Introduction The world stood by and did nothing for one hundred days from April to July 1994. At that time Rwanda was one of the poorest countries in the world on a par with my wife's adopted homeland of Haiti. Drought and war diminished food production significantly. Estimates at the time put the number who would need food to survive at 800,000. In an ironic twist of fate this is the figure used for the total number killed in the genocide when Hutu took up machete against his Tutsi neighbor. According to Gourevitch, the genocide "was the most efficient mass killings since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki" and on average the perpetrators terminated five and a half lives for every minute of the genocide. (1) By the time they were finished killing, dead, mutilated, decomposing, and bleached skeletal bodies were all that remained. The total number killed represented 10% of the 8 million citizens of the country of Rwanda. Atrocities included killing, rape, torture, and maiming of babies, children, youth, and adults of every age. Eyewitnesses reported watching in horror as perpetrators beheaded children. In addition to the hundreds of thousands killed, there were hundreds of thousands who perpetrated violence and killing. Colonial and Missionary Roots of the Genocide A report commissioned by The National Unity and Reconciliation Commission in Rwanda in 2005 traced the roots of the 1994 genocide. (2) Anastase Shyaka who wrote the report on behalf of the Commission identified several causal factors that precipitated the carnage in April 1994. He views the conflict as one that is "identity-based" and fueled by fears that one group feels threatened by another and thereby perceived as an enemy (p. 8). The identity mechanisms in place in Rwanda between the Hutus and Tutsis arose from a complex interweaving of both external and internal factors. Colonization of Rwanda by European oppressors brought a foreign ideological conception of the racial heritage and makeup of the African people. The biblical story of Noah's three sons (Shem, Ham, and Japheth according to some interpretations of Genesis 9-10) seemed to support this racial theory. The so-called "Hamitic myth" (p. 11) explained the various distinctions between "genuine Negroes" and "less Negroes." The genuine Negroes were the branch placed under the "curse of Ham" and seen as servants of the other branches of the Noetic line. The "less Negroes" came from a more "Caucasoid" branch seen in Egypt and Abyssinia. In Rwanda, many believe that European explorers, traders, businessmen, and missionaries brought with them this racial ideology and imposed it on the three tribes designated as Hutus, Tutsis, and Twas. Within the ideological matrix imported with the Germans and Belgians the Tutsi minority (14% of the population) viewed as the superior non-cursed branch while they viewed the Hutu majority (85% of the population) as those under a curse and destined for servitude to the superior brothers. With this ideology in mind, the colonizers identified the Tutsis for important government positions and for selection to attend private schools. This practice of "indirect colonization" (p. 14) gave practical impetus to the "divide and rule" strategy of the colonizers. The Tutsis became the natural choice for assisting in the control of the other "inferior" groups who could be "naturally dominated" and controlled by proxies (p. 14). The Commission provided an example an example in the exclusion of all the Hutu chiefs from the political and governmental structures in the 1930s based upon previous colonial administration of the country under Morthehan Law. Instead European and American missionaries, with the full agreement of the government, placed Tutsis in administrative positions. Ethnic choices in favor of the Tutsis, made at the administrative and political levels of government, trickled-down to selections about who attended the elite government run and missionary sponsored boarding schools. …


Although cereal grains are the preferred food plants of the cereal leaf beetle, Oulema melanopus (L.), several other graminoid species are acceptable feeding hosts of larvae and adults of this chrysomelid beetle. In view of the potential for expanding the use of diverse endophytic fungi (Neotyphodium Glenn, Bacon and Hanlin) to protect forage and cereal grasses from insect pests, more information on the effect of Neotyphodium-infected (E+) grasses on the behavior and performance of the most important graminoid pests, including O. melanopus, is required. In feeding and oviposition choice experiments, adult O. melanopus fed readily on E+ and uninfected (E−) plants of wild tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) S.J. Darbyshire) and alpine timothy (Phleum alpinum L.), while exhibiting a feeding preference for E− over E+ plants of one tall fescue accession. In larval survival and development experiments, low survival on E+ plants of alpine timothy and one tall fescue accession (averaged 3.75 - 12.5%) was not linked to slow development of surviving larvae because developmental periods were similar on E− (averaged 11.31 - 12.73 days) and E+ (11.33 - 11.7 days) plants. Larval mortality was 100% on E+ plants of tall fescue from Morocco. Thus, O. melanopus feeding and survival is significantly reduced on some E+ wild grasses. Our results also expand our knowledge of the antiinsect properties of fungal endophytes in diverse grasses for possible use in protecting forage and cereal grass cultivars from O. melanopus and other important pests.


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Some works of fiction are widely held by critics to have little value, yet these works are not only popular but also widely admired in ways that are not always appreciated. In this paper I make use of Kendall Walton's account of fictional worlds to argue that fictional worlds can and often do have value, including aesthetic value, that is independent of the works that create them. In the process, I critique Walton's notion of fictional worlds and offer a defense of the study and appreciation of fictional worlds, as distinguished from the works of fiction with which they are associated.


Abstract
 Relationships within Schoenoplectus and Schoenoplectiella are largely unknown and the phylogenetic positions of these genera relative to the other four genera in Fuireneae and clade of Cypereae are unclear. A few studies with sparse or localized sampling have added valuable insights, but a North American sampling and a broad global perspective are needed. To generate a more robust phylogenetic hypothesis, we increased the number and breadth of taxon sampling in Schoenoplectus and Schoenoplectiella, including all constituent species in North America, all genera in Fuireneae, and strategically sampled genera in Cypereae. Phylogenetic relationships were estimated using DNA sequences from the nuclear ribosomal ITS region, chloroplast DNA trnL intron and trnL-trnF intergenic spacer region, and partial chloroplast DNA ndhF coding region and parsimony, likelihood, and Bayesian analyses. The proposed phylogeny reveals Pseudoschoenus, Schoenoplectiella, and Cypereae are supported as a clade, and Schoenoplectiella is paraphyletic and sister to Pseudoschoenus. Schoenoplectus is monophyletic, sister to Actinoscirpus. Schoenoplectus sections Schoenoplectus and Malacogeton were resolved; comprehensive sampling in Schoenoplectus section Schoenoplectus and unclear placement of S. californicus suggests the need to examine formerly recognized section Pterolepis. The proposed phylogeny supports the erection of sections in Schoenoplectiella, but indicates further morphological and molecular data is needed for section diagnoses. Two Cypereae taxa previously resolved in a Schoenoplectiella clade were included in this analysis: Scirpoides varia resolved in a clade with Cypereae taxa, and Isolepis humillima resolved within Schoenoplectiella. Results from the phylogenetic hypotheses support a need to revisit the generic placement of Isolepis humillima and revise Fuireneae to resolve tribal paraphyly.


Our ground‐based millimeter‐wave measurements of chlorine monoxide (ClO) in the ozone layer above Hawaii since 1992, together with a few measurements from the same site using an earlier version of the same instrument during the 1980's, provide a unique data set for the determination of the long‐term trend of active chlorine in the middle stratosphere. The trend shows a rapid rise of 58% from 1982 to a broad maximum in 1994–1997 and a substantial decline of 1.5%/year from the maximum through late 2004. About 1/3 of the decline may be due to changes in methane. Both the rise and the decline are consistent with that expected from the rise and decline of total chlorine in the troposphere, which reached a maximum in 1992–1993, then declined sharply after implementation of international agreements to phase out chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) production starting with the Montreal Protocol.


We introduce a new model of repeated games in large populations with random matching, overlapping generations, and limited records of past play. We prove that steady-state equilibria exist under general conditions on records. When the updating of a player's record can depend on the actions of both players in a match, any strictly individually rational action can be supported in steady-state equilibrium. When record updates can depend only on a player's own actions, fewer actions can be supported. Here we focus on the prisoner's dilemma, and restrict attention to strict equilibria that are coordination-proof, meaning that matched partners never play a Pareto-dominated Nash equilibrium in the one-shot game induced by their records and expected continuation payoffs. Such equilibria can support full cooperation if the stage game is either "strictly supermodular and mild" or "strongly supermodular," but permit no cooperation at all for a near-complementary parameter set. The presence of "supercooperator" records, where a player cooperates against any opponent, is crucial for supporting maximal cooperation when the stage game is "severe."


The green communications paradigm has been receiving much attention in wireless networks in recent years. More specifically, in the context of cellular communications, the concept of Cell Switch Off (CSO) has been recognized as a promising approach to reduce the energy consumption. The need is expected to be pressing especially in the next decade with the increasing small cell deployment. However, the cell switch on/off decisions compounded by the resource allocation task in CSO constitute a highly challenging optimization problem due to the fact that this problem can be viewed as a generalized version of the resource allocation (scheduling) problem in the conventional cellular networks without CSO, which itself is already difficult. This paper introduces a novel framework to CSO based on multiobjective evolutionary optimization. The main contribution of this paper is that the proposed multiobjective framework takes the traffic behaviour in both space and time (known by operators) into account in the optimal cell switch on/off decision making which is entangled with the corresponding resource allocation task. The exploitation of this statistical information is done in a number of ways, including through the introduction of a weighted network capacity metric. This indicator prioritizes cells which are expected to have traffic concentration resulting in on/off decisions that achieve substantial energy savings in scenarios where traffic is highly unbalanced, without compromising the QoS. The proposed framework distinguishes itself from the CSO papers in the literature in two ways: 1) The number of cell switch on/off transitions as well as handoffs are minimized. 2) The computationally-heavy part of the algorithm is executed offline, which makes the real-time implementation feasible.


Piezoelectric effects on the optical properties of GaN/AlN quantum dots have been investigated by both continuous-wave and time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) measurements. The increase in excitation density in CW-PL leads to a blue shift of the transition energy. The TRPL measurements reveal a very large blue-shift (0.6 eV) of the PL peak energy, which reduces with time delay in a complex way, due to the strong transition-energy dependence of the carrier recombination time. The results are discussed in terms of respective roles played by the population of excited levels and by the screening of internal electric fields by accumulation of electron-hole dipoles in the quantum boxes. (C) 2003 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.


Many theories of asset prices assume time-varying uncertainty in order to generate time-varying risk premia. This paper generates time-varying uncertainty endogenously, through precautionary saving dynamics. Precautionary motives prescribe that, in bad times, next period's consumption should be very sensitive to news. This time-varying sensitivity results in time-varying consumption volatility. Production makes this channel visible, and external habit preferences amplify it. An estimated model featuring this channel quantitatively accounts for excess return and dividend predictability regressions. It also matches the first two moments of excess equity returns, the risk-free rate, and the second moments of consumption, output, and investment.


Abstract Academic buoyancy refers to a positive, constructive, and adaptive response to the types of challenges and setbacks experienced in a typical and everyday academic setting. In this project we examined whether academic buoyancy explained any additional variance in test anxiety over and above that explained by coping. Two hundred and ninety-eight students in their final two years of compulsory schooling completed self-report measures of academic buoyancy, coping, and test anxiety. Results suggested that buoyancy was inversely related to test anxiety and unrelated to coping. With the exception of test-irrelevant thoughts, test anxiety was positively related to avoidance coping and social support. Test-irrelevant thoughts were inversely related to task focus, unrelated to social support, and positively related to avoidance. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that academic buoyancy explained a significant additional proportion of variance in test anxiety when the variance for coping had already been accounted for. These findings suggest that academic buoyancy can be considered as a distinct construct from that of adaptive coping.


We present a fully automatic method to track and quantify the morphodynamics of differentiating neurons in fluorescence time-lapse microscopy datasets. While previous efforts have successfully quantified the dynamics of organelles such as the cell body, nucleus, or chromosomes of cultured cells, neurons have proved to be uniquely challenging due to their highly deformable neurites which expand, branch, and collapse. Our approach is capable of robustly detecting, tracking, and segmenting all the components of each neuron present in the sequence including the nucleus, soma, neurites, and filopodia. To meet the demands required for high-throughput processing, our framework is designed to be extremely efficient, capable of processing a single image in approximately two seconds on a conventional notebook computer. For validation of our approach, we analyzed neuronal differentiation datasets in which a set of genes was perturbed using RNA interference. Our analysis confirms previous quantitative findings measured from static images, as well as previous qualitative observations of morphodynamic phenotypes that could not be measured on a large scale. Finally, we present new observations about the behavior of neurons made possible by our quantitative analysis, which are not immediately obvious to a human observer.


We report a 46 XX male syndrome diagnosed after failure of gonadotropin therapy taken for hypogonadotropic hypogonadism due to a pituitary macroadenoma. A 39-year-old man with a non-functioning pituitary macroadenoma was admitted to our clinic due to vision loss and infertility. After pituitary surgery, vision loss improved while infertility still existed. Low testosterone levels without elevated gonadotropins were established suggesting hypogonadotropic hypogonadism due to pituitary adenoma. Gonadotropin treatment was initiated. There was no response to treatment after 12 months. A karyotype analysis was ordered to investigate other causes of infertility. Karyotype analysis showed a 46 XX male syndrome that can explain the failure of gonadotropin therapy. Testosterone therapy was started instead of gonadotropin therapy. 46 XX male syndrome usually presents with hypergonadotropic hypogonadism. However, in our case, it presented with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism due to pituitary mass not responding to gonadotropin therapy. It is important to keep in mind to obtain a genetic analysis of patients whose gonadotropin therapy failed, even if their gonadotropin levels are not elevated.


During the autumn/spring "off" season, yield and quality of tomatoes are often affected by insufficient CO2 and low light in greenhouse production. Although tomato is one of the most widely cultivated vegetables, few studies have investigated the interactive effects of supplementary light and CO2 enrichment on its growth, photosynthesis, yield, and fruit quality in greenhouse production. This study investigates the effects of supplementary light (200 ± 20 μmol·m–2·s–1) and CO2 enrichment (increases to about 800 μmol·mol–1), independently and in combination, on these parameters in autumn through spring tomato production. Compared with tomatoes grown under ambient CO2 concentrations and no supplementary light (CaLn), supplementary light (CaLs) and supplementary light and CO2 enrichment (CeLs) significantly promoted growth and dry weight accumulation. Meanwhile, CO2 enrichment (CeLn) and CaLs significantly improved photosynthetic pigment contents and net photosynthetic (Pn) rates, whereas CeLs further improved these and also increased water use efficiency (WUE). CeLn, CaLs, and CeLs significantly increased single fruit weight by 16.2%, 28.9%, and 36.6%, and yield per plant by 19.0%, 35.6%, and 60.8%, respectively. The effect of supplementary light on these parameters was superior to that of CO2 enrichment. In addition, CaLs and CeLs improved nutritional quality significantly. Taken together, CeLs promoted the greatest yield, WUE, and fruit quality, suggesting it may be a worthwhile practice for off-season tomato cultivation.


Mechanisms to explain swarms of shallow seismicity and inflation-deflation cycles at Yellowstone caldera (western United States) commonly invoke episodic escape of magma-derived brines or gases from the ductile zone, but no correlative changes in the surface efflux of magmatic constituents have ever been documented. Our analysis of individual growth rings in a tree core from the Mud Volcano thermal area within the caldera links a sharp ∼25% drop in 14 C to a local seismic swarm in 1978. The implied fivefold increase in CO 2 emissions clearly associates swarm seismicity with upflow of magma-derived fluid and shows that pulses of magmatic CO 2 can rapidly traverse the 5-km-thick brittle zone, even through Yellowstone9s enormous hydrothermal reservoir. The 1978 event predates annual deformation surveys, but recognized connections between subsequent seismic swarms and changes in deformation suggest that CO 2 might drive both processes.


Today, the quality of urban spaces is one of the most important environmental design concerns. The present study aims to present the environmental preferences of users of under-bridge spaces to achieve an appropriate model for the design of these spaces. The study is carried out using two qualitative and quantitative methods. In the first stage, in order to examine citizens' environmental preferences, the opinions of 50 users of urban spaces about abandoned spaces under urban bridges are examined using Quicksort technique1 and in-depth interviews, and finally, the environmental patterns affecting the design of spaces under bridges are extracted. In the second stage, the environmental patterns obtained from the first stage of the study are examined by the participation of 144 graduates of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Design using a questionnaire and by random sampling. Then, the reliability and validity of the questionnaire are assessed and finally, after collecting the data using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), the model of this study is produced in SPSS Software and Lisrel software. The results indicate that citizens' environmental preferences for the design of spaces under urban bridges are: safety and security, physical cohesion, visibility, vitality, sensory richness, sense of belonging, and climatic comfort. This study also shows that recognizing and understanding the needs of users of space will significantly help to provide better environment to understand and experience higher quality spaces and will provide the necessary theoretical frameworks to environmental designers, especially architects and urban designers.


Summary Objectives: To compare the conformation of the proximal tibia evaluated on a medio- lateral radiograph between small and large dogs with cranial cruciate ligament disease (CCLD). Methods: Retrospective clinical study with dogs having radiographic evaluation and CCLD confirmed at surgery. The first group (n = 52) was comprised of dogs weighing less than 15 kg and the second group (n = 52) of dogs weighing more than 15 kg. The tibial plateau angle (TPA), the relative tibial tube-rosity width (rTTW), and the Z angle were measured on preoperative radiographs with imaging measurement software. Linear mixed models were used to assess the effect of weight, age, sex, and neutered status on radiographic measurements and to estimate interobserver variabilities. Results: The small dog group had a greater TPA (30.1° ± 5.3; p <0.001 with a mean difference of 4.9° [95% CI: 3.8–6.0]) and Z angle (69.9° ± 5.6; p<0.001 with a mean difference of 6.1° ([95% CI: 4.9–7.4]) than the large dog group. Sex and neutered status further influenced the TPA and Z angle val -ues. No significant effect was observed on the rTTW values. A strong correlation was found between the TPA and the Z angle (r = 0.61, p <0.001). Variances were not significantly different between observers. Overall the interobserver variability was low suggesting that agreement was good. Clinical significance: Small dogs with CCLD have a steeper tibial plateau than large dogs with CCLD. Sex and neutered status also had an effect on some measured variables. This anatomical difference could influence the surgical technique, which may affect the outcome. The good interobserver agreement suggests the observer is unlikely to influence surgical planning.


Erythema nodosum, a painful disorder of the subcutaneous fat, is the most common type of panniculitis. Generally, it is idiopathic, although the most common identifiable cause is streptococcal pharyngitis. Erythema nodosum may be the first sign of a systemic disease such as tuberculosis, bacterial or deep fungal infection, sarcoidosis, inflammatory bowel disease, or cancer. Certain drugs, including oral contraceptives and some antibiotics, also may be etiologic. The hallmark of erythema nodosum is tender, erythematous, subcutaneous nodules that typically are located symmetrically on the anterior surface of the lower extremities. Erythema nodosum does not ulcerate and usually resolves without atrophy or scarring. Most direct and indirect evidence supports the involvement of a type IV delayed hypersensitivity response to numerous antigens. A deep incisional or excisional biopsy specimen should be obtained for adequate visualization. Erythema nodosum represents an inflammatory process involving the septa between subcutaneous fat lobules, with an absence of vasculitis and the presence of radial granulomas. Diagnostic evaluation after comprehensive history and physical examination includes complete blood count with differential; erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein level, or both; testing for streptococcal infection (i.e., throat culture, rapid antigen test, antistreptoly-sin-O titer, and polymerase chain reaction assay); and biopsy. Patients should be stratified by risk for tuberculosis. Further evaluation (e.g., purified protein derivative test, chest radiography, stool cultures) varies based on the individual. Erythema nodosum tends to be self-limited. Any underlying disorders should be treated and supportive care provided. Pain can be managed with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.


We introduce a method for modeling disk galaxies designed to take full advantage of data from integral field spectroscopy (IFS). The method fits equilibrium models to simultaneously reproduce the surface brightness, rotation, and velocity dispersion profiles of a galaxy. The models are fully self-consistent 6D distribution functions for a galaxy with a Sérsic profile stellar bulge, exponential disk, and parametric dark-matter halo, generated by an updated version of GalactICS. By creating realistic flux-weighted maps of the kinematic moments (flux, mean velocity, and dispersion), we simultaneously fit photometric and spectroscopic data using both maximum-likelihood and Bayesian (MCMC) techniques. We apply the method to a GAMA spiral galaxy (G79635) with kinematics from the SAMI Galaxy Survey and deep g- and r-band photometry from the VST-KiDS survey, comparing parameter constraints with those from traditional 2D bulge–disk decomposition. Our method returns broadly consistent results for shared parameters while constraining the mass-to-light ratios of stellar components and reproducing the H i-inferred circular velocity well beyond the limits of the SAMI data. Although the method is tailored for fitting integral field kinematic data, it can use other dynamical constraints like central fiber dispersions and H i circular velocities, and is well-suited for modeling galaxies with a combination of deep imaging and H i and/or optical spectra (resolved or otherwise). Our implementation (MagRite) is computationally efficient and can generate well-resolved models and kinematic maps in under a minute on modern processors.


In the past years, the scientific community has placed a special interest in remotely sensing soil moisture and vegetation parameters. Radiometry and radar techniques have been widely used for years. Global Navigation Satellite Systems opportunity signals Reflected (GNSS-R) over the earth's surface are younger, but they have already shown their potential to perform these observations. This paper presents a GNSS-R technique, based on Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements, that allows the retrieval of several geophysical parameters from land surfaces. This technique measures the power of the interference signal between the direct GPS signal and the reflected one after scattering over the land, so it is called Interference Pattern Technique (IPT). This paper presents the results obtained after applying the IPT for topography, soil moisture, and vegetation height retrievals over vegetation-covered soils.


A wave energy converter (WEC) must be designed to survive the extreme sea states that it will be subject to throughout its lifetime. Although there are many analysis methods and codes available to accomplish this, there are currently several engineering challenges to WEC survival design. Foremost, the computational design approach will typically involve a trade-off between accuracy and computational efficiency. Additionally, most computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes are not ideally suited to modeling extreme events for WECs with multibody dynamics, power-take-off systems, and mooring systems. Finally, although WEC design standards and CFD guidelines are emerging, with the current immaturity of the WEC industry, they are not yet well established. In this study, loads on a 1:35-scale, moored, multibody WEC are evaluated with CFD. The CFD results are compared with results obtained from a computationally efficient, midfidelity model based on linearized potential flow hydrodynamics. For these model verification comparisons, both operational and survival configurations are considered. The extreme load results obtained, using both codes, indicate that the survival configuration successfully sheds loads during extreme sea states. It is also found that WEC-Sim, when appropriately applied, can provide reasonable load results, at a fraction of the computational expense of CFD. However, for the more extreme sea states, and for higher-order effects not included in the WEC-Sim model, the linear-based results have significant errors in comparison to the CFD-based results, and should be used judiciously.


AIM
To identify factors found in the research literature to be associated with smoking cessation in pregnancy.

METHODS
Electronic searches of the bibliographic databases of PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Elsevier, Scopus and ISI Web of Science were conducted to April 2017. All studies reporting factors associated with smoking cessation or continuing smoking during pregnancy were included and reviewed systematically, irrespective of study design. The Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale was used to assess the study quality. The DerSimonian & Laird random-effects model was used to conduct meta-analyses, and where effect estimates were reported for factors included in at least three studies.

RESULTS
Fifty-four studies, including 505 584 women globally who smoked before pregnancy, 15 clinical trials and 40 observational studies, were included in the review and 36 (65.5%) were considered to be of high quality. This review identified 11 socio-demographic, seven socially related, 19 smoking behaviour-related, five pregnancy-related, six health-related and six psychological factors that were associated significantly with smoking cessation during pregnancy. The most frequently observed significant factors associated with cessation were: higher level of education, pooled odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.16 (1.80-2.84), higher socio-economic status: 1.97 (1.20-3.24), overseas maternal birth: 2.00 (1.40-2.84), Medicaid coverage or private insurance: 1.54 (1.29-1.85), living with partner or married: 1.49 (1.38-1.61), partner/other members of the household do not smoke: 0.42 (0.35-0.50), lower heaviness of smoking index score: 0.45 (0.27-0.77, lower baseline cotinine level: 0.78 (0.64-0.94), low exposure to second-hand smoking: 0.45 (0.20-1.02), not consuming alcohol before and/or during pregnancy: 2.03 (1.47-2.80), primiparity: 1.85 (1.68-2.05), planned breastfeeding:1.99 (1.94-2.05), perceived adequate pre-natal care: 1.74 (1.38-2.19), no depression: 2.65 (1.62-4.30) and low stress during pregnancy: 0.58 (0.44-0.77).

CONCLUSION
A wide range of socio-demographics, relationship, social, smoking-related, pregnancy-related, health and psychological factors have been found to predict smoking cessation in pregnancy.


Contained in this thesis is the quest to model the growth, form and mechanics of part of the cellular cytoskeleton known as the lamellipodium. The cellular cytoskeleton is made of filamentous proteins, such as F-actin, and provides for structural support for the cell. Lamellipodia are extensions of the cellular cytoskeleton at the leading edge of a crawling cell generated so that the cell can extend, and thereby move in a particular direction. In the first two chapters, we focus on morphological characteristics of lamellipodia formation, which is, in part, shaped by branched filament nucleation via the branching protein Arp2/3. For example, we find that the orientation of filaments with respect to the leading edge of a crawling cell is optimized for filament growth. In addition, orientational and spatial degrees of freedom of the filaments are married to derive the overall shape of the filament density profile along the leading edge, another morphological characteristic. In the next two chapters, we explore the mechanics of model lamellipodia, where both freely-rotating and angle-constraining cross-linkers of actin filaments are present, in addition to the angle-constraining effect that the branching protein Arp2/3 has between mother and daughter filaments. We compare the mechanical properties of the compositely cross-linked filament networks to that of purely freely-rotating crosslinked filament networks, which has been studied by others previously. Using both theory and numerical simulations, we find that the addition of angle-constraining crosslinkers allows the lamellipodium to become rigid and transmit forces with a minimal amount of material—yet another optimization principle. Therefore, in our quest to model lamellipodia formation, we have uncovered along the way several optimization principles, which may ultimately guide, in part, our understanding of how cells crawl to heal wounds or create organs. MORPHOLOGY and MECHANICS of the ACTIN CYTOSKELETON


The Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan, launched in 2003, is the European Union's (EU) response to the global fight against illegal logging. In particular, FLEGT aims at reducing trade in illegal timber between the EU and timber producer partner countries.FLEGT operates through two major instruments: bilateral trade agreements — known as voluntary partnership agreements (VPAs) — that are signed with willing producer countries, and the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR), which came into force in March 2013. The EUTR mandates EU importers to exert due diligence in their sourcing of timber from abroad to exclude illegal supplies.To date, six countries have signed VPAs. Among them, five have committed to apply VPA provisions regarding legality verification not only to timber imported to Europe, but also to timber traded on the domestic market in signatory producer countries. This means that timber harvested and traded on the domestic market will be regulated by national VPA licensing schemes (the so-called Timber Legality Assurance System, [TLAS]).Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ecuador and Indonesia are characterized by a large, vibrant and largely informal domestic timber sector, which supports the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of local forest users including small-scale farmers, indigenous communities, chainsaw millers, traders and service providers such as transporters. The domestic sector in Gabon is less significant due to the country's small population and the concentration of activities in the capital. In most countries, employment in the informal sector is comparable to or higher than the formal industrial timber sector. The estimated number of informal jobs provided by the sector varies greatly among countries, from about 45,000 in Cameroon to about 1.5 million in Indonesia.In all countries studied, the domestic timber sector is characterized by the activities of smallholders, chainsaw millers and traders, who rarely own a legal harvesting permit and extract and process small quantities of timber with chain or mobile saws. The resulting low-quality timber is traded in domestic markets or across the borders of neighboring countries, with little formal taxation. Research results indicate, however, that as the product moves along the production chain, 5–15% of the total costs incurred by informal operators are paid in bribes to representatives of ministries, local police, the military and customs officials.By agreeing to include the domestic sector as an integral part of their TLAS, producer countries are committing to undertake broad governance reforms of the entire forestry sector. Implicitly, such reforms entail formalization of the domestic sector through monitoring, control and verification.In the countries of the Congo Basin and in Indonesia, such reforms will require the redrafting of current legal frameworks, which are designed around industrial large-scale export-oriented forestry operations, conducted by politically powerful companies with logging concessions. In all countries, existing laws are not structured to sustain a healthy, small-scale, domestic timber market. Research findings indicate a need to improve and simplify access to the resource; to develop and adopt specific fiscal regimes for the domestic timber sector (e.g. royalty rates, processing, transport and marketing levies); to improve access to credit on favorable terms for small-scale operators; to create incentives to comply with the law; and to improve flows of information to small-scale operators.


Taken from Appian's Roman History, the five books collected here form the sole surviving continuous historical narrative of the era between 133-35 BC - a time of anarchy and instability for the Roman Empire. A masterly account of a turbulent epoch, they describe the Catiline conspiracy; the rise and fall of the First Triumvirate; the murder of Julius Caesar; the formation of the Second Triumvirate by Antonius, Octavian, and Lepidus; and brutal civil war. A compelling depiction of the decline of the Roman state into brutality and violence, The Civil Wars portrays political discontent, selfishness and the struggle for power - a struggle that was to culminate in a titanic battle for mastery over the Roman Empire, and the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra by Octavian in 31 BC


Purpose: To test the hypothesis if dilation or direct visual internal urethrotomy (DVIU) are predictive of urethroplasty failure. Retrospective study, from 1999 to 2010, including184 patients (median age 37 years) who underwent ventral onlay oral graft urethroplasty for bulbar strictures. Exclusion criteria were traumatic strictures, lichen sclerosus, failed hypospadias repair, failed urethroplasty, panurethral strictures, and incomplete medical charts. Pre-operative evaluation included clinical history, physical examination, urine culture, residual urine measurement, uroflowmetry, urethrography, ultrasound and urethroscopy. Surgery was considered a failure when any post-operative instrumentation was needed. Median follow-up was 48 months. Out of 184 patients, 38 (20.7%) had not undergone previous treatment, 7 (3.8%) had undergone dilation, 81 (44%) DVIU and 58 (31.5%) DVIU associated with dilation. Out of 184 patients, 157 (85.3%) were successful and 27 (14.7%) failures. Out of 38 patients who had not undergone previous treatment, 33 (86.8%) were successful; out of 7 patients who had undergone dilation, 6 (85.7%) were successful; out of 81 patients who had undergone DVIU, 72 (88.9%) were successful; out of 58 patients who had undergone DVIU and dilation, 46 (79.3%) were successful. According to the number of previous DVIU, ventral graft urethroplasty for bulbar strictures showed high failure rate in patients who had undergone more than four DVIU associated or not with dilation.


Abstract For many centuries, (semi-)nomadic pastoralists used pasture areas in the Tien Shan and Pamir mountains. Under Soviet rule, sedentarization began in the 1930s and collective farms replaced socioeconomic units based on kinship. Soviet land use was monofunctional and dependent on high levels of inputs such as chemical fertilizers, machinery, concentrated feed, and subsidies and was neither ecologically sustainable nor economically viable. In the process of political and economic transformation after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, state farms have been dismantled, land and livestock privatized, and specialized employees such as technicians have suddenly become independent farmers. Today, large farms and herds no longer exist, having been replaced by a multitude of small household enterprises. Each household's socioeconomic situation is unique, and so are household livelihood strategies. Activities focusing on sustainable development and sustainable pasture management must therefore take account of this new socioeconomic situation.


The construction of novel heterojunctions is precisely deemed to be an effective strategy to facilitate photo-generated carrier separation and boost charge utilization efficiency, leading to much enhanced photocatalytic activities. Herein, in situ of growing ultrafine SnS2 nanoparticles on a porous g-C3N4 sheet (SnS2/g-C3N4) 0D/2D heterojunction was achieved via a low-temperature solvothermal process. Combined with various characterization techniques, it is revealed that SnS2 dots with a diameter of 3 nm distribute evenly on the surface of the g-C3N4 substrate with strong C-S bonds. The photocatalytic activities are evaluated by the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation, showing a much enhanced photodegradation efficiency of 96.8% over 105 min irradiation and an enhanced reaction rate constant (k = 3.3% min-1, 8.25 and 8.05 times that of pure g-C3N4 and SnS2). The improved photocatalytic activities could be ascribed to the efficient electron-hole separation of porous g-C3N4, which is caused by the ultrafine SnS2 dots linked with the g-C3N4 substrate through C-S bonds. Therefore, the recombination efficiency is decreased. In addition, reactive active species trapping experiments prove that the superoxide radical (˙O2-) and holes (h+) are the main active species in this photocatalytic system. The photodegradation mechanism of the SnS2/g-C3N4 heterojunction is analyzed and demonstrated in detail.

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SUMMARY This review charts out recent developments in gender research in forestry research, with a focus on tropical and dry forests in developing countries. We reviewed 121 publications extracted from the Web of Knowledge database and publications by the Center for International Forestry Research for the past 10 years. Over the past decade (2000–2011) gender-focused forestry research has been dominated by studies that evaluate men's and women's participation in community forestry initiatives and the commercialisation of forest products and market access. Community forestry studies were mainly conducted in South Asia and market access studies in Africa. The geographical spread of studies is uneven, with most studies in India and Nepal. We suggest that the observed patterns relate to recent devolution reforms of forest management, which have a longer tradition in South Asia. The patterns also relate to the focus on poverty reduction efforts that gained widespread prominence in the 1990s. Integrating gender into forestry research is constrained by the broad perception that forestry is a male-dominated profession, a lack of clarity among researchers of the concept of gender, and a lack of technical skills, interest and/or awareness of gender. Key knowledge gaps are identified.


Issues in fisheries have been regulated in various international conventions. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS 1982) has builta regime in the field of conservation and management of fishery resources based upon maritime zones or fish species that exist and available in this zone. However, UNCLOS 1982 only focuses on the issue of fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the high seas, thus it was not sufficient to overcome the problems of high frequent of fishing in maritime zones which are fully subject to the jurisdiction of coastal states, such as in the Inland waters, archipelagic waters and the Territorial Sea. This article aims to examine the legal framework and mechanisms of fisheries subsidies in the aspects of trade and sustainable development. In this article, discussion would carried out in order to examine the legal framework and mechanisms of marine fisheries subsidies that are implemented with the principles of fair-trade and sustainable development, both in the international level, as well as in the national level. Thus, this research is expected to be able to bridge the interests of developed countries and developing countries, especially Indonesia, in order to achieve fair trade in the field of fisheries and resource utilization of sustainable fisheries.


Background: Preemptive analgesia involves the introduction of an analgesic regimen before the onset of noxious stimuli, with the goal of preventing sensitization of the nervous system to subsequent stimuli that could amplify pain. Aims: To compare the efficacy of pregabalin and gabapentin as preemptive analgesics in surgery below the umbilicus under spinal anesthesia. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in a time span of 1 year in a tertiary care hospital of eastern India after obtaining institutional ethical clearance and informed consent of the subjects. Sixty-two patients were randomly allocated to two groups using an online randomizer. Group G (n = 31) received single dose of gabapentin 1,200 mg and Group P (n = 31) received a single dose of pregabalin 300 mg. the parameters were studied for comparing the quality of intraoperative and postoperative analgesia and sedation and complications. Results: In the 24 h of postoperative period, the mean visual analogue scale (VAS) scores at rest of Group P was always significantly lower than those of Group G. In Group G (gabapentin group) rescue analgesic was given after 9.41 ± 1.84 h while in Group P (pregabalin group), rescue analgesic was required after 15.38 ± 3.52 h. In Group G subsequent rescue analgesic was required in only three cases while in Group P, subsequent rescue analgesic was required in only two cases. In the pregabalin group, the incidence of somnolence and dizziness was significantly less than the other group. Conclusion: Single oral dose of pregabalin (300 mg) given preoperatively provides better postoperative pain control and decreases postoperative rescue analgesic consumption compared to a single dose of gabapentin (1,200 mg).


OBJECTIVE
Experimental wounding of articular cartilage results in cell death at the lesion edge. The objective of this study was to investigate whether inhibition of this cell death results in enhanced integrative cartilage repair.

METHODS
Bovine articular cartilage discs (6 mm) were incubated in media containing inhibitors of necrosis (Necrostatin-1, Nec-1) or apoptosis (Z-VAD-FMK, ZVF) before cutting a 3 mm inner core. This core was left in situ to create disc/ring composites, cultured for up to 6 weeks with the inhibitors, and analyzed for cell death, sulfated glycosaminoglycan release, and tissue integration.

RESULTS
Creating the disc/ring composites resulted in a significant increase in necrosis. ZVF significantly reduced necrosis and apoptosis at the wound edge. Nec-1 reduced necrosis. Both inhibitors reduced the level of wound-induced sulfated glycosaminoglycan loss. Toluidine blue staining and electron microscopy of cartilage revealed significant integration of the wound edges in disc/ring composites treated with ZVF. Nec-1 improved integration, but to a lesser extent. Push-out testing revealed that ZVF increased adhesive strength compared to control composites.

CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that treatment of articular cartilage with cell death inhibitors during wound repair increases the number of viable cells at the wound edge, prevents matrix loss, and results in a significant improvement in cartilage-cartilage integration.


Mutual funds are the most popular vehicle of investing in the stock market and their performance evaluation is a topic dear to both investors and academics. Surprisingly, mutual funds have not played a very important role in the Pakistani stock market and perhaps consequently almost nothing has been written about their performance in any academic journal. This paper looks at the performance of Pakistani mutual funds over the last five and ten year periods using Sharpe, Jensen and Treynor measures of portfolio performance analysis. The performance is compared to that of the market portfolio defined as the KSE 100 index. Using the Sharpe measure the performance of virtually all the funds was found to be inferior to that of the market portfolio. The Jensen and Treynor measures showed about half the funds to be outperforming the market portfolio over the last five years, but when the risk measure was corrected using Famas net selectivity measure the market portfolio outperformed all the funds except one. These results support the semi-strong form of market efficiency hypothesis even more strongly than it has been demonstrated in the developed markets.


Image denoising plays extremely important role in digital image processing. Enhancement of clinical image research based on Curvelet has been developed rapidly in recent years. In this paper, we present a method for image contrast enhancement for cone beam CT (CBCT) images based on fast discrete curvelet transforms (FDCT) that work through Unequally Spaced Fast Fourier Transform (USFFT). These transforms return a table of Curvelet transform coefficients indexed by a scale parameter, an orientation and a spatial location. Accordingly, the coefficients obtained from FDCT-USFFT can be modified in order to enhance contrast in an image. Our proposed method first uses a two-dimensional mathematical transform, namely the FDCT through unequal-space fast Fourier transform on input image and then applies thresholding on coefficients of Curvelet to enhance the CBCT images. Consequently, applying unequal-space fast Fourier Transform leads to an accurate reconstruction of the image with high resolution. The experimental results indicate the performance of the proposed method is superior to the existing ones in terms of Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Effective Measure of Enhancement (EME). Keywords—Curvelet transform, image enhancement, CBCT, image denoising.


While women play an important role in agriculture, environmental and natural resource management, they have greater financial or resource constraints, and lower levels of access to information and extension services than men (Tall et al. 2014). Because of these gender inequalities, women appear to be less able to adapt to climate change (Huyer et al. 2015). Rural women's workload, e.g. biomass and water collection, is affected by natural disasters and the changing climate with consequences on family nutrition, childcare and education. Cultural norms related to gender roles may limit the ability of women to respond to or make quick decisions in the face of climate events. For example, in some households where men are working off-farm in cities, women may lack the power to make timely farming decisions or to convince their husbands to agree to new practices (Asfaw et al. 2015; Goering 2015).


We consider statistical models where functional data are artificially contaminated by independent Wiener processes in order to satisfy privacy constraints. We show that the corrupted observations have a Wiener density which determines the distribution of the original functional random variables, masked near the origin, uniquely, and we construct a nonparametric estimator of that density. We derive an upper bound for its mean integrated squared error which has a polynomial convergence rate, and we establish an asymptotic lower bound on the minimax convergence rates which is close to the rate attained by our estimator. Our estimator requires the choice of a basis and of two smoothing parameters. We propose data-driven ways of choosing them and prove that the asymptotic quality of our estimator is not significantly affected by the empirical parameter selection. We examine the numerical performance of our method via simulated examples.


This article examines the issue of whether linguistics is better suited for a face-to-face (F2F) environment than an online teaching environment. Specifically, it examines assessment scores and student perceptions of the effectiveness of an introductory linguistics course at an undergraduate state university that has been taught multiple times in both online and F2F modes. To study this issue data was collected about the types of students enrolled in either version of the course, including their GPAs and course grades. A survey with both closed- and open-ended questions was also used to ask students about their experiences and perceptions of the two environments. Students responded to questions on factors such as procrastination, engagement with socially sensitive discussion topics, preferences for discussion modality, and motivations for course enrollment. Results of the data problematize the notion that linguistics (and perhaps other disciplines) is equally suited for an online and F2F environment since students fare better academically and engage more with the F2F linguistics course. Results also show that students with higher GPAs gravitate toward F2F classes. Regarding the course itself, convenience is the primary category that students consistently noted as a reason for selecting the online linguistics course versus its F2F counterpart. Even so, results do show some effectiveness in treating linguistic content online. Suggestions and strategies are offered to further strengthen online delivery of linguistic material to overcome some of the structural hurdles presented by student enrollment patterns and (dis)engagement.


This study investigates two strategic issues that small pioneering companies should always place emphasis on. Barriers to entry and first mover advantages carry such strategic significance that it should be a priority of any pioneering company, regardless of size. Contemporary studies have questioned the absolute ability of barriers to entry to thwart the entrance of new competitors in an industry, or the sustainability of first mover advantages. The implication being that barriers to entry and first mover advantages should not be high on a strategic agenda, as initiatives in this regard can be overcome by companies with superior resources, or due to the diverse strategies and objectives ofcompanies. This study considers the case of a small pioneering company and analyses the competitive environment of the industry it intends to enter. The analysis utilises Porter's Five Forces Framework in a modified form. The framework was chosen as it considers the structural determinants of an industry, from which competitive pressure elements such as barriers to entry and first mover advantages can be identified and analysed. This modification is necessary as first mover advantages are typically separate considerations for pioneering companies in strategic formulation. This analysis considers the Five Forces of competitive pressure, but replaces first mover advantages with competitive rivalry, due to the particular circumstances encountered by pioneering companies. The relevant determinants of competitive pressure are then identified and ranked, in terms of priority, to give guidance to the strategic planning, formulation and implementation process. The analysis stops short of developing a full strategic plan but is sufficient to highlight the competitive issues that will need to be considered. The case study illustrates how barriers to entry and first mover advantages can still be fundamental to the strategic development process, regardless of the resources and strategy of potential entrants. The case study also proposes a model that spatially depicts the prioritisation of the ensuing strategic issues that are precipitated when analysing Porter's Five Forces Framework.


Several models have been developed to estimate evapotranspiration. Among those, the complementary relationship has been the subject of many recent studies because it relies on meteorological data only. Recently, the modified Granger and Gray (GG) model showed its applicability across 34 diverse global sites. While the modified GG model showed better performances compared to the recently published studies, it can be improved for dry conditions and the relative evaporation parameter in the original GG model needs to be further investigated. This parameter was empirically derived from limited data from wet environments in Canada – a possible reason for decreasing performance with dry conditions. This study proposed a refined GG model to overcome the limitation using the Budyko framework and vegetation cover to describe relative evaporation. This study used 75 eddy covariance sites in the US from AmeriFlux, representing 36 dry and 39 wet sites. The proposed model produced better results with decreasing monthly mean root mean square error of about 30% for dry sites and 15% for wet sites compared to the modified GG model. The proposed model in this study maintains the characteristics of the Budyko framework and the complementary relationship and produced improved evapotranspiration estimates under dry conditions.


In the 2009-2010 term, the United States Supreme Court will decide if it matters whether a criminal defense lawyer correctly counsels a client about the fact that the client faces deportation as a result of a guilty plea. Under prevailing constitutional norms in almost every jurisdiction, a lawyer does not have a duty to tell her client about many serious but "collateral" consequences of a guilty plea. Yet, in every jurisdiction that has considered the issue, that very same lawyer will run afoul of her duties if she affirmatively misrepresents a collateral consequence. Every jurisdiction, that is, except Kentucky, where the state Supreme Court recently held that when there is no duty to warn about a consequence because it is collateral, misadvice about that same consequence is not a constitutional violation. The collision of the collateral consequences rule, which imposes no duty to warn, and the affirmative misadvice exception, which imposes a duty to give accurate advice where a lawyer chooses to warn, leads to a perverse incentive structure that signals to defense lawyers (as well as prosecutors and the judge) that it is safest to say nothing at all about "collateral" matters. The Kentucky approach that the Supreme Court will review is equally troubling; it allows false information with no sanction or remedy. A cluttered and contradictory jurisprudence of informational rights in the guilty plea process sits at this intersection of the collateral consequences rule and affirmative misadvice exception. So-called collateral consequences often overshadow the direct penal sentences in criminal cases. In addition to deportation, courts categorize many other severe consequences as collateral, including involuntary civil commitment, sex offender registration, and loss of the right to vote, obtain professional licenses, and receive public housing and benefits. These consequences touch upon every important area of a convicted person's life, for the rest of his life. They also matter enormously in the United States, which has more than 600,000 individuals exiting the prison system and millions more getting criminal records each year. They enter a society that is struggling to find ways to integrate them despite these considerable obstacles. The constitutional rule has not caught up to the current reality of the effect of these consequences on defendants, their families, and their communities. The Supreme Court has the opportunity to overcome the mythical divide between direct and collateral consequences and to protect the constitutional and ethical values which underlie a defendant's right to decide whether to plead guilty based on full knowledge of material consequences. The Court will consider important issues of professional responsibility, ethics, transparency, and the right to information in the guilty plea process. This Article exposes the problems with the majority and Kentucky approaches. It argues that only a constitutional mandate of full information about serious consequences of guilty pleas will avoid the problematic incentive structures we have now.


A study was conducted to determine if continuous subcutaneous glucose monitoring (from MiniMed CGMS) could be used in real-time to control blood sugar level (BSL) in patients with critical illness. A closed-loop control system was constructed to use CGMS in a real-time manner, coupled with a proportional integral (PI) control algorithm based on a sliding scale approach, for automatic intravenous infusion of insulin to patients. A total of five subjects with high BSL (>10 mmol/L) participated in formal studies of the closed-loop control system. Subjects were recruited from critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) after informed consent was obtained. Error grid analysis showed that 64.6% of the BSL readings as determined in real time using CGMS sensor, when compared to conventional BSL measurements on blood drawn from an arterial line, was clinically accurate (i.e., <20% deviation from glucometer value). In the five patients who underwent closed-loop control, the controller managed to control only one patient's glycaemia without any manual intervention. Manual intervention was required due to the real-time sensor reading deviating more than 20% from the glucometer value, and also as a safety mechanism. Test on equality of mean and variance for BSL attained prior to, during, and post trial showed that the controller's performance was comparable to manual control. We conclude that the automatic sliding scale approach of closed-loop BSL control is feasible in patients in intensive care. More work is needed in the refinement of the algorithm and the improvement of real-time sensor accuracy.


Background & Objective: Reading disorder is most common learning disability to which most of special education services and specialized intervention programs are allocated. Dyslexia represents one of the most common problems affecting children and adults; the prevalence in the United States is estimated to be 5% to 17% of school-age children, Dyslexia is believed to be caused by both genetic and environmental factors. Some cases run in families. It often occurs in people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Dyslexia is diagnosed through a series of tests of memory, spelling, vision, and reading skills. Dyslexia can result in low selfesteem, stress, behavioral problems, and underachievement. Yet, with appropriate support, children and adults with dyslexia can reach their potential. The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of educational interventions through cognitive plays on reading performance of dyslexic students. Methods: The study employed a two group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design with follow up tests. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 30 male students with dyslexia. The participants were assigned to experiment and control groups in equal numbers. The participants in the control group received 25 sessions of 1.5 hour instruction. The measurement tools were Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children, fourth edition and reading and dyslexia test (NEMA), the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (ANCOVA) was used to test the research hypotheses. Results: The analysis of data showed that training of the cognitive plays packages had an effective role in the improvement of reading performance of the dyslexic students. (p<0.001). Also, the results of covariance analysis showed that the training of the cognitive plays packages had the lasting effects on the improvement of reading performance in 10 areas of NAMA questionnaire in dyslexic students. Conclusion: Children need to have a few skills to be able to read fluently. These skills are neuro-psychological in nature and are obtained by children through experience, education and learning. Most children learn these skills automatically but children diagnosed with LD face many difficulties and need to be educated. The educational interventions through cognitive plays can be considered the effective therapeutic approach in the improvement of reading performance of the dyslexic students.


The monotypic genus Oschmarinolepis Spassky and Spasskaja, 1954 (Cestoda, Hymenolepididae) is reviewed. Its validity is confirmed with an updated diagnosis, and its type-species, Oschmarinolepis microcephala (Rudolphi, 1819), is redescribed. The new monotypic genus Paraoschmarinolepis gen n. is erected with Paraoschmarinolepis multiformis (Creplin, 1829) comb. n., as its type-species. The morphology of both type-species, O. microcephala and P. multiformis comb. n. is reviewed on the basis of published data and examination of collection material from Plegadis falcinellus from Ukraine and Ciconia ciconia from Slovakia. We show that some material previously assigned to O. microcephala, belong in fact P. multiformis comb. n.


We analyse the optimal Initial Public Offering (IPO) mechanism in a multidimensional adverse selection setting where institutional investors have private information about the market valuation of the shares, the intermediary has private information about the demand, and the institutional investors and intermediary collude. Theorem 1 states that uniform pricing is optimal (all agents pay the same price) and characterizes the IPO price in terms of conditional expectations. Theorem 2 states that the optimal mechanism can be implemented by a non-linear price schedule decreasing in the quantity allocated to retail investors. This is similar to IPO procedures used in the U.K. and France. Relying on French IPO data we perform a GMM structural estimation and test of the model. The price schedule is estimated and the conditions characterizing the optimal mechanism are not rejected.


The researcher conducted a qualitative study to develop a deeper understanding of the demands and constraints placed on department heads in higher education. Rosemary Stewart's (1997) Theory of Demands, Constraints, and Choices was used as a lens through which to improve understanding. Participants were deans, faculty, and department heads from three AACSB-accredited Colleges of Business' from Midwestern universities in two states. Data were collected from participant interviews, observations of department heads, and website study. All segments of the participants perceived three overarching categories as relevant to department head demands and constraints: Faculty/student demands and constraints, financial/resource demands and constraints, and administrative/leadership demands and constraints. The findings of this study have implications for department heads and deans. One glaring finding of this study is the absence of formal materials provided to department heads with regard to procedures and training. Absent within all institutions was the evidence of any supporting material that provided training, or direction for policies and procedures.


System capacity is considered for a group of interfering users employing single-user detection and multiple transmit and receive antennas for flat Rayleigh-fading channels with independent fading coefficients for each path. The focus is on the case where there is no channel state information at the transmitter, but channel state information is assumed at the receiver. It is shown that the optimum signaling is sometimes different from cases where the users do not interfere with each other. In particular, the optimum signaling will sometimes put all power into a single transmitting antenna, rather than divide power equally between independent streams from the different antennas. If the interference is either sufficiently weak or sufficiently strong, we show that either the optimum interference-free approach, which puts equal power into each antenna, or the approach that puts all power into a single antenna is optimum and we show how to find the regions where each approach is best.


The core of many DSP tasks is Multiplication of one data with several constants, i.e. in Digital filtering, image processing DCT and DFT. The Modern Portable equipments like Cellular phones and MP3 players which has DSP circuits, involve large number of multiplications of one variable with several constants (MCM) which leads to large area, delay and energy consumption in hardware. Multiplication operation can be realized using addition/subtraction and shifts without general multipliers. Different number representations are used in MCM algorithms and there are differnet views about different representations. Some of the authors termed the Canonic Signed Digit (CSD) representation as better for subexpression sharing. We have compared the results of CSD and Binary representations using our Generalized MCM Algorithm on Random Matrices and come to conclusion that binary representation is better compared to CSD when a system has multiple inputs and multiple outputs.


How cells control the proper delivery of vesicles and their associated cargo to specific plasma membrane (PM) domains upon internal or external cues is a major question in plant cell biology. A widely held hypothesis is that expansion of plant exocytotic machinery components, such as SNARE proteins, has led to a diversification of exocytotic membrane trafficking pathways to function in specific biological processes. A key biological process that involves the creation of a specialized PM domain is the formation of a host–microbe interface (the peri-arbuscular membrane) in the symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. We have previously shown that the ability to intracellularly host AM fungi correlates with the evolutionary expansion of both v- (VAMP721d/e) and t-SNARE (SYP132α) proteins, that are essential for arbuscule formation in Medicago truncatula. Here we studied to what extent the symbiotic SNAREs are different from their non-symbiotic family members and whether symbiotic SNAREs define a distinct symbiotic membrane trafficking pathway. We show that all tested SYP1 family proteins, and most of the non-symbiotic VAMP72 members, are able to complement the defect in arbuscule formation upon knock-down/-out of their symbiotic counterparts when expressed at sufficient levels. This functional redundancy is in line with the ability of all tested v- and t-SNARE combinations to form SNARE complexes. Interestingly, the symbiotic t-SNARE SYP132α appeared to occur less in complex with v-SNAREs compared to the non-symbiotic syntaxins in arbuscule-containing cells. This correlated with a preferential localization of SYP132α to functional branches of partially collapsing arbuscules, while non-symbiotic syntaxins accumulate at the degrading parts. Overexpression of VAMP721e caused a shift in SYP132α localization toward the degrading parts, suggesting an influence on its endocytic turn-over. These data indicate that the symbiotic SNAREs do not selectively interact to define a symbiotic vesicle trafficking pathway, but that symbiotic SNARE complexes are more rapidly disassembled resulting in a preferential localization of SYP132α at functional arbuscule branches.


A marriage of optogenetics and synthetic biology could open the door to diverse applications, from animal models of disease to diagnostics and therapies. Optogenetic tools are DNA-encoded molecules that, when genetically targeted to cells, enable the control of specific physiological processes within those cells through exposure to light. These tools can pinpoint how these specific processes affect the emergent properties of a complex biological system, such as a mammalian organ or even an entire animal. They can also allow control of a biological system for therapeutic or bioengineering purposes. Many of the optical control tools explored to date are single-component reagents containing a photoactive signaling domain. An interesting question is raised by comparing optogenetics to synthetic biology. In the latter, interchangeable and modular DNA-encoded parts are assembled into complex biological circuits, thus enabling sophisticated logic and computation as well as the production of biologics and reagents (1, 2). Is it possible to devise strategies for the temporally precise cell-targeted optical control of complex engineered biological computational or chemical-synthetic pathways? Such a marriage of optogenetics and synthetic biology—which one might call synthetic physiology—would open up the ability to use optogenetics to trigger and regulate engineered synthetic biology systems, which in turn could execute computational and biological programs of great complexity (3). On page 1565 of this issue, Ye et al. (4) explore such a hybrid approach to controlling a biological system, as well as the bioengineering and preclinical capabilities opened up by such an approach.


We investigated the effects of estriol (E3) on endothelial function and bone mineral density (BMD) in very elderly women. Twenty-four very elderly women (80 +/- 3.5 years old) were administered CaCl2 with or without estriol treatment (2 mg/day) for 30 weeks (hormone replacement treatment [HRT] group vs control group). Endothelium-dependent flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), endothelium-independent dilatation by nitroglycerin of the brachial artery, and BMD were assessed. Levels of plasma lipids and apoproteins were not changed; however, both plasma E3 and E2 were substantially increased (E2, 4.6 to 31.3 +/- 8.1; E3, <5 to 45.3 +/- 7.9 pg/mL) by HRT. The FMD value was also increased by HRT, as were the plasma nitrite/nitrate and cGMP values. The response to nitroglycerin was not changed. The BMD was increased by HRT, but decreased in the control group. There were significant differences between the HRT group and control group after 30 weeks' treatment in the levels of osteocalcin, P1CP, and urinary deoxypiridinoridine. E3 significantly improved BMD by inhibiting bone resorption. Endothelial function was improved in line with the antiatherosclerotic effects. E3 might be effective for use in HRT in elderly patients.


This article describes an evaluation of a home visiting workforce in South Carolina, US. Using multiple surveys, the workforce was examined to determine its demographic characteristics, job satisfaction and confidence in core competencies. Overall, the home visitors were well-educated and experienced, but most were relatively new to their current agencies. Around 22% were less than satisfied with their work, with the greatest areas of dissatisfaction being pay, working conditions and opportunity for promotion. The home visitors felt well-trained in interpersonal skills but least confident in skills relating to positive parenting, developmental delays and dealing with caregiver depression. Understanding key characteristics of a workforce can inform strategic efforts towards workforce planning, support and training.


Meiosis is a specialized process that produces haploid gametes from diploid cells by a single round of DNA replication followed by two successive cell divisions. It contains many special events, such as programmed DNA double-strand break (DSB) formation, homologous recombination, crossover formation and resolution. These events are associated with dynamically regulated chromosomal structures, the dynamic transcriptional regulation and chromatin remodeling are mainly modulated by histone modifications, termed 'histone codes'. The purpose of this review is to summarize the histone codes that are required for meiosis during spermatogenesis and oogenesis, involving meiosis resumption, meiotic asymmetric division and other cellular processes. We not only systematically review the functional roles of histone codes in meiosis but also discuss future trends and perspectives in this field.


This study reexamined the data on outcomes of programming with clients at Gould Farm, a psychosocial therapeutic community located in Monterey Massachusetts. The methods of treatment currently utilized at Gould Farm were explored and evaluated through this reexamination as well. The data was analyzed to determine if there was a positive change in client satisfaction scores on the Quality of Life Scale between the intake interview and the discharge interview, and additionally from the discharge interview to the six month follow up interview. The data was also analyzed to determine if there was a relationship between the length of stay and the satisfaction scores. Based on the data, it was possible to better understand who is able to participate in the therapeutic milieu and the overall quality of life for the clients both before and after spending time at Gould Farm. The data provides a better understanding of the client's subjective satisfaction with their mental health, community support, daily structure, physical health, relationships with family members, social relationships, and independent living skills.. In every area, the findings showed that clients reported higher levels of satisfaction upon discharge. In the six month follow up group (n=21), there were no significant positive changes reported. The outcomes also revealed that there was a significant correlation between the length of stay and satisfaction with social relationships, however there were no significant correlations GOULD FARM OUTCOMES REEXAMINED between the length of stay and any of the other satisfaction variables. In addition, it was significant to note that as the length of stay by months increased, the rating on the satisfaction scale also increased.


Results of a radiological survey conducted at the Falls City, Texas, site in July 1976 are presented. There are seven partial to fully stabilized tailings piles, and an overburden pile from an open-pit mine. Above ground gamma-ray exposure rate measurements show moderate levels of contamination throughout the area with a maximum exposure rate of 500 ..mu..R/hr above tailings pile 2. The average exposure rate over the different areas varied from 14 ..mu..R/hr over the southwest end of tailings pile 7 to 207 ..mu..R/hr over the northeast end of the same pile. Analyses of surface soil and dry-wash sediment samples, as well as calculations of subsurface /sup 226/Ra distribution, serve to define the spread of tailings around the area. Water erosion of the tailings is evident, but, because of abundant growth of vegetation on the tailings piles, wind erosion probably is not a major problem.


The method of Kidwai et al. (1971. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 45:901) offers a rapid and simple technique for the preparation of membrane fractions from rat heart, using sucrose density centrifugation of a 100,000x g pellet. We have investigated the distribution of adenylate cyclase, cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase, and norepinephrine binding activity in these fractions. Specific activity of adenylate cyclase was high in the plasma membrane (PM) and sarcoplasmic reticulum, as well as the nuclear (N) fractions, but 80-90 percent of the total activity was found in the N fraction. Epinephrine stimulation of adenylate cyclase was present in all fractions but did not exceed 25 percent of basal activity. The activity in the mitochondrial fraction was low and insensitive to epinephrine. About 10 percent of phosphodiesterase activity was found in the 100,000 x g pellet. After density gradient centrifugation, 70 percent of this portion was recovered in the N fraction, with the highest specific activity present in the PM fraction. Binding of [3H] norepinephrine was measured by a membrane filtration technique. Binding activity was found in all fractions, and it paralleled roughly the distribution of adenylate cyclase. However, only about 25-30 percent of the binding was blocked by propranolol, except in the PM fraction where binding was not prevented by this drug. Further, a comparison of adenylate cyclase activities with norepinephrine binding yields a turnover number for the enzyme of the order of 10(-2) sec-1, assuming a 1:1 relationship between beta-adrenergic recptor and adenylate cyclase. Since this value seems unrealistic, we suspect that either the binding activity measured is unrelated to the beta-adrenergic receptor or the receptor to cyclase ratio is considerably larger than unity.


This paper studies the concept of an international economic order, i.e. an institutional arrangement of international rules. Such rules emerge from negative experiences – historical disasters – that inflict severe hardship on people. A taxonomy for rules reducing transaction costs is developed, for instance through decentralization of decisions, property rights, territoriality and the internalization of border-crossing negative externalities and mechanisms for global public goods. Some aspects of the rule system are studied including the process of ceding sovereignty and philosophical thoughts on international rules.


Reflective practice is a key skill in many professions and is considered an essential attribute of healthcare practitioners. Healthcare students are often expected to develop reflection skills through their assignments, and this is frequently expected to occur with little explicit instruction, practice or guidance about how to reflect. Currently, there is limited guidance in the literature on how teachers can help students develop these reflective skills effectively. In this study, we describe a process for embedding reflective skills into a transition program for new healthcare students about to enter university. By allowing students to explore reflection through a method of self-discovery supported by peer discussion, we found that students were likely to recognize and value reflection as a learning tool (a concept we term "reflection for learning"). Additionally, these students were more likely to continue to practice reflection in their studies than students who had not participated in the training. In summary, this paper demonstrates that students are able to make meaningful deductions about reflective practice and their own learning through use of a basic framework in which to self-reflect, from the very start of their tertiary studies.


This thesis is concerned with kinetic characterisation of theinsertion compound LiMn2O4, which is used as positive electrodematerial in rechargeable lithium batteries. Three different typesof electrode configurations have been investigated, namely singleparticles, thin films and composite electrodes. Differentelectrochemical techniques, i.e. linear sweep voltammetry (LSV),electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potential step, andgalvanostatic experiments were applied under various experimentalconditions. The majority of the experimental data were analysedby relevant mathematical models used for describing the reactionsteps of insertion compounds.It was concluded that a model based on interfacialcharge-transfer, solid-phase diffusion and an external iR-dropcould be fairly well fitted to LSV data measured on a singleelectrode system over a narrow range of sweep rates. However, itwas also found that the fitted parameter values vary greatly withthe characteristic length and the sweep rate. This indicates thatthe physical description used is too simple for explaining theelectrochemical responses measured over a large range of chargeand discharge rates.EIS was found to be a well-suited technique for separatingtime constants for different physical processes in the insertionand extraction reaction. It was demonstrated that the impedanceresponse is strongly dependent on the current collector used.According to the literature, reasonable values of theexchange-current density and solid-phase diffusion coefficientwere determined for various states-of-discharge, temperatures andelectrolyte compositions. Experiments were carried out in bothliquid and gel electrolytes. A method which improves thedistinction between the time constants related to thematerial's intrinsic properties and possible porous effectsis presented. The method was applied to composite electrodes.This method utilises, in addition to the impedance responsemeasured in front of the electrode, also the impedance measuredat the backside of the electrode.Finally, the kinetics of a composite electrode was alsoinvestigated by in situ X-ray diffraction (in situ XRD) incombination with galvanostatic and potentiostatic experiments. Noevidence of lithium concentration gradients could be observedfrom XRD data, even at the highest rate applied (i.e. ~6C), thusexcluding solid-phase diffusion and also phase-boundary movement,as described by Fick's law, as the ratelimiting step.Key words:linear sweep voltammetry, electrochemicalimpedance spectroscopy, potential step, in situ X-raydiffraction, microelectrodes, electrode kinetics, LiMn2O4cathode, rechargeable lithium batteries


[1] The influence of surface waves and an applied wind stress is studied in an ensemble of large eddy simulations to investigate the nature of deeply penetrating jets into an unstratified mixed layer. The influence of a steady monochromatic surface wave propagating parallel to the wind direction is parameterized using the wave-filtered Craik-Leibovich equations. Tracer trajectories and instantaneous downwelling velocities reveal classic counterrotating Langmuir rolls. The associated downwelling jets penetrate to depths in excess of the wave's Stokes depth scale, δs. Qualitative evidence suggests the depth of the jets is controlled by the Ekman depth scale. Analysis of turbulent kinetic energy (tke) budgets reveals a dynamical distinction between Langmuir turbulence and shear-driven turbulence. In the former, tke production is dominated by Stokes shear and a vertical flux term transports tke to a depth where it is dissipated. In the latter, tke production is from the mean shear and is locally balanced by dissipation. We define the turbulent Langmuir number Lat = (v*/Us)0.5 (v* is the ocean's friction velocity and Us is the surface Stokes drift velocity) and a turbulent anisotropy coefficient Rt = /( + ). The transition between shear-driven and Langmuir turbulence is investigated by varying external wave parameters δs and Lat and by diagnosing Rt and the Eulerian mean and Stokes shears. When either Lat or δs are sufficiently small the Stokes shear dominates the mean shear and the flow is preconditioned to Langmuir turbulence and the associated deeply penetrating jets.


Abstract : In this monograph, Dr. Geoffrey Demarest addresses what at first glance-seems to be an esoteric and inconsequential issue. The mapping of Colombian national territory, however, is fundamental to the problem of control of national territory. As a threshold matter, policy, strategy, and military asset management in contemporary conflict in virtually any unstable part of the world must deal with the problem of governance in lawless areas." Unless a central government such as that in Colombia can exert legitimate control and governance in the 60+ percent of the municipalities not under its control, there can be no effective judicial system and rule of law; no effective legal crop substitution programs; no effective democratic processes; and, only very little military or police action to bring law and order into unknown and difficult terrain. Indeed, control of the national territory is a strategic paradigm for 21st century conflict. The state is under assault by a powerful combination of state weaknesses, lawless areas," and insurgent and criminal terrorism. All these contributors to instability and violence have a powerful effect on local, regional, national, and international security. As a consequence, this monograph is extremely salient. Colombia and other states experiencing conflicts that range from criminal anarchy to virtual civil war must understand that putting treasure and blood into a conflict situation without first establishing the strategic foundations of success only result in ad hoc, piece-meal, disjointed, and ineffective reactions to truly inconsequential problems.


The term "Africa Rising" is used in popular and academic discourse to describe economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. Increased mobile phone ownership and access to the Internet figure prominently in this optimistic narrative. However, aspects of this story are being questioned, in particular whether this economic growth benefits Africa's rural areas. In this article, we extend this critique to the optimism surrounding access to the mobile Internet by detailing rural women's experiences with mobile devices. Drawing on data from our long-term fieldwork in Western Kenya, we describe how secondhand handsets, misinformation about social media, and gendered allocations of time constrain women's access to the mobile Internet. We then discuss how the materiality of mobile phones, seasonal changes, and other factors must be considered when developing technological interventions in rural areas. We conclude that rural women's lived realities merit more attention within growth narratives about Africa.


Abstract. The sourcing locations and mechanisms for short-period, upward-propagating gravity waves at high polar latitudes remain largely unknown. Using all-sky imager data from the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, we determine the spatial and temporal characteristics of 94 observed small-scale waves in 3 austral winter months in 2003 and 2004. These data, together with background atmospheres from synoptic and/or climatological empirical models, are used to model gravity wave propagation from the polar mesosphere to each wave's source using a ray-tracing model. Our results provide a compelling case that a significant proportion of the observed waves are launched in several discrete layers in the tropopause and/or stratosphere. Analyses of synoptic geopotentials and temperatures indicate that wave formation is a result of baroclinic instability processes in the stratosphere and the interaction of planetary waves with the background wind fields in the tropopause. These results are significant for defining the influences of the polar vortex on the production of these small-scale, upward-propagating gravity waves at the highest polar latitudes.


Hilton was project manager and lead author of the research investigating the influences of listening to a range of music at varying volumes, upon creative and critical thinking. The study promotes the questioning of things often taken for granted; for example, that music in the design environment would aid creativity because it had been shown to aid production in factories. The authors conducted a number of tests to investigate the impact of music in a design environment, (each in their own countries, triangulating and validating the methodology), and found that because 'design' and 'production' are such different cognitive tasks, music is more likely to be a negative distraction to creative and critical thinking, or at least make no positive contribution. By increasing awareness about the effects of listening to music while working, the project impacted upon the working environments of a number of academic and commercial practitioners, including those involved n the project and those who attended the DRS conference. This study is unique in the fact that, other researchers investigating the influences of music, e.g. J. A. Sloboda, have focused only on the connections between music and emotion. No other research has studied the effect of music upon creative and critical thinking. The influence of factors on creative and critical thinking has been core to Hilton's broader body of work: (2001) The Value of Humour in Concept Generation. 4th EAD Conference Averio, Portugal (2002) Towards a Designer Working Culture that Encourages Sleep and Dreaming. International Design Conference, Design-2002, Dubrovnik. Hilton has used conferences such as DRS, EAD, ICSID, TMCE as opportunities for developing research collaborations Attendees at ICSID 2003 in Hannover were the source of the collaborators for the DRS paper, including the University Technology Sydney and FIDU Hellfors, Sweden.


The development and promotion of improved crop varieties as well as efficient seed production, distribution, and marketing systems have contributed significantly to increased agricultural production and food security in Kenya. However, these impacts have not been replicated in the semi-arid midlands due to climatic, soil, and institutional factors. Following the liberalization of agriculture in the late 1980s, there has been greater participation of the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and voluntary agencies in the area. This study examined the extent to which these developments affected farmers' access to dryland crops. The study found that the low quantity of seed traded, high cost of production, and high seed supply prices constrained the development of local seed trade. It recommended developing and offering a range of varieties to farmers to increase demand, training to strengthen farmers' capacity to manage seed on-farm, and reduction of high production and distribution costs through further research and institutional improvements. In addition, the "seed loans" model, which has been very effective in the area, should be strengthened.


The development of a community environment and strong mentoring relationships is integral in helping doctoral students complete their degrees. Of the stages comprising a student's academic career, effective conceptualization and writing of the dissertation proves the most challenging and may result in failure to complete a doctoral degree. The researchers developed and used their Research Mentoring Model (RMM) to help doctoral students identify research topics, move into a researcher identity, and develop a sense community. This hermeneutic phenomenological sought to understand the experience of the five first year doctoral students participants. All were enrolled in a CACREP accredited Counselor Education and Supervision program of a western university. Each student was the Focus Person during participated in a structured, 90-minute mentoring to explore the possible directions of dissertation research. The sessions were attended by faculty and advanced doctoral students who provide feedback and discuss possible research. The five first year students were then interviewed about their experiences with the RMM. The themes that emerged from the individual interviews included: experiencing a sense of community, developing a researcher identity, increasing confidence, self-efficacy and motivation, as well as finding support from peers and faculty. The Article concludes with limitations, reflections and directions for future research.


A common problem experienced by the software engineering community traditionally has been that of understanding legacy code. A decade ago, legacy code was used to refer to programs written in COBOL, typically for large mainframe systems. However, current software developers predominantly use Object Oriented languages like C++ and Java. The belief prevalent among software developers and object philosophers that comprehending object-oriented software will be relatively easier has turned out to be a myth. Tomorrow's legacy code is being written today, since object oriented programs are even more complex and difficult to comprehend, unless rigorously documented. Reverse Engineering is a methodology that greatly reduces the time, effort and complexity involved in solving the program comprehension problem. This thesis deals with Reverse Engineering complex object oriented software and the experiences with a sample case study. Extensive survey of literature and contemporary research on reverse engineering and program comprehension was undertaken as part of this thesis work. An Energy Information System (EIS) application created by a leading energy service provider and one that is being used extensively in the real world was chosen as a case study. Reverse engineering this industry strength Java application necessitated the definition of a formal process. An intuitive Reverse Engineering Process (REP) was defined and used for the reverse engineering effort. The learning experiences gained from this case study are discussed in this thesis.


Nowadays, due to the occurrence of bacterial resistance phenomenon against
antibiotics and side effects of these drugs, herbs that possess antimicrobial activity have been noticed
more than before. The aim of this study was to compare the antimicrobial effects of different
concentrations of miswak extract with chlorhexidine 0.2% on Lactobacillus acidofillus, Streptococcus
Mitts, Actinomyces Viscosus.
Materials & Methods: In this laboratory study, the antimicrobial effect of miswak extract was
determined on above mentioned bacteria. Alcoholic extract of miswak was prepared, and then four
different concentrations (


Background. Curriculum reform has received a great deal of attention in the field of medical education in recent years. Many studies are being conducted worldwide to assess the deficiencies of current curricula in order to construct new ones. Objective. To investigate the perception of a group of students regarding the curriculum currently being taught in medical schools in Iran.  Methods. This qualitative research was conducted in a cohort of 20 top-achieving students who ranked 1 - 10 in the medical university entrance examination and those who succeeded in the International Biology Olympiad examination in the past eight years. These students were in different stages of their studies, ranging from the second term of study to clerkship to internship. Several semi-structured focus group discussions were held and the results were extrapolated from the transcription of these sessions. Results. The majority of medical students, regardless of the stage of study, were deeply concerned about the current curriculum. They believed that the existing discipline-based approach, teacher-centred curriculum and shortage of hospital-based learning were deficient and suggested that the lectures, handouts, and multiple choice question examinations should be blamed for the development of unskilled doctors.  Conclusion. There is a need for educational reform to contribute towards providing communities with doctors with better skills.


In this paper we discuss a fuzzy classifier with hyperbox regions which has quadratic membership functions. First we define the classifier with quadratic membership functions and then discuss the training method that maximizes the recognition rate by counting the net increase in the recognition rate when the slope and the center of a membership function are separately changed. Finally, we demonstrate the recognition improvement by quadratic membership functions for four data sets.