Reproduction is a crucial process, required for bringing the next generation into the world. In preparation for pregnancy, and throughout pregnancy itself, reproductive tissues recruit specific populations of immune cells that are thought to contribute in a variety of ways to successful reproduction. Pregnancy culminates in parturition, an inflammatory process characterised by an influx of inflammatory cells into reproductive tissues. Effective healing of reproductive tissues in the post-partum period is vital for continued reproductive success, and it too is thought to involve specific populations of immune cells. For leukocytes to effectively perform their functions in the reproductive system and elsewhere, migration to the right place at the right time is crucial. Key regulators of leukocyte homing are the chemokine family of chemoattractants and their G-protein coupled receptors. The chemokine network is complex and controls migration of leukocytes from the Bone Marrow (BM) into the blood and from the blood into tissues. Chemokines influence leukocyte position within tissues, and orchestrate their departure. Very little is known about the types of leukocytes present within reproductive tissues in the post-partum period, or the chemokines and receptors that could be involved in their migration. Exploring these processes is critical for an understanding of how tissues are repaired in readiness for subsequent pregnancies.

In this thesis I have examined the leukocyte populations in reproductive and peripheral tissues of mice during the post-partum period and compared them to those found in Non-Pregnant (NP) mice. This analysis has encompassed a range of myeloid cell types, and also the complex populations of CD3+ cells that exist in reproductive tissues. I was also interested in how these cells are instructed to enter reproductive tissues, and in particular on the role of CC chemokine Receptor 2 (CCR2), a receptor associated with the recruitment of monocytes and T cells into tissues. My work has clearly identified cells expressing CCR2 both in reproductive tissues and elsewhere, and defined the impact of the genetic deletion of this receptor on leukocyte populations during the post-partum period. These experiments exploited a variety of standard techniques including histology, quantitative Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR), Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA) and Luminex, but they also required the development of challenging multiparameter flow cytometry protocols that allowed the simultaneous analysis, and definitive identification, of several leukocyte populations in various tissues and at specific reproductive time-points.

Chapter 3 describes detailed experiments that focussed on characterising the myeloid cell populations across a variety of tissues in NP, 1 Day Post Partum (DPP) and 7DPP mice. Most strikingly, this revealed a profound accumulation of several myeloid cell populations in reproductive tissues at 1DPP, including inflammatory Ly6Chigh (hi) monocytes and neutrophils. Moreover, many of these myeloid cells expressed active CCR2 and remarkably CCR2 deletion was associated with a dramatic reduction in myeloid cell abundance in the uterine horn one day after birth. Thus, CCR2 appeared to be required for myeloid cell recruitment to the post-partum uterine horn.
Chapters 4 and 5 describe changes in CD3+ cell populations over the post-partum period. Interestingly, the main finding from reproductive tissues was that the large majority of CD3+ cells lacked expression of CD4 and CD8, and were thus termed CD3+ Double-Negative (DN) cells. Three main CD3+ DN cell populations were described. CD3+CD25+NK1.1+TCRβ+ DN cells, likely to be Natural Killer T (NKT) cells, which were mainly found in reproductive tissues and blood. All tissues studied were found to contain CD3+NK1.1-TCRβ+ DN cells, likely to be 'true' DN T cells and CD3+NK1.1-TCRβ-TCRγδ+ DN cells, which were consistent with a γδ T cell phenotype. CD3+ DN cells were also found to increase in number at 1DPP, compared to NP tissues, driven by an increase in DN T cells. In contrast to myeloid cells CCR2 was not required for this change. However, at 1DPP there was a CCR2-dependent increase in the proportion of CD3+ DN cells in the blood.

Finally, in Chapter 6, hormonal influences on leukocyte populations in reproductive and peripheral tissues were considered. This work had two major components: analysing sex differences in myeloid and T cell populations and exploring the effect that lactation has on these cell subsets over the post-partum period. Females were found to have an increased proportion of eosinophils in their blood, whereas males had a higher proportion of monocytes. I also found that female and male reproductive tissues, as well as peripheral tissues, have very similar CD3+ DN cell populations, suggesting that these cells serve roles in reproductive tissues that are not unique to one sex. Finally, CD3+ cell populations in the post-partum period were found to be controlled to some extent by lactation.
Collectively, this work has significantly extended our understanding of leukocytes in various tissues in the post-partum period, and revealed the importance of chemokines in
the regulation of these cells. It has laid the groundwork for future investigations aimed at dissecting the functions of these cells in reproductive tissues in the post-partum period.


"If software agents are such a promising technology, why can't they do something simple for me, like find a movie?" This comment is proffered as a sort of litmus test for agent capability. Interestingly, the same question is also the one most often asked in information extraction (IE) circles. The assumption is that the suggested problem is relatively easy for a human to solve: if software agents can't solve it, then they aren't particularly useful. The authors address design considerations for Internet IE using a familiar domain: finding movies online. Although information about available movie showings is easily available by phone, browser, and daily and weekend newspapers, we discuss several reasons why choosing movies, theaters, and show times is a fundamentally tough IE and information fusion problem (even for a human).


Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) based on nanocrystalline TiO2 have been fabricated with an amphiphilic ruthenium sensitizer NaRu(2,2'-bipyridine-4-carboxylic acid-4'-carboxylate)(4,4'-dinonyl-2,2'-bipyridine)(NCS)2, coded as Z-907, and a series of ω-guanidinoalkyl acids as coadsorbents. The addition of guanidinoalkyl acids as coadsorbents increased the open-circuit voltage of the DSCs and had no adverse effect on the photocurrent if an appropriate amount was used. Phototransient measurements showed that the addition of these guanidino coadsorbents slowed down the charge recombination and that the increase in the open-circuit voltage was due to suppression of the recombination or an upward shift of the TiO2 band-edge to negative potentials. Thus, for the first time, a class of coadsorbents has been demonstrated to not only shield the surface electrons against recombination but also to shift the band edge to negative potentials, which is essential for future improvements in the performance of DSCs.


The ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) is a computational technique for approximate inference on the state vector in spatio-temporal state-space models. It has been successfully used in many real-world nonlinear data-assimilation problems with very high dimensions, such as weather forecasting. However, the EnKF is most appropriate for additive Gaussian state-space models with linear observation equation and without unknown parameters. Here, we consider a broader class of hierarchical state-space models, which include two additional layers: The parameter layer allows handling of unknown variables that cannot be easily included in the state vector, while the transformation layer can be used to model non-Gaussian observations. For Bayesian inference in such hierarchical state-space models, we propose a general class of extended EnKFs, which approximate inference on the state vector in suitable existing Bayesian inference techniques (e.g., Gibbs sampler or particle filter) using the EnKF or the related ensemble Kalman smoother. Extended EnKFs enable approximate, computationally feasible filtering and smoothing in many high-dimensional, nonlinear, and non-Gaussian spatio-temporal models with unknown parameters. We highlight several interesting examples, including assimilation of heavy-tailed and discrete data, and filtering and smoothing inference on model parameters.


Glycerol known as by-product of transesterification of vegetables oil become an important materials after some chemical modification. In this study, hydrogenolysis reaction of glycerol to 1,2-propanediol was conducted using various supported ruthenium based catalyst. The support materials used in this study are bentonite ,TiO2, Al2O3 and SiO2. All experiments were carried out at reaction condition of 150°C, hydrogen pressure 20-30 bar for 7 hours and the 20%(wt) glycerol content in distilled water. The result shows that activity of the catalyts increased following this order: Ru/SiO2< Ru/TiO2 ≈ Ru/Al2O3 < Ru/bentonite. High selectivity to 1,2-propanediol was obtained in hydrogenolysis glycerol over Ru/TiO2 (83.7% ) and Ru/bentonite (80.1%) catalysts. Since Ru/bentonite catalyst performed better than other tested catalyst, we choose this catalyst system to investigate the effect of various solid acids (zeolite, ZrO2, Nb2O5 and amberlyst) on conversion of glycerol in hydrogenolysis reaction. Addition of solid acid in hydrogenolysis glycerol had promote the activity of Ru/bentonite catalyst drastically. The result shows that the presence of zeolite make the conversion of glycerol increased to maximum from 62.8% to 81.6% compared the other solid acids. Interestingly, selectivity to 1,2-propanediol still was achieved over 80.0%. These catalysts system were characterized by XRD, XPS, BET, and TEM for obtaining some physicochemical properties of the catalysts.


Reciprocal peer tutoring can be an effective supplement to teacher-led instruction, but students need to have the tutoring skills necessary to teach their peers successfully. Previous studies have addressed the challenge of providing essential information to a naïve tutor, allowing for correct modeling and feedback. The present study compared incidental learning of vocabulary words through classroom reading instruction to a combination of incidental learning supplemented with peer tutoring. Eight fourth-grade students were trained to tutor each other using a digital recording and playback device that provides audio prompts to naïve tutors. Results indicated that students made modest gains from incidental learning and much stronger gains from peer tutoring with audio prompting. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.


Australian young adults aged 17-25 years old attending university are more likely to drink at levels which put themselves at risk of both short and long term alcoholrelated harm. University settings are an appropriate place to target university students with alcohol education or awareness-raising campaigns. Australian research on this topic is relatively limited. This mixed methods study involved two phases. The first phase quantitatively evaluated the impact of the 'Enough is Enough' campaign, implemented by the North Metropolitan Community Drug Service Team at ECU Joondalup, on students' awareness of the consequences of excessive alcohol use and perceived acceptability of drunkenness. The second phase qualitatively explored how to actively engage university students in alcohol education or awareness-raising campaigns. In phase one, a convenience sample of students from the ECU Joondalup Student Village completed 48 pre-test and 55 post-test questionnaires. In phase two a convenience sample of five students were interviewed using a semi-structured format. Phase one results showed an increased recognition and perceived appropriateness of the 'Enough is Enough' campaign at ECU Joondalup. There was, however, no significant change in the respondents' perceived acceptability of drunkenness. While there was an increase in respondents' awareness of the consequences of excessive alcohol use, this increase could be attributed to the non-matching of preand post-test samples. Phase two revealed students preferred holistic strategies rather than singular approaches, and harm reduction education rather than abstinence based approa~hes. Using technology, incentives, promotional resources, activities, student volunteers and appropriate locations to enable students' participation were reported to be important. Barriers to student's participation were the Australian drinking culture, time commitments, passive advertising and the on-campus alcohol policy. The study provided more understanding on alcohol awareness campaigns in university settings. More published Australian research in university settings is required.


After the failed referenda in France and the Netherlands the European Union is in trouble. The integration process is confronted with a double crisis. Firstly the legitimacy of the EU in the population, particularly in lower income groups, has been weakened because of the negative social effects of neoliberal integration projects such as the Lisbon strategy. Secondly the EU is faced with a crisis of leadership. The Franco-German project of making the EU a global player in security policies that also rivals the US failed because of resistance of other European Governments.


: Through the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, the research and training network Children Born of War (CHIBOW) seeks to explore the lives of children born to local mothers and fathered by enemy soldiers, occupying forces, and locally stationed and peacekeeping forces during conflicts of the past one hundred years. Born both through mutually consenting "love relationships" and from rape, children born of war are a hidden population, relatively understudied and seldom spoken about in public spheres. Fifteen early career researchers at eleven academic institutes across Europe will address this topic from a multidisciplinary perspective. This training network will act as a platform to share the life stories of people affected by war in the most profound ways and to alleviate some of the silence surrounding their experiences.


Kentucky did not see significant changes to its business entity laws in 2017, but did see a series of changes that incrementally addressed existing ambiguities, provided additional clarity, and created additional capabilities. Specifically, one bill addressed a number of technical points across the range of business entity statues, while a second bill effected amendments to the Kentucky Business Corporation Act to provide for public benefit corporations. This article will review these developments in the same order, concluding with a few observations as to other bills of interests. Both of these bills became effective on June 29, 2017.


Abstract Synthetic hectorites and the corresponding surfactant-exchanged clays have been characterized by X-ray diffraction and 1H, 7Li, 13C, 23Na and 29Si solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The low-charge clays retain water more efficiently, forming aggregates without extensive drying. The hydroxylated hectorite exhibits two 1H NMR signals near 0 ppm whereas the fluorohectorites are characterized by a single peak in the same region. The 23Na 2D 3Q magic angle spinning (MAS) spectra of the low-charge hectorites show a single peak. The 29Si NMR shift depends on the interlayer charge. Tactoids formed by the low-charge hectorites reduce the rate of surfactant incorporation. The population of the all-trans conformer of the hydrocarbon chain, determined by 13C MASNMR, varies with the surfactant content. 13C NMR relaxation data show an increase in mobility with the surfactant loading and along the long alkyl chain, from the polar head to the terminal group. Complexity of the motional behaviour precludes any detailed analysis. These modified clays are not useful in preparing poly(ε-caprolactone) nanocomposites by in situ polymerization.


A series of aminomethyl containing 5,5 �-Butane-1,4-diyl-bis(4-allyl-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4- triazole-3-thiones were prepared under conventional cyclic condensation. The structures of newly synthesized compounds were established based on analytical and spectral studies. Further these compounds were evaluated for their antioxidant, antifungal and antibacterial activities. Most of the compounds showed good activity when compared with standard.


Recent medical-robotic developments have enabled tele-surgery to become a powerful treatment option when a surgeon is not available locally. But, even though tele-surgery has greatly improved, certain developments regarding the interaction between a surgeon and the remote surgical room is still in need of improvement, especially image display and camera movement. First, the use of two-dimensional imaging during tele-surgery causes a loss in depth perception, orientation and hand-eye disassociation. Likewise, the use of stationary screens can cause neck-strain to a surgeon. Also, the quality of data transmission during the real-time video streaming of a tele-surgery is a high priority issue. To approach these issues, we propose a new head-mounted device that provides a more ergonomic and intuitive feeling to tele-operational surgeons. This device allows them to naturally control the view of the camera via head movement, hence providing a three-dimensional view. And by enabling the head-mount display to provide the remote surgical camera with orientation information, our application-level Quality of Service framework can adjust image quality to prevent excess delay and jitter during robotic tele-surgical video. Thus, our device can provide high quality video, as well as a more natural and ergonomic feeling to performing tele-operated surgery.


STUDY OBJECTIVE--The aim was to investigate the association between mothers' occupational exposure during pregnancy and the incidence of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children. DESIGN--The study was a case-control investigation. A face to face interview was used to assess exposures at work and relevant confounding variables. SETTING--The study was community based and was carried out in five provinces of Spain. SUBJECTS--128 cases less than 15 years of age were interviewed (91% of those eligible). Controls (one for each case) were chosen from the census lists and were matched on year of birth, sex and municipality. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS--Children of mothers working at home had a relative risk (RR) of 7.0 (95% CI = 1.59-30.79) of developing acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Exposure to organic dust was associated with a RR of 5.5 (95% CI = 1.21-24.8). There was a statistically significant interaction between exposure to organic dust and working at home. The majority of women working at home were hired by local industries to sew different types of tissues (cotton, wool, synthetic fibres) on a machine. CONCLUSION--A similar association has not been reported before: if confirmed, this finding may suggest a new health concern.


A simple and reliable reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed, validated and applied for determination of budesonide and its novel synthesized hemiesters in colon specific formulations and dissolution media. The method was employed on a μ-Bondapak C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) at ambient temperature. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile: monobasic potassium phosphate containing orthophosphoric acid (55:45, pH 3.2) at a flow rate of 1 ml/min. The UV detection wavelength was set at 244 nm and 50 μL of sample was injected into the HPLC system. Dexamethasone was used as the internal standard. The retention times for internal standard and budesonide were 4.5 and 7.2 min, respectively. The method was linear in the concentration range of 1-20 μg/ml of budesonide (R2>0.999). Limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 0.05 and 0.5 μg/ml, respectively. The method presented the requisite accuracy, selectivity, sensitivity and precision and showed good resolution for separation of the drug and related derivatives in the presence of excipients. The proposed method was successfully used for analysis of the drug and its derivatives in dissolution media and oral colon specific formulations prepared in our laboratory with enough reproducibility.


Abstract : Real-time graphics hardware is becoming programmable, but this programmable hardware is complex and difficult to use given current APIs. Higher level abstractions would both increase programmer productivity and make programs more portable. However, it is challenging to raise the abstraction level while still providing high performance. We have developed a real-time procedural shading language system designed to achieve this goal. Our system is organized around multiple computation frequencies. For example, computations may be associated with vertices or with fragments/pixels. Our system's shading language provides a unified interface that allows a single procedure to include operations from more than one computation frequency. Internally, our system virtualizes limited hardware resources to allow for arbitrarily-complex computations. We map operations to graphics hardware if possible, or to the host CPU as a last resort. This mapping is performed by compiler back-end modules associated with each computation frequency. Our system can map vertex operations to either programmable vertex hardware or to the host CPU, and can map fragment operations to either programmable fragment hardware or to multipass OpenGL. By carefully designing all the components of the system, we are able to generate highly optimized code. We demonstrate our system running in real-time on a variety of hardware.


AbstractThe etiology of congenital scoliosis and its development remains unclear and has not yet been fully identified, even there are theories that congenital scoliosis could be derived from the failure of formation or failure of segmentation, which are etiologically heterogeneous with genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors contributing to their occurrence. We reported a case of long-term follow-up after posterior vertebral column resection (PVCR) in both identical twins with similar congenital kyphoscoliosis at thoracolumbar levels. Twin I had been noticed by his parents to have asymmetry of his back at age 5 years, but no treatment was given. Twin II was first noticed to have a spinal problem at 11 years of age by his parents. Overtime, spine of both twins became further deviated to the left with kyphosis and was referred to our hospital. Both monozygotic twins were treated by PVCR and satisfactory results were demonstrated at 10-year follow-up.This case is the first report on the surgical treatment with PVCR, almost simultaneously, in both identical twins who had similar congenital vertebral anomalies causing kyphoscoliosis. Both identical twins with congenital kyphoscoliosis had undergone surgical correction by PVCR, anterior support with a mesh cage and posterior fusion using pedicle screws at the age of 14 years and achieved a satisfactory correction and a stable spine without curve progression with 10-year follow-up.


"Most of us, I hope, are now aware that a woman should not have to demand Rights. The Rights were there from the beginning; they must be Taken Back Again," (Leonora Carrington, 1976). Determined to be an artist, Leonora left England to revolt against the patriarchal norms of her upper-class upbringing. After joining the Paris Surrealist in 1937, she rebelled against the gendered roles of 'femme-enfant' and 'muse' by attaining artistic independence and developing a symbolic system between visual and literary works. In Subversive Intent: Gender, Politics and the Avant-Garde (1990) Susan Suleiman analyzes the subversive role of Carrington's intertextual oeuvre. Departing from Gayatri Spivak's argument that feminist expressions gain little from being associated with male predecessors' works, Suleiman claims substantive ideological distinctions between feminist avant-garde practices and the formal innovations by male avant-garde artists that still reproduce patriarchal structures. Within the same conceptual framework, this research offers an autonomous perspective on Carrington, whose artistic development has often been validated through her intimate affiliation with Max Ernst and associations with Andre Breton's Surrealist circle. The article explores to what extent the under-researched cinematic and televisual mediations of the artist represent her feminist intent. The research studies Carrington's cinematic cameo appearances in There Are No Thieves in This Village (Isaac, 1965) and Un Alma Pura (Ibanez, 1965) as artistic gestures that extend her subversive creative practice towards the film medium. The paper also discusses TV documentaries, such as The Lost Surrealist (Griffiths, 2017) that represent the artist's iconic image in Mexico (where she died in 2011) and her recent (re)discovery in her native Britain. The analysis explores in how far Leonora has been rendered as a visible and invisible trailblazer on both sides of the Atlantic and whether these televisual constructions acknowledge her engagement with the Mexican Women's Liberation movement. Then the text addresses the film Female Human Animal (Appignanesi, 2018) that borrows its title from Carrington's essay What is a Woman? (1970) and re-uses
her intertextual symbolic system as a creative strategy to subvert gendered roles.


The objective of this study is to evaluate the incidence and cost of needlestick injuries (NIs) in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. Comprehensive search of peer-reviewed literature to gather information on the incidence and costs associated with NIs and a Web-based search to identify pertinent gray literature, trade associations, and key stakeholders for the prevention of NIs. The estimated annual incidence of NIs is 384,000 in the United States, 100,000 in the United Kingdom, 700,000 in Germany, 29,719 in France, 28,200 in Italy, and 21,815 in Spain. The economic burden of NIs varies from country to country; for instance, annual costs are estimated at €7 million in Italy and $118 million to $591 million in the United States. An accurate assessment of the incidence and economic burden of NIs is difficult to obtain because of widespread under-reporting. Furthermore, the projected costs do not account for long-term treatment costs resulting from possible infection with a blood-borne pathogen, absenteeism, worker's compensation, or emotional repercussions. A significant proportion of NIs stem from injections and intravenous-related tasks, accounting for roughly one to two thirds of NIs in all countries examined. The US General Accounting Office estimates that 29% of NIs that occur in hospitals could be prevented through the adoption of safety-engineered needles or needle-free devices. In conclusion, findings on the incidence and economic burden of NIs indicate the need for safety-engineered needles or needle-free technology, along with increased education regarding safer practices in the work environment.


The rise in the incidence rate of spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) has increased the burden on physicians to accurately diagnose and treat patients presenting with SIH. However, conclusive evidence on the efficacy and risks associated with targeted epidural blood patches (EBPs) versus nontargeted ones does not exist. Herein, we describe two patients diagnosed with SIH who were treated with lumbar EBPs rather than with targeted EBPs at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. However, both patients were instructed to stay supine for 24 hours after the procedure. Both patients reported drastic improvement of symptoms within two days of the procedure. Furthermore, neither of the patients had any complications associated with the treatment. Based on this evidence, lumbar EBPs followed by rest in the supine position could be an effective and safe solution to SIH patients with CSF leaks in the cervical or thoracic regions of the spine. However, more detailed studies need to be performed for conclusive evidence on this topic.


The purpose of this paper is to provide an analytical analysis of cointegration between Europe and the other significant trading partners, namely US, China, Japan and Australia, for the period from January 1, 2010 to December 30, 2016. This captures the impact of the sovereign European debt crisis and the Greek crisis. A range of parametric techniques were adopted including Johansen cointegration analysis, Vector Error Correction Model and Granger causality. The results of the crisis Granger causality test during the European sovereign crisis implies the highest influence to be that of the US and Japanese stock market over the other four markets. Overall, found that the Asia-Pacific region plus the US stay closely related to each other, while European countries influence all the studied markets except each other. For the post-crisis sub-period, the Granger causality is slightly different. It is observable that the UK and Germany are influencing all the markets. This is probably due to the recent Brexit referendum outcome and potential consequences not only for the EU, but also for the rest of the world too. Overall, the Granger outcome shows the dependence between Europe and other global markets, but there is no European interdependence during the sovereign debt crisis period. It may be concluded that there is a separation of Asian markets from the European markets and even though cointegration exists, the relationship is rather weak. for investors and policymakers in light of the recent European crises. We know that the European sovereign debt crisis, which has its continuity in the Greek crisis, influenced international trade and the global economy through affecting factor supply, consumer and investment demand, and production. In this paper, the authors investigate the European crises size and impact on the global platform. How should investors diversify their portfolio in the era of economic decline? What kind of policies should be applied to prevent another potential global financial crisis? How big is the impact of the European crisis on the global economy, finance and trade? All of the above questions and concerns are investigated via cointegration analysis.


In recent reviews regarding the efficacy of acupuncture in fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) it has been concluded that acupuncture has no specific effect since the control procedure (superficial needling and/or needling away from 'specific' points) had similar effects. These conclusions may be questioned since superficial needling and/or needling away from specific trigger points is not inert. Also, manual acupuncture or mild electroacupuncture (EA) may not be sufficient to activate the endogenous pain inhibiting system. Patients with FMS suffer from allodynia, fatigue and muscle ache, which is partly explained by peripheral and central sensitisation. Sensitisation results in augmented and altered stimulus responses whereby light stimulation of the skin has as strong an effect as regular needling on the pain inhibitory system in FMS. Central sensitisation in FMS is also associated with expanded receptive fields of central neurons resulting in a larger topographic distribution of the pain. This would suggest that control procedures using needling away from the 'specific site' might have as strong an effect as needling within the most painful area. Also, repeated nociceptive input from muscles (as obtained by de qi) results in expansion of receptive fields which in turn may result in activation of descending pain inhibition outside the stimulated myotome. Sensitisation to pain, such as in FMS, may also be related to abnormalities in descending efferent pathways. As there is likely to be an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory systems in FMS, stronger stimulation may therefore be needed to activate the descending pain inhibitory system. In studies using mild manual acupuncture or weak EA stimulation optimal pain inhibition may therefore not have been obtained. When conducting studies on acupuncture, the clinical condition or syndrome needs to be taken into account and the control procedure designed accordingly.


This study compared the effectiveness of carbohydrate-electrolyte (CHO-E) fluid replacement versus water (WAT) on hydration status, physiological and subjective responses, and exercise performance during a 3 x 60-minute loaded (14 kg) treadmill walk in 35 degrees C ambient temperature and 55% humidity. CHO-E did not affect urine loss, plasma volume change (WAT = -3.0 +/- 1.6% vs. CHO-E = -1.1 +/- 1.6%), dehydration (WAT = 0.4 +/- 0.3% vs. CHO-E = 0.4 +/- 0.3% of body mass), or core body temperature (Tc) and heart rate (HR) responses. Endurance time was greater but not significantly different with CHO-E (WAT = 134 +/- 9 vs. CHO-E = 146 +/- 9 minutes). CHO-E increased the frequency of task completion (WAT = 21% vs. CHO-E = 50%), elevated blood glucose, and reduced perceived exertion. CHO-E offers potential to enhance exercise capacity by elevating blood glucose and thereby preventing hypoglycemia, maintaining high rates of carbohydrate oxidation, and/or preventing central fatigue; but provided no additional benefits with regard to hydration status and physiological function during loaded walking under heat stress.


State pensions make up an integral part of the Lithuanian citizens' pension provision. For the significant contributions in establishing the statehood, independence and democracy of Lithuania, developments in the fields of art, literature and sports, in entrenching legal principles and protecting them, the following state pensions have been established: the state pension to the President of the Republic of Lithuania, first and second degree pensions of the Republic of Lithuania, state pension to persons who are victims; state pensions to officials and military pensonnel and state pensions for lawyers. Political scientists and sociologists often discuss weather it is purposeful to award state pensions, seemingly, establishing privileges of different public characters and representatives of different professions and categories. The motivation to that was that no pensions of similar kind exist in countries of Western Europe. The globally acknowledged propositions of social security law have indicated that the experience of other countries cannot be automatically applied in solving social security problems of a particular country. Each country is unique in its economic development, political structure, demographic situation, geopolitical situation etc. Considering these characteristics, the pensions of the kind cannot be refused only for the fact that they are not popular in foreign countries. The Law on State Pensions of the Republic of Lithuania provides that individuals, who have been adjudged by the court to have been guilty of perpetrating a premeditated crime, shall have the right to the state pension award stripped or discontinued, if it had been already awarded. The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania has solved that the pension is already earned by the individual and he cannot be deprived of it. Such an explanation is provided in the case or state pension award to officials and military personnel. We think that the analogue should be adopted for other state pensions as well.


Closing the gap in education between the extremes on the socioeconomic scale is the subject of much research and debate. Great emphasis is placed on the role of teachers. Teachers' feelings of self-efficacy can be a powerful driving force behind the motivation to strive for student achievement. Various teacher and contextual variables can influence the level and stability of this efficacy. Successful experiences against challenge are known to contribute toward improving beliefs in efficacy. The concern however is the effects of unsuccessful teaching experiences and implications for student achievement. Researchers recommend a greater understanding of the contextual effects on teacher efficacy, particularly in lower socioeconomic teaching environments. Previous research has commonly investigated the effects of teacher experience, teacher attributes, and student socioeconomic status on teaching efficacy. This study positioned the classroom teacher as a participant within an educational process which functions systemically and involves various other participants. Level of teacher efficacy is viewed as an outcome of the nature of the relationships and engagements within the educational process and system. This study compared teacher efficacy beliefs and experiences between lowand high-socioeconomic teaching contexts. The qualitative data from teacher responses to open-ended questions were analysed to investigate how the variables involved in forming teacher efficacy beliefs operate and function. Convincing evidence was found to support the assertion that low teacher efficacy may be the result of system failures or shortcomings. In general teachers tended to attribute the reasons for school problems to students or factors outside the classroom. Data analysis revealed states of teacher "helplessness" against challenge which can be linked to poor relationships and communication with sources of support. Evidence was found in support of more collaborative partnerships for higher teacher efficacy and resilience


IMPORTANCE
The timing and indications for repair of orbital floor fractures have been controversial. Current practice dictates that fractures involving more than 50% of the orbital floor should be repaired. Early management is initiated in such situations to prevent long-term sequelae of enophthalmos and diplopia. Because fracture size as measured by computed tomography (CT) is one of the criteria to determine the need for surgical repair, there is a need to know the reliability of this parameter.

OBJECTIVE
To assess the variability of CT measurements of orbital floor fractures.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
This study took place between January 1, 2005, and June 1, 2007, at an urban academic medical center. Patients with isolated orbital floor fractures were evaluated by 1 oculoplastic surgeon, and their orbital CT images were subsequently read by 3 neuroradiologists blinded to demographic information and the other readers' measurements. Separately, each was asked to determine the maximal anterior to posterior length and transverse width if a floor fracture existed.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated for length and width using a 2-way mixed-effects model to evaluate the agreement between radiologists.

RESULTS
Twenty-three patients met criteria for inclusion in this study (isolated orbital fracture thought to be in need of repair, with diplopia within 30° of primary gaze, and/or enophthalmos >2 mm, and/or 50% of the floor area involved in the fracture). The mean (SD) age of the patients was 31.5 (17.6) years (range, 8-73 years). The magnitude of agreement between the readers as measured by the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.66 (95% CI, 0.46-0.82) for anterior to posterior length and 0.44 (95% CI, 0.22-0.69) for transverse width, indicating only a moderate degree of concordance.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Although the literature has long held that a floor fracture seen radiographically to involve 50% of the orbital floor has a high likelihood of enophthalmia and should be repaired, this study shows how variable CT measurements of orbital floor fractures can be in a clinical setting, even in trained hands. We question the dependence on such a criterion and reemphasize the importance of making surgical decisions based on clinical findings rather than radiological interpretations.


A brain-computer interface (BCI) is a system that enables control of devices or communication with other persons, only through cerebral activity, without using muscles. The main application for BCIs is assistive technology for disabled persons. Examples for devices that can be controlled by BCIs are artificial limbs, spelling devices, or environment control systems. BCI research has seen renewed interest in recent years, and it has been convincingly shown that communication via a BCI is in principle feasible. However, present day systems still have shortcomings that prevent their widespread application. In part, these shortcomings are caused by limitations in the functionality of the pattern recognition algorithms used for discriminating brain signals in BCIs. Moreover, BCIs are often tested exclusively with able-bodied persons instead of conducting tests with the target user group, namely disabled persons. The goal of this thesis is to extend the functionality of pattern recognition algorithms for BCI systems and to move towards systems that are helpful for disabled users. We discuss extensions of linear discriminant analysis (LDA), which is a simple but efficient method for pattern recognition. In particular, a framework from Bayesian machine learning, the so-called evidence framework, is applied to LDA. An algorithm is obtained that learns classifiers quickly, robustly, and fully automatically. An extension of this algorithm allows to automatically reduce the number of sensors needed for acquisition of brain signals. More specifically, the algorithm allows to perform electrode selection. The algorithm for electrode selection is based on a concept known as automatic relevance determination (ARD) in Bayesian machine learning. The last part of the algorithmic development in this thesis concerns methods for computing accurate estimates of class probabilities in LDA-like classifiers. These probabilities are used to build a BCI that dynamically adapts the amount of acquired data, so that a preset, approximate bound on the probability of misclassifications is not exceeded. To test the algorithms described in this thesis, a BCI specifically tailored for disabled persons is introduced. The system uses electroencephalogram (EEG) signals and is based on the P300 evoked potential. Datasets recorded from five disabled and four able-bodied subjects are used to show that the Bayesian version of LDA outperforms plain LDA in terms of classification accuracy. Also, the impact of different static electrode configurations on classification accuracy is tested. In addition, experiments with the same datasets demonstrate that the algorithm for electrode selection is computationally efficient, yields physiologically plausible results, and improves classification accuracy over static electrode configurations. The classification accuracy is further improved by dynamically adapting the amount of acquired data. Besides the datasets recorded from disabled and able-bodied subjects, benchmark datasets from BCI competitions are used to show that the algorithms discussed in this thesis are competitive with state-of-the-art electroencephalogram (EEG) classification algorithms. While the experiments in this thesis are uniquely performed with P300 datasets, the presented algorithms might also be useful for other types of BCI systems based on the EEG. This is the case because functionalities such as robust and automatic computation of classifiers, electrode selection, and estimation of class probabilities are useful in many BCI systems. Seen from a more general point of view, many applications that rely on the classification of cerebral activity could possibly benefit from the methods developed in this thesis. Among the potential applications are interrogative polygraphy ("lie detection") and clinical applications, for example coma outcome prognosis and depth of anesthesia monitoring.


Design of new membranes having high H2/CH4 selectivity and high H2 permeability is strongly desired to reduce the energy demand for H2 production. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) offer a great promise for membrane-based gas separations due to their tunable physical and chemical properties. We performed a high-throughput computational screening study to examine membrane-based H2/CH4 separation potentials of 4240 MOFs. Grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to compute adsorption and diffusion of H2 and CH4 in MOFs. Simulation results were then used to predict adsorption selectivity, diffusion selectivity, gas permeability and membrane selectivity of MOFs. A large number of MOF membranes was found to outperform traditional polymer and zeolite membranes by exceeding the Robeson's upper bound for selective separation of H2 from CH4. Structure–performance analysis was carried out to understand the relations between MOF membranes' selectivities and their pore sizes, surface areas, porosities, densities, lattice systems, and metal types. Results showed that MOFs with pore limiting diameters between 3.8 and 6 Å, the largest cavity diameters between 6 and 12 Å, surface areas less than 1000 m2 g−1, porosities between 0.5 and 0.75, and densities between 1 and 1.5 g cm−3 are the most promising membranes leading to H2 selectivities >10 and H2 permeabilities >104 Barrer. Our results suggest that monoclinic MOFs having copper metals are the best membrane candidates for H2/CH4 separations. This study represents the first high-throughput computational screening of the most recent MOF database for membrane-based H2/CH4 separation and microscopic insight provided from molecular simulations will be highly useful for the future design of new MOFs having extraordinarily high H2 selectivities.


In current planning debates, the term 'shrinking city' usually describes a densely populated urban area that has, on the one hand, faced a considerable population loss, and is, on the other hand, currently undergoing a profound economic transformation, with some symptoms of a structural crisis (Pallagst, 2008). According to Oswalt (2006), more than a quarter of the world's metropolises shrank in the 1990s and, notwithstanding ongoing urbanisation processes, this number will continue to increase. With growing interconnectedness both on a European and on a global scale, a significant emerging task for planning researchers is to facilitate a wide-ranging exchange on economic, social, and environmental developments. On an international scale, for instance, it is still not clear whether, or in which way, planning paradigms, planning systems, planning strategies and planning cultures are being adapted when faced with the dynamics of urban shrinkage. Planning cultures Different institutional and cultural conditions have brought about spatial planning systems displaying basic features that are essentially comparable; however, these planning systems are not identical but are tailored to meet specific cultural, normative and spatial situations. Despite the growing demand for an international viewpoint in urban and regional planning discussion, 'planning cultures' is not (yet) an established research topic in the sphere of urban and regional development. However, the topic has recently seemed to be on the rise in planning debate. As demonstrated by papers and tracks at several recent congresses of the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP), a considerable informal discourse about planning cultures already exists. Nevertheless, there is - on a global scale - no clear definition of the topic (Fuerst, 2009). The term 'planning cultures' is not new - it can be traced back to Selle's work about collaborative planning (Selle, 1999). Interest in the topic of planning cultures may also be fuelled by the so-called 'cultural turn in planning' (Soja, 1999; Knieling and Othengrafen, 2009b), emphasising the role of culture in spatial planning, and thus recognising the impact of culture on spatial planning's international comparative research component. In particular, the growing demand for comparative research projects in the framework established by the EU's Community Initiatives, such as INTERREG, makes clear that planning culture is a component which is deeply embedded in a nation's planning system and thus needs to be considered in any comparative spatial research (Fuerst, 2009). In recent years, two major projects have investigated planning cultures further: MIT has been at the forefront of research in this respect with the publication of an edited volume (Sanyal, 2005). In this book, Comparative Planning Cultures, John Friedmann (2005), who has written extensively about the changing notions of planning, sets out basic claims for dealing with planning cultures in discourse and in teaching, while at the same time acknowledging plurality. The second notable research work is the EU-funded project CULTPLAN, which addresses planning cultures in the European realm, and takes the research work further in particular for discussing theoretical approaches, and suggesting a 'culturalised planning model' (see Knieling and Othengrafen, 2009a; Othengrafen, 2010). It thus becomes clear that planning cultures is a multilayered subject facing continuing changes, some of them induced by factors such as Europeanisation and internationalisation. Shrinking cities Current debates in urban and regional studies display a rising awareness that several cities in Europe and the US have to deal with challenges of long-term demographic and economic changes leading to urban shrinkage associated with housing vacancies, underused infrastructure and other negative impacts.1 The issues of shrinking cities have often been predominantly interpreted as effects of the 'hollowing out' processes of the urban centres, triggered by suburbanisation and urban sprawl. …


Obtaining reliable estimates of aerodynamic roughness is necessary to interpret and accurately predict aeolian sediment transport dynamics. However, inherent uncertainties in field measurements and models of surface aerodynamic properties continue to undermine aeolian research, monitoring, and dust modeling. A new relation between aerodynamic shelter and land surface shadow has been established at the wind tunnel scale, enabling the potential for estimates of wind erosion and dust emission to be obtained across scales from albedo data. Here, we compare estimates of wind friction velocity (u*) derived from traditional methods (wind speed profiles) with those derived from the albedo model at two separate scales using bare soil patch (via net radiometers) and landscape (via Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [MODIS] 500 m) data sets. Results show that profile‐derived estimates of u* are highly variable in anisotropic surface roughness due to changes in wind direction and fetch. Wind speed profiles poorly estimate soil surface (bed) wind friction velocities necessary for aeolian sediment transport research and modeling. Albedo‐based estimates of u* at both scales have small variability because the estimate is integrated over a defined, fixed area and resolves the partition of wind momentum between roughness elements and the soil surface. We demonstrate that the wind tunnel‐based calibration of albedo for predicting wind friction velocities at the soil surface (us*) is applicable across scales. The albedo‐based approach enables consistent and reliable drag partition correction across scales for model and field estimates of us* necessary for wind erosion and dust emission modeling.


Using the coherent state formalism we calculate matrix elements of the one-loop non-planar dilatation operator of = 4 SYM between operators dual to folded Frolov-Tseytlin strings and observe a curious scaling behavior. We comment on the qualitative similarity of our matrix elements to the interaction vertex of a string field theory. In addition, we present a solvable toy model for string splitting and joining. The scaling behaviour of the matrix elements suggests that the contribution to the genus one energy shift coming from semi-classical string splitting and joining is small.


Using Content Analysis to Understand the Consumer Movement Although the consumer movement has been a topic of continuing interest to many consumer researchers, the movement has been the focus of little empirical research. Social movements are not easy phenomena to study using empirical approaches, and the result has been that much of the writing about the consumer movement has been either conceptual or journalistic. The few relevant empirical studies have consisted primarily of surveys designed to examine aspects of consumer discontent in the United States. This kind of research can add only limited insights to our understanding of the consumer movement. One research approach that has been used in sociology to study social movements is content analysis (Jenkins and Perrow 1977; Perrow 1979), and this type of analysis is used here to examine the dynamics of the consumer movement over a fourteen-year period. PREVIOUS RESEARCH ON THE CONSUMER MOVEMENT The consumer movement has been described as the "evolving activities of government, business, independent organizations, and concerned consumers undertaken to protect and enhance the rights of consumers" (Aaker and Day 1978, p. 2). In the United States over the last thirty years, the consumer movement has collectively organized and acted to obtain safer products, better complaint-handling mechanisms, less deceptive advertising, more consumer education, improvements in repair services and product warranties, and numerous other reforms. It would be hard to argue that the consumer movement had little to do with the many new laws, regulations, and business practices adopted over this thirty-year time period. Much has been written in the attempt to describe, to explain, and to predict the actions of the consumer movement. As mentioned earlier, the majority of this writing has been conceptual and/or journalistic in style. Authors from a wide variety of disciplines and backgrounds have provided interpretations of the meaning and implications of the demonstrations, boycotts, legislative debates, lawsuits, fund-raising drives, and other actions emanating from the consumer movement. For the most part, these authors have formulated their interpretations based on media reports about the movement, discussions with consumer advocates, involvement with consumer groups, records of court and legislative developments, and some ideas from sociological and political theory (Mitchell 1982; Leonard 1982; Clark 1980; Handler 1978; Herrmann 1974; Greyser 1973; Kotler 1972). The empirical work related to the consumer movement tends to be very limited in its focus. Most of it seeks either (1) to describe the characteristics of consumers who are dissatisfied or who exhibit "consumerist" attitudes and behaviors or (2) to explain the cause of dissatisfaction and "consumerist" attitudes and behaviors. Through this research, much has been learned about who feels dissatisfied (Warland, Herrmann, and Willits 1972), who favors consumer protection legislation (Harris 1983; Sentry 1977), who likes the work of Ralph Nader and other consumer advocates (Barksdale and Perreault 1980), who thinks business cares about consumers (Darden, Stanley, and Howell 1982), who engages in forms of consumer and citizen activism (Warland, Herrmann, and Moore 1982), and why dissatisfaction develops (Deshpande and Krishman 1982; Richins 1982). In addition, much of what consumers think and feel about consumer problems has remained reasonably stable for more than a decade (Gaski and Etzel 1982; Greyser, Bloom, and Diamond 1982; Bloom and Greyser 1981). These studies conclude that consumer discontent remains high, that buyer dissatisfaction is widespread, and that the major areas of consumer discontent have not changed substantially in the 1970s and 1980s. In spite of the relatively stable and favorable thoughts and feelings about the consumer movement, the movement as a whole has had relatively dramatic ups and downs in terms of achieving desired reforms. …


Boiling heat transfer with impinging flow can be an effective way for cooling a small heated area such as CPUs and laser emitting devices. In the phenomena the movement of liquid layer on the heated surface strongly affects the detachment of boiling bubbles and the heat flux. In this study, nonlinear thermocapillary solutions such as button aqueous solutions were applied to this type of boiling with impinging flow aiming to promote heat transfer. These solutions have special characteristics that the surface tension increases as the temperature is raised over some temperature. It is expected that this tendency about the surface tension will promote the wetting of the heated surface and the detachment of boiling bubbles. In the experiment, T-shaped mini tubes were built with quartz tubes and used for flow boiling. The inner diameter of the tube was 2 mm and the outer diameter was 4 mm. The liquid flow impinged at the junction point where small area was heated by using a conducting thin film coated at the outer surface of the tube. The test fluids were butanol aqueous solution and pure water. The flow rate of the liquid was the order of 1 ml/min, the concentration of the butanol aqueous solution was 7.15 wt %. The liquid motion was observed by CCD video camera system. It was found from the experiment that the motion of the liquid layer of the butanol solution at the impinging area was very different from that of pure water. The layer of the butanol solution tended to extend to the hotter part of the heated area. In another experiment for precisely fixing the imposed heat flux value, T-shaped mini channel with small copper surface installed for heating the fluid was prepared. The cross section of the channel was rectangular shape of 3 mm × 3 mm, and the entire channel was made of insulating polymer material. It was found that the heat transfer of the boiling with impinging flow in using butanol solution was more promoted than that in using pure water.Copyright © 2010 by ASME


Recently a new approach was proposed to tackle the wavelength non-uniformity problem of the silicon photonic ring technology. By lowering the Q value of the ring, the likelihood of finding a common operating wavelength can be significantly increased. But lowering Q will increase the crosstalk level in such a network. This crosstalk problem can be tackled with a generalized space dilation technique. Since crosstalk is a central issue of this approach, computing the crosstalk level accurately is critical for a microring-based photonic interconnect. Prior work on crosstalk analysis for interconnects based on directional couplers assumed that the extinction ratios are the same for the two switching states. But this is usually not the case for silicon photonic microrings. In this paper, we develop an analytical model for analyzing the crosstalk level in a microring-based optical interconnection network. The analytical approach presented in the paper can be used for studying the crosstalk problem in optical networks based on other optical switching technologies.


Abstract The objective of the paper was assessment of the selected qualities of carrot from retailer's shops, organic and traditional food shops in Krakow. The following quality parameters of the fruit pulp were investigated: content of extract, sugars, polyphenols, nitrite, flavonoids, beta-carotene, colour, and antioxidant activity. The investigation shows that the content of nitrogen (V) in the samples of carrot from traditional cultivations was higher than in case of carrot from organic crops, and in case of a sample from traditional cultivation it exceeds the admissible norms. However, the research which was carried out provides no justification for the statement that the content of nitrate (III) depends on the production system of carrot. The research on the content of polyphenols, flavonoids and antioxidant activity of juice proved the increased antioxidant ability of carrot that was traditionally cultivated with reference to carrot cultivated organically. However, the differences were not statistically confirmed. Beta-carotene content in all samples was comparable regardless the cultivation system. Content of extracts, total carbohydrates and sucrose was significantly higher for carrot from traditional crops than for eco-carrot.


Central to the concept of iwi vitality is the notion that iwi are able to actively determine what matters to them from a mana whenua perspective. This paper argues that progress towards the achievement of iwi vitality can be measured in a way that is consistent with iwi values and aspirations. The paper reports on research that explores what it means to be well at the iwi level for Ngäi Tai. The research involved wänanga at Törere Marae with Ngäi Tai participants and 14 "expert" interviews. A Ngäi Tai Vitality Outcomes Framework is presented. The framework provides a mechanism through which Ngäi Tai, and potentially other iwi, are able to align their efforts towards identifi ed iwispecifi c vitality outcomes, effectively monitor what matters and plan for the future towards the realisation of iwi vitality.


Positive psychology can help individuals do the right thing. Doing the right thing is embedded in Aristotle's definition of human flourishing (eudaimonia), which entails both being good and feeling good. This paper does not attempt to provide a formal definition of what is good, but argues that discussing goodness in abstraction is important for any examination of the good life. Acting well is not always easy and we often fail to do what is right despite our best intentions. This is why we need practical wisdom (phronesis). Practical wisdom is defined as a master virtue that allows one to be morally perceptive, to deliberate between courses of action, and to make a reasoned choice that is aligned with worthwhile ends. It guides individuals towards human excellence by exerting our strengths in moderation to establish good habits, which ultimately forms a good character. Practical wisdom is needed to help individuals deliberate between internal and external goods and to find balance between conflicting aims. This paper argues that practical wisdom is necessary for any individual or professional to become the best that he/she can be and to truly flourish. Additionally, practical wisdom has the potential to bolster other constructs in positive psychology, including resilience, and is ripe for future research endeavors. By adopting practical wisdom as a master virtue, positive psychology can fulfill its original aims of making the lives of all people better and of building flourishing communities.


As the Internet grows and routing complexity increases, network-level instabilities are becoming more and more common. End-to-end communications are especially susceptible to service disruptions, while diagnosing and mitigating these disruptions are extremely challenging. In this dissertation, we design and build systems for diagnosing routing anomalies and improving robustness of end-to-end communications.
The first piece of this work describes PlanetSeer, a novel distributed system for diagnosing routing anomalies. PlanetSeer passively monitors traffic in wide-area services, such as Content Distribution Networks (CDNs) or Peer-to-Peer (P2P) systems, to detect anomalous behavior. It then coordinates active probes from multiple vantage points to confirm the anomaly, characterize it, and determine its scope. There are several advantages of this approach: first, we obtain more complete and finer-grained views of routing anomalies since the wide-area nodes provide geographically-diverse vantage points. Second, we incur limited additional measurement cost since most active probes are initiated when passive monitoring detects oddities. Third, we detect anomalies at a much higher rate than other researchers have reported since the wide-area services provide large volumes of traffic to sample. Through extensive experimental study in the wide-area network, we demonstrate that PlanetSeer is an effective system for both gaining a better understanding about routing anomalies and for providing optimization opportunities for the host service.
To improve the robustness of end-to-end communications during performance anomalies, we design mTCP, a novel transport layer protocol that can minimize the impact of anomalies using redundant paths. mTCP separates the congestion control for each path so that it can not only obtain higher throughput but also be more robust to path failures. mTCP can quickly react to failures, and the recovery process normally takes only several seconds. We integrate a shared congestion detection mechanism into mTCP that allows us to suppress paths with shared congestion. This helps alleviate the aggressiveness of mTCP. We also propose a heuristic to find disjoint paths between pairs of nodes. This can minimize the chance of concurrent failures and shared congestion. We implement mTCP on top of an overlay network and evaluate it using both emulations and experiments in the wide-area network.


Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp, 2n = 8× = 64) of Brassicaceae family is an Andean economic plant cultivated on the 4000-4500 meters central sierra in Peru. Considering the rapid uplift of central Andes occurred 5 to 10 million years ago (Mya), an evolutionary question arises on how plants like maca acquire high altitude adaptation within short geological period. Here, we report the high-quality genome assembly of maca, in which two close-spaced maca-specific whole genome duplications (WGDs, ∼ 6.7 Mya) were identified. Comparative genomics between maca and close-related Brassicaceae species revealed expansions of maca genes and gene families involved in abiotic stress response, hormone signaling pathway and secondary metabolite biosynthesis via WGDs. Retention and subsequent evolution of many duplicated genes may account for the morphological and physiological changes (i.e. small leaf shape and loss of vernalization) in maca for high altitude environment. Additionally, some duplicated maca genes under positive selection were identified with functions in morphological adaptation (i.e. MYB59) and development (i.e. GDPD5 and HDA9). Collectively, the octoploid maca genome sheds light on the important roles of WGDs in plant high altitude adaptation in the Andes.


The Shades of Grey education game is a team-based game that students play in a class setting, facilitated by their lecturer. The game fits within the quiz show genre and supports lecturers to easily add gaming elements to their lessons. Shades of Grey is used as a mechanism to encourage the student discussion and debate of the ethical issues raised in a series of ethically challenging situations. It is expected that this will increase student engagement with the subject matter and participation in discussion. Since the initial development and testing of the Shades of Grey game (SoG) prototype in 2010 there has been significant change in the availability and capability of mobile devices in the classroom. More students are equipped with smart mobile devices, wireless networking technology is improving and technologies such as HTML5 are helping to improve cross platform internet experiences. With these changes in mind, the Shades of Grey research team have sought an internal research grant to fund the re-development of the game to make use of the mobile devices that students bring with them and to make it easier for teaching staff to customise the game for their own needs. An enhanced second version of the game has been developed and to date has been trialled in an advanced auditing course in semester two 2014. Students who played the game were given the opportunity to participate in the study of SoG by completing a questionnaire. Findings from the questionnaire were used to uncover the perceptions of students towards the game which were overwhelmingly positive. These perceptions will be used in conjunction with the facilitator's observations to inform future development and the potential for its continued use in the programme and beyond. This presentation reports on those findings and the future of the Shades of Grey education game.


This article examines the tension between liberalism and Orthodoxy in Israel as it relates to censorship. The first section aims to explain Israel's vulnerability as a multicultural democracy in a hostile region, with significant schisms that divide the nation. The next section presents the dilemma: should Israel employ legal mechanisms to counter hate speech and racism? The third section details the legal framework, while the fourth reviews recent cases in which political radicals were prosecuted for incitement to racism. The final section discusses cases in which football supporters were charged with incitement after chanting "Death to Arabs" during matches. I argue that the state should consider the costs and risks of allowing hate speech and balance these against the costs and risks to democracy and free speech that are associated with censorship.


Some 18 million people die annually from poverty-related causes. Insofar as present global institutional arrangements foreseeably and avoidably perpetuate this death toll, affluent countries contribute to the great deprivations suffered by the poor. The Obama administration could substantially reduce this burden by supplementing the rules that govern pharmaceutical innovation. These rules, established by the World Trade Organization's TRIPS Agreement, cause advanced medicines to be priced beyond the reach of the poor and steer medical research away from diseases concentrated among them. We should complement these rules with the Health Impact Fund. Financed by many governments, the HIF would offer any new pharmaceutical product the opportunity to participate, during its first ten years, in the HIF's annual reward pools, receiving a share equal to its share of the assessed global health impact of all HIF-registered products. Choosing this option, the innovator would have to guarantee to make this product available, wherever it is needed, at the lowest feasible cost of production and distribution. Fully consistent with TRIPS, the HIF achieves three key advances. It directs some pharmaceutical innovation toward the most serious diseases, including those concentrated among the poor. It makes all HIF-registered medicines cheaply available to all. And it incentivizes innovators to promote the optimal use of their HIF-registered medicines. Magnifying one another's effects, these advances would engender large health gains.


. Passage time densities are useful performance measurements in stochastic systems. With them the modeller can extract probabilistic quality-of-service guarantees such as: the probability that the time taken for a network header packet to travel across a heterogeneous network is less than 10ms must be at least 0.95. In this paper, we show how new tools can extract passage time densities and distributions from stochastic models defined in PEPA, a stochastic process algebra. In stochastic process algebras, the synchronisation policy is important for defin-ing how different system components interact. We also show how these passage time results can vary according to which synchronisation strategy is used. We compare results from two popular strategies.


Summary It has been questioned whether there are receptors for urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) that facilitate plasminogen activation other than the high affinity uPA receptor (uPAR/CD87) since studies of uPAR knockout mice did not support a major role of uPAR in plasminogen activation. uPA also promotes cell adhesion, chemotaxis, and proliferation besides plasminogen activation. These uPA-induced signaling events are not mediated by uPAR,but mediated by unidentified,lower-affinity receptors for the uPA kringle.We found that uPA binds specifically to integrin αvβ3 on CHO cells depleted of uPAR. The binding of uPA to αvβ3 required the uPA kringle domain. The isolated uPA kringle domain binds specifically to purified,recombinant soluble, and cell surface αvβ3, and other integrins (α4β1 and α9β1), and induced migration of CHO cells in an αvβ3-dependent manner. The binding of the uPA kringle to αvβ3 and uPA kringle-induced αvβ3-dependent cell migration were blocked by homologous plasminogen kringles 1-3 or 1-4 (angiostatin),a known integrin antagonist. We studied whether the binding of uPA to integrin αvβ3 through the kringle domain plays a role in plasminogen activation. On CHO cell depleted of uPAR, uPA enhanced plasminogen activation in a kringle and αvβ3-dependent manner.Endothelial cells bound to and migrated on uPA and uPA kringle in an αvβ3-dependent manner. These results suggest that uPA binding to integrins through the kringle domain plays an important role in both plasminogen activation and uPA-induced intracellular signaling. The uPA kringle-integrin interaction may represent a novel therapeutic target for cancer, inflammation, and vascular remodeling.


ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to explore how the rise of the new public management (NPM) culture in higher education affected librarians. Librarians are a central part of the traditional intellectual model of academia, whose professional ethos is challenged and threatened by the new market-oriented culture. Using a qualitative methodology based on semi-structured interviews with managers and professional staff of academic libraries at a public university, the present study provides insights into the perceptions of non-faculty professionals on the infiltration of NPM into higher education. Our findings reflect a cultural appropriation of integration taking place under the dominant NPM, resulting in a hybrid traditional-NPM culture. Theoretical and practical implications of the effect of NPM on professional staff of academia are offered.


The largest known dinosaurs weighed at least 20 million times as much as the smallest, indicating exceptional phenotypic divergence. Previous studies have focused on extreme giant sizes, tests of Cope's rule, and miniaturization on the line leading to birds. We use non‐uniform macroevolutionary models based on Ornstein–Uhlenbeck and trend processes to unify these observations, asking: what patterns of evolutionary rates, directionality and constraint explain the diversification of dinosaur body mass? We find that dinosaur evolution is constrained by attraction to discrete body size optima that undergo rare, but abrupt, evolutionary shifts. This model explains both the rarity of multi‐lineage directional trends, and the occurrence of abrupt directional excursions during the origins of groups such as tiny pygostylian birds and giant sauropods. Most expansion of trait space results from rare, constraint‐breaking innovations in just a small number of lineages. These lineages shifted rapidly into novel regions of trait space, occasionally to small sizes, but most often to large or giant sizes. As with Cenozoic mammals, intermediate body sizes were typically attained only transiently by lineages on a trajectory from small to large size. This demonstrates that bimodality in the macroevolutionary adaptive landscape for land vertebrates has existed for more than 200 million years.


This work focuses on the spacing and height distributions of bed-perpendicular fracture sets present within a carbonate multilayer, and on their effect on the volumetric (P32 and fracture porosity) and hydraulic (correspondent permeability) properties of the rock mass computed after DFN modelling. Results of integrated field and laboratory analyses are consistent with an uneven spacing distribution of Strata-Bound (SB) fractures. The oldest SB fractures formed within individual limestone beds bounded by bed interfaces, which likely acted as mechanical interfaces. Differently, the youngest SB fractures formed within smaller rock volumes bounded by the pre-existing fractures. Non Strata-Bound (NSB) fractures consist on sheared bed-perpendicular fractures, originally compartmentalized within individual beds, which now form incipient strike-slip faults. DFN modelling of representative rock volumes show that both volumetric and hydraulic properties are strongly affected by the two main sets of NSB fractures, which form a conjugate system of faults producing the principal structural anisotropy in the fractured carbonate multi-layer.


This paper presents the results of the development of modules for protecting the eyes from laser radiation in the visible and near-IR regions. A description is given of a nonlinear-optical module with a medium based on a suspension of carbon nanoparticles in a silicone liquid, a multispectral interference filter having narrow reflection bands with minimal transmission at wavelengths of 355, 532, and 1064 nm, and a system adequate for observational devices with embedded protective elements. The combined use of the protective modules makes it possible to reduce the energy at the output of the system to a level no greater than 200 pJ when the input energy is 50 mJ and the pulse-repetition rates are as much as 10 Hz, thus ensuring the safety of the observer's eyes.


This article argues that Blackfoot people played a central role in the emergence of the northwest plains as a vibrant borderland between British and U.S. fur trade empires. When the British Hudson's Bay Company monopolized the northern fur trade in 1821, Blackfoot traders abandoned their previous opposition to American expansion and deliberately encouraged U.S. trading companies to expand onto the Upper Missouri River. In so doing, the Blackfeet forced fur trading companies to compete for their favor and gained crucial economic and political advantages over their neighbors. This episode reveals the centrality of indigenous agency to early western geography, sheds new light on the ways Indian people understood and created borderlands relationships, and underscores the importance of linking early U.S. and Canadian history.


For many countries, tourism is considered as having a great economic importance, with quite a large share in the country's GDP. Hence, the number of foreign tourists is highly important. But worldwide, the threats and dangers are more frequent, and consequently tourists are becoming more aware of the necessity of a safe destination. Foreign tourists are educated in the spirit of touristic safety, and when choosing a particular destination, this aspect is of utmost importance. The image of the country or any touristic destination depends on the quality of the touristic products, which include not only the natural and cultural patrimony or the economic environment, but also the social and political climate, state order and citizens' safety. A country with a good image for safe tourism can use it as a competitive advantage and attract different segments of the international tourism market. The paper presents some of the safety issues in tourism, focusing on the main aspects of tourism safety in Romania, based on the travel and tourism competitiveness index, with special focus on the third pillar – Safety and Security and the results of an on-line survey with managers and employees in tourism activities.


A detailed description is given of a local mathematical procedure for constructing a geometrically C/sup 1/ surface by interpolating a grid of cubic Bezier curves that meet in a quite general fashion (for example, they need not meet rectangularly). The constructed surface is a composite mosaic of independently parameterized tensor-product Bezier patches of different degrees (maximum of 6*6). Adjacent patches can be made either C/sup 1/ or C/sup 0/ continuous, as desired. The overall surface can have almost any shape that arises in practice, including the closed surfaces used in solid modeling. Because of its locality, the procedure can be applied at different times in different locations of a surface-to-be; for example, it can be used to combine preexisting smaller surfaces.<<ETX>>


The article examines recent publications in the field of practical theology, to see how the "God" reference is invoked. It addresses a tendency to downplay this reference in favor of a scientific analysis of "lived religion". While acknowledging the harmful aspects of many traditional views of God, the disqualification of the "God" reference in a highly secularized world, and the need for new perspectives on the spiritual dimension of life, the article argues in favor of a God-cen-tered theological endeavor anchored in a clearly identified religious or spiritual tradition. Faith is understood here as a dialectical process of listening and responding to the divine as perceived in human experience. Practical theology is presented as a reflexive task within and about this pro-cess. By its very nature, the "God" reference calls for reform, not only of our representations of the divine, but of our lives and of our world.


Lack of time is a frequently expressed patient concern, but actual measured consultation length is often not associated with patient satisfaction. Correlational analysis of patients from nine GP practices was used to test the hypothesis that patients' perceptions of consultation length are influenced not just by actual consultation length, but by other aspects of their experience of consultations. The consultations of 160 patients were timed, and patients in subsequent interviews gave estimates of consultation duration and completed a satisfaction questionnaire. Consultations where patients were more satisfied appeared to patients to have lasted longer (partial correlation r = 0.26), but were not actually longer. Patient concerns about time may be as much about quality time as about actual time.


Gametes and larval stages of the mussels P. purpura tus and S. algosus were treated in vitro with fluorescent and non-fluorescent techniques in order to detect microfilaments, DNA and cortical granules involved with reproductive status as fertilization and cleaveage stages. In P purpuratus tubulin was detected in cilius and velum in D larval stages, also actin was detected from the fertilization to development stages in both P purpuratus and S. algosus. Cortical granule-like structures were observed in larval stages of P purpuratus suggesting they are not discharged during the fertilization process. Microfilaments detected in both mussels suggest they play an important role in the cytoskeleton during development.


The literature on legislative decision-making and bargaining in the EU has reached a common conclusion that the European Parliament (Parliament) and the Council of the European Union (Council) are on an equal footing in the main legislative procedure, the co-decision procedure. We present theoretical and empirical evidence to suggest that this is not the case. First, our analysis of the formal rules reveals that the Council has conditional agenda-setting power due to a change in the majority thresholds for adopting legislation from the first to the second reading in the Parliament. This change has important implications for the internal dynamics of the Parliament and its institutional powers vis-à-vis the Council. Testing these analytical considerations of the formal decision rules against voting data on all co-decision legislation adopted in the two institutions between 1999 and 2004, our empirical findings show that: first, from 1999 to 2004 coalition formation in the Council fell predominantly along the traditional left–right political dimensions when negotiating co-decision proposals. Second, when disagreement over legislation is recorded in the Council, a strong divide can also be found in the Parliament. Third, when the Parliament is divided along party political lines, it is less likely to be able to meet the absolute majority requirement for amending the proposal adopted by the Council. Lastly, Parliament amendments are most likely to be adopted when a decision by voting is requested by a party group associated with the main ideological contingency in the Council. JCMS 2010 Volume 48. Number 4. pp. 811–833 © 2010 The Author(s) Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA


Part I: Trauma-focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. The Impact of Trauma and Grief on Children and Families. Assessment Strategies for Traumatized Children. The TF-CBT Model: How it Works. The Role of the TF-CBT Therapist. Part II: Trauma-focused Components. Introduction to the TF-CBT Components. Trauma-focused Component 1: Psychoeducation. Trauma-focused Component 2: Parenting Skills. Trauma-focused Component 3: Relaxation. Trauma-focused Component 4: Affective Expression and Modulation. Trauma-focused Component 5: Cognitive Coping and Processing I: The Cognitive Triangle. Trauma-focused Component 6: Trauma Narrative. Trauma-focused Component 7: Cognitive Coping and Processing II: Processing the Traumatic Experience. Trauma-focused Component 8: In Vivo Mastery of Trauma Reminders. Trauma-focused Component 9: Conjoint Child-Parent Sessions. Trauma-focused Component 10: Enhancing Future Safety and Development. Part III: Grief-focused Components. Introduction to the Grief-focused Components. Grief-focused Component 1: Grief Psychoeducation. Grief-focused Component 2: Grieving the Loss and Resolving Ambivalent Feelings About the Deceased: "What I Miss and What I Don't Miss." Grief-focused Component 3: Preserving Positive Memories of the Deceased. Grief-focused Component 4: Redefining the Relationship with the Deceased and Committing to Present Relationships. Grief-focused Component 5: Conjoint Child-parent Sessions, Treatment Review, and Closure. Appendix 1: Handouts. Appendix 2: Resources. Appendix 3: Additional Training.


Important tasks of the European Food Safety Authority include compiling central repositories for European data on the presence of beneficial or harmful chemical substances in food and feed, and data on food consumption, to facilitate European dietary exposure assessment as well as harmonising data collection activities. The past ten years have seen considerable progress in harmonising European data collection activities. Initial shortcomings in contaminant data descriptions, data submission procedures and coverage of European food consumption data, as well as the problem of matching foods analysed for chemical substances with foods as consumed, were addressed by EFSA in close cooperation with EU Member States. A standardised occurrence data structure and automated data submission methods were developed to improve results transfer and validation. Detailed food consumption information was collected covering, at least partially, all age groups. Currently, the data structure hosts almost 2.5 million records on contaminants, it receives every year around 15 million records on pesticide residue monitoring and includes over 6.3 million food consumption records. EFSA also published uniform terminology for identifying and characterising food, thus providing the essential link between analytical data and food consumption information. Consequently, exposure assessments within EFSA's Risk Assessment framework have greatly improved. EFSA can now provide more robust data to risk managers for setting maximum levels in foods or performing trend analyses to measure the impact of legislative activities, as demonstrated in the number of contributions to scientific opinions and stand-alone reports produced by the Dietary and Chemical Monitoring (DCM) Unit. Further ongoing improvements include a common methodology for food consumption surveys, better predictions of usual intake from short term consumption data, and a coordinated approach for assessing the presence and levels of chemical substances in food as actually consumed.


The protected class approach to employment discrimination has not solved the problem of discrimination or of a just distribution of resources. Not only do race and sex prejudice continue to exist, but material and subjective disadvantage continues to be strongly linked to race and sex. While our laws have made social changes, progress on those changes stalled in the 1980s. Some might even say that the protected class approach to discrimination has actually entrenched inequality more deeply into our social fabric. This Article seeks a purpose-driven approach to finding solutions to the problems of discrimination, asking why it is that we prohibit discrimination and what we hope to accomplish through law. It advocates for a focus on some baseline of substantive equity for everyone, separated from particular employment relationships, and not contingent on identity. Such a shift might take pressure off of our antidiscrimination laws, which in turn might allow them and the market to operate to promote more equality for historically disadvantaged groups.


The sulfur cycle is arguably the most important geochemical cycle on Mars because the transfer of sulfur places limits on Mars's differentiation processes, sedimentary, geomorphic and aqueous processes, past climate, and current and past habitability. The presence of sulfur-rich compositions on Mars is suggested by meteorite data, in situ bulk chemical and mineralogical analyses, remote sensing data from dust and surfaces, and geochemical models. The inferred sulfur-rich nature of Mars may have resulted in an Fe–(Ni–)S core that has been liquid throughout Mars's history. On the surface, Mg- and Ca-sulfates are widespread and Fe3+-sulfates are found locally. It is likely that these minerals occur in a variety of hydration states and host much of the mineral-bound hydrogen in the Martian subsurface.


Following the Brexit vote on 23 June 2016, chances of the UK ratifying the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) appeared slim. Since such ratification is required for the entry into force of the Unitary Patent system, including the Unified Patent Court (UPC), this meant that the future of the Unitary Patent was hanging in the balance. At the end of November 2016, the UK government relieved anxious proponents of the Unitary Patent system by confirming that it would be proceeding with preparations to ratify the UPCA. In December 2016, Germany followed suit and also resumed its preparations for UPCA ratification. While this seemed to bring us closer to the Unitary Patent, any unbridled optimism was soon thwarted when UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced in January 2017 that her government's Brexit will be a "hard" one, involving a clear departure by the UK from the EU single market as well as the UK's withdrawal from the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). This could jeopardise the possibility for the UK to remain part of the Unitary Patent system in a post-Brexit world.


Richard Powers' cyberfiction, Galatea 2.2, is unique in its detailed and realistic way of imagining artificial intelligence (AI) technology, which is a subject that has long preoccupied the public imagination. However, the novel's central preoccupation is with the potential of AI machines to develop self-consciousness. Contrary to common representations of AI in science fiction, here, the AI has to take a master's degree exam in English Literature. During its training, the AI gradually acquires self-consciousness, which questions this property's exclusiveness to humankind. In this paper, I would like to argue that the AI's selfhood, as seen from the perspective of the narrator, is constructed as a result of its exposure to narratives. According to certain contemporary debates in the cognitive sciences, what we consider as self could be converted into a narrative. Synthesising theories of posthumanism and narrativity, this paper will examine the process of self-acquisition in Galatea 2.2's AI, as well as the way the novel's self-reflexive focus on narrativity modifies the interrelations between the narrator, his narrative, and the readers of the novel.


Mutations in a newly described lysosomal enzyme, palmitoyl-protein thioesterase (PPT), were recently shown to be responsible for an autosomal recessive neurological disorder prevalent in Finland, infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis. The disease results in blindness, motor and cognitive deterioration, and seizures. Characteristic inclusion bodies (granular osmiophilic deposits [GROD]) are found in the brain and other tissues. The vast majority of Finnish cases are homozygous for a missense mutation (R122W) that severely affects PPT enzyme activity, and the clinical course in Finnish children is uniformly rapidly progressive and fatal. To define the clinical, biochemical, and molecular genetic characteristics of subjects with PPT deficiency in a broader population, we collected blood samples from U.S. and Canadian subjects representing 32 unrelated families with neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis who had GROD documented morphologically. We measured PPT activity and screened the coding region of the PPT gene for mutations. In 29 of the families, PPT deficiency was found to be responsible for the neurodegenerative disorder, and mutations were identified in 57 out of 58 PPT alleles. One nonsense mutation (R151X) accounted for 40% of the alleles and was associated with severe disease in the homozygous state. A second mutation (T75P) accounted for 13% of the alleles and was associated with a late onset and protracted clinical course. A total of 19 different mutations were found, resulting in a broader spectrum of clinical presentations than previously seen in the Finnish population. Symptoms first appeared at ages ranging from 3 mo to 9 yr, and about half of the subjects have survived into the second or even third decades of life.


This thesis aims at the synthesis of oriented nanochannel systems for the synthesis of metallic or semiconducting nanowires. Three different synthesis strategies have been developed.
First, horizontal macro- to mesoporous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) structures with individually addressable channel systems were fabricated in collaboration with the group of Dr. Anna Fontcuberta at TU Munchen. For this purpose, a multi-contact design of aluminum finger structures on silicon wafers was developed. Each finger structure can be individually contacted and between 2 - 5 contacts were generated on a single silicon wafer. The aluminum contacts were electrically isolated from each other, thus each contact can be individually anodized. This way it is possible to synthesize different pore diameters, pore densities, and channel lengths on a single chip. After the anodization, these channels were successfully filled by electro-deposition and thermal chemical vapor deposition. The resulting metal (Au, Cu, Ni, Co) and semiconductor (Te, Si) nanowires embedded within the AAO mold were characterized by SEM and EDX measurements.
The second strategy deals with hierarchical channel structures formed from columnar silica mesophases inside AAO membranes. These channels were then used for the fabrication of high-aspect ratio copper, silver, and tellurium nanowires. The resulting wires were structurally and spectroscopically characterized within the host matrix, in the partially dissolved matrix, and completely removed from the matrix with electron microscopy methods. Plan-view images of wires featuring 10 nm diameter within the intact matrix showed the successful replication of the hexagonal arrangement of the columnar mesoporous system.
The concept of hierarchical structures within PAA templates was again utilized for the third strategy, where the structural behavior of periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO) mesophases within the AAO pores was studied. PMO mesophases with different orientations with respect to the alumina pores were obtained; one of the observed mesophases (cubic Im-3m) has not been reported before. After successful template removal, the hexagonal circular mesophase could be used for the synthesis of nanowires by electrodeposition.


Article history: Received 12 December 2014 Received in revised form 26 January 2015 Accepted 27 February 2015 Available online 19 April 2015


Clinical experience indicates that excessive sleepiness and hypersomnia may be a common issue for patients with psychosis. Excessive sleepiness is typically ascribed to the sedating effects of antipsychotic medications but there may be other potential contributors such as sleep disorders and depression. Furthermore, the impact of excessive sleepiness itself on patients' symptoms and general wellbeing is yet to be examined. The current study reports an exploratory cross-sectional between-groups comparison of patients with early psychosis fulfilling criteria assessed in a diagnostic interview for problematic excessive sleepiness (n = 14), compared with those not reporting excessive sleepiness (n = 46). There were no differences between the groups in diagnosis, medication type, or antipsychotic medication dosage. There were no significant group differences in sleep duration. Significantly lower activity levels were found in the excessive sleepiness group. Insomnia and nightmares were common in those reporting excessive sleepiness. No significant differences were found in psychiatric symptoms, although data did indicate more severe cognitive disorganisation and grandiosity, but less severe paranoia and hallucinations, in the excessive sleepiness group. Wide confidence intervals and small sample size mean that care should be taken interpreting these results. Overall, this study indicates that excessive sleepiness may not be solely related to medication but also to low levels of activity and other sleep disorders. This is a novel finding that, if replicated, could indicate routes of intervention for this clinical issue. Future research should aim to disentangle directions of effect amongst sleepiness, mood, activity, and psychotic symptoms and investigate possible interventions for excessive sleepiness in psychosis.