome system in motor neurons replicates ALS in mice. Conditional knock-out mice of the proteasome subunit Rpt3 in a motor neuron-specific manner (Rpt3-CKO) showed locomotor dysfunction accompanied by progressive motor neuron loss and gliosis. Moreover, diverse ALS-linked proteins, including TAR DNA-binding protein 43 kDa (TDP-43), fused in sarcoma (FUS), ubiquilin 2, and optineurin were mislocalized or accumulated in motor neurons, together with other typical ALS hallmarks such as basophilic inclusion bodies. On the other hand, motor neuron-specific knock-out of Atg7, a crucial component for the induction of autophagy (Atg7-CKO), only resulted in cytosolic accumulation of ubiquitin and p62, and no TDP-43 or FUS pathologies or motor dysfunction was observed. These results strongly suggest that proteasomes, but not autophagy, fundamentally govern the development of ALS in which TDP-43 and FUS proteinopathy may play a crucial role. Enhancement of proteasome activity may be a promising strategy for the treatment of ALS.


The aim in this study was to estimate and compare the zinc levels in paired non malignant and malignant tissues obtained from patients diagnosed with stomach or colon cancer. His-tological normal and neoplastic human gastric or colon tissues obtained from the same indi-vidual at the time of surgery were excised and analyzed for tissue zinc. A significant de-crease in tissue zinc was observed in the tumor tissue as compared with the non cancerous tissue of the same patients. The mean tissue zinc level in the malignant tissue of the stomach showed a 68% significant decrease as compared with the non cancerous tissue of the same individuals. The maximum % decrease in tissue zinc from the normal tissue was observed in poorly differentiated carcinoma as compared with moderately and well differentiated carci-noma. In colon cancer, the mean tissue zinc level was significantly decreased (66%) in the malignant tissue as compared with the non cancerous tissue of the same patients. This study suggests that there is an inverse association between the tissue zinc levels and the advanced stage of carcinoma of the stomach or the colon.


Some platforms provide value to their users by facilitating interactions among close connections (e.g. Facebook); others provide value by facilitating interactions among participants that are not directly connected to each other (e.g. online dating sites). For the latter, organic growth is harder to achieve because, even though users benefit from having access to a larger market, they have no incentives in inviting their close connections to the platform, which can lead to an under-supply of new users. In some cases, platforms correct this distortion by using referral programs and providing incentives for users to invite their friends and acquaintances in exchange for getting a free or discounted access to premium features of the platform. In this paper, we use data from a randomized field experiment in an exclusive online dating site to study the effect of member-get-member referral programs on platform growth. Our findings suggest that referral programs can work as a double-edged sword. We find that stricter policies, i.e., policies that require users to invite more friends in order to use the service for free, are more effective not only at contributing for platform growth in terms of the total number of users, but also at fostering paid memberships. However, these benefits appear to come at the cost of reduced level of user engagement on the platform, potentially decreasing its value for all users. We consider two mechanisms that may be at play: delayed access to premium features and social enrichment. We discuss the contributions for literature and implications for business.


This article assesses the effect of the opening of Arctic shipping routes on world trade patterns and welfare. We begin by computing shortest bilateral maritime distances with and without Arctic routes. Then, we predict trade flows by combining counterfactual distances with distance elasticities of trade estimated using historical episodes that also affected maritime distances. Our general equilibrium exercise extends beyond by using a structural gravity model that allows trade reallocation across country pairs. As a result, all country pairs are now affected by the opening of Arctic routes, including those for which bilateral distance remains unchanged. In our preferred estimation, world trade is predicted to increase by 0.32% and welfare by 0.02%. The positive effects concentrate in Europe and Northeast Asia, while minor losses affect countries in the Caribbean, West Africa, the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.


Unusual cold filaments are uncovered during the spring intermonsoon season in the South China Sea (SCS) using a suite of satellite observations. They have a width of about 100 km on average and extend several hundreds of kilometers offshore on the sea surface, providing significant cross-shelf transport of heat and nutrients. The eastward current associated with mesoscale eddies in spring in the western SCS is found to play an important role in the filament formation by advecting coastal cold waters far offshore. The meridional location of the cold filament displays considerable interannual variability ranging between 9oN and 18oN, which can be attributed to the interannual south-north shift of the eastward current associated with eddies. It is also found that in the spring, cold filaments have profound effects on the chlorophyll a concentration in the upper ocean and the overlying atmosphere. These findings provide new insights into the role of eddies in cross-shelf exchange and mesoscale air-sea interaction in the marginal seas.


Yang, Xiao M.A., Purdue University, August 2014. Relationship between Holistic Rating of Chinese ESL Speakers' Monologue Responses to Question Prompts in Placement Testing and Their Lexical Frequency Profiles. Major Professor: Felicia Roberts. The study examines the relation between the holistic scores of three groups of Chinese ESL speakers and their lexical frequency profiles, based on their monologue responses to testing prompts. The theoretical framework of vocabulary acquisition and word frequency in vocabulary testing are discussed, and several previous studies that use VocabProfile to assess second language vocabulary are analyzed. These serve as the theoretical and methodological basis for conducting the current study, which adopts two schema in VocabProfile to first profile the word frequency in the speakers' monologue responses, and then look into the offlist words that are not captured by the first step. There are three major findings indicated by the results. First, the proportion of words that belong to Academic Word List is higher in the response of learners of higher proficiency. Second, breakdown of the offlist words shows that more proficient learners also demonstrate usage of less frequent words. Third, there is a task effect in the VocabProfile output, which is demonstrated by the consistently different VocabProfile patterns between task types within each proficiency group. The findings indicate that word frequency is an effective yet not comprehensive measure, and that multiple measures are a must to test learner's productive vocabulary and communicative performance.


The influence of types of disturbance (hereon referred to as treatments) on natural vegetation was determined on richness and diversity of perennial grasses in semiarid rangelands of Argentina (40° 39'S, 62° 54'W). Studies were performed in adjacent areas which received different treatments: (1) untreated control; (2) burning; (3) herbicide application (shrub control); (4) Old Field 1 or (5) Old Field 2 (areas previously subjected to mechanical soil disturbance for 25 years; Old Field 1 had been exposed to a more severe grazing than Old Field 2 previous to cropping); and (6) overgrazing. During 1984-1992, annual aboveground biomass was determined per perennial grass species within each treatment after clipping permanent plots (n=30). Grass species richness and diversity were higher (p 0.05) perennial grass species richness and diversity. Changes in grass species diversity among years within each treatment were due to changes in both richness and relative biomasses of the studied species. The declining trends in grass species richness or diversity during 1984-1992 had equal slope in all treatments, indicating that the reduction rate of these variables over time was the same independent of disturbance type. Principal Coordinate Analysis showed that the similarity of species composition was greater among years within any treatment than among treatments in any given year. However, more than 69% of all perennial grass species were desirable perennial grasses in all treatments and years.


Abstract. Widespread flooding events are among the major natural hazards in Central Europe. Such events are usually related to intensive, long-lasting precipitation. Despite some prominent floods during the last three decades (e.g. 1997, 1999, 2002, and 2013), extreme floods are rare and associated with estimated long return periods of more than 100 years. To assess the associated risks of such extreme events, reliable statistics of precipitation and discharge are required. Comprehensive observations, however, are mainly available for the last 50–60 years or less. This shortcoming can be reduced using stochastic data sets. One possibility towards this aim is to consider climate model data or extended reanalyses. This study presents and discusses a validation of different century-long data sets, a large ensemble of decadal hindcasts, and also projections for the upcoming decade. Global reanalysis for the 20th century with a horizontal resolution of more than 100 km have been dynamically downscaled with a regional climate model (COSMO-CLM) towards a higher resolution of 25 km. The new data sets are first filtered using a dry-day adjustment. The simulations show a good agreement with observations for both statistical distributions and time series. Differences mainly appear in areas with sparse observation data. The temporal evolution during the past 60 years is well captured. The results reveal some long-term variability with phases of increased and decreased heavy precipitation. The overall trend varies between the investigation areas but is significant. The projections for the upcoming decade show ongoing tendencies with increased precipitation for upper percentiles. The presented RCM ensemble not only allows for more robust statistics in general, in particular it is suitable for a better estimation of extreme values.


We construct a text-based measure of uncertainty starting in 1890 using front-page articles of the Wall Street Journal. News implied volatility (NVIX) peaks during stock market crashes, times of policy-related uncertainty, world wars, and financial crises. In US postwar data, periods when NVIX is high are followed by periods of above average stock returns, even after controlling for contemporaneous and forward-looking measures of stock market volatility. News coverage related to wars and government policy explains most of the time variation in risk premia our measure identifies. Over the longer 1890–2009 sample that includes the Great Depression and two world wars, high NVIX predicts high future returns in normal times and rises just before transitions into economic disasters. The evidence is consistent with recent theories emphasizing time variation in rare disaster risk as a source of aggregate asset prices fluctuations.


An aberration function that is closely related to the transverse-ray aberration but which remains meaningful under all circumstances is described. As a preliminary to deriving computing formulas for the change in aberration with refraction, it is shown first how this function can be expanded in terms of refractive indices and quantities invariant with refraction, and second how these invariants can be expanded as functions of the object space coordinates of the incident ray. Refraction at both spherical and aspheric surfaces is considered and the expansions are taken as far as is necessary to calculate the primary and secondary aberrations, although they are capable of being taken further. The convergence of the expansions is discussed.


The voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.2 is a key determinant of cellular excitability in the nervous and cardiovascular systems. In the brain, Kv1.2 is strongly expressed in neurons of the hippocampus, a structure essential for learning and memory, and the cerebellum, a structure essential for motor control and cognition. In the vasculature, Kv1.2 is expressed in smooth muscle cells where it contributes to the regulation of blood flow. Dynamic regulation of Kv1.2 is fundamental to its role in these tissues. Disruption of this regulation can manifest in a range of pathological conditions, including seizure, hypertension and neuropathic pain. Thus, elucidating the mechanisms by which Kv1.2 is regulated addresses fundamental aspects of human physiology and disease. Kv1.2 was the first voltage gated ion channel found to be regulated by tyrosine phosphorylation. The ionic current of Kv1.2 is suppressed following tyrosine phosphorylation by a process involving channel endocytosis. Movement of channel away from the plasma membrane involves many proteins associated with the cytoskeleton, including dynamin, cortactin and RhoA. Because trafficking of Kv1.2 away from the cell surface has emerged as the primary mechanism for its negative regulation, we hypothesized that trafficking of the channel to the cell surface could be a mechanism for positive regulation of the Kv1.2 ionic current. Activation of the cAMP/PKA pathway enhances the ionic current of Kv1.2. We hypothesized that a mechanism for this positive regulation is an increase in the amount of channel protein present at the cell surface. Our data show that cAMP can regulate Kv1.2 surface levels by two opposing trafficking pathways, one PKA-dependent and one PKAindependent. Channel homeostasis is preserved by the dynamic balance between these two pathways. Accordingly, any change in the levels of cAMP causes a net increase in the amount of Kv1.2 present at the cell surface. Specific C-terminal phosphorylation sites of Kv1.2 were identified and shown to have a role in maintaining basal surface channel levels. These findings demonstrate channel trafficking as a mechanism for the positive regulation of the Kv1.2 ionic current. In addition to Kv1.2 trafficking at the plasma membrane, movement of the channel from the biosynthetic pathway to the cell surface is another checkpoint for its regulation. Here we show that the protein arginine methyltransferase 8 (PRMT8) is able to promote the ER exit of Kv1.2, resulting in an increase in Kv1.2 surface expression. PRMT8 not only promoted surface expression of the high mannose glycosylated form of Kv1.2, characteristic of immature, ER-localized channels, but also enhanced Kv1.2 total protein levels, most likely by decreasing the amount of channel protein available for ERassociated degradation (ERAD). These findings highlight biosynthetic trafficking of Kv1.2 as a crucial part of its regulation and identify a novel role for PRMT8, as a regulator of biosynthetic protein trafficking.


This edited book is the first of its kind to systematically address the intersection of e-democracy and European politics. It contributes to an improved understanding of the role that new media technologies play in European politics and the potential impact that Internet-based political participation processes may have on modern-day representative democracy in Europe. A unique, holistic approach is taken to examine e-democracys current state and prospects in Europe from three, partially overlapping and interlocking perspectives: e-public, e-participation and e-voting. The authors provide both theory-inspired reflections on e-democracys contribution to the formation of the European public sphere, as well as rich empirical analyses of contemporary e-participation phenomena such as the European Citizens Initiative or e-voting practices in Estonia. Based on the presented findings, the concluding chapter combines a prospective outlook with recommendations for future paths towards meaningful integration of e-democracy in European politics and governance.


In 1867, just two years after laying the foundations of electromagnetism, J. Clerk Maxwell presented a fundamental paper on kinetic gas theory, in which he described the evolution of the gas in terms of certain 'moments' of its velocity distribution function. This inspired Ludwig Boltzmann to formulate his famous kinetic equation, from which followed the H-theorem and the connection with entropy. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of publication of Maxwell's paper, we review the Maxwell–Boltzmann formalism and discuss how its generality and adaptability enable it to play a key role in describing the behaviour of a variety of systems of current interest, in both gaseous and condensed matter, and in modern-day physics and technologies which Maxwell and Boltzmann could not possibly have foreseen. In particular, we illustrate the relevance and applicability of Maxwell's formalism to the dynamic field of plasma-wakefield acceleration.


A continuous slab bridge in Louisa County, Virginia, on Route 701 developed a planar horizontal crack along the length of all three spans. This project was designed to determine if the current load rating of the bridge could be raised and to document the behavior and stiffness of the bridge to serve as a benchmark for possible future tests, which may determine if there is progressive damage attributable to crack growth. These objectives were accomplished through field tests performed in November 2003. One truck (loaded to three different weights) was used to perform static and dynamic tests on the bridge, and the truck was oriented in three test lanes. Vertical displacement gages (deflectometers) attached to the underside of the bridge slab were used to measure deflections during the truck passes. The recorded deflections were analyzed and normalized to document the behavior of the bridge. The values were also compared to estimated design values in accordance with the AASHTO "Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges." Under the testing loads, the bridge behaved elastically, and thus raising the load rating of the bridge was considered safe. The deflections and process are presented to allow comparisons with future tests to determine if there is progressive damage to the bridge attributable to crack growth.


The Truckee River in California and Nevada is subject to diverse water regimes and a corresponding variety of flow rates. Original riparian vegetation has been altered by these variable flow rates and by a variety of human uses resulting in loss of native riparian vegetation from its historic extent. We conducted bird surveys along the Truckee River during spring 193 to (1) determine relationships between birds and the present vegetation; (2) determine the importance of different vegetation types to sensitive bird species that have declined recently in the western United States due to competition from exotic plant species, cowbird ( Molothrus ater ) parasitism, reduction in nesting habitat, or other unidentified reasons; and (3) establish a monitoring program and collect baseline data for future comparisons. The most frequently detected bird species throughout the study was the Brown-headed Cowbird. The greatest number of bird species (98 of 116) was found in the native mixed willow ( Salix spp.) riparian scrub vegetation type. We recommend protecting the remaining native riparian vegetation types for bird habitat along the Truckee River.


Where, when and how (indeed whether) academic writing should be taught to university students, who are not necessarily aiming to study ‹language› per se, has long been a concern in higher education. While students need to develop high level communication skills, in genres often quite specific to higher education, in order that their learning can be assessed, teaching them academic writing during the course of their disciplinary studies raises a number of pedagogical, organisational and research issues. This paper reports on a collaboration between a group of academics in different geographic and institutional locations, who share a dream of improving student learning through curriculum-integrated teaching of writing. Their project has attempted to apply a model of ‹learning development› practice that works well in one arena to a range of new contexts, in order to test its efficacy and transferability. Results indicate that the pedagogical strategies tried (e. g. collaborative, inter-disciplinary design of learning tasks, resources and assessment processes based on analysis of contextually-specific literacy demands) prove ‹true› in various situations, enabling positive changes – in student learning, in the design of curricula, in teachers' professional development and in general perceptions of the role of language in learning.


This report is rather incomplete in its data and conclusions because the two years in which I have been collecting cases have not permitted the detailed anatomic and physiologic searchings that seem indicated. However, I feel that in these days of marching feet any research that will contribute to our knowledge of the circulation of the lower extremities is worth while. The basis of this study has been a comparison of the platelet counts on blood taken from the ear of patients with circulatory diseases of the legs with counts on blood taken immediately from the right and the left foot. If the circulation of blood is sufficiently slowed or otherwise becomes incompetent in an extremity and thereby reduces the nutrition of an area to a point of tissue damage, certain phenomena will occur. These phenomena are dependent on failure of oxygen supply and failure of removal of carbon dioxide


CONTEXT
Prenatal androgen excess can cause a phenocopy of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in mammals. Retrospective studies have suggested that girls at risk for PCOS have low birth weight, and prospective studies have suggested an increased prevalence of small-for-gestational-age offspring in women with PCOS.

OBJECTIVE
The objective of the study was to determine whether infants of women with PCOS have reduced birth weight or increased intrauterine androgen levels.

DESIGN
This was a prospective case-control study.

PARTICIPANTS
Thirty-nine PCOS and 31 control women and their infants participated in the study.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Birth weight and mixed cord blood testosterone, androstenedione (A), dehydroepiandrosterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, estradiol (E2), and dihydrotestosterone levels were measured.

RESULTS
Mean birth weight did not differ, but there was a significant increase in the prevalence of large-for-gestational-age infants in the PCOS group. Cord blood E2 and A levels were lower (P < 0.05), but testosterone to E2 ratios did not differ in female PCOS compared with control offspring. There was no difference in E2 and A levels in the male PCOS and control offspring. There was no difference in 17-hydroxyprogesterone or other androgen levels in either male or female PCOS offspring compared with their respective control group.

CONCLUSION
Infants of women with PCOS were more likely to be large for gestational age. Female offspring of affected women have lower cord blood A levels; other cord blood androgen levels do not differ compared with female control offspring. Cord blood E2 levels are also significantly decreased in PCOS, without any difference in the testosterone to E2 ratio, suggesting decreased fetal or placental production of steroids.


We developed a 3-D structural model of a key area in the southwestern Alps, at the boundary between the external and internal zones. Six geological bodies are analyzed: internal and external basements, Brianconnais and Piemontais zones (internal sedimentary cover nappes), exotic flyschs, and external sedimentary cover. 3D volumes of each geological body are modeled using the structural map of the area projected on the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and 5 cross-sections. The global model is interpolated from the map, DEM, and cross sections, using the potential field method, and represented by a Voronoi diagram. The final 3D-model is used as a structural frame to plot the earthquakes of the GeoFrance3D database, allowing to precisely and quantitatively investigate the relationships between crustal structures and current seismic activity of the belt. The boundary between external and internal zones corresponds to the so-called Crustal Penninic Thrust (CPT), which is a former Oligocene major thrust. Our model establishes that this former thrust represents the western limit of the seismic activity along the Brianconnais seismic arc, currently undergoing extensional tectonics.


Despite various studies on the polymerization of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) through different precursor routes, detailed mechanistic knowledge on the individual reaction steps and intermediates is still incomplete. The present study aims to gain more insight into the radical polymerization of PPV through the Gilch route. The initial steps of the polymerization involve the formation of a p-quinodimethane intermediate, which spontaneously self-initiates through a dimerization process leading to the formation of diradical species; chain propagation ensues on both sides of the diradical or chain termination occurs by the formation of side products, such as [2.2]paracyclophanes. Furthermore, different p-quinodimethane systems were assessed with respect to the size of their aromatic core as well as the presence of heteroatoms in/on the conjugated system. The nature of the aromatic core and the specific substituents alter the electronic structure of the p-quinodimethane monomers, affecting the mechanism of polymerization. The diradical character of the monomers has been investigated with several advanced methodologies, such as spin-projected UHF, CASSCF, CASPT2, and DMRG calculations. It was shown that larger aromatic cores led to a higher diradical character in the monomers, which in turn is proposed to cause rapid initiation.


I. INTRODUCTION Sovereign insolvency has early precedents. (1) Philip II of Spain had to declare moratoriums on the repayment of Spanish debt in 1557, 1560, 1575, and 1596, largely due to the rising costs of various military enterprises. (2) Many other sovereigns have defaulted on the payment of international debts since that time. On each occasion, almost without fail, extensive debate over the legal and economic aspects of sovereign debt crises have followed, just as they have followed recent financial crises in Iceland and Greece. Given the likelihood that such crises, and such debates, will continue in the future, there is an evident need for the world to reach agreement on a coherent set of guiding principles and procedures to facilitate the resolution of such crises. The establishment of an agreed mechanism for handling sovereign debt crises is essential if the world is to avoid the kind of political impasse that, at the time of writing, is causing such harmful delay in bringing about a resolution of the Greek debt crisis. In its 2010 report to the Hague Conference of the International Law Association (ILA), the ILA Sovereign Insolvency Study Group identified four broad policy pathways forward when it comes to handling sovereign debt crises. First, there is the option of doing nothing, so sovereign debt defaults or financial difficulties continue to be dealt with exclusively by voluntary negotiation, and agreement between creditors and debtor state. This has happened for at least the last one thousand years. Second, a minimal layer of legal rules to govern the conduct of the insolvency could be created in the form of a limited provision for creditor voting on a debt restructuring plan. Third, a more comprehensive layer of legal rules could be put into place, which would reflect relevant aspects of private sector insolvency reorganization regimes. The rules would not have any mandatory application, and in many cases would not be used. This occurs in the corporate arena when financial difficulties are dealt with by way of private agreements, or "workouts." The sovereign insolvency reorganization regime would provide a background against which debtor-creditor negotiations would take place. Fourth, a different style of insolvency regime could be designed which would emphasize stronger creditor rights, and in which debtor protections would not be the kind of feature they are in domestic insolvency regimes. Again, the legal regime would exist as a background against which negotiations would take place. (3) This paper explores the international law principles that should be taken into account when choosing among these policy options, and in reaching agreement on a global mechanism for resolving sovereign debt crises. The principles explored are those of general international law. In asking what international law has to say about the way in which sovereign debt crises should be handled, I turn to the various sources of international law as recognized in article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice: international conventions, whether general or particular; international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law; the general principles of law recognised by civilized nations; and judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations. (4) II. INTERNATIONAL CUSTOM, AS EVIDENCE OF A GENERAL PRACTICE ACCEPTED AS LAW Examining international custom, both state practice and opinio juris, this paper briefly outlines the history of approaches to handling sovereign debt crises. Examining state practice is particularly important given the lack of internationally accepted codifications relating to this area of international relations. This paper then examines general principles relevant to the handling of sovereign debt crises which can be found in widely accepted treaties and other instruments of international law. …


Abstract Purpose: To analyse the issue of public debt in Poland and examine its effect on other areas of socio-economic life as well as government policy. Approach: The question of public debt is placed in its historical context by looking at how it grew during the Communist system and influenced the transition period. The article draws on a range of secondary economic statistics and considers in detail a number of public policy issues, such as the reform of the pension system. Findings: One result of the large debt incurred by the end of the 1970s was that Poland became indebted to creditors in the West. This dependency helped to shape its economic policy at the end of the 1980s. The transition to a market economy placed new burdens on the country's public services, primarily due to the resulting large deactivation of labour. Furthermore, the creation of a compulsory private pension system at the end of the 1990s diverted significant funds out of the government's budget and swelled the country's public debt. Since the outbreak of the economic crisis, Poland has avoided a recession by increasing public investment by utilising available European Union funds. However, due to internal and external limits on the size of its public debt, the government is being pressured to reduce this spending. In order to create more fiscal room, the government has partly dismantled the compulsory private pension system as a short-term solution to the growing debt crisis. Value: In the wake of the global financial crisis and economic turmoil in the European Union, the matter of public debt has taken on increased importance. This paper considers this question from a long-term perspective in a country that has been relatively successful during the international economic downturn. By examining public debt from this broad perspective, we can better understand the economic situation in Poland and the European Union, whilst also shedding light on some of the surrounding academic perspectives and public policy debates.


Global temperatures have increased by 0.6°C and are expected to continue rising between 1.4°C and 5.8°C over the next century. In addition to this, recent studies also predict changes in seasonality as well as a higher incidence and rise in intensity of in extreme disturbance events. This unprecedented rate of change in environmental conditions resulting in a loss of biodiversity worldwide raises new questions in conservation: How does one determine a species vulnerability to a changing climate?

Given that their physiology is driven by environmental temperatures, ectotherms are likely to be strongly and directly affected by changes in climate. As a result of their evolutionary history under warm and aseasonal climates, tropical species, in particular, are sensitive to the slightest changes in temperatures. Leaf-tailed geckos (Saltuarius cornutus) are cryptic, arboreal geckos occurring in the Wet Tropics rainforests of North Queensland, Australia. I aimed in this study to refine estimates of population size and describe the thermoregulatory ecology of these animals in an attempt to partially measure their exposure to changing environmental conditions.

Due to their cryptic nature and very efficient camouflage, leaf-tailed geckos are very difficult to detect during surveys. As a result, numbers of geckos actually counted are variable and may be inaccurate. As these geckos are arboreal, the main factor affecting their detection is visibility through the canopy. Consequently, in my first chapter I measured the variation in detection probability in relation to canopy height. This, in turn, allowed me to reduce detection bias, and to model occupancy and abundance at various elevations. In contrast to previous estimates, these models revealed a much more homogeneous distribution across the region, and an even occupancy of leaf-tailed geckos in rainforest habitats at different elevations. In addition, it is likely that a large portion of the population remains undetected in the higher levels of the rainforest canopy, so estimates of abundance are also higher than those made using raw counts.

In the second chapter of this study I aimed to examine some of the behavioral patterns associated with movement and body temperature regulation in these geckos. To do this, I attached thermally sensitive radio transmitters to the animals and remotely recorded their locations and experienced temperatures. In addition to this, I also set up thermal data loggers to monitor air temperature available in the canopy. I found what appeared to be active thermoregulatory behavior. Leaf-tailed geckos seldom moved, and diurnally, were often found in the emergent canopy. Experienced temperatures were significantly higher than surrounding air temperatures, suggesting the animals actively sought warm microhabitats as diurnal retreats. In addition, they remained warmer than air in the evening, suggesting they used tree temperatures to remain warmer than ambient for much of the day, in both winter and summer. Also, the canopy's strongly stratified thermal environments offered cooler and more stable conditions near the ground, where the geckos could potentially find shelter from temperature extremes in future.

In conclusion, the results of this study paint a positive picture with regards to the conservation status of this species. Both parts of the project suggest that these geckos use the canopy's upper levels. Accounting for detection bias in models predicting occupancy and abundance models reinforced the idea that these animals were widespread and abundant in rainforest habitats throughout the region. The results of my behavioral study coincided with this, suggesting geckos preferred the emergent canopy, especially as they seek warmer diurnal retreats, but also at night. This tendency to thermoregulate, the availability of shelter only a few meters below their present canopy use, and a widespread distribution suggest leaf-tailed geckos populations may have behavioral and habitat options for mitigating the effects of climate change.


Abstract Indicators of rangeland health generally do not include a measure of biodiversity. Increasing attention to maintaining biodiversity in rangelands suggests that this omission should be reconsidered, and plant species richness and diversity are two metrics that may be useful and appropriate. Ideally, their response to a variety of anthropogenic and natural drivers in the ecosystem of interest would be clearly understood, thereby providing a means to diagnose the cause of decline in an ecosystem. Conceptual ecological models based on ecological principles and hypotheses provide a framework for this understanding, but these models must be supported by empirical evidence if they are to be used for decision making. To that end, we synthesize results from published studies regarding the responses of plant species richness and diversity to drivers that are of management concern in Great Plains grasslands, one of North America's most imperiled ecosystems. In the published literature, moderate grazing generally has a positive effect on these metrics in tallgrass prairie and a neutral to negative effect in shortgrass prairie. The largest published effects on richness and diversity were caused by moderate grazing in tallgrass prairies and nitrogen fertilization in shortgrass prairies. Although weather is often cited as the reason for considerable annual fluctuations in richness and diversity, little information about the responses of these metrics to weather is available. Responses of the two metrics often diverged, reflecting differences in their sensitivity to different types of changes in the plant community. Although sufficient information has not yet been published for these metrics to meet all the criteria of a good indicator in Great Plains Grasslands, augmenting current methods of evaluating rangeland health with a measure of plant species richness would reduce these shortcomings and provide information critical to managing for biodiversity.


OBJECTIVE
To report the outcome of dogs treated with triple pelvic osteotomy (TPO) for dorsal luxation after total hip replacement (THR).

STUDY DESIGN
Retrospective clinical case series.

ANIMALS
Seventeen client-owned animals.

METHODS
Medical records were searched at a single institution for dogs that had been treated with TPO for dorsal THR luxation. The angle of lateral opening (ALO), version angle (VA), and inclination angle (IA) were measured from radiographs after THR and TPO and corrected for pelvic rotation. A paired t test was performed to compare cup orientation after THR and TPO. Functional outcome was assessed at follow-up examination and during telephone interviews.

RESULTS
Eighteen TPOs were performed in 17 dogs, and radiographs were available for 15 cases. Open and/or closed hip reduction with additional stabilization was attempted unsuccessfully in 6 dogs prior to TPO. Triple pelvic osteotomy reduced the ALO by a mean of 23.0 ° ± 10.9 ° (P ≤ .001), increased VA by 9.0 ° ± 4.9 ° (P < .001), and increased IA by 2.9 ° ± 5.8 ° (P = .126). An excellent or good outcome was achieved in 12 dogs. Ventral luxation occurred in 3 dogs, and dorsal luxation occurred in 1 dog after TPO. Triple pelvic osteotomy excessively reduced ALO in 2 dogs with ventral luxation.

CONCLUSION
Triple pelvic osteotomy with cup retention is a viable alternative to cup revision for treatment of dorsal luxation of cemented and cementless THR. Triple pelvic osteotomy significantly reduces ALO and increases VA. Careful patient selection is recommended because excessive ventroversion can lead to ventral luxation.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Triple pelvic osteotomy offers a revision option that preserves the implant-bone interface and significantly reduces ALO. This technique may be appropriate in dogs with high ALO, luxoid hips, and prior failed revision attempts.


We examine the impact of trading costs on pairs trading profitability in the US equity market over the period 1963-2009. After controlling for commissions, market impact and short selling fees; we find that pairs trading remains profitable, albeit at much more modest levels. Specifically, we document a risk-adjusted return of about 30 basis points (bps) per month amongst portfolios of well matched pairs that are formed within refined industry groups. Strategies that are implemented on the top 30% largest stocks produce an average alpha of 24 bps per month. Pairs trading exhibits a lower risk and lower return profile than a short-term reversal strategy that sorts stocks relative to their industry peers. Notably, both of these forms of contrarian investing are largely unprofitable in the period post 2002.


Donald Trump initiated his run for president by framing the United States as a nation in descent. Adopting the slogan "Make America Great Again," he set his campaign against a backdrop of loss and declared a mission for reclamation. Numerous analysts claim that his candidacy and rhetoric galvanized white voters who feel left behind by changing times, but few have been able to provide direct evidence of a racialized sense of disadvantage, and most polls were not prepared to ask such specific questions prior to the Iowa Caucus. Using data from the National Study of Color-Blindness and Race-Consciousness—a unique nationally-sampled dataset fielded two weeks before the beginning of the 2016 primary election season—I demonstrate that Trump was not only the most popular candidate among white voters, but that he was especially supported by whites who think that their racial group fares worse in the job market than do black Americans, who feel that being white has been personally detrimental to their job prospects; who believe that there are generally more disadvantages to being white than there are advantages; and who disagree with the notion that systematic racism mainly benefits whites. My analysis argues that how whites think about whiteness mattered for their likelihood to support Donald Trump.


In an educational era defined by large school campuses and overcrowded classrooms, it is easy to overlook the era of one-room schools, when teachers filled every role, including janitor, and provided a familylike atmosphere in which children also learned from one another. In Tales from Kentucky One-Room School Teachers, William Lynwood Montell reclaims an important part of Kentucky's social, cultural, and educational heritage, assembling a fun and fascinating collection of schoolroom stories that chronicle a golden era in Kentucky. The firsthand narratives and anecdotes in this collection cover topics such as teacher-student relationships, day-to-day activities, lunchtime foods, students' personal relationships, and, of course, the challenges of teaching in a one-room school. Montell includes tales about fund-raising pie suppers, pranks, outrageous student behavior (such as the quiet little boy whose first "sharing" involved profanity), and variety of other topics. Montell even includes some of his own memories from his days as a pupil in a one-room school. Tales from Kentucky One-Room School Teachers is a delightful glimpse of the history of education.


In the spring of 1645, at the height of the English Civil War, a minor gentleman from Essex named Matthew Hopkins initiated the most savage witch-hunt in English history. By the autumn of 1647 at least 250 East Anglian innocents -- most of them women -- had been captured, interrogated and hauled before the courts. More than a hundred were convicted, condemned and hanged. Their alleged crimes ranged from destroying property and inflicting fatal illnesses, to feeding animal familiars with blood and having sexual intercourse with the devil. Accompanied by John Stearne, a godly neighbour from his parish, the twenty-two-year-old Hopkins toured the eastern counties on horseback, meticulously extracting evidence of satanic pacts and dispatching suspects for trial. Hopkins fashioned himself into the 'Witch Finder General' although the torture techniques used had no justification in religion or law, nor was his campaign officially sanctioned. The witch-hunt was an extraordinary event, and would long be remembered as the poisonous fruit of religious extremism, grown wild in a political vacuum, never to be repeated.Witchfinders tells the true and terrible story of Matthew Hopkins and his horrifying crusade as witch-hunting fever gripped the country. Malcolm Gaskill uses his great story-telling talents to bring mid-seventeenth century alive.


Bayesian online algorithms for Sum-Product Networks (SPNs) need to update their posterior distribution after seeing one single additional instance. To do so, they must compute moments of the model parameters under this distribution. The best existing method for computing such moments scales quadratically in the size of the SPN, although it scales linearly for trees. This unfortunate scaling makes Bayesian online algorithms prohibitively expensive, except for small or tree-structured SPNs. We propose an optimal linear-time algorithm that works even when the SPN is a general directed acyclic graph (DAG), which significantly broadens the applicability of Bayesian online algorithms for SPNs. There are three key ingredients in the design and analysis of our algorithm: 1). For each edge in the graph, we construct a linear time reduction from the moment computation problem to a joint inference problem in SPNs. 2). Using the property that each SPN computes a multilinear polynomial, we give an efficient procedure for polynomial evaluation by differentiation without expanding the network that may contain exponentially many monomials. 3). We propose a dynamic programming method to further reduce the computation of the moments of all the edges in the graph from quadratic to linear. We demonstrate the usefulness of our linear time algorithm by applying it to develop a linear time assume density filter (ADF) for SPNs.


Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is a common cause of chronic airway
 infections in patients with pulmonary disorders such as diffuse panbronchiolitis
 (DPB) and cystic fibrosis (CF). Long-term, low-dose macrolide treatment has
 markedly increased long-term survival of patients with DPB. Consequently,
 researchers are interested in using macrolides to treat CF patients. Previous studies
 have demonstrated that macrolides influence P. aeruginosa virulence. However,
 most studies evaluated the regulatory effects of macrolides on P. aeruginosa virulence factors after treatment over a short period (<48 hours). In this study,
 we subcultured P. aeruginosa PAO1 for 2 to 18 months in the presence of lowdose
 macrolides and evaluated antibiotic minimum inhibitory concentrations
 (MICs), bacterial growth, and virulence factors, including various motilities,
 biofilm formation, and production of rhamnolipids, total protease, elastase, and
 pyocyanin. The production of many virulence factors gradually decreased with
 macrolide exposure, and some were maximally affected after only 2 months.
 Despite an initial inhibition after treatment with macrolides, treated bacteria later
 exhibited increased biofilm formation compared to untreated controls. These
 findings suggest that low-dose macrolide therapy for chronic airway infection
 should be administered for at least 2 months to achieve optimal effects against P.
 aeruginosa.


Mixed concrete and symbolic execution is an important technique for finding and understanding software bugs, including security-relevant ones. However, existing symbolic execution techniques are limited to examining one execution path at a time, in which symbolic variables reflect only direct data dependencies. We introduce loop-extended symbolic execution, a generalization that broadens the coverage of symbolic results in programs with loops. It introduces symbolic variables for the number of times each loop executes, and links these with features of a known input grammar such as variable-length or repeating fields. This allows the symbolic constraints to cover a class of paths that includes different numbers of loop iterations, expressing loop-dependent program values in terms of properties of the input. By performing more reasoning symbolically, instead of by undirected exploration, applications of loop-extended symbolic execution can achieve better results and/or require fewer program executions. To demonstrate our technique, we apply it to the problem of discovering and diagnosing buffer-overflow vulnerabilities in software given only in binary form. Our tool finds vulnerabilities in both a standard benchmark suite and 3 real-world applications, after generating only a handful of candidate inputs, and also diagnoses general vulnerability conditions.